M iMgi^jfei^t^^^- m ^^ft^ * "LIBRARY ~^- OF THE U N I VLR5ITY or ILLINOIS 823 F59a V.I ,^ :^f? ^^_^ .^- ^^^- ^,^ ARTHUR MONTAGUE AN ONLY SON AT SEA. VOL. I. ARTHUR MONTAGUE OR AN ONLY SON AT SEA BY A FLAG OFFICEK. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 1850. gP3 - v.i AUTHUR MONTAGUE OR, AN ONLY SON AT SEA, CHAPTER I. " And is it a boy, then ? Good heavens !" ejaculated the flushed and greatly over- wrought Mr. Montague, in a state of in- tense excitement and feverish elation, as he at length beheld, after a union of sixteen years, the fulfilment of his ardent aspira- tions — the certain pledge of perpetual joy ! " Bless it ! Oh, bless it ! And bless you, too, Rebecca !" he cried, addressing his enervated spouse, as he leant over his squalling babe, and kissed it rapturously, quite ravished at the sight of an heir. " That'll do, papa ; you mustn't be so rough with us yet !" said the judicious VOL. I. B 2 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, nurse, withdrawing the screamer, and re- covering its face with its flannel swathing, and then dandling it gently in her extended arms, answering its ear-piercing lamen- tations with suitable soothing conversation, admirably calculated to comfort a new-born infant. ^' So you've brought a little temper into the world with you, have you ? Ah ! you'll have plenty to try it here !" slie exclaimed, as its wailings increased in vehemence, in spite of her zealous solacing, shakings, pattings, and rockings. " That's a very improper speech, and I desire you don't speak in that unfeeling and complaining way to my child," inter- rupted the offended sire. She averted her head, and smiled, and could scarcely suppress a chuckle ; he, turning to his pallid wife, who, in a weak and tremulous voice, feebly articulated, "Have you sent for Doctor Dillon, dear?" " Bless my heart ! " vociferated the startled husband, rushing out of the room, and then frantically descending the stair- case several steps at a time. AN ONLY SON AT SEA, 3 " A baby ! A boy 1" he bawled, as lie encountered two of the maids hurrying up to greet the young stranger, the sound of whose voice had announced to them his arrival. '' my !" exclaimed one, drawing up her lank body close to the wall, so as not to impede the impetuous advance of her master. " Mercy on us !" cried the other, stum- bling, as her elbow came in contact witli the arm of the precipitate gentleman flying to the stables to dispatch the groom on the fleet mare to summon the immediate attend- ance of the doctor. After helping to girth up the saddle, thereby retarding the operation, he flung open the yard gate with a bang, and en- joined the messenger to gallop the whole way. The wildly-agitated father then darted up-stairs again, and found all the house- hold surrounding his unhappy son, loudly expatiating on his wonderful size, beauty, and likeness to his parents, and expressing their hopes that he would resemble them as much in character as he did in looks. b2 4. ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, " Lor ! only see its lovely iiair and lashes!" said Ann. "Pretty creetur!" quotli ]\[art]ia. " 0]i4i-li, sir ! it's the very pictur of you !" sobbed Susan, with a lachrymose look, cast- ing up her watery eyes in her master's face. '' AVell, I really think he is !'' he replied, with a smile of delighted satisfaction, as he again closely scrutinized the scarlet coun- tenance of his lauded heir. " The shape of the face is certainly mine, and the nose too ; and I " " And the colour of the eyes, sir, and the plump little hands, and — oli, sir, it's you every morsel," she rejoined, venting her feelings in a gush which the apron was brought up to absorl). " Take some sal volatile, you warm- hearted creature!" he suggested, with his usual consideration. '' She'd the last out o' the bottle yester- day evening, sir, when the bat flew against the window and frightened her so," observed the cook, who shared her dormitory, and was wont to prescribe for her nervous fellow-servant whenever her feelings got the better of her* AN ONLY SON AT SEA. O Doctor Dillon, with the promptitude of his profession, hurried to the scene to which he was called. Mr. Montague met him at the bedroom door, and, grasping his hand cordially, whilst a tear of gladness gathered in his eye, and his heart palpitated with quick pulsation, said — " They've told you it's a boy, haven't they?" " Well, sir; didn't I tell you it would be?" responded the medical soothsayer. "You did, Dillon, you did; you said there'd be two !" "Ah, so I did, sir; but because you w^anted a couple you've only got one. If you'd been poor, you'd have had twins to a certainty. Small fortunes and large fami- lies invariably go together ; Nature endea- vouring to compensate for deficiency in the one case by superabundance in the other. But be satisfied, sir, be satisfied. The child's lungs are all right, I hear; I wish he'd a mouthful of teeth." " Why so, doctor ? Avhy so ? eh?'* ''Never mind, sir; never mind. "But, dear me, this'll never do," he 6 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, continued, with a look of profound astonish- ment, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, as he gazed around the room with solemn gravity. " This mustn't be." "What — what — what's wrong, then? — what's the matter?" exclaimed Mr. Mon- tague. " Everything, sir, everytliing ! Sun shining in strong through the windows — child roaring piteously for food — mother suffering from the commotion — nurse evi- dently inexperienced, and a sick-chamber turned into a levee-room. All incorrect, sir. All wrong together, I do assure you." " You don't say so !" cried the astounded and terrified parent, staring aghast. "I do, indeed!" responded the censurer. " Pray draw down the blinds, half-close the shutters, have the infant removed, and remain in another room till I join you." With anxious trepidation the newly- made father obeyed this behest, and, after darkening the apartment, withdrew, re- pairing to the presence of his hungry heir, whom he tried to pacify by the fullest promises of uninterrupted happiness, and AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 7 the future free use of the house and all it contained. Dr. Dillon, after tendering the necessary advice to his patient, took his leave, ex- pressing a multiplicity of hopes that she would attend implicitly to his directions, and not allow her feelings to prompt her to disregard the dictates of prudence. After this, he sought her husband, whom he found in the library, pacing to and fro, with his hands under his coat-tails, ruminating on the serious responsibilities of his novel position. The physician's smiling physio- gnomy served to dissipate the apprehension that his previous deportment had inspired ; and his declaration of " All right now, sir !" as he laid hold of Mr. Montague's hand, and shook it warmly, at once relieved that gentleman's mind of a load of torturing anxiety and suspense. " Then I'm to understand, sir, am I," added the sage doctor, '' that you'll on no account disturb Mrs. Montague in her present delicate state?" " Oh, certainly, Dillon, you may rely upon it; all that's right shall be done." "I may, may I? Very well, then I'll 8 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, not prolong my stay here, for I've an im- mense deal to do. My practice, I find, is extending so fast, that I can scarcely con- trive to getthrongh it all. Good morning, sir. Pray bear in mind my counsel, for unless you do, you may lose both mother and child before you're aware of it." " Bless me ! you don't mean to say there's a cha " " I really couldn't say what might not be the issue of any indiscretion on your part, at such a critical period, when the lives of both (though perhaps not in actual danger now) might be easily forfeited by the unob- servance of due precautions, liemember that^ sir — j)ray do." ''I will, doctor, I will. But I'm to believe, am I, that there's no jxal danger at present? Eh, my dear doctor? Eh? Pray be candid, foi' I ^ee " *^ Listen to me, sir. Be cautious ; be careful; be quiet. Absent yourself alto- gether from the sick chamber, and comply most rigidly with my instructions ; and then, sir, there'll be good grounds to hope that all will go on well." This assurance was very comforting to AN ONLY SON AT SEA. \) one who for several minutes had been a prey- to the direst imaginings ; and directly the adviser departed, all he had said was scru- pulously communicated to the nurse, who at once signified her contempt for all such suggestions, and then detailed the wonder- fully salutary effects of her sagacity, and skill, and watchfulness, whereby ladies were restored to health in less than half the usual time under unduly qualified attendants. These recommendatory remarks imme- diately raised her very high in the estima- tion of the attentive listener, who felt assured of her superior fitness for the duties she undertook to perform, and thus charmed, he ofiered her port wine and cake, which she readily accepted. Mrs. Montague, meanwhile, had fallen asleep, so he betook himself down-stairs to determine what was the next thing he ought to do, and whether it was really incumbent on him to act up so literally to the orders he had received, as to banish himself entirely from the presence of his now doubly-precious wife. After revolving this matter in his mind, the deduction arrived at was, that the proposal was unnatural, and obedience to B 3 10 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, such a command impossible. But, not for- getful of the repeated injunctions about the avoidance of all noise, he took off his shoes and stole noiselessly up-stairs, and just as he was entering her room, he beheld the form of her efficient nurse, standing before a cupboard, with her back towards him, im- bibing something out of a black bottle, which he suspected contained the brandy she had mentioned must be kept by her, in case she required any for any particular purpose. Not liking to interrupt her employment, which seemed to be affording her infinite satisfaction, he stepped back a few feet, and when he fancied she must have com- pleted her draught, he re-advanced, and met her eye on crossing the door-way. She beckoned him off; but heedless of her motions, he continued to approach on tip- toe, and had reached the bed-side, and was stooping over the sleeper, when the guar- dian, whose authority was thus set at de- fiance, finding requests useless, began to expostulate, and by way of strengthening her case, brought forward " the last words of the doctor." The sound of the doctor^s AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 11 name had an electrical effect on the in- truder, who forthwith crept out of the room as quickly as he could. But un- willing his ejector should exult at his expulsion, he whispered to her, as she closed the door after him, " You'd much better not take any more brandy, 'twill send you to sleep." This insinuation created a crimson glow all over her circular countenance, which fully betrayed her confusion, as she replied, " I was only tasting what it was!" and when left to her meditations, she reproached herself for her stupidity in having omitted to look round before she commenced tast- ing. At the expiration of a few hours, the invalid awoke from her first sleep, much refreshed, when she perceived her vigilant attendant fast asleep, in a comfortably cushioned easy chair, and snoring sono- rously. A small hand-bell had, with praise- worthy foresight, been placed within reach, so by the tinkling of this her somnolent companion was aroused, and on awaking, she gave her head a shake, rubbed her eyesj 12 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, put her cap straight, got on her legs, (which like herself had been fast asleep, and did not recover so quickly,) and protested against its being supposed she had been unconscious, as she had merely closed her eyes for a minute or two just to consider a bit. Doctor Dillon's visits were frequent and regular, and the ohedient father's occupa- tions in his own room upon these occasions elicited the most complimentary commenda- tions, embodying a character for strength of mind, sound sense, and self-denial. But now to make mention of the fully- appreciated heir, wdiose infantile career was passed in tribulation and gluttony, and may be best described in the pathetic language of the poet, — He " cried, and eat, and slept — what then ? He cried, and eat, and slept again." Maternal affection was lavished on him; paternal endearments "were as bountifully bestowed. His mother devoted much of her time to the construction of fancy baby- apparel ; his father closely studied " The Diseases of Infants," instead of " The AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 13 Gardener's Gazette." His attachment to gruel and farinaceous food conduced to swell him to the size that was the theme of general astonishment and expatiation. He first spoke when he was a year old; and his forwardness in speech was declared to augur future wdsdom. Its use, mean- while, was exercised in continuous attempts at personal gratification, at any cost to the mental peace of others. The true selfish- ness of human nature peeped out at the onset, and his earliest acts showed the germs of a resolute spirit and no small amount of perseverance. Ere he had attained his third anniver- sary he was habitually insubordinate to his nurse; a little later he tested her temper more severely ; and the annihilation of her caps, bites about the fingers, bruised ankles, and tattered garments, attested the vehe- mence of his disposition and her invincible fondness for her place, where high wages and high feeding counteracted the indigni- ties she endured — that helped to heighten the colour of her naturally red cheeks, that no ignominious treatment could blanch. His parents considered him a treasure; 14 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, the maids all thought him a tyrant. His aversion to " milk-and-water," and decided antipathy to imperfectly -buttered bread, produced many a conflict. Broken cups and a mutilated loaf declared him the con- queror. Futile threats of " I'll tell your mama, sir!" invariably caused fresh dis- aster. Despite these evidences of preco- cious pugnacity, his parents manifested un- shaken confidence in the sweetness of his temper, when not ruffled. They were admirable examples of un- alloyed felicity in the married state, and spent much of their time reminding each other of their respective virtues ; and when- ever he^ imbued with deep-rooted conviction of her faultlessness, affirmed that she per- sonified perfection, she^ in her turn, declared that he exemplified excellence. Thus were compliments bandied, until one or the other rose first, and, by more than words, obeyed the impulse of unbounded love. Where and how Arthur was brought into the world has already been stated. Who and what his parents were it is now in- tended to show. The most elaborate examination of the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 15 latest edition of " Burke's Peerage" would fail to discover any direct descent from any of the ennobled ones mentioned therein; nor would it be easy to establish any very con- vincing claim of collateral connexionship with any particular peer of the realm, of the past or present century. But let it not be inferred, from this avowal, that his ancestors belonged to that humble, or, as they are sometimes inaptly termed, ignoble class, whose want of worldly possessions is often erroneously imagined to betoken ob- scure origin. Nay, — his family archives furnished him with the fact of the Mon- tagues having long been in the habit of aiding successive governments, irre- spective of their politics, in the support of the state, by regular periodical con- tributions in the shape of assessed taxes, including items for armorial bearings, and powdered men-servants. This acknow- ledgment is, of course, irrefragable proof of his family's respectability, and may secure it from the suspicion of ever having re- mitted any sums to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as " conscience money," to ex- piate the crime of having withheld from the 16 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, Crown payment due for the use of " private income ;" or for the exquisite though su- perfluous enjoyment of " light and air," and the luxurious privilege of viewing the " works of nature" out of an " attic sky- light." Mr. Montague was the representative of a very old Oxfordshire family, that, after the martrydom of their monarch, whom they served faithfully in the day of his need, with their blood as well as gold, removed to Kent, to a property purchased with the residue of a once magnificent fortune, that, by nursing during two long minorities, afterwards be- came swollen again to a size sufficient to rank it as one of the finest in the county. His wife was the daughter of a Devon- shire curate, who instilled into her mind correct notions of the duties of a Christian, and at his decease bequeathed her a very old and much-prized family Bible, plenti- fully supplied with marginal notes. This, and an unblemished reputation, was all the poor dear man left behind, when he "shufl^led olf this mortal coil." Mr. Montague was a kind-hearted, bene- volent, good natured man, whose upright AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 17 principles and uniform rectitude of conduct gained him the esteem of his friends, and whose strictly inoffensive disposition secured him from the fear of making a foe. His prominent characteristic was a desire to do good, and to eschew evil, and his universal philanthropy and liberal charity created many a claim on the gratitude of his fellow creatures. His tastes might be accounted peculiar, and some thought him eccentric. His partner was a pattern of propriety in her walk through life, actuated by the purest motives, and ever guided by a correct moral code. She was a veritable Christian in " thought, word, and deed" and knew not the baneful sensations emanating from " envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness." She was unsuspecting and credulous, per- haps, to a fault, considering the necessity for occasional distrust in this world of dis- semblers, guile, insincerity, and trickery, where the ingenuous, open-hearted, frank and generous, are so exposed to well- disguised deception and duplicity, and the finest qualities and most laudable actions 18 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, fail to command the admiration they should. Her habits were decidedly domestic, and her abilities in a household way of no mean order. She was much addicted to the manufacture of elderberry-wine, pickles, and preserves, and was wont to employ her time profitably in propagating useful know- ledge, comprised in (what she considered) invaluable receipts for the effectual cure of the various ailments that afflict humanity, from Asiatic cholera to chilblains. Her adored child grew apace, but evinced no promise of amiability, excepting in the eyes of those bent upon viewing his conduct with great indulgence and favour. Im- partial judges alleged that they discovered unequivocal symptoms of inherent vice, but these strictures did not alter the system of training, his multifarious wants were solicitously studied, wishes fulfilled, misde- meanors unchided, petulance unchecked, and will never opposed. With all this, what else could he require ? Some said — " Education" — a word, of the very signification of which he was utterly ignorant, until nearly old enough to be AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 19 learning Greek, when at length the reite- rated remonstrances of Mrs. Montague's friends, on the injurious consequences of the palpable neglect of her son's mental culture, began to take some effect; and after her numerous defeated efforts to combat the arguments adduced to prove the perniciousness of the course she was pursuing, to his certain prejudice, she was prevailed upon to yield to irresistible reasoning, and to consent to his being placed under the tutorage of an erudite pedagogue, who confidently undertook to instil a certain amount of knowledge, at a certain fixed charge, into the most impene- trable and obtuse understandings. This was deemed the right sort of person to be entrusted with the nurture of Arthur's in- tellect. School was a word ever associated, in his dear mother's mind, with the idea of a lamentable lack of substantial fare and a total want of pickles and preserves. The frequency of youthful accidents inspired her with acute alarm for his future safety ; and the dread of a separation from her only child caused her incessant uneasiness, from 20 ARTHUR MONTAGUE- OR, the awful hour when the dire necessity for his departure became apparent. ISJ'umerous conferences took place, to dis- cuss the serious subject that w^as now the general topic of conversation, at which Mr. Oswald, the confidential clerical adviser, usually assisted, offering warnings when counsel had no effect. " Couldn't it be put off a little longer, my dear Mr. Oswald ?" she would often ask, with a woe-begone look, after an ani- mated exposition of his ideas on the urgency of the case. " Certainly not, ma'am !'' was always the emphatic reply of her able admonitor, who, with much enthusiasm, never lost an opportunity of recapitulating his sentiments on the obvious impropriety of her suffering her uncontrollable affections to operate to the detriment of her son's interests. In- genious objections, in great variety, were advanced. They were met and overcome by the curate. Time was required " to think about it." " No time to be lost, ma'am !" w^as the invariable answer. At last, she was constrained to acknow- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 21 ledge that Arthur was not what most people would call clever — an opinion in which her husband was forced to concur ; and as they both agreed that the senti- ments of their friends were unanimous on this point, and their cautions could no longer be disregarded, it was decided that there existed a necessity for the measure proposed. So, after pondering over this momentous matter by day and night too, they made up their minds to bear as best they could the trial that awaited them, resolving, that if it was absolutely indis- pensable that their beloved child should obtain wisdom at such a dreadful cost to their happiness, that it should certainly be acquired by the very shortest and simplest process practicable. Thus was his fate sealed, and the day for his saddening departure at length arrived. Melancholy had unquestionably "marked'' his mother "for her own." Gloom darkened his father's brow. The maids affected the very deepest distress, and the unsympa- thizing Arthur betrayed the utmost in- difference about the change he was antici- pating. 