Peter Simple Part 50

"What were the expressions made use of?"

"I said that a spy captain would always find spy followers."

"In that remark, were you and Mr Simple referring to your own captain?"

"The remark was mine: what Mr Simple was thinking of I can't tell; but I _did_ refer to the captain, and he has proved that I was right."

This bold answer of Swinburne's rather astonished the court, who commenced cross-questioning him; but he kept to his original a.s.sertion-- that I had only answered generally.

To repel the second charge, I produced two witnesses. But to the third charge I brought forward three witnesses, to prove that Captain Hawkins'

orders were, that I should send no boats on sh.o.r.e--not that I should not send them on board of the men-of-war close to us.

In answer to the fourth charge, I called Swinburne, who stated that if I did not, he would come forward. Swinburne acknowledged that he accused the captain of being shy, and that I reprimanded him for so doing.

"Did he say that he would report you?" inquired one of the captains.

"No, sir," replied Swinburne, "'cause he never meant to do it."

This was an unfortunate answer.

To the fifth charge, I brought several witnesses to prove the words of Captain Hawkins, and the sense in which they were taken by the ship's company, and the men calling out "Shame!" when he used the expression.

To refute the other charges I called one or two witnesses, and the court then adjourned, inquiring of me when I would be ready to commence my defence. I requested a day to prepare, which was readily granted; and the ensuing day the court did not sit. I hardly need say that I was busily employed arranging my defence with my counsel. At last all was done, and I went to bed tired and unhappy; but I slept soundly, which could not be said of my counsel, for he went on sh.o.r.e at eleven o'clock, and sat up all night, arranging and making a fair copy.

After all, the fairest court of justice is a naval court-martial--no brow-beating of witnesses, an evident inclination towards the prisoner-- every allowance and every favour granted him, and no legal quibbles attended to. It is a court of equity, with very few exceptions; and the humbler the individual, the greater the chance in his favour.

I was awoke the following morning by my counsel, who had not gone to bed the previous night, and who had come off at seven o'clock to read over with me my defence. At nine o'clock I again proceeded on board, and, in a short time, the court was sitting. I came in, handed my defence to the judge-advocate, who read it aloud to the court. I have a copy still by me, and will give the whole of it to the reader.

"MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN,--After nearly fourteen years service in His Majesty's navy, during which I have been twice made prisoner, twice wounded, and once wrecked; and, as I trust I shall prove to you, by certificates and the public despatches, I have done my duty with zeal and honour--I now find myself in a situation in which I never expected to be placed--that of being arraigned before and brought to a court-martial for charges of mutiny, disaffection, and disrespect towards my superior officer. If the honourable court will examine the certificates I am about to produce, they will find that, until I sailed with Captain Hawkins, my conduct has always been supposed to have been diametrically opposite to that which is now imputed to me.

I have always been diligent and obedient to command; and I have only to regret that the captains, with whom I have had the honour to sail, are not now present to corroborate, by their oral evidence, the truth of these doc.u.ments. Allow me, in the first place, to point out to the court, that the charges against me are spread over a large s.p.a.ce of time, amounting to nearly eighteen months, during the whole of which period, Captain Hawkins never stated to me that it was his intention to try me by a court-martial; and, although repeatedly in the presence of a senior officer, has never preferred any charge against me. The articles of war state expressly, that if any officer, soldier or marine, has any complaint to make, he is to do so upon his arrival at any port or fleet, where he may fall in with a superior officer. I admit that this article of war refers to complaints to be made by inferiors against superiors; but, at the same time, I venture to submit to the honourable court, that a superior is equally bound to prefer a charge, or to give notice that that charge will be preferred, on the first seasonable opportunity, instead of lulling the offender into security, and disarming him in his defence, by allowing the time to run on so long as to render him incapable of bringing forward his witnesses. I take the liberty of calling this to your attention, and shall now proceed to answer the charges which have been brought against me.

