Ben Hadden; or, Do Right Whatever Comes Of It

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER TWO.

  BEN'S FATHER AND HIS MOTTO.

  It would be well if all, of high or low degree, landsmen and sailors,gentle and simple, kept to old John Hadden's rule. How much misery andsuffering would be saved! how much remorse of conscience! how much griefand shame! How much better would Satan, that great foe of man, be keptat a distance! That is just the reason he whispers, whenever he can getan opening, "Do wrong that good may come of it," or, "Do a little wrong,just a little, and no harm will come of it;" or again, "Commit a smallsin; God will not see it, or if He does, God will not care for it."That is just what Satan has been saying over and over again since hefirst tempted and deceived Eve in the garden of Paradise. He spoke thenfrom envy, to drive our first parents out of an earthly paradise; he inlike manner lies now to us, to hinder us from getting into the heavenlyparadise, prepared for those who love and obey God. John Hadden knewthis full well, and so he would allow no departure from that rule; hewould have it stuck to closely. He was for ever saying to his sons, "Doright at all times, my lads; it is not your business to think of whatwill happen afterwards. God will take care of that; He will guide youbetter than you can guide yourselves. If you act as I say, no real evilwill befall you. You may fancy that what happens is an evil just forthe time; but, depend on it, what seems an evil will turn out for yourgood in the end."

  A stranger, visiting in the neighbourhood, once walked over toSandhills. He had a talk with John Hadden, who happened to be on shore.He soon found that John was a Bible-reading man, and that he obeyed thelaw of the gospel.

  "And so you have followed this plan of yours for some time, and havefound it answer?" said the stranger.

  "Yes, sir," said John, "I have followed it since I was a young man, andnow I am an old one. I never have fished on a Sunday, and I hope that Inever shall. Look at me, sir. Am I more feeble, am I thinner, am Imore sickly than my neighbours? am I less able to work?"

  "No, indeed you are not," answered the stranger; "you are the stoutestand one of the most able-bodied men I have seen in the place."

  "Am I poorer? is my cottage less comfortable? are my children worseeducated? are they inferior in health, strength, or activity to thechildren of others in the hamlet?" asked John, warming with the subject.

  "No, my friend," answered the stranger; "your sons are the finest youngfellows in the place, and the best brought up, as I hear from all sides,while your cottage is the neatest and most comfortable."

  "That it is; that's what I say to my brother fishermen," exclaimed JohnHadden, warmly. "Now, sir, I will tell you more than this. Instead ofbeing a poorer man for not fishing on a Sunday I know that I am a richerone, and I can prove it. God knows what is best for us; so in His loveHe gave us the Sabbath, that we might rest, and that our souls mightturn to Him and be glad. While others have been toiling all the yearround, day after day, wearing out their bodies, and dulling andsaddening, so to speak, their souls, I have rested one day out of seven,and on that day my strength and my spirits have been renewed. I havenot grown old so fast as they have. Then again, if I had been toilingand working for the bread which perisheth, and made my sons toil andwork with me, how could I have fed my soul and their souls with thatbread which will make us live for ever? Instead of being steady,honest, hard-working, God-fearing young men, a credit to me, andrespected by all who know them, they would have been careless, idle, andvicious. Neighbours often say to me, `How is it, John Hadden, that yoursons are good steady young men, and do as you tell them?'--then I say,`It is just this, because I bring them up in the fear and admonition ofthe Lord. The Bible tells me how to bring up my children, and I do it.If you brought up your children as the Bible tells you to do, yourchildren would make you as happy as mine do me.'

  "But, sir, I was speaking about fishing on a Sunday. Now look here,sir; there is another reason why I have an advantage over those who fishevery day in the week: my nets will last longer than theirs, and at theend of a couple of years are worth one-third more. While their netshave always been wet,--for they have not had time to mend themproperly,--I have had mine brought on shore on Saturday morning, spreadout all day in the sun, mended in the evening, and left to dry all thenext day. The wear and tear of the boats and the boats' gear also havebeen saved. So you see that those who break God's commandments for thesake of gain do not find it all profit. There is an old saying, sir,that `The devil's wages slip through the fingers.' Whose wages arethose gained by working on the Sabbath but his? A man fancies that hehas got them safe in the palm of his hand, and when he wants to spendthem, they are gone. At the end of the year,--I have said it, and Iknow it,--by following God's commandments, simply because He hascommanded, I have been a richer man than those who disobeyed them; and Iknow surely that I have been a stronger, a more healthy, a happier, anda more contented one.