22 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, The commodious family phaeton was at the door; the whip and the reins in the hands of his father; his mother was pain- fully prolonging her protracted embrace; the assembled maids were ineffectually striving to extract the semblance of a tear from their arid eyes by the friction of their aprons ; one of the horses was looking round to ascertain the cause of the delay; the terrier was gazing up inquiringly; the groom was growing compassionate, and Arthur was all anxiety and impatience to be off, so he dexterously extricated himself from the entwining arms of his agonized mother, requiting her tearful solicitude witli smiles of ineffable delight. " Bless you ! bless you ! my darling boy !" she cried, her cheeks suffused with plenteous signs of sorrow. He waved his cap joyfully ; the uncomfortable driver cracked his whip; the dog barked his adieu, and jumped clear of the wheel ; James sprung up behind ; and away they drove, the unsuccessful mourners supporting their afflicted, sobbing mistress into the house. As the well-known vehicle wended its way along the winding lane, its appearance AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 23 at that early hour — for it was scarcely sun- rise — attracted the notice of the cottage damsels, who paused for awhile in twirling their sprinkling mops, or whitening the foot-stones at their doorways; and sundry ragged, hatless, cheerful, rosy urchins, gathering wild flowers on the banks, hurrah'd shrilly as they passed. It was a lovely morning. Phoebus had just began to diffuse his vivid colouring o'er the thin, fleecy clouds in the east. The lark was pouring forth his matinal melody on high, drying his damp feathers after ascending from his dewy bed. The bright verdure of spring time covered the face of the country. Everywhere buds were opening, leaves unfolding. The hedges were clothed in their vernal verdancy, here and there whitened by the hawthorn's snowy sprays, and hiding in their banks the fra- grant violet, chaste pale primrose, and pretty speedwell. The orchards exhibited an exuberance of variegated blossoms, pro- mising a fruitful season. The rich meadows were tinted with the golden buttercup and cowslip, and scattered groups of bleating sheep spotted the daisied fields, some lazily 24 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, recumbent on the moist socl, and others sauntering along, at a gentle pace, with noses to the ground, nibbling their morning meal, glistening with dew, their lambkins frisking about them in merry bounds. Clusters of lowing cattle, too, were to be seen, licking their horny hoofs, sniffing the balmy air, or watching with apparent interest the gambols of their capering offspring, whilst here and there comely ruddy-cheeked milk- maids, beaming with the hue of health, were emptying the well-filled udders of the patient cows, which ever and anon bran- dished their tails to and fro, and threw back their heads on either side, to apply their tongues to an uneasy spot, to fright away a persevering winged tormentor. But ere quitting the neighbourhood of Montague Hall, perhaps it is as well to offer a brief description of its character* AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 25 CHAPTER 11. Verging off the high road in the out- skirts of a pretty village in a picturesque portion of Kent, stood a tasteful lodge, beside wide handsome massive iron gates, opening on a smooth gravel carriage-way, that presently intertwined amongst an irre- gular assemblage of fine old timber, then cut through some acres of refreshing green- sward, studded with the oak, walnut, and hawthorn, ascended a knoll, skirted an ex- pansive sheet of water ; afterwards entering an avenue of noble elms, always tenanted by a countless host of cawing rooks, whose clamorous conclaves interrupted the still- ness that reigned around, and whose visits to adjacent corn-fields of inviting aspect raised the ire and outcry of the yelling VOL. I. C 26 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, urcliins employed to guard them from de- predation. Emerging from this arched vista, a near view was obtained of the mansion, ap- proached through a thick luxuriant shrub- bery of full-grown evergreens. It was a straggling stone structure of considerable size and doubtful architecture, having on either side an ornamental wing, surmounted by glazed cupolas, and indented below with niches containing statues and vases alternate. The front face of the building displayed a row of fine Corintliian pillars — their capitals screened by wire-work shields, to defend them from the injurious intrusions of tlie feathery tril>e, who ever chirped and hovered about the forbidden spots, coveting the shelter denied them. In the vicinity of the house was a spacious flower-garden, encompassed by a protecting plantation of bay, holly, laurustinas, arbutus, laburnam, yellow and red Barbary, lilac, and Guelder-rose, ever melodious with the shy, wary blackbird's whistle, the sweet notes of the secreted thrush, and the varied AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 27 carols of their fellow-choristers, all con- spiring to give motion as well as life to their leafy concealment. To the right, was a rich, park-like prospect, sprinkled with deer, grazing beneath clumps of commingled oaks and chestnuts or pull- ing acorns from the low, overhanf^ini? branches of some solitary venerable stout- trunked tree, whose outspread limbs bent downwards to the earth from whence their life was drawn, as if in thankfulness for the nourishment received. In an opposite direction stretched forth undulating woodland scenery, bordering on an open furzy down, which was frequently occupied by the moveable abodes of those houseless rovers — the hardy, spoliating, mendacious tribe, whose forefathers Selim, on conquering Egypt, was unable to extir- pate, but contrived to expel, thereby entail- ing on Europe their lawless and unpopular posterity, so obnoxious to the proprietors of the localities they select for their tempo- rary residences. " I see a column of slow risiDg smoke O'ertop the lofty wood that skirts the wild. c 2 28 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, A vagabond and useless tribe there eat Their miserable meal. A kettle slung Between two poles upon a stick transverse Receives the morsel * * * * * * of cock purloined From his accustomed perch. Hardfaring race ! They pick their fuel out of every hedge, Which, kindled with dry leaves, just saves un- quench'd The spark of life. The sportive wind blows wide Their flutt'ring rags, and shows a tawny skin—. The vellum of the pedigree they claim. Great skill have they in palmistry, and more To conjure clean away the gold they touch, Conveying worthless dross into its place : Loud when they beg, dumb only when they steal." A grove of tall poplars formed a con- spicuous object from the western look-out; and not far from hence rose, up the slope of a hill, a dense extensive coppice, impervious to the eye, where the lordly chief of the forest reared its head proudly over its arboreous companions, silently asserting its supremacy ; and the graceful beech, silvery ash, dark-green spiral fir, Scotch larch, and stunted hazel, were blended together, and the stream-wooing willow dipped its pensile AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 29 shoots into a clear, gurgling stream, that wound its tortuous course along, its seques- tered, shady nooks pointing out to the angler the probable haunts of tlie hungry trout on the alert for its insect diet, and snug spots under the gnarled roots of un- dermined antique trees growing on the banks of the encroaching brook, hinting to juvenile poachers, setters of night-lines, the likely lurking-places of the snake-like, slimy eel. Situated in a dell, at no great distance off, was the home-farm, with its roomy barns, high granary, cow-sheds, and fowl- house, on entering which, perhaps the cackling hen gave notice of her sedentary occupation, or the outstretched neck of the hissing goose apprised you of her displea- sure at your approach. Without, probably the clustering poultry, emitting their various cries, surrounded you without alarm, ex- pecting to receive a shower of grain in reward for their courage and confidence ; a turkey or two, may be fearing to be late for the fare, running greedily up the yard 30 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, to join the rest, and the gaily-dressed pea- cock condescending to associate with his inferiors on the occasion. Roaming about, you doubtless encoun- tered the sheep-dog, if not away, attending on his fleecy charge in adjoining pastures, the nature of his bark denoting delight or anger, according to his knowledge or igno- rance of your countenance ; and in passing the sties, you naturally glanced at the swollen carcases of the noxious inmates, lying in their miry beds surfeited with food, scarcely willing to open their small eyes or lift their snouts from the stone troughs on which they rested ; a short, low grtint perchance being the only ac- knowledgment of their consciousness of the presence of a visitor. The farm-house was the very picture of rustic comfort — a model of cleanliness and neatness Avithin ; and the brickwork of the exterior almost totally hidden by the un- dying ivy that clung tenaciously to every part, as if resolved not to separate from a pleasing acquaintance. A primly clipped box-hedge bounded it AN ONLY SON AT SEA. - 31 on one side, and, running along in front, was a wattled paling supporting a mass of white jessamine. The dairy lay at the back, and its white- washed walls were always well garnished with parallel tiers of Stilton, sage, cream, and other cheeses. Thus was ensured a certain supply of creature comforts, con- tributing in no small degree to create that full contentment that pervaded the house- hold, where food was abundant, beer and cider plentiful, and work light. A few hundred yards from the farmstead was " The Retreat," where I, Arthur Mon- tague, (for it is fitting I should begin to speak in 2?ropria persona^) was wont to pass many an hour in listless idleness, look- ing on the blooming landscape, listening to the humming bees, or teasing a pet jack- daw, who poked his head between the bars of his wicker cage when confined there for misconduct. The said Retreat was an ele- gant little two-roomed Gothic cottage, plas- tered with sparkling sanded cement, and faced with trellis-work, over which crept the pungent honeysuckle, impregnating tlie 32 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, air ^ith its delicious fragrance, curling round the arched windows, and climbing up to the projecting wooden eaves of the thatched roof, under which the twittering sparrow dwelt in luxury and joy, excepting when disturbed by the obtruding swallow on his return from foreign shores, who was sure to invade the attractive retirement of the house-frequenting chatterer. Over the porch grew a vine in great exuberance, and above it mounted the spreading pink and wliite cluster-rose and clematis. Montague Hall was well adapted for the hospitality that distinguished it. Its re- ception rooms were large and lofty, and admirably arranged for banquets and balls. The furniture was old-fashioned and very rich : mirrors of enormous size, with heavy ornaments, large figures, and scroll-work above ; war implements at the sides ; chan- deliers of striking beauty; costly carpets, into which the foot sunk; magnificent Genoa velvet curtains; elaborately carved oaken cabinets, containing choice articles of virtu, and curiosities from all quarters of AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 33 the globe ; marble tables, with the Mon- tague arms emblazoned in the centre ; large Louis- Qiiatprze clocks, of various fanciful devices ; bronzes, &c. ; and througliout the house were many pictures of great value, including a superb Michael Angelo, a much-admired Eembrandt, two holy pieces by Murillo, a Vandyke, some sea-views by Yandervelde, a landscape and a battle-piece by Wouvermans, a rustic carousal by Teniers, and some striking figures by Foussin. But from these specimens of art I must turn to the " tableaux vivans" at the establishment presided over by the Eev. Dr. Turnover, where we arrived after a long drive of many miles. He greeted us with a smirking visage, and told us no more than the truth when lie declared he was very happy to see us. We were conducted to a spruce apartment, yclept " The Visitors' Room," where the interviews between fathers and sons were often anything but satisfactory to either, especially Avhen a long catalogue of com- plaints was submitted for consideration and c 3 34 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, inquiry. With these mysteries, however, I was then happily unacquainted. My first opinion of the pedagogue was rather favourable than otherwise, for his manner seemed most affectionate, as he patted my head and ran his fingers through my hair. After a little desultory conversation, he began to dilate on the advantages of educa- tion in general, and his peculiarly effective system of instruction in particular, the incomparable internal economy of his academy, the matchless qualifications of his teachers, the constant happiness of his pupils, the rare salubrity of the situation, the many comforts of those entrusted to his care, and the moderate cost at which they were secured. These observations, which were listened to with earnest attention, served to im- press my father with highly satisfactory notions of my new protector's character, conduct, and capacity for the post he filled with so much credit to himself and benefit to his boys. The Domine then turned AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 35 round to me, saying, as he tapped me on the shoulder — " I suppose you can construe a little — can't you?" " I don't know what you mean !" was my unpromising reply. He pursed up his mouth, arched his eye- brows, opened his eyes to their greatest circumference, and then, with a sly look, said, ^' He's not very forward, sir, I see." My parent betrayed his confusion, and responded hesitatingly, " Why n - - - o — he— he " "Exactly, sir," interrupted the other, "I understand — rather indolent, rather. " " No, I'm not ; that's a great story !" I exclaimed, with indignant emphasis. "Hollo!" "Arthur, my dear, you shouldn't speak so to your master !" " Then, what business has he to say that of me?" " Never mind, sir ; he'll be more tractable presently. Does he know any- thing of the Latin grammar, pray?" 36 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, My innocence of all knowledge of the existence of such a publication was neces- sarily confessed, my father's perplexity was obvious, the preceptor's astonishment pro- found. After a moment's silence, he said, on perceiving my parent's disconcertion, "Don't make yourself uneasy, sir; he'll improve, depend upon it. My panacea for mental complaints to which youths are so subject, such as want of memory, reflection, and application, is most eiScacious, I assure you. I trust a good deal to the reasoning faculties, and likewise rely in some measure upon " " Not coercion, I hope, for I must stipu- late that Arthur is never touched with the rod." " I'll take precious good care of that," cried I. '^ Don't alarm yourself, sir, with any such ideas!" answered the Domine, smiling. " I'm no advocate for strong stimulants, unless the disease requires stringent reme- dies ; and if my pupils only evince a proper taste for study, and an emulative spirit, together with promising intellectual capa- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 37 city, they're certain to fulfil my expecta- tions, and thereby consult their own interests." " After such a promise, sir," rejoined my father, brightening up and rubbing his hands, " I shall certainly feel confidence in his being treated as one of the family, as I believe your prospectus sets forth." " Very true, sir — this is quite a home to those who consider it such." " Your school certainly seems conducted on a good system." " I, sir, like the sun^ am the centre of a system. My chief usher, as the moon, occupies my place in my absence, enlighten- ing by the exercise of a borrowed influence ; that ceases when -I reappear. The other ushers may be compared to the satellites of Jupiter. The scholars in the aggregate may be denominated clustering stars of various altitudes and capacities. The most brilliant amongst them may be styled planets. Those that remain with me through the vacations, fixed stars. Those leaving for good, falling stars. A boy's progress up his form may be called his 38 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, ' right ascension,' and vice versa, ' decli- nation.' " He omitted to allude to eclipses, of which, however, he was doubtless reminded when, as sometimes happened, a daring youth turned off the gas, leaving either sun or moon in darkness. During his elucidation, mj father kept his eyes fixed on him, puzzled with his comparisons between human and heavenly bodies, and at the close of his soliloquy, said, ^' By-the-bye, Mrs. Montague desired me to ask a few questions about diet." '' Glad you've broached the subject, sir. We kill our own meat, and make our own cider." " Quite satisfied, sir — quite. I see there's every prospect of Arthur's being both afiec- tionately treated and nicely fed. Thank you." He bowed, and then proposed our proceed- ing to the well-ventilated school-room, to wit- ness the studious propensities of those assem- bled therein; and as we entered the long, lofty apartment, with its rows of connected desks and benches on either side, a general AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 39 buzz, not unlike the humming of cock- chafers, met the ear. '^ Silence !" shouted a sour-visaged usher, as the humming increased, and he received a significant nod from his displeased supe- rior, who was busily engaged in a whispering confabulation with the parent of the " new boy," directing his observation to various objects around, pronounced extremely well worthy of particular notice, as exhibiting skilful arrangement and adaptation to the requirements of the occupants. A momentary pause in the din ensued, and a general manifestation of serious stu- diousness elicited the admiration and ap- plause of the observant stranger, who gazed with much interest at the evident symp- toms of earnestness in the employments of all present. Some with hands support- ing their heads, heavy with the weight of learning they contained; some with pens in their mouths, turning over the leaves of ancient oracles of wisdom; others writing very rapidly, dipping into inkstands very frequently, and pausing every now and then to examine their compositions. Others be- 40 ARTUUR MONTAGUE ; OR, traying considerable perplexity whilst en- deavouring to master some diiFicult problem, and many evidently attempting to commit to memory, by a seemingly tedious process, certain portions of distasteful volumes; ap- parently deriving some aid from the action of their bodies in quick genuflexions, ac- companied by the rubbing of knees and thighs, thereby producing that pleasing gloss that betokens indefatigable mental as well as manual labour. So completely was I taken up by the entire novelty of the scene, and the con- templation of the automaton movements of the animated mass, that I allowed myself to be separated from tlie side of my com- panions, which being perceived by a small red-headed urchin at whom 1 was staring in passing, he leant his body back as far as he could, holding on by the collar of a neighbour's jacket to prevent overbalancing, and then dextrously applied the point of a sharp pen to a prominence ill pro- tected from attack, exclaiming, at the same moment — his hand up to his mouth, to deaden the sound — AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 41 " Well, little Tight- breeches, hoAV did you leave your nurse?" " Don't !" I bawled lustily, as my flesh be- came sensible of the effects of the successful thrust. "Hollo! what's that?" vociferated the Domine and usher, simultaneously. I was silent, suspecting what would be the consequence of disclosing the cause of the interjection — and this piece of discretion afterwards gained me much popularity. I was pronounced a "a trump" and "a regular brick," which enviable titles, being only be- stowed upon highly meritorious individuals, I, of course, fully appreciated . The combined efforts of pedagogue and assistant to discover the delinquent proving abortive, prolonged study was prescribed as a punishment, and our trio emerged. After the playground had been traversed, the gymnasium visited, the bath-houses in- spected, the wet weather sheds examined, and all equally admired and commended, ray father expressed his readiness to depart. I was caressed, enriched with advice and a gold coin, desired to adopt the preceptor as 42 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, a parent, urged to get attached to study as an adjunct to happiness in my new sphere, recommended to contract a habit of reading as a delightful pastime, and entreated to make as fast progress as possible in the art of caligraphy with the ultimate aim of writing a neat letter to my mother. These injunctions were prompted by the judicious deviser of my future pursuits upon a plan deemed best suited at all times to im- presij fathers and sons with right concep- tions of his laudable solicitude for their welfare. Directly I was left alone with the substi- tute for those 1 was severed from, he told me to deliver over to him the gift he had detected my receiving. This request I thought altogether so unreasonable that I declined complying with it, on the plea that he had no right whatever to expect me to make such a sacrifice upon so short an acquaintance. This objection seemed to displease him ; he looked very sour, and re- peated the demand — a refusal followed, and tlie coveted coin was buried deeper in tlie intricate recesses of the puzzle- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 43 pocket, wherein a clenched hand remained to guard it. " Breaking out rather early Mr. Mon- tague," said the irate reformer, surveying me with a hostile gaze — " I must be peremptory, I see. " Give me that money, this instant." The hold of it became more firm and the pressure of the nails against the palm more painful. " Do you hear, sir?" An affirmative nod and a triumphant smile supplied the place of an answer. "Oh, that's it — is it? Very well, sir: we'll soon see who's master — you or me. You still persist, eh?" '^ Yes, and intend to — " "You do?" " Yes ; you've no business with it — if you want money, get it somewhere else; you shan't have mine." This reply destroyed the little forbearance left : the arm was seized, and forcibly with- drawn from its retreat, and the inquiry, "Where is it, sir?" attended the opening out of the fingers, confident of finding the secreted sovereign. 4i ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " Don't you wish you may get it?" cried I, laughing at his failure. He darted forth a savage look, raised his arm menacingly, and as I withdrew mine from the depository, to ward off the threat- ened blow, he with consummate adroitness made a pounce on the unprotected pocket, and, penetrating it, captured the treasure. This success somewhat lessened his wrath, and instead of revenging the obstinate re- sistance, he merely chided me for what he termed my "extraordinary conduct," and cautioned me against a repetition of such fool-hardiness; and my suspicions of his dishonest intentions were soon after- wards somewhat modified when he stated that the money would be kept in trust, and not forfeited, although I deserved to lose it. That evening was spent in the society of the " family circle" according to custom in like cases, the object being to combine the " utile" with the " dulce." To interrogate the new-comer anent pedigree, past pursuits, and future prospects, as well as to persuade him of his good fortune in having found AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 45 fresh friends to make up for the loss of those left behind. I feel I may venture to say that I passed through the ordeal with eclat, my candour elicited marked approbation, and I was pro- nounced " a fine frank boy," and the ma- gister's vinegar- faced spouse added that I should be a great favourite, if I always closely adhered to the truth. This intended compliment was not ac- cepted as such, for I thought what she said implied a suspicion that truth-telling with me w^as the exception and not the rule, so I told her she had no business to suppose me capable of telling a falsehood. There was a general titter after this speech, amongst the juvenile Turnovers, con- sisting of three girls and a boy, who on the strength of a " new boy's entry on the finance sheet," had at their disposal a double allowance of tea-cakes and toast, which they were devouring with considerable avidity. At length, bed-time arrived, and I was dismissed, with instructions to sleep sound, and prepare my mind for study on the morrow. 46 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, To this recommendation I replied that I had every intention of sleeping, as usual, till breakfast time. This avowal once more excited the giggles of the hungry group, as they thought of my being obliged to rise some hours earlier than I anticipated. Separating from them, however, without any such saddening reflection, I went forth ready and resolved to have my fill of sleep. But, lo ! at early dawn I was awoke by a gruff voice summoning me to get up, and on looking up with half-closed eyes, I beheld the gaunt figure of the grim usher by the bed- side — a sight that annoyed me. So I up- braided him for disturbing my repose at that early hour, and desired him to be off, or I would throw a shoe at him. This threat brought forth a peal of laughter from all the boys in the room, and as the wrathful func- tionary did not like to wreak his vengeance upon me, he seized the first urchin within reach, and shook him violently, asking him how he dared to turn him into ridicule. The young culprit declared he had not, and I confirmed the statement, and then, turning AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 47 round, clasped the bed-clothes more closely and buried my head deeper in the pillow; but presently the intruder repeated his com- mand, and receiving for answer that he was to betake himself to the d — 1, he forthwith, without uttering a word, quickly deprived me of all covering, save the garment I was in. Upon being thus unceremoniously dealt with, I sat up on the bed, with my chin rest- ing on my knees, and, after staring for a moment at the perpetrator of the deed, I re- viled him for his want of decency and his cowardice, in bullying one so much smaller than himself. This produced a fresh shout of merriment amongst the numerous disci- plined students who, knowing too well the penalty of being too late below stairs, were hurrying out of the room from all quarters. Some with toilet half completed, some in a less forward state limping along on one leg, thrusting the other through trousers, some buttoning on braces, some putting on boots, and others dragging on, with signs of vexa- tion, jackets not fitting easily. or likely to last long enough to satisfy the expectations of parsimonious parents. The scene caused 48 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, me amazement, for I could not understand the necessity for such desperate haste, having been accustomed to dress in a very different way. While I was contemplating the ex- citing proceedings, I was much entertained by seeing a saucy -looking lad, who, like my- self, was much disinclined to rise, suddenly dart from out his bed and fly out of the room with his clothes in his arms to escape before the usher came out of the inside room. He stopped an instant in the middle of the passage to settle into liis nankeens, and then started off again amidst the jeers of his com- rades, as he caught sight of the merciless official about to give chase; and, on being overtaken, he paid the forfeit of his demi- nudity, and called out lustily. I was soon alone, but not in the least like Alexander Selkirk — I saw nothing about me I could call my own. Even the suit I had deposited under my pillow was gone, nor was it until after an active search that it was discovered hid away under the mattress of another bed. My non- arrival down stairs led the aca- demical whipper-in to suppose that I must AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 49 be again asleep ; so he forthwith re\'isited rae. His surmises were well grounded, he found me re-locked in the embrace of the drowsv orod. " Rise, you slothful whelp !'* he cried, full of fury at the recollection of my pre- vious conduct. "Who are you, you beast, to call me those names? Take that!" I bawled, flinging my bundle of clothes at his head with a swing. Shaking the enveloping vestures off his shoulders, he plunged forward and seized my ear with much force, and I, to be even with him, caught tight hold of his dis- engaged thumb with my teeth. A tacit compromise instantly followed; he let go, and so did I. It may be conceived, perhaps, that the rebellious " new boy" was the eventual sufferer. No. The wounded tutor had, in the impulse of anger, exceeded the powers vested in him, by " taking the law into his own hands," and therefore made no further mention of the fray; whilst I^ YOL. I. P 50 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, on the contrary, determined to proclaim the defeat of his dastardly attempt to elongate my organs of audition. This explanation afterwards, amongst my new companions, when I descended, elicited their acclamations, and several of them strongly testified their approval of my good beginning by presenting me with divers pieces of a certain sweet substance called " butter Scotch," covered with a sort of fleece indigenous to schoolboys' pockets. Not having been used to sucking such compounds at so early an hour, before my eyes could be said to be open for the day, and yet not liking to refuse the generous offers, or to dispute the judgment of the donors, who declared the stuff to be deli- cious, I put a portion of the manufacture into my mouth, but the cough it produced soon replaced it in my hand, when I made the important discovery that a small stumpy bit of slate pencil was adhering thereunto ; and as I did not feel myself equal to dis- solving the sundry other specimens I had been supplied with, I handed them all over to a lad near me, who was eyeing them AN ONLY SON AT SEA 51 covetously. "Oh, thank you!" he ex- claimed, in a tone of earnest gratitude, and joy rioted in his large blue eyes as he confidently comraenced a task that had quite appalled me. I need not dwell at any length on the nature of my advancement in my studious career, which opened without any indica- tions of precocious talent; and the rudi- ments proved impediments to me that it needed some time to surmount. My zeal was principally directed to qualifying myself to delight my expectant mother by the sight of a legible communi- cation; and at last her long patience was reward(d by the receipt of what she styled " a beautiful real letter from darling Arthur.!' Some of these earliest specimens of my pro- gress in caligraphy were very properly pre- served amongst the valuable manuscripts of my ancestors, in the iron safe, in the fire- proof wing of the paternal mansion. After the lapse of six months I returned home " a wiser" and " a better" boy, com- plaining only of having been often incon- D 2 52 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, venienced by a vacuum, such as Nature, as well as I, " abhorred." To obviate the recurrence of such an evil, which my horrified mother averred was "enough to kill anybody," I was fur- nished, towards the expiration of the holi- days, with a store of edibles filling an iron- fastened elm box, or rather chest; and the supply was well chosen, comprising a ham, a cheese, an ox-tongue, a dried salmon, a keg of pickled oysters, a stone jar of potted butter, one of treacle, a stupendous cake, a tin of ginger-bread nuts, several pots of pickles and preserves, and the interstices skilfully packed with oranges, apples, and walnuts; the whole being covered with a layer of captain's and fancy biscuits. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 53 CHAPTER III. The Rev. Dr. Turnover's bodily proportions were such as to inspire awe in the minds of timorous pupils unpossessed of the ''''mens sihi conscia rectV^ In form he resembled Dr. Johnson — in face he certainly had the advantage of the " Literary Colossus," if the likenesses of him are faithful. Ac- cording to the calculation of Quesnay, a full-grown person has no business with more than eight pounds of veritable fat adhering to his bones. If so, Dr. Turnover unques- tionably carried about with him more than his allowance, but his corpulence could not be said to arise from inaction or tranquillity of mind, which so materially tend to create rotundity of form. No. He had an unruly half-hundred to govern, a termagant for a wife! 54 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, His head was spherical, its summit smooth and shining, two precarious samples of silken hair, one over either ear, and a thin narrow ridge above the nape of the neck being the only remains of the luxuriant crop that, according to his testimony, once covered a caput become prematurely bare and sterile. His countenance was more circular than oval, and the gnomon was, greatly to his grief and uneasiness, illumined most omi- nously, though its effulgence, which con- trasted vividly with the pale tint of the rest of his physiognomy, was not occasioned by any particular predilection for vinous de- coctions. So sensible was he, however, of its unnatural brilliancy, that, by way of diminishing it, he was wont to attempt to render it more in harmony with its fellow- features, by a careful application of violet powder, which, lacking an adhesive quality, very imperfectly fulfilled the object in view. And so averse was he to having his coun- tenance perused, that he never uttered the ejaculation " Look up, sir !" that so often emanates from the lips of the impatient in- structors of torpid pupils. His limbs were AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 55 always encased in a suit of black, and his coat was provided with square skirts of con- siderable amplitude, displaying the openings of two capacious pockets, that contained a heterogeneous collection of divers articles of utility in frequent demand. He had a par- ticular penchant for knee-breeches and silk stockings, and betrayed no small pride in scanning the correct formation of his lower members and the muscular prominences ap- pertaining thereto, which he was accustomed to cherish and fondle by frequent manipula- tion as he sat with one leg thrown over the other — the usual attitude when en- throned. He was far from neglectful of his attire, and bestowed some pains in the pre- servation of the set of the well-crimpled frill that jutted out from between the collar of a glossy satin waistcoat, below which a wide massive gold chain peered forth from the watch fob, to the end of which was attached a large bunch of antique-looking seals, that he was wont to finger as a Turk does his beads, whenever he was under the influence of gratification, excitement, or wrath, and especially during unsuccessful efibrts to 56 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, impart information to those not athirst for knowledge. It is commonly remarked that tall people of one sex often admire and marry short ones of the other. Upon some such prin- ciple it was, perhaps, that he selected his spouse from amongst Eve's daughters, for she was certainly a decided antithesis to himself in geometrical properties, and pos- sessed neither length, breadth, nor thickness, nor did her society ensure him the enjoy- ment of that " Domestic happiness " which the poet denominates, " the only bliss that has survived the Fall;" but alas! on the contrary, she disdainfully despised all the rules that have ever been prescribed for the profitable regulation of connubial inter- course, and was, in fact, an adept in the art of matrimonial warfare, and with very much truth might her yoke-mate have said of her, what Sir Thomas More did of his second wife, that she was " nee hella nee puellay Her eyes were small, dark, and deep sunk in their sockets. Her voice was sepulchral, and seemed to arise, not from the chest, but a region below it; and the rough brown hair that hung in meagre AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 57 ringlets about the sharp sides of her saffron-coloured countenance were not ex- actly what the poet had in his eye when he affirmed that — *' Woman's tresses man's imperial race ensnare." Her temper — oh ! that I could be silent on this theme; but as a faithful chronicler, concealment is impossible. Her temper was highly acidulated, her tongue not at- tuned to harmony, and her feelings were antarctical. Is it surprising then that her partner seldom gazed on her with idolatrous love, or opened his arms, at her approach, to embrace her in a delirium of joy. Dr. Turnover's was unquestionably an ill-assorted union, and he experienced the full truth of the scriptural proverb, " the contentions of a woman are a continual dropping" — meaning of course that they wear away the hardest bodies. But it is only justice to record, that whenever she enacted Xantippe, he imitated Socrates; although, at the same time, he was doubtless quite ready to subscribe to the opinion, that " It is better to dwell in the corners of the d3 58 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, liouse-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house." His passiveness was on principle. He yielded in obedience to the gospel injunction to " Return good for evil;" but on the subsidence of the broils that were almost of daily occurrence, his looks always ex- pressed fatigue and exhaustion, and his mind was seldom free from apprehension until the near approach of the hour of sleep ; " the friend of woe," when he rejoiced in the pro- spect of Mrs. Turnover being soon enclasped in the arms of Morpheus. She was devoutly obstinate, and gloried in never having been, as she called it, humiliated by a defeat; and when a courageous female acquaintance, prompted by conscience, and pitying the sufferings of her meek-spirited husband, deemed it her duty to inform her in clear terms that she had the reputation of being a virago of the first class, she furiously re- pelled the charge, declaring it to be "a weak invention of the enemy," and then she enu- merated her many conjugal virtues, essaying to prove herself the victim of calumny and ill-treatpient. One day the exemplary Doctor, after AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 59 listening with his wonted serenity to a long tirade, got rather tired of her rhetoric, and had the temerity to refer to the promises she had made to " love, honour, and obey;" wliereupon she started to her feet, threw herself into a theatrical attitude, and fancy- ing herself the daughter of Venus, exclaimed, in the words of Hermione, upbraiding the faithless Pyrrhus — ** Have I not loved you, then, perfidious man ?" Thus called upon for a candid opinion, and being unwilling to suppress the truth, from which he never swerved, he ventured to reply to her interrogatory by a negative response that rendered her rage ungovern- able ; and after copious uncomplimentary declarations, she altered her key to a dolorous strain, and, with clasped hands and uplifted eyes, pathetically deplored, in language designed to " cut him to the quick," her inability to cast loose the knot she had in an evil hour permitted to be tied. These repinings, however, did not affect his feelings, but his habitual silence she accepted as a token of triumph ; whilst 60 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, he confessed to himself that she in no way resembled Eve as described by Milton, or personified Scott's " Ministering Angel," or the " Fair Spirit" with whom Childe Harold was willing to dwell in the desert. She plumed herself not a little upon being a perfect mistress of arithmetic, and remarkably versant in history, and she was accustomed, much to the mortification of her lord {hut not maste?'), to trip into the school-room most inopportunely to attest her right to share the sway of the presiding deity therein ; and whilst there, she would exhibit her consciousness of her superior mental endowments by supervising the slate labours of unskilled mathematicians in the junior form, rubbing out numberless figures, and substituting others in lieu, accompanying the corrections with looks of consequence and sapience, and sundry egotistical remarks and comments unflattering to those whose works she amended. She was likewise wont to catechise incipient students of the productions of the sages of Greece and Rome, on the subject matter of their studies, and often would she AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 61 perplex, and almost paralyse, a "beginner" in ancient history, by a multiplicity of inquiries about Thebes, Babylon, and Nineveh, insist- ing upon being minutely informed of the area, population, and general character of those cities, and the qualities that distin- guished their principal rulers; and not un- frequently would she, after casting a scornful look at her spouse, whose countenance bespoke his discomfiture, walk majestically up to the side of one of the ushers, and talk pedantically about Aristotle, Sophocles, and Euripides, the writings of Zenophon, and the exploits of Cassar, taking especial care that her observations should reach the ears of him for whom they were uttered, and convince him of her classical acquirements. She would also, by way of manifesting her utility, sometimes employ herself mend- ing pens, and stitching torn leaves together, but her chief occupation during her visits was watching patiently for a plea to dispose of physic, by trying to detect certain urchins, noted as determined votaries of Somnus, in a state of obliviousness, upon conviction of which, the suddenly aroused and stupified 62 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, culprit was pronounced to be far from well, his drowsiness being ascribed to lassitude, arising from the disordered state of the stomach; to correct which he was im- mediately made to swallow a brace of pills about the size of marrowfat peas, or else a James's powder in a spoonful of tempting currant jelly ; the now ideally sick sufferer being consoled, whilst striving, sometimes ineffectually, to retain the nauseous com- pound, with reiterated promises of a satiety of mutton broth and rice pudding on the morrow. By this ingenious method of preserving health, were grounds established for the justification of the regular additional charges in the half-yearly bills for " Medical advice and attendance." I always returned home for the vacations loaded with persuasions to devote much of that period of recreation to the improvement of my mind, and I was also furnished with a politic despatch pointing out my particular aptitude for scholastic studies, and explain- ing my rapid progress in various branches of '' polite education." These commenda- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 63 tions were supposed to counteract the constant complaints previously uttered of my incorrigible indolence and stupidity ; I likewise carried with me from the seat of learning, certain drawing- books, containing promising imitations of outline sketches of simple architecture, representations of water- falls and windmills, figures of human beings not looking very pliable, very mistakeable likenesses of cattle, cows somewhat re- sembling rein-deer, and sheep Newfoundland dogs ; and as to the structure of that noble animal, the horse, the portraitures were not a la Landseer. But most of the foreground, background, trees, shrubs, and skies, were the work of another artist, without whose assistance the performances could scarcely have been deemed worthy of exhibition in the National Gallery. These productions were suitably prized and praised at Montague Hall, and the frequent interchange of parental congratula- tions on my manifold accomplishments and surprising success as a draughtsman, were very gratifying to the self-love of which I possessed an ample shares But in spite of 64 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, the sentiments thus flatteringly expressed, I cannot in candour omit to mention that my reputation at school and at home widely differed ; and I had been some years under the tutorage of Dr. Turnover without having been benefited by his introductions to Messrs. Homer, Horace, Virgil, Sallust, Zenophon, Ca3sar, Ovid, and Cornelius Nepos, with whom I kept up but a very slight acquaintance, which I was always quite ready to break off. This avowal will prepare the reader for the announcement that my classical acquirements were not deemed such as to justify predictions of future competency to compete for " high honours," at either of the universities; nor was it thought that my manner of translating ^'Moliere's Plays," "Charles Douze," or •' Telemaque," indicated my possessing any extraordinary facility for learning modern languages. " The use of the globes" was said to be of very little use to me, beyond making me acquainted with the relative positions of the frigid and torrid zones, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the animal forms of the " signs of the zodiac." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 65 The study of geography, too, it was re- marked, barely served to impress upon my mind correct notions of the nature of an isthmus, a peninsula, a continent, and an island, and of the likeness of Africa to a ham, and Italy to an ill- made boot. As to history, it was generally decided that I had only ascertained that '' Britain was but Tery little known to the rest of the world before the time of the Romans." On the score of scientific pursuits, I was not con- sidered a proper person to refer to for the solution of puzzling " problems," and " com- plex fractions." These admissions, that an inherent reve- rence for truth prompts me to publish, may, perhaps, tempt some to suppose that my mental abstinence was inexcusable. To any such charges I must reply that, though in the race after knowledge, people are apt to strive to amass as large an amount as possible, there certainly are authorities, and good ones too, who dis- countenance the prevalent practice. For instance, Solomon, whose wisdom all admit, says (in Ecclesiastes), "For in much wisdom QQ ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, is much grief, and lie that increaseth know- ledge increasetli sorrow." Festus said to St. Paul, " Too much learning hath driven thee mad!" Mr. Dry den declares — <' Great wits are sure to madness near allied ;" and another poet speaks of " Academic tutors teaching youths, Sure ne'er to want them, mathematic truths." These assertions are undoubtedly sufficient to create misgivings in the minds of youths not panting for lore, as to the indispen- sableness of wisdom in the lump; and if, after weighing the import of the foregoing allegations, one calls to mind the averment of Mr. Pope, that — " A little learning is a dangerous thing," and takes into consideration his recom- mendation to " Drink deep, or not at all, at the Pierian spring," it is not improbable that the difficulty of deciding between these conflicting opinions may cause the dubious meditator to feel that the safest way of avoiding disappoint- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 67 ment, if disinclined to "Drink deep," whicli one advises and others decry, is partially to follow Mr. Pope's suggestion, and not use the Pierian spring at all. This is the plan I adopted on finding I could not rely on the efforts of my under- standing for celebrity. But I was not without fame, which was gained by a simpler method; and the uni- versal plaudits of my companions when success attended my nocturnal exploits in hen-roosts and apple-lofts stimulated me to unrelaxed activity in perpetrating every species of crime, from placing chopped horse-hair in the beds of the ushers to turning all the cocks of the several water- butts the evening preceding the '* general washing day." The proofs of my being the committer of these capital offences were, luckily for me, owing to my admirable precautions to evade detection, more frequently pre- sumptive than positive, so that an acquittal with a damaged character and stricter surveillance was the general result. Moralists tell us that transgressions G8 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, never go long unpunished, an assurance my case did not belie. Like an ignorant navigator, I had shaped a wrong course that was perilling my safety, and one day the sun rose angrily, with a choleric countenance, that denoted a storm. Soon afterwards, louring clouds, by which he was overcast, showed what was brewing, and presently the breeze came noisily along, and I was forced to bend to it. Being down by the head and steering wild, it became necessary to remove some of my after-sail and trim me by the stern, which was not effected without some trouble, owing to the rolling and plunging the roughness occasioned; and when the operation was completed, it was discovered that the buttocks had been injured outside by being so much struck when broaching to. But as all my readers may not comprehend me in the vernacular, I must beg to observe, in other parlance, that the judicious stipula- tion of my sapient and far-seeing parent was at length violated by the cultivator of my cerebral region, and that my long exemption from corporal chastisement had AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 69 an end. Though an unquestionable sufferer by the lapse of my immunity, I could not conscientiously charge the introducer of the new regime with injustice, whilst I saw that his first-born fully participated in the same treatment, and experienced the strength of his father's implicit faith in the maxim of the very wise man of yore, who suggests — " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." An unfeeling doctrine, though of some- what obsolete origin, yet still constantly adduced to justify flagellations during pupilage. It will be seen that, all other remedies failing. Dr. Turnover despaired of producing a salutary effect on a constitution not easily operated on, without having re- course to the virtues of that medicinal plant that schoolboys can scarcely contem- plate in its natural state without painful reminiscences. When about to be the object of the new experiment, I resolved to show that I was no disciple of Heraclitus, for I scorned the peurile practice. But during its application I certainly felt utterly at a loss to imagine how the Spartan 70 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, juveniles bore their severe bodily trials with such silent fortitude ; and I felt convinced that the statements of Cicero, Seneca, and others on the subject, were gross misrepre- sentations, and unentitled to any sort of credence. For my part, wdien so situated, I felt that such refraining from the use of speech might be viewed as a tacit acknowledgment of my indifference to the ceremony; so I preferred following the example of the discreet Sancho, and giving free vent to my feelings of dissatisfaction, and my pedal and dental exertions throughout were so unre- mitting as to prevent my excited moral former from experiencing the truth of Thomson's pretty remark about its being a <« Delightful task * * * ***** To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind, To breathe th' enlivening spirit, and to fix The generous purpose in the glowing breast." *' As the twig is bent the tree inclines,'' he cried, in broken accents, quite breathless with labour. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 71 If that's the case, thought I, as the instru- ment of instruction described curves round my body, I'm likely to grow up crooked enough; but, under the painful circum- stances, I forbore uttering the sentiment. The sensations pervading my frame after this violent exercise, which, though it no doubt circulated the blood beneficially, nevertheless brought a great deal too much of it to the surface, rendered me somewhat reflective, when left alone on the " solitary system," to *' chew the cud of sweet and bitter fancy," and a notion of the necessity of a change of policy crossed my thoughts, but did not tarry there, for all idea of amend- ment fled directly I rejoined my commending companions, and received abundant praises for the excellent use I had made of feet and teeth, and for the tartness of some of ray observations during my vociferations. I felt emboldened with renewed courage, and foresaw that the temptations to err were too strong and plentiful to be long resisted ; so I forthwith shut my ears against self- admonition, and thought, with Seneca, that 72 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " a multitude of books distract the miud," though I could not agree with him in the assertion, " I would rather be ill than idle." The author to whose advice I paid most attention was Milton, who strongly recom- mends boxing in his " Treatise on Educa- tion;" and the consequence was, I often exhibited the somewhat unusual pheno- menon of an individual with one eye blue and the otlier black, and my features fre- quently underwent so complete a metamor- phosis, as totally to eradicate all trace of the remarkable family likeness, which Avas so often the theme of expatiation, when my countenance enjoyed its natural placidity. With shame, be it confessed, that I was much addicted to the ungallant practice of alarming the maid-servants when " Nature and nature's works lay hid in niglit;" thus seeking to gain some satisfaction by the discomfiture of my sworn foes, whose evidence very often led to my conviction when arraigned for my misdeeds. My final essay in this way was the forerunner of an eventful incident in my career. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 73 I had long cherished a secret implacable hostility towards one of these witnesses in particular, who showed herself more inimi- cal than the rest — so I resolved to cause her such a fright, as should effectually weaken her constitution; and in execution of this intention I assumed the garb of a ghostly visitant, to scare her vision and curdle her blood. Enveloping myself in a sheet, be- daubed with red ochre, and, adding to my height by means of stilts, I took up my position in a well-chosen angle of the wall that enclosed the court-yard, and there awaited in breathless anxiety the antici- pated approach of the hated Ann. Scarce, however, was I at my post, when I observed a decrepit hag, resembling one of the weird sisters, just leaving the premises after a visit to the back-door to receive purloined scraps. Her absorbing examination of the precious contents of her handkerchief pre- vented her encountering the spectral figure till she was nearly upon it, when she fully testified her horror at the sight of such an apparition (come, as she conceived, to condemn her clandestine proceedings) by VOL, I. E 74 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, loud and long continued cries of " Ghost!" "Murder!" "Help!" &c. These calls soon aroused the whole establishment to action, and immediately out rushed the intrepid Domine, ushers, scholars, mistress, maids, and others, who all joined zealously in one pell- mell, hurry-scurry, helter-skelter, chase after the imagined felon. I fled precipitately, threatened with the fate of St. Stephen, as showers of stones sliot past or fell about me. Discordant shouts, too, whoopings, tally- ho-ings, and the shrill screams of the softer sex, as they caught sight of the fugitive criminal, greatly distressed me in my flight. Loud was the voice of the pedagogue, urging on his myrmidons in pursuit of the mis- creant. The sound of " Stop thief!" pro- ceeding from the long skinny thorax of the provider of physic, was distinctly audible; and the unmistakeable cry of the odious informer Ann, was also borne onward by the breeze, to complete my perplexity. My members of locomotion did me good service, and like the antlered monarch of the forest, I distanced pursuit for a time ; but, at length, the element so essential to speed failed me — AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 75 my pace slackened, and a missile such as slew Goliah, felled me to the earth. I was picked up in a state of seeming lifelessness ; no pulsation was perceptible; the back of the head was laid open by a long deep con- tusion; a torrent of blood streamed from the wound, and the scarlet fluid also flowed copiously from nose and mouth. I was carried back to the house in the arms of some of my captors, who, had they been aware whom they chased, would have fur- thered my escape instead of having pre- vented it. A brain fever and considerable suffering, were the fruits of this rash exploit, and even life was in imminent danger for several days. On my first return to consciousness, I was at a loss to conjecture what had hap- pened, and why I was in bed. But my weakness and inability to articulate more than a few words at a time, without being exhausted by the effort, proved that I was on a bed of sickness; and after some re- flection, I recalled to mind the circumstances preceding my flight, and, by connecting one idea with another, at last solved the mystery e2 76 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, of my situation. My parents were kept in ignorance of my illness, as they were known to be terrible alarmists ; and so gradual was recovery, and so great the debility for some time afterwards, that some weeks elapsed ere the doctors pronounced me sufficiently convalescent to admit of removal home, by easy stages, in a comfortable conveyance. The Domine determined to accompany me, to deliver in person his excuses for not having written, and on the road he almost admitted that my sufferings had expiated my crimes. But conceive, imaginative reader, the scene at Montague Hall, when I arrived unexpectedly : my shaven head bandaged up, and a blood stain on the linen — my face death-like and emaciated — my form wasted away — my voice feeble — my mother's fright and frenzy — my father's horror and dismay — the entire household's consterna- tion — the Domine's painful predicament ! The Christian, benevolent, forgiving, generous, meek, Mrs. Montague, became changed, as if by magic, into a fury on the sight of her spectre of a child that had been fat from his birth. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 77 She seized it, she enclasped it frantically, she wept o'er it, she addressed it, her heart beat audibly, her faculties were paralysed, her throat became parched, her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth. Suddenly a cold shudder came o'er her — slie felt her blood stagnating ; she stared wildly — a mist obscured her vision ; she shrieked and sunk back into the arms of — the terrified pre- ceptor, in a violent fit of hysterics, who discreetly transferred her to those of her legitimate protector. On recovering, and again beholding him whom she viewed as the murderous assailant of her innocent son, she charged him with the crime. She threatened him with the vengeance of the law; she promised him the opprobrium of the world, and she implored everybody present to remember what she said. She would not hearken to his defence, she heeded not his fervent protestations of being free from guilt ; she accused him of cruelty — she accused him of deception and subter- fuge; and verily did her vehemence con- vince him of his short-sightedness in having subjected himself, by his visit, to such a fiery demonstration. 78 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, To persuade her of his being entitled to praise instead of meriting condemnation, he saw was hopeless ; to reason with her, im- practicable; to soothe her impossible; so, thus entangled by diflSculties, he looked on me as the only chance of an acquittal, and begged me to controvert or corroborate his statements. My heart was not so adaman- tine as not to pity his plight, so I declared him blameless, and took upon myself the whole odium of the affair. This, however, did not better his condition. The advocacy was of no avail, as it was ascribed to a tender feeling of compassion towards a fallen foe, who was utterly unworthy of such kind intervention. Finding that even these pleadings failed to appease her wrath, he then addressed himself, in the language of argument, to her unnerved husband, whose replies, and omi- nous shakes of the head, were anything but consolatory. Thus situated, he felt the necessity of retreating expeditiously, and after avowing his intention of vindicating his conduct in writing, he hurried away to the post-chaise, jumped in in, afeverish state, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 79 and, when left to his own meditations, dis- covered that his mission was impolitic. Having been rendered by his matrimonial martyrdom an exemplification "of long suffering and slow to anger," he bore the treatment he had experienced with calm resignation; and, being naturally always more inclined to " extenuate " than " set down aught in malice," he endeavoured to account for the turbulence of a mother^s grief and anger on beholding a person she suspected of brutally ill-using her only child. Doctor Dillon was sent for, and arrived with his usual promptitude. The blank countenances he encountered did not dis- compose him, for he was conscious of the family proneness to take alarm; and when he was conducted to the sofa where I lay, and was told what had occurred, he smiled, saying, '' Little or nothing the matter, ma'am, I assure you. Lost flesh, certainly; but that he'll soon pick up here ; and as to his hair, though it looks like a convict's crop now, it will be as shaggy as ever, before long. His pulse is very fair, tongue 80 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, scarcely furred, strength increasing, appe- tite improving, and " " But the dreadful wound. Doctor?" " Don't distress yourself about that, ma'am; broken heads are as common at the police-offices as bruised backs at schools. It's healing fast, and will be skinned over immediately." He then went on to remark that I was indebted to the hardness and thickness of my head for having got off so well, and that these were decided advantages in a pugna- cious person, though they were not supposed to adapt one for theology, metaphysics, Euclid, algebra, the study of the ancients, or the right appreciation of the sublime doc- trines of Plato and Pythagoras. He was prevailed upon to stay dinner, to meet his friend the Curate; and he shortly after- wards left the room with Mr. Montague to step out on the lawn. As the sonorous house-bell announced the time to dress for dinner, Mr. Oswald walked into the un- occupied drawing-room, being unaddicted to following the fashion of arriving too late, for he knew that a quarter or even half an AN ONLY SON AT SEA. &1 hour could be spent agreeably alone. His usual plan of proceeding was to devote the spare interval to the re-examination of visiting-cards, scent-bottles, chimney-piece ornaments, unfinished fancy work, table bijouterie, &c. ; then, as a matter of course, lie took up the album to admire its superb exterior, and perhaps turned over very patiently its abundant blank leaves in quest of the " few and far-between" drawings that decorated some of its pages, which were vari -coloured, tending to relies/ e tlie eye during the search after elegant specimens of blue and gold heart's-ease, of tulips, moss- roses, butterflies, nude Cupids, transfixed hearts roasting, pencil sketches of doubtful pretensions carefully preserved for the admi- ration of posterity by a preparation of milk and isinglas, and autographs indicating unpardonable neglect in the early education of the writers, whose signatures were better suited to grace Chaldiean manuscripts than to adorn an English album. After this scrutiny, he not unfrequently made the round of the walls, to inspect once more some of the oil-paintings; then, may be, the E 3 82 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, pattern of the carpet, table-covers, or cur- tains expended a few minutes, and if any time remained it was generally either spent looking out of the window or into the fire. Upon this occasion, he was intent in the close survey of a pen-wiper, made of bits of green, red, and blue velvet, and displaying outside a number of little beaded forget-me- nots, when my mother, dressed in black satin trimmed with lace and bugles, rustled into the room, interrupting his employment. "What is that you're admiring so?" she said, after welcoming him. '^ This exquisite piece of workmanship." "You like it, do you? Well, Tm very glad; so does my husband — he's very fond of it. I worked it for him with my own hands for his last birth-day, and he prizes it so much, he never uses it, but wipes his pens on the skirts of his coat, which I tell him is a very bad habit. You must know we always make a point of giving each other some small token of affection on our natal-day. We give a grand dinner on the anniversary of our marriage, as you're aware." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 83 " I am, indeed; I know the day well." " Really one quite longs for these birth- days to come round, although they do make us older^ just for the pleasure of seeing what the present is to be, for we never tell each other beforehand. On my last, he awoke first, and sitting upright in the bed, shook me, saying, ' Many happy returns,' and some- thing else, and then drew forth from under the pillow his gift. Now, guess what it was." "A handsome bracelet, perhaps?" " No — but — a lovely Valentine 1 Now, wasn't it a beautiful idea?" ^' It was^ ma'am; but Mr. Montague has such a heart, and is, in fact, a match " The door opened, and in walked the eulo- gized gentleman and Doctor Dillon arm-in- arm. " How do, to-day, Oswald?" said the host, shaking him by the hand. "Here's the Doctor has kindly consented to stay dinner; The Curate and Surgeon saluted each other. " Mr. Oswald has been praising the pen- wiper, dear," whispered its maker, seizing hold of the arm of her husband; 84 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, " And so he ought, my love. Don't you think so, Doctor?" "What is it, sir?" " Here look at it. Doesn't it do her great credit?" The modest manufacturer averted her head — " The conscious blush to hide." The two guests separately declared they had never seen anything to be compared to it, and they had attended many an amateur bazaar with the view of purchasing prettily- made fancy articles of utility at a very cheap rate. Dinner was now announced. The Cur^ite being nearest the solitary lady, quickly offered her his arm. The Surgeon probably betrayed disappointment, for she turned towards him, and soothingly said — "Never mind, Doctor; I'll take you both." " With all my heart, ma'am," he replied, taking hold of the disengaged arm; and they sailed out of the room " in line abreast," hauling on a wind to clear the doorway. The host brought up the rear, rubbing his hands in an intoxication of spirits, at AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 85 the thoughts of owning a wife who was such a model of virtue and worth. I, though unable to accompany them, was not uncared for, for several messages suc- ceeded each other at short intervals, an- nouncing what there was, and what the Doctor considered best for me. I did not, however, attend to any of his suggestions, but desired the footman to bring up the goose, apple-sauce, and a bottle of porter. After assisting myself to a wing of the splendid bird, I cut off a leg for the spaniel that was whining covetously by the side of the sofa, and as this generosity did not satisfy, I gave her a glass of porter, too— • over her back,— and then rang for the servant to wipe some gravy off the em- broidered table-cover, and to dry up the carpet. My mother left the gentlemen, the instant she could, to hurry to her sick child, and they stayed below a considerable length of time after dinner; and when they came up, the Doctor, who had observed the residue of the goose when it returned to the parlour, smiling, asked if I had had '^almost enough," and on my answering " Yes," said I hadn't 86 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, done badly for an invalid. He then turned round to the Curate, saying — " The hare-soup was exquisite, and the turbot magnificent; didn't you think so? And as to the wines, I never taste their equal anywhere." " I quite agree with you," responded the ready panegyrist. My father, overhearing this eulogy, was much gratified, and remarked that he re- joiced they had enjoyed their dinner, as he always wished his guests to rise from his table contented and comfortable. " Eating, sir, is the essence of enjoyment," rejoined the epicurean Galen; ^'and a man who can make an unkind speech after a good dinner, must be void of feeling, prin- ciple, and honesty, and certainly only fit for * treason, stratagems, and crime.' " After expressing this opinion, his rosy face beamed with good nature, and he ap- peared much exhilarated, which rather sur- prised me, as high spirits were unusual with him. Had I been conversant with the en- livening qualities of vinous fluids, I could have accounted for the change; but I was AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 87 not at that period aware that the human heart generally expands in proportion to the distention of the stomach, and collapses when there is a vacuum below. My state of health, scholastic career, harsh treatment, and narrow escape, were each the topic of conversation, and after a long serious talk on these subjects. Dr. Dillon suggested my being taken to some sea-port, for the benefit of salt-water bathing, as a tonic. So it was settled that our family party should forthwith proceed to Ports- mouth for the purpose. 88 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, CHAPTER IV. \Ye had not been long at Portsmouth when the daily sight of small boys decked in uni- form parading the streets with a pompous strut, impressed me with the idea that I was equally Avell qualified for similar ex- hibition ; and with the view of ascertaining by what means they had gained so enviable a position, I one day accosted a little mid- shipman Avalking up the High Street with a sailor close behind him, evidently in at- tendance, as he had a cloak thrown over his arm and a mahogany box in his hand. "Will you have an orange?" said I, holding it out, hoping thereby to make friends before entering into conversation. " I'd recommend you to keep off," he replied, darting forth a look of indignation, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 89 which certainly surprised me, as I could not comprehend how anybody of his age could sensibly refuse so gratuitous an offer ; but as I felt very anxious to talk to him, I made another effort by saying — *' Why are you so uncivil? I want to speak to you, to find out how you're al- lowed to wear those clothes." This inquiry seemed to increase his anger ; he got very red in the face, and, seizing the handle of his dirk, said, " You shall feel the point of this directly, you insig- nificant little brute! The idea that an officer can't walk up to the Admiral's office on duty, without being insulted by a brat of a schoolboy like you, who ought to be at his lessons instead of idling about the streets ! Here, Coxswain, shove him off the pavement into the gutter.'' This speech appeared to amuse the person addressed, for he burst out laughing, whilst I was enraged at such unprovoked impu- dence, and expressed my willingness to try my strength with him, if he would give the sailor his weapon, and fight fairly. He smiled in derision, and chucking me 90 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, a penny, said, " Here — take that — go into that shop and buy yourself a damson tart. You're a better hand at eating than bruis- ing, I should say, judging by your looks, fatty." " I've more money than you have, I'll be bound," I answered, boiling with choler, as I drew myself up closer to him, and held my clenched fist near his face. His companion then interfered, and lay- ing hold of my shoulder, detained me for a minute or two while the consequential little officer walked on, and when he was a short distance in advance he let go his hold, and said — " Come, cut home, my plucky little cove; you mustn't think of punching a midship- mite in the execution of his dooty : you'd be hung for it." This information at once acted as a seda- tive. I felt pleased at being called plucky, and thought that if the penalty of hitting so small an officer was so great, and if I could only contrive to become one myself, I should be a person of considerable im- portance. So I hurried to our hotel, "The AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 91 Bush, at Soutlisea," and after relating suc- cinctly all that had occurred, I abruptly communicated my determination to go to sea. "Go to sea!'^ cried my mother, with a face of horror — " go to sea, Arthur?" " Yes; I'm resolved to go!" was my filial reply. " What!" she exclaimed; "do you know what you're saying, my child? Are you aware of all the dangers of being on rough waves ?" " I don't care; — I will go !" " You really shall not ! — you must not ! you cannot ! — shall he, my dear ?" she con- tinued, turning round to my father, who was speechless from astonishment and per- plexity. "No, indeed, Arthur; you must at once give up such a notion." " Indeed I shall not," I rejoined. . "Do you hear that, my love?" cried my distracted mother, appealing to her per- turbed husband, whose looks conveyed no comfort. " What has seized the poor child ? Oh, how vexed I am with Dr. Dillon for 92 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, sending us here ! I shall return home at once 1" " And if you do I shall remain behind!" said I, moodily. This intimation induced her to pause, with the bell-rope in her hand, intending to give orders for the carriage to be packed for immediate departure, and I rushed up to her, threw my arms round her neck, and pleaded, as I was wont to do, when at- tempting to overrule any prohibition. The result was a copious flood of tears, some signs of surrender, and a sobbing confession that my importunity was irresistible, but that the fulfilment of my object would as- suredly cost her her life. She then, as if re- penting the first admission, shook her head dolefully, exclaiming — "No! no! no! it's out of my power; it is indeed ! You can't go ; you mustn't go ; you oughtn't to go ; — how can I let you go? Oh ! if nothing will prevent you going, I'll go too !" " Nonsense, Rebecca !" ejaculated her ap- prehensive spouse, fearful of losing wife as well as son; " and what am I to do?" AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 93 "Come, too, of course; and the servants must take charge of the house." " I don't see how that can be arranged, my dear." " Oh, it must be. He says he will go; and I must go, and so must you ; so there's no use your making difficulties, my dear." "I positively don't see how we can all go; we shall be too sick to be of the least use to each other; and besides " " I tell you my mind's made up. I'm going — I am, indeed — if I am always sick; this child positively cannot go alone !" A further consideration of the subject compelled her to acknowledge that her ac- companying me would be almost impracti- cable, and her mature reflections pointed out the necessity of relinquishing a resolu- tion formed with too much haste; so at last it was agreed that I should go unat- tended, if I promised faithfully not to re- main away long. This I pledged myself to, knowing that if it was suspected I was to be absent for any length of time my hopes would most likely be frustrated. Consent being ob- 94 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, tained, the next difficulty was how to ac- complish the object in view. The question was fully canvassed, and then I suggested that The Times should be searched all over, as I had certainly seen something in an advertisement about "Midshipmen Wanted." Accordingly my father put on his spectacles, after wiping them, took up the paper, and looked through it, while I watched him with intense anxiety and sus- pense, and my mother sat on the sofa with her face resting on her hand, looking very sad. After a bit, he put down the paper on the table, saying — " Well, I can't find anything like it, and IVe looked down every column." " Here, let me try !" said I, taking it up — and passing my eye over every part, until at length I caught sight of the words " Naval Intelligence." " Oh, here it is !" I exclaimed. " Bless me!" cried my mother. My father showed uneasiness, and rose from his arm-chair. " I've lost it again !" " Indeed; I hope you have," said she. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 95 " Oh, no; I have it now ! — ' Naval Intel- ligence: Appointments — Captain T-a-u-t- h-a-n^d, to H.M.S. Terror, 74; Mr. Stand- clear, Midshipman, to H.M.S. Terror.' " " Terror 1" ejaculated my mother, ''why the very name ought to frighten you. But — ah, this is a most melancholy busi- ness ! Oh, how little do we know what's in store for us ! Oh, how much poor mothers have to go through !" " Do write to him, mamma, darling — do^'' I cried, giving her a fresh squeeze to act as affection. " I positively cannot, my child — my con- science would never forgive me." "Willy^^ then. Papa?" " Me, my dear? I really feel it my duty to decline saying or doing anything about it," he replied, with a look of deep gravity and an ominous shake of the head. This double refusal vexed me greatly, and I was just going to vent my displeasure in a peevish sally, when my tender mother seeing my state enclasped me again, and, in broken accents, said — 96 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " If it breaks my heart, I can't deny you — fetch the writing things." Quick as thought the implements were produced, and in due course, by the joint aid of our consulting trio, the following letter was fabricated : — " Bush Inn, Southsea. " My dear Captain, "Our only child, Arthur, having made up his mind to go to sea with you, I write to ask if your ship is large and com- fortable, and if he will be certain to enjoy himself; for you must know he has been ac- customed to the greatest kindness and in- dulgence, and is a fine spirited boy who cannot brook any sort of incivility. But I am sure if he is invariably treated with parental consideration, you will find he will quickly endear himself to you, and be very sociable. I must, however, enjoin you to be most watchful of his health and prevent his getting wet, or ever exposing himself to the night-air. He is, I lament to say, rather subject to colds, so in case he may have the misfortune to suffer while with you, I en- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 97 close an incomparable recipe for a cough mixture which you will find most efficacious. I may as well mention, that though Arthur is in nowise greedy or gluttonous, he is partial to certain delicacies which, I trust, you will contrive to furnish. He is a growing boy, you will remember, with a good appetite, and therefore it is highly necessary his diet should be ample and nutritious, and that he should not on any account be stinted in anything. It is possible our home-made preserves and pickles may be superior to those you are able to buy, so he shall take with him a good supply. I request you will send me a list of the articles he will require, and I must beg your acceptance of the ac- companying basket of grapes from our hot- house in Kent, that arrived yesterday. They are considered very delicious. Pray offer our kind regards to your family, and " Ever believe me, '* Most sincerely yours, "Eebecca Montague." " P.S. — Arthur desires me to say he hopes he shall like you." VOL. I. r 98 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, This communication was pronounced per- fect by each of the concoctors, and then the writer asked for the address, so I again took up the paper and read out — "Captain Tauthand.'' "• How do you spell it, my dear?" she in- quired. " T-a-u-t-h-a-n-d." "Well, what next?" " H. M. S. Capital letters, with a full stop between each." " Bless me ! what do they stand for?" she cried, withdrawing the feather of her pen from her lips. " Initials, of course — the Christian name, my dear," said my divining father. "Ah, I dare say you're right, my dear; you generally are. lleach me the wax, Arthur, and light a candle; now run up stairs and bring me my seals." " You'd better let me seal it, Eebecca, with my big coat of arms, which will look well." "Very true, my love; a very good idea." Whereupon he walked to the edge of the table, and after she had made a suitable" AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 99 splash of wax and turned it round and round several times, he drew up the lower part of his waistcoat and pulling his watch-ribbon and its appendages from its fob, he put the seal to his lips and then impressed the blazing wax with the Montague arms. I then seized the letter, and ran out of the room to give it to the waiter, who promised to send it off immediately. The interval that elapsed after the dis- patch of this momentous missive was per- haps the most torturing I ever experienced. I walked to and fro, in a state of superlative excitement — now looking out of a window, now throwing open the door and standing about the passage, then trying to keep seated a bit, but sitting was quite out of the ques- tion — my feelings forbade it. After awhile, the door opened — I rushed towards it to re- ceive the longed-for reply, and came in con- tact with the abdomen of a portly gentleman entering by mistake, a carpet bag in one hand, and a large morocco writing desk in the other. I retreated with an apology ; he departed with a growl. My patience was well nigh exhausted F 2 100 ARTHUR MOT^TAGUE; OR, when the sight of the messenger approach- ing made my heart palpitate violently, and I ran out to meet him, returning speedily with a large oblong letter which my father took out of my hand, cut the paper from round the seal, and opening out the foolscap sheet, (I clinging to his arm, bending his body on one side by the dependent weight, and his agitated wife's pale countenance be- traying extreme inquietude,) read out the following discouraging reply : — " H.M.S. Terror, Portsmoutli Harbour. *' Madam, — " I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt of your extraordinary communication rela- tive to your son; and in answer thereto, I have to inform you that you must be hibouring under some strong delusion, as captains of his Majesty's vessels do not receive young gentlemen into their ships in the manner you seem to imagine; and I should infer from tlie tenour of your letter that your son is much better adapted to remain at home than to run the risk of injuring his health at sea. But AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 101 should you have determined that he shall enter the navy, I deem it right to acquaint you with the fact of appointments being only obtainable through the Admiralty, where you had better apply in his behalf. I. will not oiFend you by returning your present, and " I am, Madam, " Your obedient servant, " D. Tautiiand." During the perusal of this letter, the reader had been interrupted more than once. After the first few sentences, my mother exclaimed, "Bless me! he seems oflended; and I'm sure I don't know what I could have said to hurt his feelings !" And wlien it came to the recom- mendation to keep me at home, she cheered up, and with a look of keen elation, cried, "I told you so, you know, Arthur; and now you see this captain, who must under- stand all about it, says you ought to stay with me; so pray do. Won't you, my darling — eh?" I gave a sour negative, which made her 102 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, resume her melancholy musing, and she evinced dire despondency when she heard the proposal to visit the Admiralty, which raised my hopes in proportion to the decline of hers. My father was often a man of few words, and his face more frequently expressed the state of his mind than his tongue. Upon this eventful occasion he manifested, as usual, tacit commotion, and, after pondering on the matter, asked, " What's to be done now, Arthur?" " Go to the Admiralty, of course," responded I, sullenly. " But where is it?" he rejoined. " That we'll soon find out, for I'll ring the bell, and inquire of the waiter; he's sure to know.'* This conjecture proved correct; the in- formation was thus obtained, and the next day we were posting to London. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 103 CHAPTER y. The morning after our arrival in London, we wended our way to the Admiralty, at- tended by a porter from the hotel, to act as guide. On reaching our destination, we per- ceived two gateways, and a sort of archway in the space between them, surmounted by two stone figures of strange- looking animals, with the shape of which we were not at all familiar, although we had visited different zoological collections. Under this approach we passed into a shallow court, surrounded on three sides by the pile of building, and as we advanced, we saw a large glass door facing us, in the centre part of the house in front, with some stout pillars before it. Towards this entrance we directed our 104 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, steps, and after a short reconnoitre, walked into a spacious hall, where there were several persons sitting and standing about, and one of them in particular, who was eating with a keen appetite what seemed to be a mutton chop, especially attracted our observation, and my sire was remarking upon the hungry individual's apparent enjoyment of his luncheon, when a bell rang that evidently summoned him else- where, for he quitted his unfinished repast with zealous alacrity, thereby denoting his desire to manifest his adherence to the admirable maxim, " Business before plea- sure." We then noticed a youth, about sixteen, staring about him with a somewhat sour and dissatisfied expression of countenance. We walked up to him, and on nearing the spot where he stood, my companion, lifting his hat, as was his wont, bowed and said, " Pray, sir, can you kindly inform me to whom I must apply for the situation of midshipman in the royal navy, for my son here?" " To that gentleman you see there at the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 105 end of the passage, in his studio at the bottom of the stone staircase," was the ready reply. We then proceeded, with a quick step, towards the person pointed out, and were soon face to face with the said functionary, my parent's genuflexion, by way of salute, seeming to gratify him, for he nodded his head and moved forward, asking our wishes. Our object was instantly explained, and the application produced a smile, as he per- ceived our obvious ignorance of the nature of the mansion we were in, and said, " I'm afraid I can't manage the business for you, sir; and the best thing you can do is to try and see the lirst lord, and ask for the appointment you ^vant for the young gen- tleman. I'll endeavour to get you an interview by-and-by, when all the officers down on this list have been up in turn; and in the meantime please to step into that room on the right, and wait there till I come to you about it." He was duly thanked fur tlie interest he evinced in our w^elfare, and wc Ibrtliwith entered the apartment s[>eciiied. It was of r3 106 ARTHUR MONTAGUE 5 OR, moderate size, not handsomely furnished, but very well supplied with chairs ; I counted twenty-one ; each exhibited an elaborate resemblance of an anchor on its back, and while I tarried there, I employed myself profitably in sketching on the wrist- band of my shirt as good a likeness of one of them as I was able to portray. At the furthest end of the room, under a window commanding a fine view of the portico before the door of the residence on the right, was a substantial-looking table, of ample circumference. It was mahogany, but not French-polished, nor did it bear any evidence of having been much rubbed with bees'-wax and turpentine, furniture oil, or any such condiment. Thereon lay a copy of " The London Gazette," giving a great deal of interesting information highly calculated to divert the anxious minds of visitors to the Admiralty, and to direct their ideas to sublime reflections. Near this new publication, was a small, thin pamphlet, written by somebody of an ambitious temperament, solicitous for the advancement of naval science. By its side AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 107 was a brief but fervent treatise, explana- tory of some very efficacious invention intended to supersede the use of chrono- meters in finding the longitude, and to obviate the necessity of astronomical ob- servations at sea. On another part of the table lay open (the look of its leaves indicating their having been often turned over) a certain oft-read volume, published by Mr. John Murray, Albemarle-street, under Admiralty auspices — its limp, sky-blue cover displaying an appropriate device, (the emblem of Hope,) and its contents embodying sundry lists of officers of all grades, the majority of whom are supposed not to be thoroughly contented with their professional lot, or to be perfectly satisfied with the positions they respectively occupy. These books appeared to constitute the only supply of literature offered for the perusal of the frequenters of the '' Stranger's Room;" but in lieu of a more extensive library, they were granted the use of writing materials; that is to say, there was an oblong pewter inkstand, not highly bur- 108 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, nislied, holding some pale ink, that did not promise to become darker after use; and two long-feathered, well-worn pens, not be- traying any symptoms of having been recently mended, their nibs not narrow, and the sides of their slits not very close together. This useful article, reputed to have been in existence since the days of Lord St. Vincent's accommodating presidency there, is said to be in great request, and of incal- culable convenience to those who resort thither immediately after the newspapers announce the certainty of a speedy change of ministry. There were a variety of people scattered about this cheerless apart- ment, and none of them looking particu- larly pleased with themselves or their neighbours. In one corner sat a sorrowful, pensive female, in widow's weeds, with her arm round the delicate waist of a sickly boy about thirteen years of age, v/ho stood by her side. She had just lost her husband, an old officer of long standing in the ser- vice, and was left entirely dependent on her inadequate pension lor the support of AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 109 a large family, and had therefore brought one of her several sons to excite the com- passionate feelings of the second naval lord, in hopes of obtaining for her boy tlic appointment of clerk's assistant to a small vessel going to the coast of Africa. Not far from the spot where she was sitting were two chairs vis-a-vis, occupied by two decidedly discontented looking gen- tlemen — one apparently rather more than fifty, and the other some years older. They were engaged in a very earnest and ani- mated conversation about battles, sieges, and great guns ; and were reminding each other of their unrequited services, and expatiating on certain portions of their meritorious career, which they deemed of such signal benefit to the country as almost to entitle them to the enviable distinction of reposing some day in Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's. These two officers, who had seen many a " ghastly wound of glittering steel," were what are denominated " war-lieutenants*' (a designation that does not necessarily imply a sanguinary disposition) j and they 110 ARTHU R MONTAGUE; OR, were striving, upon the principle of Sancho, that " half a loaf is better than no bread," to get converted into retired commanders, never having been lucky enough during their long experience of the effects of tides in general, to fall in with that particular '^ flood-tide" that " leads on to fortune." In the middle of the room stood a hand- some, fashionably dressed young man, of conceited appearance, seemingly about nine- teen. An eye-glass was fixed before a bright, flashing orb that showed no symptom of imperfect vision, and in his right hand was a costly gold-headed cane, which he bran- dished about, ever and anon hitting the calf of his leg, creating sounds such as usually proceed from the dusting of a carpet. He was the son of a member of Parliament representing a midland county, and had come to take up his lieutenant's commission, upon producing his passing certificate, dated the day before. A tall, stout, elderly person, with gray hair and a wooden leg, limped not noise- lessly over the uncarpeted floor. He had parted with his absent member on the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. Ill amputation table in the cockpit of H.M.S. , at the battle of Trafalgar; and he had no reason to fancy it had ever proved a source of revenue to any speculative person, in the same way that a gallant marquis's had, in the neighbourhood of that glorious battle-field that settled the fate of Europe. He looked steadfastly, and rather sneeringly, at the affected young gen- tleman, who had never been under fire, and probably disliked the smell of gunpowder even during a salute; although he would, perhaps, have displayed that brilliant courage that often accompanies conceit, had his energies been called into exercise in action with an enemy's vessel or battery ; likely enough, being the first to "board" in one case, or to mount the " imminent deadly breach" in the other. Peering out of the solitary window, but certainly not dazzled by the solar rays, was a nautical-looking wight, aged thirty or thereabouts, in half-uniform — i. e., a black coat, lemon-coloured Cashmere waistcoat, with crown-and-anchor buttons, and blue trowsers, fitting rather laxly. His whiskers 112 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, were full, and grew round liis chin, and his countenance looked as if it had been well tanned in tropical climates, and the skin appeared to have been rendered weather- proof by the combined influence of sun and salt water. By the fire-place sat a short, stout, full- faced, plethoric-looking gentleman, making some seemingly abstruse arithmetical calcu- lation in a small sea pocket-book, yclept ^' Watch Bill," casting his eyes up now and tlien, and indicating, by the constant move- ment of his lips, his intentness in the employment. My father attentively surveyed his sur- rounding companions with considerable in- terest and some surprise. lie felt disposed to condole with tlie mournful widow, and to inquire about her circumstances and the nature of the disease that had deprived her of her husband ; but he was precluded IVoni exhibiting his sympathy, by his inability to approach the bereaved lady, as the bodies of the " war-lieutenants" exactly excluded him from the position he wished to gain. His next idea was to join in the con- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 113 versation of the disappointed veterans, but their physiognomies did not hold out any hope of such a proposition being well re- ceived, so he soon abandoned the thought. He subsequently was on the very point of speaking to the warrior with one leg, whom he considered entitled to immense ad- miration, Avhen that worthy personage sud- denly disappeared. He then made up his mind to be sociable wdtli the self-satisfied young gentleman, and by way of commenc- ing a dialogue, remarked that it was a "fine day," and the barometer was rising; but this opinion was evidently not in accordance with that of the officer addressed, for he abruptly replied, " it's dem'd hot, and it's an infernal bore waiting so long to see this fellow !" Having delivered himself of this grandiloquent sentiment, he immediately in- creased his distance from the person who had taken the unpardonable liberty of at- tempting to make his acquaintance without being formally introduced. My parent was greatly puzzled to ac- count for this movement, not being instilled with any idea of the proverbial anti-collo- 114 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, quial qualities of his countrymen during fast hours. Failing in his plans to establish a dis- course, he gazed about on every side with renewed eagerness, and perceiving various letters lying about on the chimney piece, he at once proceeded to inspect the ad- dresses, and on taking each up discovered unmistakable signs of neglect and old age, which convinced him that the persons to whom they were directed were not suffi- ciently solicitous about their correspondence. Impressed with this notion, he then glanced upwards at some printed documents of evi- dent importance, as they were framed and glazed, and suspended over the fire-place to do duty as pictures. One of them, bear- ing at the top in large letters the words " lioval Naval Benevolent Institution," was certainly somewhat pictorial, inasmuch as it displayed beneath, a lithographic design; but what it purported to represent was more than the observer could possibly make out. He put on his spectacles, wiping them first, carefully as was his wont, and then put his eyes almost in contact with the glass that AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 115 preserved the embellishment from injury; but all his efforts to divine the real charac- ter of the representation were fruitless. He could not solve his doubts, view it as he might. It seemed, as far as he could judge, to be a small procession of curiously attired sorrowing individuals, carrying somebody horizontally towards three females coming from an opposite direction. The foremost with her arms extended, the second evi- dently weeping, and the last apparently less excited and distressed than the other two. In the background there were some sharp-bowed vessels, at no great distance off. He stared, shook his head, and stared again; but all to no purpose : he could not com- prehend it. He was not, however, to be disconcerted by difficulties, so he continued his scrutiny, and was at length rewarded for his perseverance by the self-persuasion that the male figures he saw must be a party of benevolent persons bearing a fellow creature, suddenly seized by illness, or per- haps inebriated, to his own abode, to be consigned to the care of his spouse, who with praiseworthy foresight, conceiving the cause 116 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, of liis protracted absence from home, had come out in quest of him, accompanied by two kind female friends — neighbours. Satis- fied with this solution of the question, he turned his back to the fire-place, withdrew his coat tails from their pendent position, and looked down upon the round, bald, shining spot on the summit of the calcu- lator's cranium, who just then finishing his accounts, clasped his pocket-book, and de- posited it in the breast-pocket of his olive- coloured coat; after which, he looked up, and meeting my father's eye, perused his countenance for a moment, and exclaimed — " A purser, sir?" "What did you say, sir?" replied the other, stooping forward a good deal, with his hand to his right ear. "You're a purser, I believe? I think I've met you at the Victualling Oftice at Malta, drawing provisions?" " Some mistake, sir, I'm afraid. I was never there. I get all my provisions from Hopdale." " Well, perhaps I may be wrong. It's impossible to remember the face of every AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 117 man one meets on service; but I'm confi- dent I've seen you somewhere." '' I live in Kent, sir." " Yes, so you may when you're on half- pay, but " At this moment a smile chanced to ap- pear on the face of the suspected gentleman, which led the querist to imagine that he really was what he denied being. " Ah, I see how it is ! but you can't humbug me. I knew your face directly, and your name's " " Montague, sir !" "No; that's not it. It's — I can't re- collect it at this moment; but it doesn't matter, I see your object. You wish to avoid being recognised, and I dare say I can guess the reason. You fancied, per- haps, I looked as if I intended to invite my- self to dinner; or what's just as likely, you thought I'd come to apply for the very ap- pointment you're trying to get yourself." " Sir !" rejoined the reproved one, who had not understood the charge. '' You may be my senior on the list, but I'll swear you've not seen as much active 118 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, service. Did you ever, by yourself, navi- gate a vessel when all tlae executive officers had been carried off, or were dangerously ill from yellow fever? Answer me that. No, I'll be bound to say you feel more at home in a house than a ship." This speech had been delivered so rapidly, and his auditor's deafness was such as to prevent his comprehending it, but on catch- ing the sound of the word house, he fancied he was asked where his house was, so he replied, rubbing his hands — " I've a nice house near Hopdale, sir." '' The deuce you have ! You must have made a precious deal more by your ^ eighths' than I've been able to do. I've just been paid off from a sloop-of-war, after three years and ten weeks in the West Indies; and my balance-sheet shows but a beggarly account to my credit at Somerset House; and I'll defy any human being to have looked closer after his affairs than I have. I've been at work over the ship's books from morning till night, and often at it on Sun- day afternoon; and many's the morning I'ye had to sit in the gun-room, with my AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 119 feet upon the bar of the chair, when the boys have been holy-stoning the deck, and quarrelling amongst themselves about one thing and another, and purposely wetting my worsted slippers, that did not last half the time they should. Ay, if ever a poor fellow has been unfortunate, it's me. I was seventeen years a captain's clerk, writing myself blind, (you will observe my sight is very defective in my left eye — some people have taken it for a squint, but it's no such thing ;) and I was nearly thirteen years on half-pay, after my promotion, before I got a ship, with a complement of only a hundred- and -forty men to victual, and much good it's done me. My books have always been kept beautifully, and the Admiral- Superintendent, when he was paying the ship's company by them at Plymouth, com- plimented me upon their clearness, neatness, and correctness ; and what have I got, pray ? What have I gained by all the pains and labour I've expended on them ? Not as many shillings as I should have saved pounds; but how could it be otherwise, serving under a commander who would not order 120 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, surveys on impaired stores, and often de- clared that the injury was attributable to a want of proper care and management. I should have liked to have seen him save the slops from being damaged in such a place as I had to keep them in — damp as it was, and no sort of ventilation. Then, again, there w^ere the mizen-top-men, (Lambies they were called, when, in fact, they were no better than a set of Wolves,) who, out of spite, when stowing the bread- room, used to do their best to make as much bread-dust as possible, by jumping about on the full bread-bags; and my steward swore to me that he overheard one of the scoundrels one day call out, ' Here we go again — use your heels, lads, and sarve him out.' What I had to put up with was enough to have driven any other fellow out of his senses; but I was determined not to invalid to make a vacancy. No, I would rather have died in my boots first ; and I often told them, when they advised me to go home to grass, that I would never leave the ship, unless I was carried over the side in my cot or my coffin." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 121 My father manifested his amazement, but refrained from interrupting the com- plainant's strange soliloquy, which was thus continued : " And another enemy I had, too, in the first-lieutenant, who often refused to let me have the ship's boats to bring off wood, which obliged me to pay for boat hire, that, according to my instructions, I had no business to do. But what could I do? How could I act with any hope of effec- tually resisting this infamous injustice? I did all in my power, I'm sure; no mortal could have striven harder to secure his rights. Ah ! no one knows what I suffered in that ship; my representations were in- variably disregarded; and whenever I growled in the mess about my grievances, the junior lieutenant used to try to turn me into ridicule, and asked me if I expected to lay by enough by my ' eighths' to buy a house in Grosvenor-square, when I got back, and to keep a box at the opera. Ah, trying indeed was the conduct of these incon- siderate, unfeeling, arrogant men, who, because they happened to have enough and VOL. I. G 122 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, to spare themselves, thought it very good fun to ' sweat the purser,' as they called it, when they kept the gun-room skylight off, to burn away the oil in the lamp faster, as if, forsooth, it was not expended quick enough, when I was only allowed by Govern- ment a paltry sum for ^ necessary money.' You'll hardly believe it, sir, but 'tis a fact, I assure you, and my friend, the Scotch Assistant-Surgeon, who was my only friend on board, and used to condole with me on my losses, would be willing to bear testi- mony to the truth of this statement. " I went on deck one night at sea, in the middle watch, to cool myself, for it was almost suffocating in my cabin, (as the young- sters in the steerage took good care I never got a breath of air out of the windsail, for they used to tie the bottom of it up when- ever they did not require it for their own comfort,) and what do you think, sir, I dis- covered? I saw, sir, if you can possibly credit it, five of my new lanterns, that I had bought at Jamaica, only a short time before, lighted and in use on deck. "Don't say No, sir ! I see you're surprised AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 123 and well you may be. Yes, there was a lighted lantern at the bowsprit end, one in the fore rigging on either side, and one in each of the main chains ; and what do you con- ceive was the excuse of the officer of the watch (the senior mate doing lieutenant's duty) when I demanded an explanation of this wilful expenditure of candles in the middle of the night? Why, he very coolly assured me those on the bowsprit and in the rigging were absolutely necessary to prevent the likelihood of the ship being run down, (although we were then in the broad At- lantic) and when I afterwards asked for what purpose the others were in the chains, he said they were put there to attract the fly- ing fish, as he always felt particularly hungry in the morning, after a middle watch, and could not eat the pork that was served out. "I, of course, told him I should report him to the Captain the first thing next day, and that, directly we rejoined the flag-ship, I should apply to have him tried by a court- martial for ^ conduct unbecoming the cha- racter of an officer and a gentleman.' g2 124 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " What do you think, sir, was the effect of this threat, which ought to have ahirmed him, and drawn forth a most ample apo- logy?" " I really can't imagine !" replied the serious listener, with a look of astonishment and confusion. " He burst out laughing, sir, and asked if I was walking in my sleep ; and told me to be careful not to fall overboard, for if I did, he doubted the port-fire in the lifebuoy catching fire, or the boat's tackles over- hauling themselves fast enough to get the cutter away from the ship in time to pick me up, as he fancied I couldn't swim, al- though he thought my fat ought to keep me afloat for some time, if I only laid flat on my back, and kept my mouth shut and my fingers in my ears." '' How horrible, sir ! And were you so nearly drowned as that? What a narrow escape you seem to have had ! I really quite shudder when I think of sending this boy to sea; it appears to be so replete with perils." ^'What, sir!" exclaimed the astonished AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 125 Commissary. " Are you contemplating sending anybody belonging to you to sea?" " I am — or — or — rather I was, sir. Arthur, here, my only son — my only child, I should say, and I never expect to have another — I've no right to anticipate an in- crease in my flunily ; Mrs. Montague is not young, and we had been married sixteen years before Arthur was boi'n, under very singular circumstances, sir." *' Indeed, sir ! Cut his fingers off, rather than allow him to go !" humanely suggested the experiencer of the ills of a sea=life. This proposition I considered quite brutal, and I was on the point of expressing this sentiment, when he proceeded to say — " I've not finished, sir. No. I was un- fortunate in other respects. I sustained other heavy losses which, though severe, I did not complain of, for they were occasioned by the odious climate. The salt meat con- stantly shrank so in boiling, that the petty officers of the messes often came aft on the quarter-deck, directly the boatswain piped to dinner, to display their shrivelled allow- ance of junk, and to propose my making up 126 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, the deficient weight. Besides which, the rum constantly evaporated. Yes, there were no less than six gallons gone out of the very last cask I issued. Did you ever suffer to that extent, pray ?" ^'I never drink rum," responded my parent, shaking his head; "I very much prefer whisky, sir." " Oh ! it's not an easy thing to get rum good on shore. What is sold is generally very much below proof strength, which is seven pounds twelve ounces per gallon. But how did you manage about your peas? Mine gave me a world of trouble; cask after cask was opened, and found unfit for use, and the ship's cook was frequently complaining to the first lieutenant (who was always too ready to listen to any com- plaints about the provisions) that he has put the peas into the coppers over night, directly he received them from the steward's room, and at dinner-time the next day he has taken them out as hard as bullets." "• I don't know much about peas, sir," answered my father, gravely ; '' but I've be- stowed a great deal of attention on the cul- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 127 tivation of hops. Tve now more than forty acres under crop, and beautiful they look." " You brew at home, I suppose?" '' Oh, dear no! It's too troublesome. I get all my malt from Hopdale, and excellent it is." " Pray when did you enter the service? for it seems to me that you must have been a precious knowing hand to have saved as much as you evidently must have done to lay by in clover as you are now. I verily believe " At this moment, somebody outside the door called out, " Mr. Totup ;" whereupon the loquacious individual picked up his hat in a great hurry, and rushed out of the room, muttering to himself — " Now we shall soon see what he'll do for me." But it must be observed, that Mr. Totup was not a common specimen of his class. During the preceding dialogue, the apart- ment had been gradually vacated by its previous occupants, as they had been seve- rally summoned in succession to appear before the arbiters of their destinies ; from whom most of the visitors had departed 128 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OK, without feeling cause for self-gratulatioii, or carrying away with them hopes of future felicity from professional advancement or employment. The two veteran lieutenants before mentioned betrayed no signs of delight, as they descended the stone staircase after their respective interviews; and as they walked out of the entrance hall, arm-in-arm, " comparing notes," they each discovered that neither of them had cause to be jealous of the success of the other ; which certainly betokened impartiality, however unsatisfac- tory they might consider the result. " What were you told, old fellow ?" asked one, of his fellow-sufferer. *' That my claims would be considered with those of other officers, of like merit, and equal standing, as opportunities of pro- motion occurred." " Very encouraging, I must say. Where do you stand on the list? somewhere in 1803, I think?" " Yes; four from the top." "Ah! there you'll remain, no doubt, unless you get a step by some fellow above AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 129 you kicking the bucket, wliicli is the only promotion you're likely to get, I'm afraid." " Your prospects are about as good, eh ?" " Yes, much of a muchness, I suspect. The answer I got was something in the same style." ^' What was it?" " That there were many others quite as old and unfortunate as myself." '' Well, how do you feel, old fellow?" " Feel? I never leave this awful building without a fit of ague that reminds me of Walcheren. And three or four hours in that waiting-room, and the odour of mutton chops in the neighbourhood, always gives me an appetite; so pray come, and have a snack somewhere." The friends then wended their way through Scotland Yard, intent upon ob- taining some refection, which they nuich needed, to subdue the asperity of their feelings. When my father found himself in un- disputed possession of the twenty-one chairs the room contained, he seated himself, g3 130 AKTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, alternately, on several of them, and at last made choice of one, in which the well-worn hollow in the centre of the cane- work, seemed to indicate its being a favourite, as offering rather more comfort than the rest. He drew it towards the table, and sitting down, began to muse on what he had seen and heard, and the mutability of human affairs In general. After this meditation, he rose up abruptly, and asked if I was not tired of waiting so long. I frankly answered in the affirmative, for, in truth, my patience was fairly ex- hausted, and I had ceased to find matter for occupation in contemplating the contents of the chamber, which at first had afforded me employment. He then made many apposite comments on the peculiar nature of the indignant gentleman's catalogue of complaints, and wondered who he was, where he lived, and to what the term purser referred ; for, in spite of his curiosity upon these points, he had been wholly un- able to ascertain what he so much wished to learn, as the unbroken garrulity of the complainer had yielded no opening for in- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 131 quiry, and his sudden departure, therefore, left us in ignorance of these particulars. Whilst conversing on the probable result of the impending interview, our obliging deliverer from perplexity, who had, on our first arrival, put us in the right path, and who seemed actuated by that civility and courtesy that invariably characterize the conduct of everybody attached to the Admi- ralty, entered the room smiling, and asked for a card to take up to the first lord, who was then disengaged. In answer to this suggestion, my father said he really was not in the habit of carrying about a card- case with him, for he thought such an article superfluous, besides it being an in- commoding appendage to the pocket, as he was so very well known to his immediate neighbours where he resided in Kent, and seldom left home on a travelling tour. " Then you must write your name down on a piece of paper, sir." " Oh, very well ! that I'll be happy to do. Perhaps, you'll be good enough to furnish me with it." A scrap of note paper was quickly pro- 132 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, cluced and torn into the required form, and presented to the visitor, Avho removed one of the ancient pens from the primitive ink- stand, but observing it was not well adapted for the purpose of writing, as the ink would be liable to fall through between the edges of tlie separated split, he at once took out his penknife, and after a time suceeeded in rendering the goose quill of some utility. " Ah, I think it will do now," he said, holding it up to the light; "and what am I to write down, pray?" " Your name and rank, sir." " Eank ! I am a landed proprietor, and live in Kent. Shall I put that down?" " I suppose you'd better let his lordship know who you are." "Yes, exactly!— so I will! It's the best plan, I dare say. My name's Montague. Christian name as well?" As he said this, he dipped his pen into the ink, shook off a drop, and looked up into the face of his instructor, wdio replied — " Perhaps it would be as well." This advice was no sooner uttered than the name of "Mr. Thomas Montague" ap- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 133 peared in legible letters on the surface of the slip of paper, which, not being suffi- ciently large, the latter syllable of the sur- name Avas necessarily curved down the side, out of the straight line. " Shall I give my address, too?" " By all means, sir. '^ In case he might ever wish to write?" " Just so, sir.'' ^' Yes, of course — I see. It's essential he should know where I live; so he shall." Acting upon this determination, the family name was followed by the name of the family property ; and in order that there might not be any chance of a mistake about the precise locality of the mansion, its situa- tion w^as likewise specified ; and as it was also deemed desirable to state the honour- able position held by its owner, the paper soon bore the following full address : — Mr. Thomas Montague, (Of the Elder Branch of the Montague Family,) Montague Hall, Hopdale, Kent. 134 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, The messenger departed with this ex- plicit announcement, reading it, with a 7iot very grave visage, as he walked away ; and, after a short absence, he returned, and desired my father to follow him upstairs. I thought it necessary to accompany them, considering myself the person principally concerned. After reaching the " first land- ing," we were conducted along a passage. Our guide then opened a door, and telling me to stay where I was, directed my parent to proceed through the room, and enter an adjoining one, through another door, which he pointed out. In a minute more my father's hand was on the handle of the door, and in a moment after the said door closed after him, as he entered the private apart- ment of the First Lord of the Admiralty, where he found himself in the presence of an elderly gentleman of pleasing exterior, who, pointing out a chair, requested him to be seated. The stranger, however, felt that something remained to be done; so before putting down his hat, he was in the act of walking towards the noble dispenser of naval patronage, with the view of giving AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 135 him a cordial shake of the hand, when this manifestation of friendly feeling was pre- vented by his lordship's judicious disposal of his person, and his renewed request to his visitor to be seated. This second pro- posal was fortunately successful. Mr. Montague sat down, and was the first to break the momentary silence that ensued — " I have a son, sir," he said, his heart swelling with very allowable pride at the thought of possessing so perfect a specimen of the species. " Indeed!" replied his Lordship. " An only son, sir !" " What is he, and what's his standing?" " He's thirteen, and he's standing outside the door, all ready to come in. He'll be here in a minute if I call. Arthur, my dear ! — Arthur !" " No ! no ! no ! sir — pray don't ! I don't require to see him. You altogether mistake me, and I'm myself deceived as to the nature of your visit. I imagined you were come to solicit his promotion. Most of my visitors come here on some such 136 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, mission, and by the time my levee is over I'm almost overwlielmed by the multiplicity of all sorts of applications and importuni- ties, and pitiable stories of disappointed ex- pectations I've had to listen to and answer; and the fact is, my patronage is far too limited to admit of my doing justice to a tithe of the excellent claims that come before me. There were two lieutenants here to-day, old enough to be admirals, and who had seen a very great deal of hard service, but it is quite out of my power to afford them promotion, although I'm fully sensible of their undeniable deserts. My means are totally inadequate. There are a vast number of other officers too, Avhose merits are equal, and perhaps superior to theirs, and they arc nearly all, I grieve to say, doomed to share the same cheerless fate, after having fi'cquently risked their lives in very important actions, that pro- bably saved their country from invasion." "" Oh ! yes. It is a very sad reflection certainly, but the evil's irremediable." " The bane's admitted, but no antidote can be prescribed." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 137 ^' You seem to be placed in a very painful position, sir!" replied my father, ever ready to sympathize with any body demanding pity, and feeling much pleased with the kind and condescending demeanour of his new acquaintance, of whose rank and title he was utterly ignorant. But he was em- boldened by his urbanity to resuggest the propriety of my being called into his presence to be duly introduced. This proposition was not assented to, his lordship excusing his refusal on the plea of press of business. " You'd much better change your mind, sir," said the solicitous applicant; "I'm sure you'd like him — he's such an engaging boy. Let me call him in now — do. Ar- r-r-r— Shalll?_eh?" The person sued smiled, and replied, " Pray be persuaded by me, sir, to dis- pense with the society of your son at the present moment, for I dare say I shall be able to accede to your request on his be- half. So let me understand the object of your visit. You wish to get him into the navy, I suppose?" The candid visitor commenced a history 138 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, of the Montague family, but was not en- couraged to continue it. His wishes were then gradually developed, and the issue of his application was a kind promise that I should be appointed ere long to one of His Majesty's Ships. With a profusion of thanks he bade his Lordship adieu, and assured him how de- lighted he and Mrs. Montague would be to see him at his house in Kent, mentioning its exact distance from London and the best mode of getting there. The First Lord of the Admiralty did not fix upon any particular day for the proffered visit to Montague Hall, but bowed gra- ciously as his strange visitor left his presence, expressing himself much gratified at having made his acquaintance. When my guardian rejoined me in the ante-room, I was afiectionately embraced, and we sallied forth talking animatedly on what had transpired. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 139 CHAPTEE VI. We left the Admiralty, feeling there was cause for gratulation ; but on our return to the hotel, we found my mother sitting at one of the front windows a prey to melan- choly forebodings, and the sight of her rue- ful countenance at once dissipated the satis- faction of her husband, who in his efforts to accomplish my wishes had quite lost all re- collection of the misery their fulfilment would entail upon her. " Tell me — tell me the worst, this instant !" she cried, running towards us, as we entered the drawing-room. " He's going to sea, my dear!" She burst into tears, covered her face with her hands, shook her head to and fro prophe- tically, and just managed to reach the sofa, 140 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OK, tlie side of which she seized convulsively, ere her ebbing strength left her powerless to move or speak. " Yes, it's all right, mamma, darling !" I shouted as I jumped about the room in ecstasies, snapping my fingers. " Oh ! how glad I am, you can't think ! Isn't it lucky though, managing it so nice? I wonder when I shall be off? I hope the appoint- ment will come soon, for I'm sure I shan't sleep till I get it. Oh ! ain't I a fortunate chap— that's all!" While I was thus giving vent to my joy- ous sensations, my father was endeavouring to allay his wife's anguish by soothing caresses and suitable protestations of un- bounded love and affection. Recovering the use of speech, she eX" claimed — " Oh, that dreadful dream I had last night! I knew it must mean something. 1 was sure of it." ''Dream, my dear Rebecca? Dream? What dream? Eh?" "Oh such a dream, my love ! — I shall never forget it." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 141 "What was it about, my dear? What was it about ? — eh ? Any tiling about Arthur ? " Oh, yes ! oh, yes ! 'twas all about him !" " You clon't say so ! clear me ! This in- telligence alarms me, Eebecca — and you did not mention a word of it before?" " No, I thought 'twas better not. If I'd told you, you'd never have set out this morn- ing, and Arthur would have thought me un- kind. Oh ! that blessed boy, I can't utter his name without feeling as if I was choking ! Ah ! what's to become of me ? I'm not long for this world — that's very clear." " Oh, don't say that, my sweet love — pray don't — only think how " " It's no use telling me to think, my dear; the more I think of it, the more I'm tortured by the thought." "But about this dream, Eebecca? this dream that's distress'd you so." " Distress'd? — ah, indeed, I am distress'd, and that's the truth." " Don't conceal it from me, my love. You know I don't like bad dreams myself, and I always tell you mine." " So you do ! — so you do ! — and often I've 142 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, trembled when listening to them, but none of them were ever half so bad as this one." '' Is it possible? What a horrible one it must be, my dear ! I scarcely fancy it would do me any good to hear it! And yet I ought to — yes, Kebecca, I'll stand the consequences. I'm prepared. What was it?" " 'Twill make you ill, my dear!" " I can't help it, Rebecca ; my mind's made up." " No, my dear, I shall not venture." ^' Rebecca!" " Yes." " Is that kind? Is that wife-like?" " Don't reproach me, my love. Tm really too weak to bear it." ^' Eeproach you, Rebecca? You know I neve7' reproach you. I never have cause to reproach — I never could reproach you." This declaration re-opened the floodgates of her eyes; he embraced her with fervent emotion, and raised his handkerchief to ab- sorb the falling tears. " Let us leave London, my love — let us leave London !" AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 143 " By all means, my dear. We'll start to- morrow." " The sooner the better, I'm snre." The gay metropolis had no charms for her. The constant whirl of carriages through the streets, and the smiling joyous faces that peered out of them served to increase her wretchedness, by making her more sensible of her own hapless lot ! Youths about Arthur's age, clinging on to the arms of fond admiring parents, ever and anon looking up to catch the tokens of acquiescence in a remark, or to judge of the success of a request, caused a feeling of the severity of her misfortune, by showing how cherished children were spared to others, whilst she was about to lose the valued society of her only bo}^ Lads riding in the Park raised thoughts of Arthur's pony wandering about his pad- dock for many a weary month without a rider. The sight of playbills reminded her of his ecstatic enjoyment of the first play he ever went to at the Provincial Theatre — all, or nearly all, that she saw impressed her mind 144 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, with ideas productive of disquieting sensa- tions. Ere twenty-four hours had elapsed, we were once more '' at home." And how different my feelings since I left it an invalid, not dreaming of the sea! What had not taken place in the momentous interval ! What an altered being was my lamenting mother ! All the maids, with true feminine com- miseration for a suffering parent, pointed out to me how deplorable were the consequences of my conduct, and insinuated their doubts of my warmth of heart. I, regardless of their strictures, upbraided them for condemning my exultation at the approach of an event that was to open to me so wide a field of honour and glory. Day after day wore on, and I heard no more of the promise made ; a week passed ; a second glided by; a third was nearly over, when what I longed for made its appearance — my appointment ! The tidings came in a letter of unusual dimensions, bearing a very liberal-sized, bright red seal, exhibiting a pattern of the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 145 most approved anchor in use in the royal navy. But what was my gratification on reading the address — " Mr. Arthur Montague, K.N., H.M.S. Felicity^ Portsmouth (care of T. Montague, Esq., Montague Hall, near Hopdale, Kent)." This superscription indeed delighted me; but conceive, kind reader — for I cannot undertake to describe it — the nature of my sentiments, as I eagerly read out, in a quick, faltering voice, the following an- nouncement of my altered condition, con- veyed in so flattering a manner as to instil into my mind the most charming ideas of self-importance : — "Admiralty. " SiK, " My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having been pleased to appoint you, as volunteer of the first class, to his Majesty's ship Felicity^ now in Portsmouth harbour, you are required and directed to proceed there without delay, and to report YOL. I. H 146 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, to me when you shall have joined your ship. " I am, Sir, " Your obedient, humble servant, "John Barrow, Secretary." " To Mr. Arthur Montague, R.N." I read this letter aloud four times, for the pleasure of my parents, and then read it over and over again to myself. This was the first time I ever really understood the meaning of that often- misused monosyllable, "bliss." Happiness the most complete took entire possession of my mind; sensations the most exquisite wholly occupied my breast. I knew not what to say, what to do, or where to go. Joy fairly choked my powers of utterance, but my looks must have given full expres- sion to my feelings. I stood mute and motionless, in the middle of the room, gazing on the colourless countenance of my mother, and the despairing look of my other parent. " Oh, Arthur! when you're gone I shall go, too !" she cried. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 147 "Where, my love?" asked her anxious spouse. " To my grave!" "No, no, Rebecca! Don't talk so; it's wicked." Did I heed this sad threat? Alas, no! My thoughts were entirely engrossed in the contemplation of my own prospects. My feelings were altogether free from participa- tion in the unhappiness of others. Selfish- ness held supreme sway within, and joy was rioting without. The receipt of the important document that summoned me from home called for an immediate conference Avith the family coun- sellor, the Curate. A servant was therefore forthwith despatched, to request his speedy attendance, " on business of the utmost consequence." He hurried to the Hall, and on entering the familiar dwelling, divested himself of his outer coat, hung up his hat on its usual peg, and then hastened up the staircase, meeting my father on the way. "What's the matter, sir?" he cried, with a face full of curiosity and keen expecta- h2 148 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, tion. " Anything serious? Any accident? Any death? Any ?" " No — not that — but — Arthur's going to sea. All the lords of the Admiralty have ordered him away immediately." *^ And how's ]\Irs. Montague, pray ?" " Very, very poorly, I'm sorry to say. We shall find her on the sofa. She's got the sal- volatile ; but she's received a most violent shock. Ah, this is a dreadful business ! Tf he'd but fancied the church, now. Eh, Oswald?" "Yes, sir, if he had! But we mustn't repine; for, as the poet justly remarks. * Design vvhate'er we wiU, Tliere's a fate that overrules us still.* "Very true, Oswald — very true!" ad- mitted the other, suddenly made conscious of the necessity of my fulfilling my allotted destiny. The Curate was soon sitting by the side of the sufferer, inculcating resignation to the will of fate ; and directly she spoke of dying of a broken heart, he exclaimed, " That's an illusion, my dear madam, I AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 149 assure yon. The miserable are apt to talk of dying of a broken heart, bnt my ex- perience of life has proved, to my entire satisfaction, that such a disease very^ very rarely terminates mortal existence. The imagination has, no doubt, a powerful influence over the human frame, and a distressed mind often causes debility of body, but certainly not to such an extent as to endanger life; so pray be advised by me, and do not cherish ideas so very destructive of mental tranquillity. Strive to preserve your peace of mind, and your health will run no risk of being impaired by the temporary absence of your loved son. Remember that he is entering on an honourable career, and may aspire to enviable distinction. Who can tell that his exploits may not gain hira knighthood at some future period?" " I'd rather he stayed at home; I don't want to see him titled." " Perhaps not ; but we are not at all times justified in checking the impulse of youthful aspirations, if their tendency is not baneful. I'm not regardless of your 150 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, regrets; I'm not unmindful of my mani- fold obligations to yourself and Mr. Mon- tague, whose friendship I greatly prize, and whose princely hospitality I so frequently enjoy ; but I deem it my duty on the present occasion to point out to you the expediency of deriving support from the consolations of pious fortitude in the hour of 'sorrow and vexation of spirit.' This life, we all know to be chequered by unavoidable vicis- situdes; and as we cannot hope for unin- terrupted happiness, surely we should ever be prepared to experience unlooked-for events, however deplorable their consequences may chance to be, with Christian calmness and patient endurance. Religion, my dear Mrs. IMontague, is in itself quite capable of up- holding us in all our reverses, if we only rely on it for assistance in the spirit of confidence we should; and it is my con- viction that none of us frail creatures have any right to cavil at the decrees of that Omnipotent Being who rules our destinies, and, when we terminate our allotted pil- grimage on earth, opens to us a haven of eternal happiness, if our works in this world AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 151 of temptation, trial, anxiety, and woe, have been meet and acceptable in his sight, and have rendered us worthy of being received into His everlasting kingdom. " The Scripture, my dear Madam, ex- horts us "to possess our souls in patience,'' and you may rest assured that religion is our only true solace in imaginary misfor- tune or actual affliction. How true is the averment of Southey — * Heaven hath assigned Two sovereign remedies for human grief — Religion, surest, firmest, first and best Strength to the weak, and to the wounded balm ; And strenuous action next.* It is indeed the only effectual alleviation of calamity, and assuager of anguish. If we trust in its salutary powers we shall not be deceived or disappointed, for it never fails to fulfil its promises of help to the pious ap- plicant for aid, when assailed by the shafts of adversity, or enduring the piercing pains of poignant wretchedness. "Having thus directed your attention to the source of consolation, when suffering 152 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, from distressing sensations, pray permit me now to express an opinion of the ground- lessness of your present prostrating sorrow, which arises from unnecessary apprehension. ^' I am fully aware of the strength of your fondness for your only child. It is only natural and commendable, and maternal affection, we know, is capable of achieving prodigies of valour, and of sustaining almost overwhelming miseries, in behalf of its off- spring; but these manifestations of female fortitude are only produced by the presence of real danger. " Now, my good sensible lady only con- sider for one moment what causes all your alarm and uneasiness: the bare idea of being separated from your only son for a brief period — for his absence will assuredly be but of short duration." " Oh, do you really think that, my kind comforter?" " I make no doubt of it. None what- ever." This positive declaration had an im- mediate beneficial effect on the imagination of the previously- despondent lady. Sh AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 153 rubbed away the moisture from her eyes, and endeavoured to show that her sorrow was subsiding. Her mental physician, perceiving the improvement, judiciously praised her laudable efforts to subdue her feelings. This well-timed acknowledgment of her exertions induced her to increase them, and the evidence of her successful en- counter with contending emotions within was soon apparent. She attempted an imitation of a smile, but a sigh that quickly succeeded it quite destroyed the effect she wished it to produce. Her admonitor watched the workings of her countenance wistfully, and at last conceived she had been restored to a state of comparative composure. " You will return home soon — won't you, Arthur?" he said, drawing me towards him. I was silent. This he construed into consent, and desired me to embrace my mother, and tell her so — a request I could not disregard. My speedy return the Curate seemed h3 154 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, SO ready to guarantee, that my mother did not entertain a doubt of the fulfil- ment of his predictions; so she gradually brightened up, and as her husband entered the room, she ran towards him, and falling into his arms, exclaimed, " Oh ! my dear ! what do you think? Mr. Oswald says Arthur is sure to come back again soon." '' Of course he is, my dear; what made you think to the contrary?" ^' Well, then, I certainly must say I think you ought to have told me so before. Who would have imagined now that you knew he was only going away for so short a time ? Your not mentioning a word of it to me really surprises me! It does, indeed ! But I shall say no more on the subject — there!" Both parties showed signs of being mutually satisfied. She re-occupied her position on the sofa. He took possession of an easy chair, folded his arms, told me to fetch him a footstool, and then com- plimented the Curate on the good he had accomplished, for which he tendered him a multiplicity of thanks. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 155 Shortly afterwards, the visitor suggested my accompanying him into the next room, in order that he might furnish me with such counsel as I stood in need of. This proposal they highly approved of, and I not demurring, we repaired into an adjoining apartment, where the follow- ing dissertation overstrained my patience, as it no doubt will that of the reader. 156 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, CHAPTER YII. Mr. Oswald began by saying, ^'Artlmr! I hope it's scarcely necessary for me to preface the observations I'm about to make by reminding you of the remark of Seneca, ' I do not love my friend if I fear to offend him.'" I signified my intention of not taking offence at what he might consider it neces- sary to say. " That's a very proper feeling, Arthur," he answered, evidently much pleased, " and it's a great pity young people are not oftener actuated by it, instead of refusing advice with as wry a face as they would a dose of physic, considering one about as nauseous, and as likely to make them sick, as the other." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 157 My remembrance of Mrs. Turnover's detestable compounds tempted me to inti- mate my belief that advice could never be near so sickening as physic. " You're quite right in that conjecture, Arthur ; and therefore I see there's no occa- sion for me to be afraid of my counsel having an emetical effect upon you. " He then smiled ; I did so, too ; and good humour being thus established, which is no doubt a desirable prelude to telling people their faults, he proceeded to say, with a some- what solemn expression of countenance — " My object is to administer to you such advice as a lad of your unripe age so much requires, prior to engaging in the troublous affairs of life, (of which he must of necessity be utterly ignorant,) with no other monitor but his own conscience, which in youth is apt to act the part of a false pilot, profess- ing to guide you clear of hidden dangers, at the very time it is prompting you to pursue a course, fraught with imminent peril, lead- ing to sunken rocks, towards which you sail, full of hope and confidence, until you suddenly find yourself entangled by dreadful 158 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, difficulties, from which it is impossible to extricate yourself, when you contemplate the impending disaster with painful feelings of self-reproach, for having injudiciously trusted your safety to the sole guidance of one ill qualified or totally incompetent to perform the office of preserving you from harm. As you advance in life, you'll cer- tainly discover the truth of the words of Kowe: * The world's a stormy sea, Whose every wave is strewed with wrecks of wretches That daily perish in it.' How necessary, then, is it to adopt the utmost precautions to escape the ills that annihilate others, who will not heed the warning voice of prophetic friendship, but close their ears against the counsellings of experienced admonitors, who endeavour to put them on their guard against the snares that beset them ! Oh, Arthur ! how many might be saved from a very sad fate, if they would only suffer themselves to be influ- enced by the suggestions they ungraciously reject with offended pride or disdain, con- ceiving themselves inducted in the ' toga AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 159 virilis," and considering it derogatory to their dignity to admit their palpable want of wisdom and discernment, thus verifying the remark of Ovid — ' Tarde, qu0e credita la^dunt crcdimus' — * We are slow to believe that which, if believed, would hurt our feelings;' instead of acting upon the axiom of Cicero — ' Quod decet honestum est, et quod honestum est decet.' ^What is becoming is honourable, and what is honourable is becoming.' And what is the usual result of despising in- struction designed to supply what cannot be safely dispensed with ? "Is it not disappointment, discomfiture distress, or disgrace, or some equally dis- agreeable finale? " Alas ! the issue cannot be doubtful, and the victim to self-imposture becomes the sufferer of self-reproach. Yes, he who, perhaps, for a length of time had been enjoying immunity from unpleasantness, consequent on his errors, goes on vainly 160 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, flattering himself with the idea that he is concealing from observation his glaring de- ficiencies, and deriving no detriment from determined opposition to every species of advice; until at last, when he is most assured of continued exemption from prog- nosticated evil, the mist that had obscured his vision so long all at once vanishes, and he sees his real situation, environed by complicated calamities, the result of in- fatuated folly and blind incredulousness. "But now, Arthur, I must address myself more particularly to yourself, and point out what you are to expect, and what you must elude. It behoves me, therefore, to apprise you of the fact, that the profession of your choice is replete with difiiculties, discourage- ments, and discomforts. Many of the hard- ships you will have to submit to in silence will be harassing ; many of the duties you will have to perform will be onerous and distasteful. