by Walter Scott
CHAPTER XVII.
They man their boats, and all the young men arm, With whatsoever might the monsters harm; Pikes, halberds, spits, and darts, that wound afar, The tools of peace, and implements of war. Now was the time for vigorous lads to show What love or honour could incite them to;-- A goodly theatre, where rocks are round With reverend age and lovely lasses crown'd.
_Battle of the Summer Islands._
The morning which succeeds such a feast as that of Magnus Troil, usuallylacks a little of the zest which seasoned the revels of the precedingday, as the fashionable reader may have observed at a public breakfastduring the race-week in a country town; for, in what is called the bestsociety, these lingering moments are usually spent by the company, eachapart in their own dressing-rooms. At Burgh-Westra, it will readily bebelieved, no such space for retirement was afforded; and the lasses,with their paler cheeks, the elder dames, with many a wink and yawn,were compelled to meet with their male companions (headaches and all)just three hours after they had parted from each other.
Eric Scambester had done all that man could do to supply the full meansof diverting the ennui of the morning meal. The board groaned withrounds of hung beef, made after the fashion of Zetland--withpasties--with baked meats--with fish, dressed and cured in everypossible manner; nay, with the foreign delicacies of tea, coffee, andchocolate; for, as we have already had occasion to remark, the situationof these islands made them early acquainted with various articles offoreign luxury, which were, as yet, but little known in Scotland, where,at a much later period than that we write of, one pound of green tea wasdressed like cabbage, and another converted into a vegetable sauce forsalt beef, by the ignorance of the good housewives to whom they had beensent as rare presents.
Besides these preparations, the table exhibited whatever mighty potionsare resorted to by _bons vivans_, under the facetious name of a "hair ofthe dog that bit you." There was the potent Irish Usquebaugh--rightNantz--genuine Schiedamm--Aquavitae from Caithness--and Golden Wasserfrom Hamburgh; there was rum of formidable antiquity, and cordials fromthe Leeward Islands. After these details, it were needless to mentionthe stout home-brewed ale--the German mum, and Schwartz beer--and stillmore would it be beneath our dignity to dwell upon the innumerable sortsof pottage and flummery, together with the bland, and variouspreparations of milk, for those who preferred thinner potations.
No wonder that the sight of so much good cheer awakened the appetite andraised the spirits of the fatigued revellers. The young men beganimmediately to seek out their partners of the preceding evening, and torenew the small talk which had driven the night so merrily away; whileMagnus, with his stout old Norse kindred, encouraged, by precept andexample, those of elder days and graver mood, to a substantialflirtation with the good things before them. Still, however, there wasa long period to be filled up before dinner; for the most protractedbreakfast cannot well last above an hour; and it was to be feared thatClaud Halcro meditated the occupation of this vacant morning with aformidable recitation of his own verses, besides telling, at its fulllength, the whole history of his introduction to glorious John Dryden.But fortune relieved the guests of Burgh-Westra from this threatenedinfliction, by sending them means of amusement peculiarly suited totheir taste and habits.
Most of the guests were using their toothpicks, some were beginning totalk of what was to be done next, when, with haste in his step, fire inhis eye, and a harpoon in his hand, Eric Scambester came to announce tothe company, that there was a whale on shore, or nearly so, at thethroat of the voe! Then you might have seen such a joyous, boisterous,and universal bustle, as only the love of sport, so deeply implanted inour nature, can possibly inspire. A set of country squires, about tobeat for the first woodcocks of the season, were a comparison as petty,in respect to the glee, as in regard to the importance of the object;the battue, upon a strong cover in Ettrick Forest, for the destructionof the foxes;(_m_) the insurrection of the sportsmen of the Lennox, whenone of the Duke's deer gets out from Inch-Mirran; nay, the joyous rallyof the fox-chase itself, with all its blithe accompaniments of hound andhorn, fall infinitely short of the animation with which the gallant sonsof Thule set off to encounter the monster, whom the sea had sent fortheir amusement at so opportune a conjuncture.
