CHAPTER XVII.
In the East there dwelt at this time a mighty Bandit, Bruin by name. Hewas an old rival of the Buccaneer. It is said that birds of a feather,either do, or should flock together; but as a matter of fact it isfrequently found that they do not; the feather being too often a bone ofcontention. People would have thought that these two celebrities,following as they did the same profession, with the exception that onepushed his trade more by sea, and the other more by land, would havelived peacefully one with another; more especially as they wereseparated by a wide tract of land and sea. Many old saws and sayingswould justify this belief; but the Bandit and the Buccaneer could nothit it off together. The latter being quite a reformed, God-fearing andrespectable man, no doubt looked with horror upon the life that theformer was leading. It was strange too; because the Bandit was aneminently pious, and Christian gentleman also; but he had not as yetmade his pile, which of course made all the difference; and his people,though many of them were slaves, were beginning to be unruly.
As to whether the Bandit was as cruel and as bad as he was said to be,is open to doubt. It is well known that the devil is not as black aswhat he is painted. Evil things were said even of the Ojabberaways, andwe know that once give a dog a bad name, and you may as well hang him,or tie a string round his neck, and fling him into the nearest pond.Some people no doubt would have gloried in seeing this Eastern Banditrun up on the nearest tree; but then he required catching.
Of the living why not be truthful? There seems to be a prevalent opinionthat this should be the case when we discuss the characters of ourenemies, and more especially of our friends to whom we can make amendsby saying nothing but what is good of them when they are dead. This oldsea king whose history we take a delight in relating, had as has beenshown a very quick eye for the shortcomings of his friends. Looking overthe heads of his own little peccadillos, he fixed his keen gaze uponthose of his neighbours, and no one could find out an act of robberysooner than could this Buccaneering trader; then his virtuousindignation knew no bounds.
It was indeed a belief of his, that most of his neighbours wereambitious and designing, ever ready to feather their own nests at theexpense of other peoples. Yet they were all eminently religious, prayedoften, and professedly were all followers of the same great Master; butthey all slept in armour, and were ready on the slightest provocation tofly at each other's throats. Our pious Buccaneer had learnt to look uponthe East as a sort of devil's playground, and the Bandit as the archfiend himself who he frequently thought was up to no good when the poorgentleman was perhaps actually engaged in his devotions.
The slightest allusion to the Eastern Bandit always alarmed him, so thecommand was given on board the old Ship of State to pipe all hands, andpresently the bo'sn's whistle, followed by those of all his mates,sounded merrily along the decks. Those below hurried up, while those onshore hastened on board, and the scene was soon one of the liveliest.Just as the last man tumbled over the ship's side, there was a greatcommotion at the Port gangway, and on looking over, a very queerpowerfully made fellow was to be seen trying to get on board; but therest of the ship's company would not have him at any price. Pepper, thecook, said the man was a friend of his, in fact, his mate; but Pepperspoke to deaf ears; for the fellow would not swear, and it is a wellknown fact that a seaman who will not swear cannot be a good sailor.Several of the hands seized upon the intruder, and suiting an old rhymeto the occasion, they commenced to sing--
"Here comes a queer man Who will not say his prayers, So we take him by his two legs And chuck him down the stairs."
And they did, much to honest Pepper's disgust, who rated and accusedthem well for their trouble. The man himself as he swam ashore affirmedthat he would return and serve yet on board of the old ship. He kept hisword; was posted to Captain Dogvane's watch, and became very muchrespected.
As was their custom, the Ojabberaways tried very hard to monopolize thewhole of the conversation, with their numerous complaints, and theyswore most stoutly that not a stitch of business should the Buccaneer dountil they were given their independence and freed from the yoke of thetyrant. When they were told that all was being done for them that couldin justice to all interests be done, one of them said, "Indeed a mightydeal too much has been done; but in the wrong direction. We ask for ourfreedom, and you give us a rope and bid us go hang."
Here some one amongst the crew who apparently had caught a cold,sneezed, this the Ojabberaways took as an additional insult upon theirunhappy country, and because the insult could not be withdrawn, theycreated a great disturbance, to quell which, two or three of them had tobe thrown overboard. The ship thus lightened rode all the better, butthe cook said it was a sinful waste thus to sacrifice the Ojabberaways,when there was the whole of the Buccaneer's Upper Chamber weighing theold ship down by the stern. The discussion on board now took a livelyturn, upon an assertion which the carpenter had previously made aboutboots and shoes being brisk. Some interested person declared that if thetrade was brisk the boots themselves were bad, as could be seen by theBuccaneer's soldiers who were fighting in the East.