  "Again, sir, look here; many say they can't work on from the beginningto the end of the fishing season without drink: no more they can, maybe,but rest is better far than drink; and if they would take theSabbath-day's rest they might save the cost of the week's drink, andthat's more by a long way than the Sabbath-day's toil gives them. So,as I say, when we obey God we do the best thing for ourselves, even inthis life; and that to my mind shows what a merciful and loving God Heis. He does not want to make us suffer pain or grief, He wants to makeus happy; and so all His laws are such that if we would obey them, weshould be happy. It is because men do not obey them that they areunhappy. There, sir, that's my belief. I'm an old man now; but Ithought so when I was a young one, and every year since I have had goodcause to think the same."

  "You speak nothing but the truth, my friend," observed the gentleman; "Iwill tell others what you have said to me, and how you have acted, and Iwill try to persuade them to follow your example."

  "My example, sir!" said John Hadden gravely. "Say rather, sir, the sameexample I try to follow."

  "You are right, my friend," said the gentleman, wringing the fisherman'srough hand and walking thoughtfully away.

  Some time after this, John Hadden was sitting with his spy-glass restingacross his knees, at the top of the highest sand-hill near the village.A strong gale from the north-east, which would not let any of thefishing-boats put to sea, was blowing. It was at the time of the yearwhen the larger fishing-vessels are laid up. John had more than onceput his glass to his eye; he now kept it there, and made a crutch of hisleft arm to hold it up. While thus employed, he was joined by one ofhis sons.

  "If he don't take care he'll be on the bank as sure as my name is JohnHadden," he cried out, pointing to a large ship which had stood in fromthe offing (that is, from the sea far off), and was trying to work tothe northward. A slant of wind which would allow the stranger (see note1) to lay well up along shore, had tempted him to stand in closer thanhe should have done. Old Hadden and his son watched the strange vesselfor some time with great interest. Still he stood blindly on.

  "There, I feared that it would be so!" exclaimed John; "and if helpdon't go to them before high water, not a soul of all on board willescape."

  Too true: the fine ship lay fast, her broadside struck again and againby the heavy seas, which came rolling in from the eastward.

  "Jem, we must go to her!" exclaimed John Hadden suddenly. "Call yourbrothers, lad; it won't do to let these poor fellows perish for want ofhelp."

  Scarcely two minutes passed after this, before John Hadden and his fivesons--for Ben also went--were launching their yawl through the surfwhich broke on the sandy beach. A few of the people of the villagenearest the water came running down to see the boat off, but John hadnot time to tell his wife and daughters of what he was going to do. Hewould fain have given them a parting kiss, but time was precious. Hesent up a lad, though, to his home. "Tell them," he said, "we are doingour duty; we shall be cared for." Away through the foaming sea thebrave men pulled their stout boat. The spray flew over her, andspeedily wetted them through, but for that they cared nothing. Theseas, however, sometimes
broke on board, and little Ben was kept hard atwork, baling out the water.

  "She is well out at the end of the spit, lads," observed old Hadden; "wemay get close enough for them to heave a rope on board us, if she hangstogether, and I don't see that there is much doubt about her doingthat."

  They pulled on for some time, without any one again speaking. "She willhang very well together," observed John; "but, oh! more's the pity, theyseem to be lowering one of their boats, instead of waiting for ourcoming, as if they could reach the shore in her." Such was indeed thecase. A small boat was lowered, and several people were seen to leapinto her. She shoved off, but a current, of which the strangers couldnot have known, swept the boat towards the breakers. In another instantshe was rolled right over, and all in her must have perished. Still theHaddens, thinking that others might be left on board, pulled on lustilyto give them help.

  As they rowed out more to sea, they saw another boat making her waytowards the wreck. She had come from a hamlet a short distance to thenorth of Sandhills, from which place the wreck had been seen as well asfrom the Haddens' village. Though she had not left the shore till afterthe Haddens' boat had put off, she had the wind more in her favour, soit seemed likely that she would reach the wreck as soon as they could.When more than one boat is launched to go to a wreck, there is always arivalry among the boatmen of the coast to try who will be the first onboard, and if anything had been wanting to make the young Haddens toilharder than they had been doing, this would have made them. Still, thegale blew so strong that they could scarcely make any way against thewind, and all they could do at times was to keep the boat with her headto the sea to prevent her from being swamped (or filled with water).Yet on they went. They believed that they might be able to save some oftheir fellow-creatures from death, and that thought was enough to makethem run all risks.