The multifarious stores of Burgh-Westra were rummaged hastily for allsorts of arms, which could be used on such an occasion. Harpoons,swords, pikes, and halberds, fell to the lot of some; others contentedthemselves with hay-forks, spits, and whatever else could be found, thatwas at once long and sharp. Thus hastily equipped, one division, underthe command of Captain Cleveland, hastened to man the boats which lay inthe little haven, while the rest of the party hurried by land to thescene of action.
Poor Triptolemus was interrupted in a plan, which he, too, had formedagainst the patience of the Zetlanders, and which was to have consistedin a lecture upon the agriculture, and the capabilities of the country,by this sudden hubbub, which put an end at once to Halcro's poetry, andto his no less formidable prose. It may be easily imagined, that he tookvery little interest in the sport which was so suddenly substituted forhis lucubrations, and he would not even have deigned to have looked uponthe active scene which was about to take place, had he not beenstimulated thereunto by the exhortations of Mistress Baby. "Pit yoursellforward, man," said that provident person, "pit yoursell forward--whakens whare a blessing may light?--they say that a' men share and shareequals-aquals in the creature's ulzie, and a pint o't wad be worthsiller, to light the cruise in the lang dark nights that they speak of.Pit yoursell forward, man--there's a graip to ye--faint heart never wanfair lady--wha kens but what, when it's fresh, it may eat weel eneugh,and spare butter?"
What zeal was added to Triptolemus's motions, by the prospect of eatingfresh train-oil, instead of butter, we know not; but, as better mightnot be, he brandished the rural implement (a stable-fork) with which hewas armed, and went down to wage battle with the whale.
The situation in which the enemy's ill fate had placed him, wasparticularly favourable to the enterprise of the islanders. A tide ofunusual height had carried the animal over a large bar of sand, into thevoe or creek in which he was now lying. So soon as he found the waterebbing, he became sensible of his danger, and had made desperate effortsto get over the shallow water, where the waves broke on the bar; buthitherto he had rather injured than mended his condition, having gothimself partly aground, and lying therefore particularly exposed to themeditated attack. At this moment the enemy came down upon him. The frontranks consisted of the young and hardy, armed in the miscellaneousmanner we have described; while, to witness and animate their efforts,the young women, and the elderly persons of both sexes, took their placeamong the rocks, which overhung the scene of action.
As the boats had to double a little headland, ere they opened the mouthof the voe, those who came by land to the shores of the inlet, had timeto make the necessary reconnoissances upon the force and situation ofthe enemy, on whom they were about to commence a simultaneous attack byland and sea.
This duty, the stout-hearted and experienced general, for so the Udallermight be termed, would intrust to no eyes but his own; and, indeed, hisexternal appearance, and his sage conduct, rendered him alike qualifiedfor the command which he enjoyed. His gold-laced hat was exchanged for abearskin cap, his suit of blue broadcloth, with its scarlet lining, andloops, and frogs of bullion, had given place to a red flannel jacket,with buttons of black horn, over which he wore a seal-skin shirtcuriously seamed and plaited on the bosom, such as are used by theEsquimaux, and sometimes by the Greenland whale-fishers. Sea-boots of aformidable size completed his dress, and in his hand he held a largewhaling-knife, which he brandished, as if impatient to employ it in theoperation of _flinching_ the huge animal which lay before them,--thatis, the act of separating its flesh from its bones. Upon closerexamination, however, he was obliged to confess, that the sport to whichhe had conducted his friends, however much it corresponded with themagni
ficent scale of his hospitality, was likely to be attended with itsown peculiar dangers and difficulties.
The animal, upwards of sixty feet in length, was lying perfectly still,in a deep part of the voe into which it had weltered, and where itseemed to await the return of tide, of which it was probably assured byinstinct. A council of experienced harpooners was instantly called, andit was agreed that an effort should be made to noose the tail of thistorpid leviathan, by casting a cable around it, to be made fast byanchors to the shore, and thus to secure against his escape, in case thetide should make before they were able to dispatch him. Three boats weredestined to this delicate piece of service, one of which the Udallerhimself proposed to command, while Cleveland and Mertoun were to directthe two others. This being decided, they sat down on the strand, waitingwith impatience until the naval part of the force should arrive in thevoe. It was during this interval, that Triptolemus Yellowley, aftermeasuring with his eyes the extraordinary size of the whale, observed,that in his poor mind, "A wain with six owsen, or with sixty owseneither, if they were the owsen of the country, could not drag siccan ahuge creature from the water, where it was now lying, to the sea-beach."
Trifling as this remark may seem to the reader, it was connected with asubject which always fired the blood of the old Udaller, who, glancingupon Triptolemus a quick and stern look, asked him what the devil itsignified, supposing a hundred oxen could not drag the whale upon thebeach? Mr. Yellowley, though not much liking the tone with which thequestion was put, felt that his dignity and his profit compelled him toanswer as follows:--"Nay, sir--you know yoursell, Master Magnus Troil,and every one knows that knows any thing, that whales of siccan size asmay not be masterfully dragged on shore by the instrumentality of onewain with six owsen, are the right and property of the Admiral, who isat this time the same noble lord who is, moreover, Chamberlain of theseisles."
"And I tell you, Mr. Triptolemus Yellowley," said the Udaller, "as Iwould tell your master if he were here, that every man who risks hislife to bring that fish ashore, shall have an equal share and partition,according to our ancient and loveable Norse custom and wont; nay, ifthere is so much as a woman looking on, that will but touch the cable,she will be partner with us; ay, and more than all that, if she will butsay there is a reason for it, we will assign a portion to the babe thatis unborn."(_n_)
The strict principle of equity, which dictated this last arrangement,occasioned laughter among the men, and some slight confusion among thewomen. The factor, however, thought it shame to be so easily daunted."_Suum cuique tribuito_," said he; "I will stand for my lord's right andmy own."
"Will you?" replied Magnus; "then, by the Martyr's bones, you shall haveno law of partition but that of God and Saint Olave, which we had beforeeither factor, or treasurer, or chamberlain were heard of!--All shallshare that lend a hand, and never a one else. So you, Master Factor,shall be busy as well as other folk, and think yourself lucky to sharelike other folk. Jump into that boat," (for the boats had by this timepulled round the headland,) "and you, my lads, make way for the factorin the stern-sheets--he shall be the first man this blessed day thatshall strike the fish."
The loud authoritative voice, and the habit of absolute command inferredin the Udaller's whole manner, together with the conscious want offavourers and backers amongst the rest of the company, rendered itdifficult for Triptolemus to evade compliance, although he was thusabout to be placed in a situation equally novel and perilous. He wasstill, however, hesitating, and attempting an explanation, with a voicein which anger was qualified by fear, and both thinly disguised under anattempt to be jocular, and to represent the whole as a jest, when heheard the voice of Baby maundering in his ear,--"Wad he lose his shareof the ulzie, and the lang Zetland winter coming on, when the lightestday in December is not so clear as a moonless night in the Mearns?"
This domestic instigation, in addition to those of fear of the Udaller,and shame to seem less courageous than others, so inflamed theagriculturist's spirits, that he shook his _graip_ aloft, and enteredthe boat with the air of Neptune himself, carrying on high his trident.
The three boats destined for this perilous service, now approached thedark mass, which lay like an islet in the deepest part of the voe, andsuffered them to approach without showing any sign of animation.Silently, and with such precaution as the extreme delicacy of theoperation required, the intrepid adventurers, after the failure of theirfirst attempt, and the expenditure of considerable time, succeeded incasting a cable around the body of the torpid monster, and in carryingthe ends of it ashore, when an hundred hands were instantly employed insecuring them. But ere this was accomplished, the tide began to makefast, and the Udaller informed his assistants, that either the fish mustbe killed, or at least greatly wounded, ere the depth of water on thebar was sufficient to float him; or that he was not unlikely to escapefrom their joint prowess.
"Wherefore," said he, "we must set to work, and the factor shall havethe honour to make the first throw."
The valiant Triptolemus caught the word; and it is necessary to say thatthe patience of the whale, in suffering himself to be noosed withoutresistance, had abated his terrors, and very much lowered the creaturein his opinion. He protested the fish had no more wit, and scarcely moreactivity, than a black snail; and, influenced by this undue contempt ofthe adversary, he waited neither for a further signal, nor a betterweapon, nor a more suitable position, but, rising in his energy, hurledhis graip with all his force against the unfortunate monster. The boatshad not yet retreated from him to the distance necessary to ensuresafety, when this injudicious commencement of the war took place.
Magnus Troil, who had only jested with the factor, and had reserved thelaunching the first spear against the whale to some much more skilfulhand, had just time to exclaim, "Mind yourselves, lads, or we are allswamped!" when the monster, roused at once from inactivity by the blowof the factor's missile, blew, with a noise resembling the explosion ofa steam-engine, a huge shower of water into the air, and at the sametime began to lash the waves with his tail in every direction. The boatin which Magnus presided received the shower of brine which the animalspouted aloft; and the adventurous Triptolemus, who had a full share ofthe immersion, was so much astonished and terrified by the consequencesof his own valorous deed, that he tumbled backwards amongst the feet ofthe people, who, too busy to attend to him, were actively engaged ingetting the boat into shoal water, out of the whale's reach. Here he layfor some minutes, trampled on by the feet of the boatmen, until they layon their oars to bale, when the Udaller ordered them to pull to shore,and land this spare hand, who had commenced the fishing soinauspiciously.
While this was doing, the other boats had also pulled off to saferdistance, and now, from these as well as from the shore, the unfortunatenative of the deep was overwhelmed by all kinds of missiles,--harpoonsand spears flew against him on all sides--guns were fired, and eachvarious means of annoyance plied which could excite him to exhaust hisstrength in useless rage. When the animal found that he was locked in byshallows on all sides, and became sensible, at the same time, of thestrain of the cable on his body, the convulsive efforts which he made toescape, accompanied with sounds resembling deep and loud groans, wouldhave moved the compassion of all but a practised whale-fisher. Therepeated showers which he spouted into the air began now to be mingledwith blood, and the waves which surrounded him assumed the same crimsonappearance. Meantime the attempts of the assailants were redoubled; butMordaunt Mertoun and Cleveland, in particular, exerted themselves to theuttermost, contending who should display most courage in approaching themonster, so tremendous in its agonies, and should inflict the most deepand deadly wounds upon its huge bulk.
The contest seemed at last pretty well over; for although the animalcontinued from time to time to make frantic exertions for liberty, yetits strength appeared so much exhausted, that, even with the assistanceof the tide, which had now risen considerably, it was thought it couldscarcely extricate itself.
Magnus ga
ve the signal to venture nearer to the whale, calling out atthe same time, "Close in, lads, he is not half so mad now--The Factormay look for a winter's oil for the two lamps at Harfra--Pull close in,lads."
Ere his orders could be obeyed, the other two boats had anticipated hispurpose; and Mordaunt Mertoun, eager to distinguish himself aboveCleveland, had, with the whole strength he possessed, plunged ahalf-pike into the body of the animal. But the leviathan, like a nationwhose resources appear totally exhausted by previous losses andcalamities, collected his whole remaining force for an effort, whichproved at once desperate and successful. The wound, last received, hadprobably reached through his external defences of blubber, and attainedsome very sensitive part of the system; for he roared aloud, as he sentto the sky a mingled sheet of brine and blood, and snapping the strongcable like a twig, overset Mertoun's boat with a blow of his tail, shothimself, by a mighty effort, over the bar, upon which the tide had nowrisen considerably, and made out to sea, carrying with him a whole groveof the implements which had been planted in his body, and leaving behindhim, on the waters, a dark red trace of his course.
