Under the Meteor Flag Part 6

I was alongside the "Juno" with my cargo, just in time to get it hoisted out before the men went to dinner. Mr Annesley met me at the gangway, as I climbed up the side, and asked me how I had got on, and what sort of stuff I had brought with me? I related my morning's adventures, and told him how Captain Brisac had helped me out of my difficulty with the dockyard storekeepers, winding up by calling his attention to the quality of the rope, which was just then being hoisted in.

"Capital!" he exclaimed; "nothing could be better. This is by far the best we have ever had served out to us; it is of first-rate quality, as every inch of rope served out to the navy should be. One can trust to this upon a pinch, without much fear of being disappointed. I am very much obliged to you, Mr Chester, for the way in which you have executed your first duty on board here. I hope you will discharge all your duties equally well; and if you do, I feel sure we shall get on capitally together. I believe I have rather a reputation for strictness and severity, but no one who strives to do his duty well will find me either strict or severe. But are you the Mr Chester who was with Captain Brisac in the 'Scourge' during his last cruise?"

I replied simply that I was.

"Upon my word, young gentleman, I am glad to hear it," said Mr Annesley; "for I shall have the satisfaction of knowing that I have at least _one_ midshipman of promise under me, whatever the rest may be.

Now come down into the gun-room, and get something to eat; we are the only officers on board, so I thought it was not worth while to lay out a couple of tables. And while we are eating, you may as well give me an account of your action with, the French frigate, which, by the way, has, I see, been purchased into our own navy, and given to Captain Brisac."

I, of course, gladly accepted so kind an invitation; and, as we ate, I described as graphically as I could every incident of the action, being frequently interrupted in the course of my narrative by questions which showed how keenly interested my interrogator was in every detail, particularly those relating to the handling of the two ships.

"Thank you, Mr Chester," said Mr Annesley, when I had finished; "you have interested me much, and instructed me somewhat, also: one or two of the evolutions which you have so clearly described were very cleverly conceived, and as boldly carried out. I hope you will remember then, as most certainly _I_ shall, it is knowledge of this kind which is so pre- eminently useful to a naval officer. Courage is of course an indispensable quality in every one who has to fight his Majesty's battles, whether on sea or land; but the ability to manoeuvre a ship in the heat of battle, so as to place her in the most advantageous situation with regard to her antagonist, is of fully equal importance; and without the knowledge necessary to effect this, the most conspicuous courage, both of officers and crew, may become of no avail. Remember this, my lad, and lose no opportunity for perfecting yourself in the science of practical seamanship. Now let us go on deck again, as I hear the hands have turned to."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

NEW COMRADES.

We were busy the whole of that afternoon, and up until nine o'clock in the evening, the riggers working "overtime," as the admiral was most anxious for us to go to sea at the earliest possible moment; and Mr Annesley, during the time, was all over the ship, taking me with him, and keenly watching the fitting of every spar and piece of rigging, being fully determined that every part of the work should be well and conscientiously done. I thought him unnecessarily particular over what then seemed to me to be trifles; but the time came, when I perceived that no part of the rigging or equipment of a man-o'-war could be justly regarded as of trifling importance.

The work being pushed forward thus energetically, we made rapid progress; and on the day fortnight from my joining the ship, she was all ataunto, with sails bent, stores of every kind, including powder and shot, on board, fully manned, and, in fact, quite ready for sea.

Captain Hood had paid a couple of flying visits to the ship since I had joined her, but I had not seen him, as I happened on both occasions to be away at the dockyard; but on the morning in question he came on board about eleven o'clock--his own gig having been sent on sh.o.r.e for him-- mustered the hands and read his commission, made us a short speech, and then went on sh.o.r.e again, previously giving Mr Annesley instructions to have everything ready for a start by three o'clock that afternoon. As soon, therefore, as the gig had left the ship's side, blue-peter was run up to the fore-royal-mast-head, the fore-topsail was loosed, and everybody not actually belonging to the ship was ordered to be out of her in an hour's time. Then came the men's dinner-time, after which there was a general straightening and clearing up, fore and aft, the boats were hoisted in and secured, and finally the messenger was pa.s.sed, and the anchor hove short-stay-a-peak.