  The last squall had been stronger than any others. Soon after it hadpassed over, John Hadden took a steady look to windward. "My boys,"said he, "the gale is breaking. By the time we get up to the wreck, itwill be calm enough to allow us to climb on board. It is to be hopedthat her crew will stick by the vessel. No! what folly! they havelaunched another boat, and she will meet, I fear, with the fate of thefirst." He was silent for some minutes, while he looked now and againtowards the wreck. "I feared so!" he cried at last; "they are lost,every one of them; no man could swim through that boiling surf."

  Nearly another half-hour passed after this before the two boats got upto the wreck. The gale had by this time very much abated, and, the tidehaving turned, the sea had gone down. The boats pulled under the lee ofthe wrecked vessel, which held well together, and had her crew stayed onboard, they might have been saved. Not a person was to be seen on deck.The fishermen shouted loudly; no one came. It seemed certain that allmust have perished. Without help from the ship it was at firstdifficult to get on board, except at great risk. However, after waitingsome time longer, the boats were able to run alongside, and the crewsreached her deck. They searched the ship through; not a human being wasfound on board. A fire, however, was burning in the cabin grate, andbefore it sat a cat, quietly licking her paws. (A fact.) Instinct hadguided her better than man's sense, of which he is often so proud.

  The Haddens, with the men of the other boat, began, without loss oftime, to search through the ship. She was a foreigner. It was clearthat those who had left her were in great fear, and had thought only ofsaving their lives. Many articles of value lay scattered about in thecabins. John Hadden and his sons were on deck; the rest were below.

  "Hurrah!--a prize! a prize!" cried one of the men of the other boat. "Abox of gold!"

  "Hush!" cried one of his companions. "Don't talk of it, man. If no oneelse sees it, we may have it all to ourselves."

  At that moment John Hadden entered the cabin. His eye fell on the box,as the men were trying to hide it; he looked at what was in it."Friends, this property is not ours," he remarked, in a calm, firmvoice; "we shall get a fair reward if we succeed in saving it. I hope,if we stay by the ship, that we may get her off, at the top of the nextflood, by lightening her a little. What say you? Will you stay by mylads and me, and do the job?"

  The other men, however, had set their hearts on getting the box of gold.Have it they would, and they made all sorts of excuses to get away fromthe ship, that they might take it with them. John Hadden was a man whonot only would not do wrong himself, but would stop others, if he could,from doing it.

  "Mates," he said, "I do not want to quarrel with you, or with any othermen; but the goods on board this ship must remain just as we found them.I am sure that my own lads will bear me out in what I say: none of uswill touch them."

  "Oh, we always have heard that you were a very strict man, Mr Hadden,and now we find it true enough!" replied one of the men, with a sneer.

  "No," said John Hadden quietly; "I only say, `Do right, whatever comesof it.' If we take the goods on board this ship, we should be doingwrong. And others doing so, won't make wrong right. That's all."

  "Well, well; we don't want to quarrel. We wished you to share; but ifyou won't, you won't, and neither will get it," answered the other; "so,Mr Hadden, let's say no more about it."

  John, honest and true himself, did not think that any trick was going tobe played him. The other men joined him and his sons, with seeminggoodwill, in getting out warps, and in heaving overboard some of thecargo. Thus they worked on till night stopped them. There was apromise of a fine night; and so, making fast their boats under the leeof the wreck, they prepared to spend the time on board till the returnof day. Of course, they had to keep a watch on deck. The first watchwas kept by the Haddens; the morning watch by the people of the otherboat. When John Hadden and his sons awoke in the morning, and came ondeck, the other boat was gone, and so was the box of gold, which hadbeen left in the cabin.

  Daylight returning, a white speck was seen away to the northward. JohnHadden, as he looked through the glass, knew that it was the boat ofthose who had been with him. There were some sand-banks, and a narrowpassage through them, by which a long distance might be saved. Atcertain tides this passage was dangerous, even in fine weather.

  "The foolish fellows are making for the Gut!" exclaimed John Hadden. "Iwould not try to go through it for any sum." Just then some clouds wereseen driven across the sky by a squall; the wind struck the boat."She's lost! she's lost!" cried John Hadden, in a tone of pity. Overwent the boat; nor she, nor her crew, nor the box of gold were ever seenagain.

  The ship was soon got afloat, and was brought by John Hadden and hisbrave sons into harbour. They gained a large sum for saving the ship.

  "I told you," said John to his sons, "do right, whatever comes of it.This time, much good has come to us; so it generally will. If it doesnot, never mind; we don't see the good--that's all. God knows best whatis best. Still do right."

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Note 1. When the name and character of a vessel met at sea are notknown, it is spoken of by sailors as `a stranger'; of a stranger theysay _he_, but a known vessel is named _she_.