All the fat was now put into the fire, and there was a heated argumentas to whether the Buccaneer was or was not engaged in warlikeoperations. There ought to have been no doubt about such a thing, butthere was. It was also asserted that the rascally contractor was at hisold game of starving both men and animals, or giving them bad food, andso amassing a large fortune and qualifying himself for promotion to theBuccaneer's Upper Chamber.
The Buccaneer turned for information to his trusty Captain Dogvane."How is this, Master Dogvane?" he asked, "I thought you said myrelations abroad were all good."
"Sir," replied the captain, "ever since the old Ship of State was builthave there been these differences of opinion, and God forbid that itshould be otherwise; it will be an evil day for my master when hiswatches take so little interest in his affairs as to cease to have wordybattles over them."
"But, Master Dogvane, whom am I to believe?"
"A straightforward question, sir, demands a straightforward reply.Believe in me."
At this there were loud jeers from the other watch, and many voices wereheard to say: "Believe in him and he will run you pretty soon into shoalwater."
"Aye! aye!" cried Dogvane, "the same old cry. I have been man and boy onboard this old craft for many a long year, and these hands have held thehelm and so the old ship rides safe and sound. Her bluff old bows ridingsuperior to every storm. Have not gales and hurricanes swept over thesedecks, and yet she has risen superior to all? Some say the old craftalongside is in shallow water, and yet she seems peaceful and safeenough."
Here Random Jack said the captain was, as usual, drifting from thepoint.
"Of course, my little man, you must have your say. It was you that firstset this ball a-rolling; but hurry no man's cattle is a safe cry. I wasmerely clearing my decks, as it were, for action."
Upon being pressed, Dogvane was obliged to admit that he was engaged inoperations of a warlike nature; but he went into so many subtledistinctions as to the different kinds of warfare that nobody couldfollow him. He swore that in the footsteps of the other watch followedgratuitous and unprovoked war. "We are not now at war," he cried ingreat warmth, "though I will not say that we are not engaged in somekind of military operations which, however, though offensive in form arepurely defensive in essence." Dogvane being apparently afraid lest heshould be called upon for an explanation turned the conversation byappealing to a weak part in his master's nature, namely, his religion.
"Can we ever forget," he said, "the Divine Master we follow? Can weforget the principles of peace he taught us? The operations I am nowengaged in are only a part of that terrible inheritance that the otherwatch left me." This of course brought down a storm upon him from theother watch. "My aim," he continued, "ever has been to maintain afriendly footing with all your neighbours, and by keeping them in uniontogether to neutralize, fetter, and bind up the selfish aims of each."
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br /> "And the result of your labours," cried the captain of the Port Watch,"has been to estrange our master from all his friends and to land him inincessant troubles. Have you not bombarded a friend's town?" he added,"have you not massacred his people?"
Dogvane could not altogether deny this, so he said: "It is true that afew forts have been knocked down, but they were better down than up; anda few people have no doubt been killed, but what of that? Accidents willhappen in the very best regulated undertakings."
Thus did the argument continue to the utter confusion of the boldBuccaneer who cast his eyes towards the Church Hulk alongside, and heinwardly wished that all was as peaceful and secure as it seemed to bethere; but scarcely had the thought crossed his mind than a great hubbubrose up and the sound of controversy became loud. All eyes were turnedtowards the Church Hulk, and many feared they were about to witness oneof those religious disputes which occasionally are so bitter and evendisastrous. Some thought it must at least be a mutiny. Considerablerelief was felt when it was found upon inquiry that it was nothing moreserious than a discussion as to the shape and colour of the vestments inwhich our Creator was to be worshipped in, and a rival sect nearly cameto blows over the form of an ecclesiastical hat. All this seemedstrange, because the Church Hulk professed to sail by orders which said:"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shalldrink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on."
If people squabble amongst themselves it soon becomes known, and it soonbegan to be noised abroad that the Buccaneer's Church Hulk was indanger, both from jealousy without and the want of Christian charity andbrotherly love within. It is certain that some of the crew of the Shipof State had their eyes upon her, and it got rumoured abroad that somefine morning people would wake up to find she had either slipped hermoorings or been cut adrift. But has not this rumour ever been a lyingrascal and a fit lieutenant for the devil himself?
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer Page 17