"I am accused of having held a conversation with an inferior officer on the quarter-deck of His Majesty's brig _Rattlesnake_, in which my captain was treated with contempt. That it may not be supposed that Mr Swinburne was a new acquaintance, made upon my joining the brig, I must observe, that he was an old shipmate, with whom I had served many years, and with whose worth I was well acquainted. He was my instructor in my more youthful days, and has been rewarded for his merit, with the warrant which he now holds as gunner of His Majesty's brig; _Rattlesnake_. The offensive observation, in the first place was not mine; and, in the second, it was couched in general terms.

Here Mr Swinburne has pointedly confessed that _he_ did refer to the captain, although the observation was in the plural; but that does not prove the charge against me--on the contrary, adds weight to the a.s.sertion of Mr Swinburne, that I was guiltless of the present charge. That Captain Hawkins had acted as a spy, his own evidence on this charge, as well as that brought forward by other witnesses, will decidedly prove; but as the truth of the observation does not warrant its utterance, I am glad that no such expression escaped my lips.

"Upon the second charge I shall dwell but a short time. It is true that there is a general order that no stoves shall be alight after a certain hour; but I will appeal to the honourable court, whether a first lieutenant is not considered to have a degree of licence of judgment in all that concerns the interior discipline of the ship.

The surgeon sent to say that a stove was required for one of the sick.

I was in bed at the time, and replied immediately in the affirmative.

Does Captain Hawkins mean to a.s.sert to the honourable court, that he would have refused the request of the surgeon? Most certainly not.

The only error I committed, if it were an error, was not going through the form, of awaking Captain Hawkins, to ask the permission, which, as first lieutenant, I thought myself authorised to give.

"The charge against me, of having sent away two boats, contrary to his order, I have already disproved by witnesses. The order of Captain Hawkins was, not to communicate with the sh.o.r.e. My reasons for sending away the boats--"

Here Captain Hawkins interposed, and stated to the president that my reasons were not necessary to be received. The court was cleared, and, on our return, the court had decided that my reasons ought to be given, and I continued.

"My reasons for sending away these boats, or rather it was one boat which was despatched to the two frigates, if I remember well, were, that the brig was in a state of mutiny. The captain had tied up one of the men, and the ship's company refused to be flogged. Captain Hawkins then went on sh.o.r.e to the admiral, to report the situation of his ship, and I conceived it my duty to make it known to the men-of-war anch.o.r.ed close to us. I shall not enter into further particulars, as they will only detain the honourable court; and I am aware that this court-martial is held upon my conduct, and not upon that of Captain Hawkins. To the charge of again holding disrespectful language on the quarter-deck, as overheard by Captain Hawkins, I must refer the honourable court to the evidence, in which it is plainly proved that the remarks upon him were not mine, but those of Mr Swinburne, and that I remonstrated with Mr Swinburne for using such unguarded expressions. The only point of difficulty is, whether it was not my duty to have reported such language. I reply, that there is no proof that I did not intend to report it; but the presence of Captain Hawkins, who heard what was said, rendered such report unnecessary.

"On the fifth charge, I must beg that the court will be pleased to consider that some allowance ought to be made for a moment of irritation. My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins, supposing that I was dead; so much so, that even the ship's company cried out _shame_. I am aware that no language of a superior officer can warrant a retort from an inferior; but, as what I intended to imply by that language is not yet known, although Captain Hawkins has given an explanation to his; I shall merely say, that I meant no more by my insinuations, than Captain Hawkins did at the time by those which he made use of with respect to me.