And now, while all hands are supposed to be waiting with suppressed impatience for the appearance of the man who, for a time at least, was to exercise an almost omnipotent influence over the welfare and happiness of our little community, upon whose skill and courage our very lives were frequently to depend, and to whom we all looked up as our future leader in every deed of enterprise or daring, an opportunity occurs for me to say a descriptive word or two concerning the princ.i.p.al individuals with whom I found myself brought into a.s.sociation.

To commence at the top of the tree and work my way downwards--Captain Hood was, when he took command of the "Juno," a man of about two-and- thirty years of age, of medium height and slight build, with a well- formed figure, and a face which, though by no means handsome, was strikingly agreeable to look at, chiefly because of its frank, easy, good-natured expression. He was always scrupulously well-dressed, even in the vilest of weather; and there was just the faintest perceptible trace of Bond-street dandyism in his air, conveying at first an impression of slight mental weakness--an impression, however, which was rapidly dispelled upon a more intimate acquaintance. His manner was quiet and imperturbable to an astonishing degree; and the more exciting the circ.u.mstances in which he was placed, the more calm and placid did his demeanour become. But those who flattered themselves that these characteristics indicated a lax disciplinarian found themselves grievously mistaken. He was strictness itself, in the matter both of discipline and etiquette; was as brave as a lion, a perfect seaman, with an eye which seemed intuitively to light at once and infallibly upon the slightest fault, and with a will of iron concealed beneath the placid suavity of his demeanour. His influence, though it could scarcely be said to be felt, was irresistible; and by its means he, in an incredibly short time, wrought the ship's company into one of the smartest, if not absolutely _the_ smartest, in the service.

Mr Annesley, the first lieutenant, was in many respects a strong contrast to his superior. A tall, dark, square-built and muscular- looking man, with handsome features, dark, flashing eyes, and well- proportioned figure, every nerve of which seemed a-quiver with superabundant vitality. His gesture, though restrained, was earnest and emphatic; his language in conversation, refined and eloquent; in carrying on the duty of the ship, short, sharp, and incisive. His manner to his superiors was quietly respectful, to his equals, somewhat distant, though without any trace of hauteur, and to his inferiors, gentle and sympathetic, or cold, stern, and repellant, accordingly as they won his approval or incurred his displeasure. He, like the skipper, was also a prime seaman, with a dauntless courage which verged very closely upon recklessness, though it never was allowed to actually merge into that undesirable quality.

The second lieutenant, Mr Michael Flinn, was a rollicking, good- tempered, good-natured young Irishman, careless and impulsive, as the generality of his countrymen are, always ready to perform a service for a friend, and still more ready to break the head of an enemy; a pa.s.sably good officer afloat, but possessed with a perfect genius for getting into sc.r.a.pes--and out of them again--on sh.o.r.e, with no consciousness whatever of his own dignity as one of his Majesty's officers, and ever ready to join heart and soul in any escapade of which he might happen to get an inkling. He was admirably adapted for such work as a cutting-out expedition, or a dash ash.o.r.e to spike the guns of an outlying battery; but, when I first knew him, was utterly unfit for any service requiring discretion or tact in its execution.

The third lieutenant, the Honourable Edward Plantagenet Mortimer, was simply a useless, soft-headed dandy, who would as soon have dreamed of throwing himself overboard as of soiling his hands; there was no harm in him, he was good-natured enough, but he was emphatically _the_ idler of the ship, never even making a pretence of performing any duty, but simply dawdling about the deck in kid gloves, with an eye-gla.s.s eternally screwed into his starboard top-light. His one idea was that he was a brilliant performer on the flute; and in his watch below he was incessantly rendering the lives of his neighbours a burden to them by the melancholy wailings which he evoked from that instrument. It was said that he could fight--when no other alternative was open to him--but the bustle and confusion, and, above all, the exertion, he considered such "a howwid boah," that he always most carefully avoided those occasions for distinguishing himself, which other men are wont to seek with avidity. Why on earth he ever entered the navy was a puzzle which utterly defied solution.

The master, Mr Rawlings, was a middle-aged man, quiet and un.o.btrusive in manner, and with very little to say upon any subject unconnected with his profession. There, however, he was unapproachable. He was simply perfect as a navigator, seemed to have been in and out of every harbour in the world, and was intimately acquainted with the position of every rock and shoal which guarded their approach, together with the distinctive features of every light, beacon, or buoy which announced their vicinity; knew the direction and rates of the various currents, and could tell, without referring to his chart, the depths of water over bars and in channels, together with the bearings of the fairways in the latter, how wide they were, and the hour of high-water in them at the full and change of the moon; in fact, his information on such matters appeared to be quite inexhaustible. He was unquestionably the ablest master in the entire British navy; and one of the first anxieties of a captain, when in quest of a crew, was to get hold of "old Rawlings" as master.

We midshipmen were six in number; four of my messmates being older, and one younger than myself. They were all good-tempered, agreeable lads, and in other respects were about on a par with the average run of midshipmen. The master's-mate, Mr Percival, was berthed with us. He was a fine, gentlemanly, young fellow of about eighteen years of age, with great ability and intense application, bidding fair to achieve eventually a reputation equal to that of his chief, for whom he entertained a profound admiration.

And now, having introduced my fellow-officers, let me say what it is necessary to say respecting the ship.

The "Juno" was one of the old cla.s.s of frigates, of which, however, she happened to be an extremely favourable specimen. She was very strong, being oak-built throughout, and copper fastened; her timbers being of the most solid description, and exceptionally heavy scantling. She came to us with the unenviable reputation of being a poor sailer, though she was a very _good_ model, particularly under water; but Mr Annesley paid her a visit while in the dry dock, and attentively studied her lines, having done which he determined to alter her trim altogether, putting her nine inches deeper down in the water aft, and reducing her ballast to the extent of twenty tons. The result answered his most sanguine expectations; for while she still stood up well under her canvas, she was steadier in a sea-way, lighter and drier forward, paid off quicker in stays, and though still scarcely a clipper, her rate of sailing had considerably improved. Her accommodations were somewhat cramped, as compared with the newer and larger cla.s.s of frigates; but as far as I was concerned, coming into her from the little "Scourge," there seemed to be a positive superabundance of room. She mounted thirty-two long twelves, and mustered a crew of 190 men.

It had been my intention to act upon Sir Peregrine's suggestion, and ask for a day or two's leave to run home and see my friends once more, before finally quitting Old England upon a cruise of unknown duration; but we had been so excessively busy that I really had not the conscience to make such a request; and now that the ship was finally ataunto, it appeared that we were to proceed to sea forthwith. I was therefore obliged to content myself with writing them a long letter, to which I put the finishing touches while we were waiting for the captain, Mr Annesley having kept a sh.o.r.e-boat alongside to take ash.o.r.e a few letters which he had hastily scribbled after the completion of the preparations for unmooring, and by which he kindly intimated that any one who had letters to send might send them.

At length, about 3:30 in the afternoon, the captain's gig was seen approaching the ship, the side was manned, and in a few minutes more Captain Hood stood upon his own quarter-deck.

"You may--ah--run my gig up to the davits, if you please, Mr Annesley,"

said he, "and then we will--aw--weigh at once if--ah--you have everything ready."

"Quite ready, sir," replied the first luff, turning away to give the necessary orders. The gig was hoisted up and secured, the hands were sent aloft to loose the canvas, the topsails were sheeted home and mast- headed, the jib run up, and, simultaneously with this, the capstan-bars were shipped, one of the ship's boys mounted the capstan-head violin in hand, and to a merry air upon that instrument out stepped the men, the anchor was quickly run up to the bows, and with the last drain of the flood-tide the "Juno," under topsails and jib, with a light north- easterly air of wind, glided with a slow and stately movement out of the harbour, squaring away directly down through the Solent as soon as we had cleared the anchorage at Spithead, instead of going out round the island to the eastward, as was at that time usual with men-o'-war. This circ.u.mstance, trifling as it was, had a very exhilarating effect upon all hands, as it seemed to foreshadow that our skipper, notwithstanding his somewhat affected manner, had a habit of taking the shortest and most direct road when he had an object to achieve.

There were several ships lying at Spithead as we pa.s.sed through, and it was observed that one of them--the "Boston," a frigate of about our own size--was just getting under way, her destination being the east coast of North America. Her skipper, Captain Courtenay, and ours were, it appeared, old friends, and having met that day at the Admirals' office, there had been a little good-natured banter between them as to the comparative sailing powers of the two ships, each being of course of opinion that his own ship could beat the other; and it had been finally arranged that, as both frigates were to sail that day, there should be a friendly race down Channel, the stake being the time-honoured one--a new hat. Accordingly, as soon as we had room, the "Juno" was rounded-to with the main-topsail to the mast, to wait until the other ship should join us.

