CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
FAREWELL.
When at length I recovered my senses, I found myself in bed, in a small,light, airy room lighted by a couple of windows, the jalousies of whichwere so adjusted as to admit all the air possible, while at the sametime the direct rays of the sun were excluded. The bed upon which I waslying was a tolerably roomy affair for one person, and the linen, thoughsomewhat plain in quality, was fresh and scrupulously clean. The onlyother furniture in the room was a small table, well-stocked withmedicine-phials, etcetera, and a couple of chairs, upon one of which--the one which stood next the head of the bed--sat a man in a whiteflannel shell-jacket and blue military trousers with a stripe of yellowbraid down the seams.
The room in which I found myself was evidently, from the size andposition of the windows--one in the wall at the foot of the bed, and theother in the wall on my left--a corner room in some tolerably extensivebuilding. Looking out between the lattices of the jalousies, which wereadjusted in such a way that I was able to see distinctly the variousobjects outside, I perceived that the building was situated in the midstof a park or grove of magnificent cotton, kennip, and other trees, thebranches of which were swaying and the leaves rustling cheerily in thestrong sea-breeze which rushed through them. The sunlight flashedbrilliantly upon the swaying foliage, and gleamed upon the plumage ofthe bright-winged birds and gaudy butterflies which flitted restlesslyfrom tree to tree; while the long, luxuriant grass in the distance--where I could see it--bowed and undulated beneath the strong breeze likea billowy sea; the background of clear, pure, blue sky beyond completinga picture, the joyous freshness of which seemed almost heavenly to me inmy extreme weakness. The air, too, was full of the chirping of millionsof insects and lizards, the lowing of distant cattle, the bleat ofsheep, the rifle-like crack of waggon-drivers' whips, the voices andlaughter of men close beneath my window, and a multitude of other joyoussounds.
I lay for a long time drinking in with silent ecstasy these glorioussights and sounds which fell so soothingly upon my senses, quiteforgetful of self and my past suffering, and utterly indifferent toeverything but the sensuous pleasure of the moment. Indeed my poor headfelt so light and weak that I seemed almost incapable of the exertion ofthought.
At length I turned my head toward the man in the chair by my bedside.He had a book in his hand, and his body was turned somewhat from me inorder that the light might fall more fully upon the pages.
"Where am I?" I murmured.
The man turned quickly, and rising laid his book upon the chair, facedownward, while he bent over me.
"How do you find yourself now, sir?" he asked.
"I don't know," I replied, scarcely realising the meaning of my ownwords. "Is there anything the matter?"
"You've been very ill, sir, for a long time; but you seem a great dealbetter this morning. If you'll excuse me for a minute, sir, I'll sendfor the doctor."
The man quietly left the room, was absent for a minute or two, and thenas quietly returned.
"Where am I?" I again inquired.
"You're in the military hospital at Up-park camp, sir," he replied."But if you'll excuse me, I think you'd better not talk much just yet;the doctor will be here directly, and he'll tell you all you want toknow."
Some twenty minutes elapsed, and then the door once more opened,admitting a rather tall handsome man dressed entirely in white nankeen,with white canvas shoes on his feet.
He came up to the side of the bed, and, before saying a word, put hiscool fingers upon my pulse. He then laid his hand upon my forehead fora minute or two and upon the top of my head.
"Well, Mr Chester," said he, "how do you feel? You are very muchbetter this morning, are you not?"
"I really don't know," I answered. "I don't feel as though there ismuch the matter with me beyond weakness; my hands seem as though theywere chained down to the bed, and I have very little feeling in mylimbs; but beyond that I don't think there is very much wrong. Isuppose I have been ill, though. What has been the matter with me?"
"Oh! quite a complication of disorders," he returned lightly; "brain-fever among other things. Have you no recollection of falling ill?"
"None whatever," I said. "Stay, though--was it not something to do witha thunder-storm and--um--_what_ was it?"
"There, there; never mind now; it is all over and done with. Don't tryto recall the circumstances just now; your brain is still too weak to bemuch exercised; it will all come back in good time, never fear. Do youfeel at all sleepy?"
"Not so much sleepy as hungry," I replied. "I feel as though I had notyet had my breakfast."
"Neither have you," he returned with a laugh. "The fact is you were notawake at breakfast-time, and Atkins here had strict orders not todisturb you. However, it is not yet too late; I daresay we shall beable to find something for you. I will see to it myself; and when youhave taken your breakfast, just try to get to sleep again. Sleep willnow do you as much good as either food or medicine."
He then retired to the far end of the room, Atkins accompanying him; andafter whispering to his subordinate for a minute, he turned, noddedencouragingly to me, and retired.
When he was gone I endeavoured to get a little information out ofAtkins, the attendant, but he briefly informed me that his orders not totalk to me were imperative, and begged that I would not ask him totransgress them.
In a short time a basin of some kind of light broth, with a little breadcrumbled into it, made its appearance, the whole of which I demolished,and soon afterwards fell into a sound sleep.
I awoke again toward evening; was again visited by the doctor, and oncemore partook of a tolerably substantial basin of broth and bread. Justas the light was fading away, Atkins approached my bedside withsomething in a wine-glass which he invited me to swallow. I drank itoff, made a wry face at its decidedly nauseous flavour, and soonafterwards fell asleep.
The next day passed in a very similar manner, except that I remainedawake longer during the day, and as I lay there enjoying the coolfreshness of the breeze and looking out through the jalousies, therecollection of the events which attended and followed the destructionof the "Juanita" returned to my memory. From this time my progresstoward recovery was rapid, and at the end of a week I was allowed to situp, partially dressed, for an hour or two during the day.
When I had reached this stage I was deemed strong enough to learn thefull particulars of my illness; and I was horrified to find that I hadbeen for nearly eight months completely out of my mind. It seemed thatthe raft had drifted before the wind until--missing Saint Domingoaltogether--it had reached the Windward Channel, where it was fallen inwith by the "Rattler" sloop-of-war; the skipper of which picked us up,and finding that we were still alive took the greatest care of us,cracking on until he reached Port Royal. Hawsepipe and the seaman hadsufficiently recovered by that time to be able to narrate all thecircumstances connected with the loss of the schooner; but I wasdelirious with brain-fever, and the admiral--who was inexpressiblyshocked at the recital of our sufferings--immediately made arrangementsfor my removal to the camp-hospital, that being deemed the spot where Ishould be most likely to recover. I had been nursed and attended therewith the utmost assiduity, and the brain-fever eventually left me; butit left me insane, in which dreadful condition I had remained for nearlyeight months. The brain-fever and the insanity were both attributed--rightly, no doubt--to my frightful sufferings; and no effort had beenspared to secure the restoration of my reason, which, by God's mercy,had at length been achieved. I learned, further, that the "Astarte" wasstill upon the station, but was then at sea, having sailed upon anothercruise a _few_ days only before my recovery. Captain Annesley hadsuffered greatly in mind through the long continuance of my affliction,and had spent hours by my side whenever the frigate happened to be inport, and had directed that no expense should be spared in the endeavourto secure my restoration to sanity.
As soon as I was strong enough to be moved, I was placed in a grassham
mock slung between two poles, and in that easy and agreeable mode oftravelling was conveyed by negroes--who bore me four at a time, whileanother shaded me from the sun's rays with a huge umbrella--to MrFinnie's country house; that most hospitable planter and his wife havinginsisted upon undertaking the task of once more nursing me back tohealth and strength.
I remained with these kind-hearted friends over a month, and in thattime managed to recover to a very great extent all that I had lost; butmy head still remained unpleasantly weak; so that I could neither readnor write for more than half-an-hour a day. Doctor Musgrave, the headphysician, who had looked after me during my long sojourn in the camp-hospital, and who still rode out to see me whenever he could spare thetime--which, however, was not often--at length forbade me to toucheither pen or book for at least six months, assuring me that my completerecovery depended entirely upon my scrupulous compliance with hisinjunctions, and very frequently and strongly urged upon me thedesirability of my returning to England and retiring from the sea for atime. At length, seeing no other prospect of perfect restoration, Iconsented, and began leisurely to make my preparations for departure bythe next packet.
A few days after I had made up my mind upon this point, a ketureenrattled up to the front door of the house, and in another moment CaptainAnnesley rushed headlong and unannounced into the room in which I wasseated chatting with my kind and gentle hostess, and seizing my handbegan to shake it as though he would shake it off.
"Ralph, old man," he ejaculated excitedly, "_how_ are you? Stand up,man, and let me look at you. Ah! there you are; but--you are as thin asa rake, and still rather shaky, apparently. My _dear_ madam, _pray_excuse me; upon my honour I never perceived you until this moment. Itrust you are well, and your esteemed husband, also. Thank God, oldfellow, I see you something like your old self once more."
The skipper rattled on until he was fairly out of breath, and thengradually subsided into his usual quiet and self-possessed manner. The"Astarte," he told me, had arrived the previous day, and he had seizedthe first available moment to run out and see me, the admiral havingacquainted him with the news of my recovery and removal. At the earnestinvitation of my host and hostess he consented to remain over the night,his presence not being very particularly required on board the frigateuntil next day. In the course of the day I told him what Dr Musgravehad advised, and of the decision I had made to follow it.
"Well," said he, "if the doctor advises it, I have no doubt it will bebest for you; still, it is a thousand pities, for I believe, if youcould but hold on a little longer, we should all be able to go hometogether. I fancy it will not be very long before the frigate herselfis ordered home."
He left next morning, after an early breakfast, promising to returnagain in a day or two, when, according to arrangement, I was to go backon board with him for a day and renew my acquaintance with my oldshipmates.
On the day but one following, he reappeared in almost as excited a stateas before.
"Hurrah!" he exclaimed, as he entered the room. "We are ordered toproceed home at once and payoff, so we can all go together. The frigatehas had a very successful time of it while she has been out here; weshall go home with our pockets well lined; and I think I must seize uponthe opportunity which the paying-off of the ship will afford, in orderto get spliced. I should think Florrie will never have the heart tosend me to sea a bachelor again, will she?"
"Upon my word, sir, I don't know," I replied. "Girls are very curiousin their notions sometimes, and occasionally require a great deal ofpersuasion to bring them up to the mark. However, your persuasivepowers seemed to be pretty effective with my sister when you last triedthem upon her; and, as in duty bound, I will of course do all I can topromote my captain's success."
"Ah, you rogue," rejoined he. "You are fast recovering, I see. Thereis not much the matter with a midshipman when he is able to fling a slyjest in the face of his captain. But--midshipman? My dear Ralph, youare no longer such. How _could_ I be so forgetful? Your commission hascome out by the packet which arrived yesterday, and the admiral willhand it you the first time you call upon him. Now let me be the firstto congratulate you, which I do most heartily."
We left the house together in the cool of the evening, driving down tothe wharf in a ketureen which some friend had been ill-advised enough tolend the skipper, who was no great hand at the ribbons, and who narrowlymissed capsizing the concern two or three times during the trip. Thegig was waiting for us; and, jumping in, the sails were set, and we flewdown the boat-channel with a spanking land breeze under the gloriouslight of a full moon.
When we reached the ship, I found that my return on board had been madethe occasion of a regular jollification; the skipper having invited thewhole of the quarter-deck officers to meet me in the cabin at a latedinner and wet my commission.
All the old faces were there, I was glad to see, including even that ofCaptain Flinn, whose ship, the "Artemise," happened to be in port at thetime, and little Fisher, who had recovered in a most marvellous mannerfrom his dreadful wounds. There was a great deal of yarn-spinning, somecapital singing, and a great deal of wine-drinking, too, on the part ofone or two of the guests, notwithstanding which latter drawback we spenta very pleasant evening.
On the following morning I waited upon the admiral and received mycommission, the presentation of which he saw fit to accompany with a fewcomplimentary as well as congratulatory remarks; and in the afternoon Idrove out to Hurstleigh, as Mr Finnie had named his place, for thepurpose of packing up my few traps and bidding my kindest of friendsfarewell. I remained there that night, joining the ship about twelveo'clock next day.
Two days afterwards we sailed from Port Royal, about five o'clock a.m.,and after a long but uneventful passage arrived safely home. Weanchored at Spithead on the night of our arrival, and next day the shipwas taken into harbour and paid off.
When all was done, it was too late for a start for home that night; sothe skipper--who had no relations belonging to him, and thereforeintended to visit his dearie before going anywhere else--and I put up atthe "George," starting the first thing after breakfast next morning.
I shall not attempt to describe the joy which our unexpected arrivalproduced; suffice it to say that the whole household, not excluding evenmy reverend father and my revered mother, behaved as though they hadsuddenly taken leave of their senses; and it was not until towardevening that anything approaching to calm settled down upon the party.
Then, of course, I had to tell the story of my voyage upon the raft, andof the incidents which followed it; a mere outline only having beenwritten home by the skipper, the circumstance of my insanity beingaltogether suppressed; and then, equally as a matter of course, therewere tears and murmured expressions of tender pity and so on, all ofwhich can be a great deal better imagined than described.
Captain Annesley remained with us three days, at the end of which, aftera hotly-contested action, Florrie hauled down her colours, and agreedthat the wedding should take place on that day month. Then my uncle--orgreat-uncle rather--Sir Peregrine, came down to see me, our familyphysician expressing a decided opinion that the noise and bustle of townwould be injurious to me, and I had to fight all my battles over againfor his benefit.
Then, as soon as they could be got together, an army of dressmakers andmilliners was brought into the house, and Sir Peregrine and I weredriven by them from room to room, until at length we were driven out ofthe house altogether; the building being, almost from basement to roof-tree, crowded with silks, muslins, ribbons, flowers, and every otherimaginable species of frippery affected by the gentler sex.
And very soon the wedding presents began to pour in; the carrier's cartrumbling up to the rectory door daily and discharging parcels andpackets, hampers, cases, crates, and goodness knows what; so that atlength I began to dream at night that the rectory was an Indiaman takingin cargo, and that there was not stowage for it all.
Then Sir Peregrine rushed off to town early one morning, witho
utacquainting anybody with his intention, returning on the day but onefollowing with his pockets crammed full of small parcels, which heconveyed with much secrecy up to his own room.
It was then my turn; and accordingly away I went in the same unexpectedmanner--surprises and secrecy appearing to be the order of the day justthen,--returning home in due time with my humble offering to theblooming bride.
At length the eventful week arrived in which the wedding was to takeplace; and from early on the Monday morning--the wedding was fixed forWednesday--all the young girls of the village seemed to have becomepossessed with the idea that our garden was public property, and passedin and out, helping themselves with the utmost _sang-froid_ to what fewearly spring flowers there were, and as much greenery as they couldcarry--no one saying them nay. And I could not help noticing, as asomewhat unusual circumstance, that whenever I passed the noble oldchurch its doors were sure to be open, and somebody passing in or out.
Tuesday evening came, and with it came the impatient bridegroom. Therectory was by that time turned upside-down, inside-out, and goodnessknows what else in the shape of confusion; so that, in sheerdesperation, Sir Peregrine and I were at last driven to betake ourselvesand poor Annesley--who had almost to be carried off by force, he havinghad no opportunity for anything more than a hasty word or two withFlorrie--to the snug little inn where the skipper was to find quartersthat night. My father looked longingly after us, as we retreatedthrough the front door, but, poor man, he was a prisoner with hardlabour that night, and there was no escape for him.
By daybreak next morning the whole house was astir, and, oh! the babelof sound and confusion that reigned therein. I was to act the part ofbest man, and, as far as I could understand it, my principal duty seemedto be to fix myself to the groom like a sucking-fish, and never allowhim to have a moment to himself, or the slightest particle of peace. Hewas more excited than I had ever before seen him, and between us we madesuch a flusteration in that otherwise quiet little hostelry as I imagineits inmates will never forget. It was arranged that we should breakfasttogether and afterwards go in the same carriage--a distance of two orthree cable's lengths at most--to church; and I have no reason to doubtthat we carried out the arrangement; but neither of us is to this dayprepared to swear, from our own recollection, that we did so.
At length, however, we found ourselves somehow walking up the centreaisle of the church, without well knowing how we got there. The grandold fane was transmogrified into something between a forest and aflower-garden, and I then began, for the first time, to surmise whereall our shrubs and flowers had betaken themselves; every pew was closelypacked with quiet, well-dressed people; and the organ was pealing forthsome grand old masterpiece which filled the church with melody.
My father, in his robe as D.D., with his curate at hand to assist, stoodwithin the altar-railing in readiness to commence the ceremony; while--but avast! what nautical pen can hope to adequately describe a wedding,with its blushing bride, its blooming bridesmaids, its flowers and tearsand kisses and congratulations, and all the rest of it? Suffice it tosay that Florrie looked lovely, that Annesley--after his firstflusteration was over--never looked more quiet, self-possessed, andhandsome than he did that morning; and that everybody pronounced it tobe "a sweetly pretty wedding;" and there you have all I can tell youabout it.
The register signed, we weighed in succession, and all trundled home tothe rectory, Annesley with his prize leading the van. And then therewas, of course, the breakfast--of which I, for one, ate very little--andthe speechifying afterwards, and what not; and then the happy coupleretired for a time, appearing again in travelling attire; then there wasthe half-laughing, half-tearful "good-bye," the descent of all hands ina body to the door, where Annesley's handsome travelling-carriage andfour stood in readiness; then more good-byes; and finally the departure,in the midst of a perfect storm of cheers and old shoes--all in regularorder. After which the guests seemed to feel more at ease, and we endedall by having a regular jollification.
The next few days were devoted to a general clearing up of the wreck andgetting things back into their proper places again, after which thehouse settled down once more into its wonted peace and quietness, prettymuch as though--except for the absence of one fair face from the familytable--such things as weddings were unknown.
And now, dear reader, my tale is told--my yarn is spun; and I havefinished off in the orthodox form with a wedding, which seems to be theinevitable and only correct way in which a story can be brought to asymmetrical conclusion. Nothing remains but to say Farewell, which,believe me, I do with reluctance, sincerely hoping that an opportunitymay yet occur for us to renew our acquaintance. *Farewell*.
THE END.
Under the Meteor Flag: Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War Page 29