"Upon the other trifling charges brought forward, I lay no stress, as I consider them fully refuted by the evidence which has been already adduced; and I shall merely observe, that, for reasons best known to himself, I have been met with a most decided hostility on the part of Captain Hawkins, from the time that he first joined the ship; that, on every occasion, he has used all his efforts to render me uncomfortable, and embroil me with others; that, not content with narrowly watching my conduct on board, he has resorted to his spy-gla.s.s from the sh.o.r.e; and, instead of a.s.sisting me in the execution of a duty sufficiently arduous, he has thrown every obstacle in my way, placed inferior officers as spies over my conduct, and made me feel so humiliated in the presence of the ship's company, over which I have had to superintend, and in the disciplining of which I had a right to look to him for support, that, were it not that some odium would necessarily be attached to the sentence, I should feel it as one of the happiest events of my life that I were dismissed from the situation which I now hold under his command. I now beg that the honourable court will allow the doc.u.ments I lay upon the table to be read in support of my character."

When this was over, the court was cleared, that they might decide upon the sentence. I waited about half-an-hour in the greatest anxiety, when I was again summoned to attend. The usual forms of reading the papers were gone through, and then came the sentence, which was read by the president, he and the whole court standing up with their c.o.c.ked hats on their heads. After the preamble, it concluded with saying; "that it was the opinion of that court that the charges had been _partly_ proved, and therefore, that Lieutenant Peter Simple was dismissed his ship; but, in consideration of his good character and services, his case was strongly recommended to the consideration of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty."

CHAPTER SIXTY THREE.

PETER LOOKS UPON HIS LOSS AS SOMETHING GAINED--GOES ON BOARD THE "Rattlesnake" TO PACK UP, AND IS ORDERED TO PACK OFF--POLITE LEAVE-TAKING BETWEEN RELATIONS--MRS. TROTTER BETTER AND BETTER--GOES TO LONDON, AND AFTERWARDS FALLS INTO ALL MANNER OF MISFORTUNES BY THE HANDS OF ROBBERS, AND OF HIS OWN UNCLE.

I hardly knew whether I felt glad or sorry at this sentence. On the one hand, it was almost a death-blow to my future advancement or employment in the service; on the other, the recommendation very much softened down the sentence, and I was quite happy to be quit of Captain Hawkins, and free to hasten to my poor sister. I bowed respectfully to the court, which immediately adjourned. Captain Hawkins followed the captains on the quarter-deck, but none of them would speak to him--so much to his disadvantage had come out during the trial.

About ten minutes afterwards, one of the elder captains composing the court called me into the cabin. "Mr Simple," said he, "we are all very sorry for you. Our sentence could not be more lenient, under the circ.u.mstances: it was that conversation with the gunner at the taffrail which floored you. It must be a warning to you to be more careful in future, how you permit any one to speak of the conduct of your superiors on the quarter-deck. I am desired by the president to let you know, that it is our intention to express ourselves very strongly to the admiral in your behalf; so much so, that if another captain applies for you, you will have no difficulty in being appointed to a ship; and as for leaving your present ship, under any other circ.u.mstances, I should consider it a matter of congratulation."

I returned my sincere thanks, and soon afterwards quitted the guardship, and went on board of the brig to pack up my clothes, and take leave of my messmates. On my arrival, I found that Captain Hawkins had preceded me, and he was on deck when I came up the side. I hastened down into the gun-room, where I received the condolements of my messmates.

"Simple, I wish you joy," cried Thompson, loud enough for the captain to hear on deck. "I wish I had your luck; I wish somebody would try me by a court-martial."

"As it has turned out," replied I, in a loud voice, "and after the communication made to me by the captains composing the court, of what they intend to say to the Admiralty, I agree with you, Thompson, that it is a very kind act on the part of Captain Hawkins, and I feel quite grateful to him."

"Steward, come--gla.s.ses," cried Thompson, "and let us drink success to Mr Simple."

All this was very annoying to Captain Hawkins, who overheard every word.

When our gla.s.ses were filled--"Simple, your good health, and may I meet with as good a messmate," said Thompson.

At this moment, the sergeant of marines put his head in at the gun-room door, and said, in a most insolent tone, that I was to leave the ship immediately. I was so irritated, that I threw my gla.s.s of grog in his face, and he ran up to the captain to make the complaint: but I did not belong to the ship, and even if I had, I would have resented such impertinence.