We were not detained very long. Hardly were we hove-to when the "Boston" was seen threading her way out through the fleet, and in a few minutes more she was close abreast of us, the "Juno" bearing up at the moment which would bring the bows of the two ships exactly level.

Captain Courtenay appeared at the gangway as the "Boston" drew up alongside, and on our skipper showing himself, hailed "Juno ahoy! are you ready?"

"Ay, ay," was the response, "we are--aw--quite ready."

"Then--_off_!" shouted the "Boston's" skipper, and at the word down came his topgallant sheets, the yards going up at the same moment, and the royal sheets fluttering down into their berths, as the yards rose to meet them; then up went the royal yards to their respective mast-heads, the courses dropped heavily down, the staysails and flying-jib slid up their stays, and the driver was hauled out, the whole being done with the regularity and rapidity of a well-oiled and easy-working machine.

In the meantime our own hands had not been idle, and under Mr Annesley's able manipulation the "Juno" proved herself quite as smart as her antagonist in spreading her snowy pinions.

From that moment all was pleasant excitement on board as the two ships slid gently along side by side within hailing distance of each other.

Speculation was rife, and the most diverse opinions as to the issue of the trial were expressed both on the quarter-deck and the forecastle.

The "Boston" had the name of being a tolerably smart craft, but during the run down the Solent neither ship appeared able to claim any very decided advantage over the other, sometimes one and sometimes the other drawing a trifle ahead. On arriving off "Egypt" we were able to edge away a little, and then stunsails were set on the starboard side in both ships, still, however, without altering our relative positions.

As the sun declined toward the horizon the wind gradually dropped, finally dying away altogether, and leaving us absolutely motionless save for the drift of the ebb-tide, which still swept us along to the westward. It was a magnificent evening, the water, smooth as gla.s.s, reflecting on its glittering surface an absolutely unbroken picture of our stately consort, with every snowy sail, every spar and rope, as clearly shown as though she were reposing on the polished surface of a gigantic mirror. The western sky, glowing with tints of the clearest, palest amber melting into a delicate rose, which merged in its turn imperceptibly into a clear, deep, transparent blue as the eye glanced from the horizon toward the zenith, was without a trace of cloud, and against this pure and exquisitely tinted background the outlines of Hurst Castle stood sharply out, the castle itself and the low spit of land on which it is built appearing of a deep, rich, powerful, purple hue, as though carved out of a giant amethyst, while the country further inland exhibited tints varying from the deepest olive--almost approaching black--through the richest greens, away to the most delicate of pearly greys in the remote distance. The Wight--about a quarter of a mile distant on our port hand--presented a picture of exquisite and almost fairy-like beauty, with its wooded slopes, waving cornfields, and gra.s.sy dells, aglow with the rich purply-golden haze of sunset, repeating their beauties in the waveless tide which washed its sh.o.r.es.

As I stood gazing entranced upon the varied beauties of earth, sea, and sky, the scene gradually changed, a marvellous transformation was taking place, the sky tints deepened into a warmer, richer glow, the colours of the landscape slowly faded into sombre neutral, the castle stood out black as ebony against the dying flush in the sky, the water blushed crimson for a moment, then paled to a cold greyish purple as a faint breeze began to ruffle its surface, the azure of the sky became momentarily deeper and richer and more purple in tone, and presently, out from the clear cerulean depths started into view the planet Venus, beaming down upon us with a soft, silvery, lambent radiance, and tracing upon the bosom of the darkening wave a delicate thread of quivering liquid light--

"'Who can paint like Nature?'" said a voice at my elbow, while an arm was slid quietly within my own, and I found myself joined by young Raleigh, a fellow-mid--and by all accounts a scion of the same family as the renowned Sir Walter--"what mortal brush could hope to emulate the exquisite softness, delicacy, richness, and power of those tints which have just faded out of the picture before us, or what artist could adequately express the quiet, dreamy beauty of the present scene? Dame Nature has been kind in permitting what will probably be our last glimpse for some time to come of our native land, to be one of such surpa.s.sing loveliness. We are bound to a region the beauty of which has been for ages a favourite theme among poets, yet I fancy many of us will look with yearning fondness upon the cherished memory of the parting smile with which old England has bidden us a long good-night."

"I am sure _I_ shall, for one," said I, "I have heard and read much of the beauties of the 'sunny South,' but I find it difficult to imagine anything more exquisitely beautiful than many scenes which I have witnessed at home when Nature has been in her happier moods."

"Ah! that is because you have never been away from home," remarked Raleigh. "I have already been up the Mediterranean once, and without for a moment attempting to decry the--"

"Hands, trim sails. In with the stunsails on the starboard side; rig in and secure the booms, ease up the larboard braces, and take a small pull upon the starboard, rig out the booms on the port side and get the stunsails on her again. Be smart, my lads, or we shall have the frigate alongside presenting us with a full view of her stern all the way down Channel."

_So_ spake the first lieutenant, the boatswain's whistle chirped, and in a moment the stillness on board gave place to a scene of bustle and animation. The breeze, after faintly ruffling the gla.s.sy surface of the water with an occasional cat's-paw, came softly stealing out from the E.S.E., and every sail was immediately trimmed with the most scrupulous nicety to woo the gentle zephyr. The lighter and more lofty sails first acknowledged its welcome presence, alternately swelling out and fluttering to the masts, like the gentle rise and fall of the breast of sleeping beauty, then they filled out steadily, the lower and heavier canvas also sullenly yielding to its influence; a soft, musical, rippling sound arose beneath the frigate's bows, tiny whirlpools formed in the wake of the rudder and trailed away astern, the pressure of the spokes upon the helmsman's hand became firm and steady, a faint creak was occasionally heard aloft as the strain upon the spars increased, the sails "went to sleep," the sheets tautened out, the ripple under the bows grew louder and louder, until it emulated the rush of a mountain torrent, and the foam gathered round the cut.w.a.ter, hissing along the side, and swirling far away in our wake, as the "Juno," yielding to the freshening breeze, swept out past the Needles, and hauled up a point or two for Ushant.

CHAPTER NINE.

INTO A TRAP AND OUT AGAIN.

The "Boston" was still in company at breakfast-time the following morning, but we had by that time contrived to leave her a good two miles astern, a feat which in view of that frigate's reputation occasioned general exultation to the "Junos," for, as little Summers sagely remarked at the breakfast-table, "what was the use of going to sea in a ship whose sailing powers were unequal to the task of taking her crew alongside an enemy?"

"Well, the old tub has not done badly, so far," observed young Smellie.

"She turns out a good deal better than I had been led to expect. I met a mid who had formerly belonged to her, on the day that I came down to join, and he said that the fastest he had ever known her to go was six knots, and that it took her the length of a dog-watch to go about."

"Well, if she will stay at all, we shall not be so badly off as I was in the old 'Ajax,'" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Summers. "We were always obliged to _wear_ her, and if we could get her round upon the other tack without running more than three miles to leeward we considered we had done pretty well."

"Is it your _habit_ to exaggerate, or do you only indulge in it occasionally, young 'un?" quietly inquired Percival, the master's-mate, looking up from a book he was devouring with his breakfast.

"Exaggerate? How do you mean?" returned Summers, flushing up very red in the face. "I thought it would be understood that I was only joking."

"And I have no doubt it _was_ so understood," remarked Percival, "but if you are not above taking a bit of friendly advice, let me recommend you not to deviate a single hair's-breadth _from_ the truth, even in joke; it is a dangerous practice, and as easy an introduction to deliberate, systematic lying as any with which I am acquainted. Now don't look so hurt, my boy, of course you meant no harm--you had no intention to deceive us, it was merely a thoughtless speech, but be advised by me and avoid that particular species of thoughtlessness as you would the plague, nothing is much easier to acquire than a reputation for untruthfulness, and certainly nothing is more difficult to get rid of."

Poor little Summers hung down his head for a few moments, dreadfully abashed at this unexpected rebuke, then looking up, with the flush still on his face, he said, "Thank you, Mr Percival. You hit me rather hard, but I believe you are right, I am afraid I _have_ yielded rather too much to the bad habit of which you speak, but I don't think I shall be likely to do it again. And now, to change the subject, does anybody know exactly where we are bound?"