"There goes to sea your cruise of oil, Master Yellowley," said Magnus,"and you must consume mutton suet, or go to bed in the dark."
"_Operam et oleum perdidi_," muttered Triptolemus; "but if they catch mewhale-fishing again, I will consent that the fish shall swallow me as hedid Jonah."
"But where is Mordaunt Mertoun all this while?" exclaimed Claud Halcro;and it was instantly perceived that the youth, who had been stunned whenhis boat was stove, was unable to swim to shore as the other sailorsdid, and now floated senseless upon the waves.
We have noticed the strange and inhuman prejudice, which rendered theZetlanders of that period unwilling to assist those whom they saw in theact of drowning, though that is the calamity to which the islanders aremost frequently exposed. Three men, however, soared above thissuperstition. The first was Claud Halcro, who threw himself from a smallrock headlong into the waves, forgetting, as he himself afterwardsstated, that he could not swim, and, if possessed of the harp of Arion,had no dolphins in attendance. The first plunge which the poet made indeep water, reminding him of these deficiencies, he was fain to cling tothe rock from which he had dived, and was at length glad to regain theshore, at the expense of a ducking.
Magnus Troil, whose honest heart forgot his late coolness towardsMordaunt, when he saw the youth's danger, would instantly have broughthim more effectual aid, but Eric Scambester held him fast.
"Hout, sir--hout," exclaimed that faithful attendant--"Captain Clevelandhas a grip of Mr. Mordaunt--just let the twa strangers help ilk other,and stand by the upshot. The light of the country is not to be quenchedfor the like of them. Bide still, sir, I say--Bredness Voe is not a bowlof punch, that a man can be fished out of like a toast with a longspoon."
This sage remonstrance would have been altogether lost upon Magnus, hadhe not observed that Cleveland had in fact jumped out of the boat, andswum to Mertoun's assistance, and was keeping him afloat till the boatcame to the aid of both. As soon as the immediate danger which called soloudly for assistance was thus ended, the honest Udaller's desire torender aid terminated also; and recollecting the cause of offence whichhe had, or thought he had, against Mordaunt Mertoun, he shook off hisbutler's hold, and turning round scornfully from the beach, called Erican old fool for supposing that he cared whether the young fellow sank orswam.
Still, however, amid his assumed indifference, Magnus could not helppeeping over the heads of the circle, which, surrounding Mordaunt assoon as he was brought on shore, were charitably employed inendeavouring to recall him to life; and he was not able to attain theappearance of absolute unconcern, until the young man sat up on thebeach, and showed plainly that the accident had been attended with nomaterial consequences. It was then first that, cursing the assistantsfor not giving the lad a glass of brandy, he walked sullenly away, asif totally unconcerned in his fate.
The women, always accurate in observing the telltale emotions of eachother, failed not to remark, that when the sisters of Burgh-Westra sawMordaunt immersed in the waves, Minna grew as pale as death, whileBrenda uttered successive shrieks of terror. But though there were somenods, winks, and hints that auld acquaintance were not easily forgot, itwas, on the whole, candidly admitted, that less than such marks ofinterest could scarce have been expected, when they saw the companion oftheir early youth in the act of perishing before their eyes.
Whatever interest Mordaunt's condition excited while it seemed perilous,began to abate as he recovered himself; and when his senses were fullyrestored, only Claud Halcro, with two or three others, were standing byhim. About ten paces off stood Cleveland--his hair and clothes droppingwater, and his features wearing so peculiar an expression, asimmediately to arrest the attention of Mordaunt. There was a suppressedsmile on his cheek, and a look of pride in his eye, that impliedliberation from a painful restraint, and something resembling gratifiedscorn. Claud Halcro hastened to intimate to Mordaunt, that he owed hislife to Cleveland; and the youth, rising from the ground, and losing allother feelings in those of gratitude, stepped forward with his handstretched out, to offer his warmest thanks to his preserver. But hestopped short in surprise, as Cleveland, retreating a pace or two,folded his arms on his breast, and declined to accept his profferedhand. He drew back in turn, and gazed with astonishment at theungracious manner, and almost insulting look, with which Cleveland, whohad formerly rather expressed a frank cordiality, or at least opennessof bearing, now, after having thus rendered him a most importantservice, chose to receive his thanks.
"It is enough," said Cleveland, observing his surprise, "and it isunnecessary to say more about it. I have paid back my debt, and we arenow equal."
"You are more than equal with me, Captain Cleveland," answered Mertoun,"because you endangered your life to do for me what I did for youwithout the slightest risk;--besides," he added, trying to give thediscourse a more pleasant turn, "I have your rifle-gun to boot."
"Cowards only count danger for any point of the game," said Cleveland."Danger has been my consort for life, and sailed with me on a thousandworse voyages;--and for rifles, I have enough of my own, and you maysee, when you will, which can use them best."
There was something in the tone with which this was said, that struckMordaunt strongly; it was miching malicho, as Hamlet says, and meantmischief. Cleveland saw his surprise, came close up to him, and spoke ina low tone of voice:--"Hark ye, my young brother. There is a customamong us gentlemen of fortune, that when we follow the same chase, andtake the wind out of each other's sails, we think sixty yards of thesea-beach, and a brace of rifles, are no bad way of making our oddseven."
"I do not understand you, Captain Cleveland," said Mordaunt.
"I do not suppose you do,--I did not suppose you would," said theCaptain; and, turning on his heel, with a smile that resembled a sneer,Mordaunt saw him mingle with the guests, and very soon beheld him atthe side of Minna, who was talking to him with animated features, thatseemed to thank him for his gallant and generous conduct.
"If it were not for Brenda," thought Mordaunt, "I almost wish he hadleft me in the voe, for no one seems to care whether I am alive ordead.--Two rifles and sixty yards of sea-beach--is that what he pointsat?--It may come,--but not on the day he has saved my life with risk ofhis own."
While he was thus musing, Eric Scambester was whispering to Halcro, "Ifthese two lads do not do each other a mischief, there is no faith infreits. Master Mordaunt saves Cleveland,--well.--Cleveland, in requital,has turned all the sunshine of Burgh-Westra to his own side of thehouse; and think what it is to lose favour in such a house as this,where the punch-kettle is never allowed to cool! Well, now thatCleveland in his turn has been such a fool as to fish Mordaunt out ofthe voe, see if he does not give him sour sillocks for stock-fish."
"Pshaw, pshaw!" replied the poet, "that is all old women's fancies, myfriend Eric; for what says glorious Dryden--sainted John,--
'The
yellow gall that in your bosom floats, Engenders all these melancholy thoughts.'"
"Saint John, or Saint James either, may be mistaken in the matter," saidEric; "for I think neither of them lived in Zetland. I only say, that ifthere is faith in old saws, these two lads will do each other amischief; and if they do, I trust it will light on Mordaunt Mertoun."
"And why, Eric Scambester," said Halcro, hastily and angrily, "shouldyou wish ill to that poor young man, that is worth fifty of the other?"
"Let every one roose the ford as he finds it," replied Eric; "MasterMordaunt is all for wan water, like his old dog-fish of a father; nowCaptain Cleveland, d'ye see, takes his glass, like an honest fellow anda gentleman."
"Rightly reasoned, and in thine own division," said Halcro; and breakingoff their conversation, took his way back to Burgh-Westra, to which theguests of Magnus were now returning, discussing as they went, with muchanimation, the various incidents of their attack upon the whale, and nota little scandalized that it should have baffled all their exertions.
"I hope Captain Donderdrecht of the Eintracht of Rotterdam will neverhear of it," said Magnus; "he would swear, donner and blitzen, we wereonly fit to fish flounders."[46]
FOOTNOTES:
[46] The contest about the whale will remind the poetical reader ofWaller's Battle of the Summer Islands.