Captain Hawkins was in a great rage, and I believe would have written for another court-martial, but he had had enough of them. He inquired very particularly of the sergeant whether he had told me that I was to leave the ship directly, or whether that Captain Hawkins desired that I should leave the ship immediately; and finding that he had not given the latter message (which I was aware of, for had he given it, I dare not have acted as I did), he then sent down again by one of the midshipmen, desiring me to leave the ship immediately. My reply was, that I should certainly obey his orders with the greatest pleasure. I hastened to pack up my clothes, reported myself ready to the second lieutenant, who went up for permission to man a boat, which was refused by Captain Hawkins, who said I might go on sh.o.r.e in a sh.o.r.e-boat. I called one alongside, shook hands with all my messmates, and when I arrived on the quarter-deck, with Swinburne, and some of the best men, who came forward, Captain Hawkins stood by the binnacle, bursting with rage. As I went over the planeshear, I took my hat off to him, and wished him good morning very respectfully, adding, "If you have any commands for my _uncle_, Captain Hawkins, I shall be glad to execute them."

This observation, which showed him that I knew the connection and correspondence between them, made him gasp with emotion. "Leave the ship, sir, or by G.o.d I'll put you in irons for mutiny," cried he. I again took off my hat, and went down the side, and shoved off.

As soon as I was a few yards distant, the men jumped on the carronade, and cheered, and I perceived Captain Hawkins order them down, and before I was a cable's length from her, the pipe "All hands to punishment;" so I presume some of the poor fellows suffered for their insubordination in showing their good-will. I acknowledge that I might have left the ship in a more dignified manner, and that my conduct was not altogether correct; but still, I state what I really did do, and some allowance must be made for my feelings. This is certain, that my conduct after the court-martial was more deserving of punishment than that for which I had been tried: but I was in a state of feverish excitement, and hardly knew what I did.

When I arrived at Sally Port, I had my effects wheeled up to the Blue Posts, and packing up those which I most required, I threw off my uniform, and was once more a gentleman at large. I took my place in the mail for that evening, sent a letter of thanks, with a few bank notes, to my counsel, and then sat down and wrote a long letter to O'Brien, acquainting him with the events which had taken place.

I had just finished, and sealed it up, when in came Mrs Trotter. "O my dear Mr Simple! I'm so sorry; and I have come to console you. There's nothing like women when men are in affliction, as poor Trotter used to say, as he laid his head in my lap. When do you go to town?"

"This evening, Mrs Trotter."

"I hope I am to continue to attend the ship?"

"I hope so, too, Mrs Trotter; I have no doubt but you will."

"Now, Mr Simple, how are you off for money? Do you want a little? You can pay me by-and-bye. Don't be afraid: I am not quite so poor as I was when you came down to mess with Trotter and me, and when you gave me a dozen pairs of stockings. I know what it is to want money, and what it is to want friends."

"Many thanks to you, Mrs Trotter," replied I; "but I have sufficient to take me home, and then I can obtain more."

"Well, I'm glad of it, but it was offered in earnest. Good-bye, G.o.d bless you! Come, Mr Simple, give me a kiss; it won't be the first time."

I kissed her, for I felt grateful for her kindness; and with a little smirking and ogling she quitted the room. I could not help thinking, after she was gone, how little we know the hearts of others. If I had been asked if Mrs Trotter was a person to have done a generous action, from what I had seen of her in adversity, I should have decidedly said, No. Yet in this offer she was disinterested, for she knew the service well enough to be aware that I had little chance of being a first lieutenant again, and of being of service to her. And how often does it also occur, that those who ought, from grat.i.tude or long friendship, to do all they can to a.s.sist you, turn from you in your necessity, and prove false and treacherous! It is G.o.d alone who knows our hearts. I sent my letter to O'Brien to the admiral's office, sat down to a dinner which I could not taste, and at seven o'clock got into the mail. I was very ill; I had a burning fever and a dreadful headache, but I thought only of my sister.