Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 Part 21

He parted with his little ones beneath that tulip-tree; His boy was by his father's side, his darling on his knee.

'Heaven bless thee, little Emma; night and morning you must pray To Him on high, who'll shield thee, love, when I am far away.

Nay, weep not!--if He wills it, I shall soon be back from sea; Then how we'll laugh, and romp, and dance around the tulip-tree!

3.

'Heaven bless thee, too, my gallant boy! The G.o.d who rules the main Can only tell if you and I shall ever meet again.

If I perish on the ocean-wave, when I am dead and gone You'll be left with little Emma in a heartless world alone: Your home must be her home, my boy, whenever you're a man; You must love her, you must guard her, as a brother only can.

4.

'There's no such thing as fear, my boy, to those who trust on high; But to part with all we prize on earth brings moisture to the eye.

There's a grave in Ilam Church-yard, there's a rose-tree marks that grave; 'Tis thy mother's: go and pray there when I'm sailing o'er the wave.

Think, too, sometimes of thy father, when thou kneel'st upon that sod, How he lived but for his children, for his country, and his G.o.d.'

5.

Farewell, farewell, thou gallant ship! thy course will soon be o'er; There are mournful hearts on board thee, there are breaking hearts on sh.o.r.e.

The mother mourned her sailor boy, the maiden mourned her love; And one, on deck, was musing on a cottage, near the Dove: But his features were unmoved, as if all feeling lay congealed; They little knew how soft a heart that manly form concealed.

6.

Beware, beware, thou gallant ship! there's many a rock ahead, And the mist is mantling round thee, like a shroud around the dead.

The listless crew lay idly grouped, and idly flapped the sail, And the sea-bird pierced the vapour with a melancholy wail.

So hushed the scene, they little deemed that danger was at hand, Till they heard the distant breakers as they rolled upon the strand.

7.

The winds were roused, the mist cleared off, the mighty tempest rose, And cheeks were blanched that never yet had paled before their foes: For the waves that heaved beneath them bore them headlong to the rock, And face to face with death they stood, in terror of the shock.

A crash was heard--the ocean yawned--then foamed upon the deck, And the gallant Drake, dismasted, on the waters lay a wreck!

8.

On that rock they've found a refuge; but the waves that dash its side They know, must sweep them from it at the flowing of the tide.

With the giant crags before them, and the boiling surge between, There was one alone stood dauntless midst the horrors of the scene.

They watched the waters rising, each with aspect of dismay; They looked upon their fearless chief, and terror pa.s.sed away.

9.

There's a gallant seaman battling with the perils of the main; They saw the waves o'erwhelm him thrice, but thrice he rose again.

He bears a rope around him that may link them with the beach: One struggle more, thou valiant man! the sh.o.r.e's within thy reach.

Now blest be He who rules on high; though some may die tonight, There are more will live to brave again the tempest and the fight.

10.

They gathered round their gallant chief, they urged him to descend, For they loved him as their father, and he loved them as a friend.

'Nay, go ye first, my faithful crew; to love is to obey,-- 'Gainst the cutla.s.s or the cannon would I gladly lead the way; But I stir not hence till all are safe, since danger's in the rear; While I live, I claim obedience; if I die, I ask a tear.'

11.

With a smile to cheer the timid, and a hand to help the weak, There was firmness in his accents, there was hope upon his cheek.

A hundred men are safe on sh.o.r.e, but one is left behind; There's a shriek is mingling wildly with the wailing of the wind.

The rope has snapped! Almighty G.o.d! the n.o.ble and the brave Is left alone to perish at the flowing of the wave.

12.

'Midst the foaming of the breakers and the howling of the storm, 'Midst the crashing of the timbers, stood a solitary form; He thought upon his distant home, then raised his look on high, And thought upon another home--a home beyond the sky.

Sublimer than the elements, his spirit was at rest, And calm as if his little one was nestling on his breast.

13.

In agony they watched him, as each feature grew elate, As with folded arms and fearless mien lie waited for his fate; Now seen above the breakers, and now hidden by the spray, As stealthily, yet surely, heaved the ocean to its prey.

A fiercer wave rolled onward with the wild gust in its wale, And lifeless on the billows lay the Captain of the Drake.

J. HENEAGE JESSE.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] Marshall's _Naval Biography_.

FURY.

In the year 1824, notwithstanding the repeated failures which had attended the expeditions to the Polar Seas, the British government determined to make another attempt to discover a pa.s.sage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; for this purpose Captain, now Sir Edward Parry was appointed to the command of the Hecla, and a second vessel was commissioned by Captain Hoppner, who was directed to put himself under the orders of the beforenamed officer.

The vessels being fully equipped and furnished with provisions and stores for two years, sailed from England on the 16th of May. Their progress had been unexpectedly slow, from the quant.i.ty and magnitude of the ice, which had kept the people constantly employed in heaving, warping, or sawing through it, so that they did not arrive at the entrance of Lancaster Sound until nearly the middle of September.

There was no doubt that the more than ordinary difficulties which they encountered in crossing the barrier of ice in Baffin's Bay was owing to a season of very unusual severity; indeed, Captain Parry was of opinion, that but for Phillips's capstan, the Hecla and Fury would have been obliged to winter in the middle of Baffin's Bay.

The season was now too far advanced to give any hopes of the ships being able to penetrate to the westward, according to their instructions, during the present year; Captain Parry determined, therefore, to push on as far as the present season would permit, and devote the whole of the next summer to the fulfilment of the object of the expedition.

It is not our intention to enter into a detailed description of the many difficulties which they met in their pa.s.sage; it is enough to say that their toils were incessant, and nothing but the most unwearied vigilance and perseverance could have prevented the ships being materially damaged by the enormous pressure of the ice.

Both officers and men were constantly employed, one time in getting out the boats to tow or cut through the ice, at another, at what is termed 'sallying,' or causing the ship to roll, by the men running in a body from side to side, so as to relieve her from the adhesion and friction of the young ice. It sometimes happened, also, that their labour was in vain; for during the night a westerly wind would spring up, and that, combined with a strong current, would drive the vessels several leagues to eastward, thus compelling them to recommence their work over again.

On the 27th of September they found themselves in a tolerably open sea, and a.s.sisted by a fine working breeze they reached Port Bowen, in Regent's Inlet. Here Captain Parry determined to make his winter harbour, being convinced that it would be safer to remain there, than run the risk of any further attempt at navigation during the present year.

'To those who read,' writes Sir Edward Parry, 'as well as those who describe, the account of a winter pa.s.sed in these regions can no longer be expected to afford the interest of novelty it once possessed; more especially in a station already delineated with tolerable geographical precision on our maps, and thus, as it were, brought near to our firesides at home.'

Here it may be perhaps asked, why tell a thrice-told tale?--why go over ground that has been so often trod before? The answer is, we are not only writing for the information of the general reader, but also for the seaman, in the hope that these examples may afford encouragement to him, if ever thrown under similar circ.u.mstances to those which befel the crews of the Hecla and Fury.

In a short time, the ships became embedded in ice, and in this remote part of the globe were they destined to remain, in all probability, for nine months, during the greater part of which they would not see the light of the sun.

To the seaman, whose happiness is dependent upon a life of excitement and adventure, such a change must be almost insupportable. As far as the eye could reach, nothing was to be seen but trackless wilds of snow; an awful stillness reigned around; even the indigenous animals had for a time fled; and out of his ship, which is the world to him, not a living creature breathed in this dreary desert. In order to procure occupation and amus.e.m.e.nt for the men, it was necessary to hit upon some expedient to keep their spirits from flagging. This was found, by a proposal from Captain Hoppner, that they should attempt a masquerade, in which both officers and men should join. The happy thought was at once seized upon, the ship's tailor was placed in requisition, admirably dressed characters were enacted, and mirth and merriment rang through the decks of the Hecla. These reunions took place once a month, alternately on board each ship, and not one instance is related of anything occurring which could interfere with the regular discipline of the ship, or at all weaken the respect of the men towards their superiors. But an occupation which was of benefit as much to the mind as to the body, was found in the establishment of a school on board each of the ships. These were superintended by Mr. Hooper, in the Hecla, and Mr. Mogg, in the Fury.

The men gladly seized this opportunity of instruction which was afforded them, and in many a long winter evening the lower deck was made a scene of rational employment, which was not only a lasting benefit to themselves, but a.s.sisted materially in pa.s.sing away the time, which otherwise would have hung heavily on their hands.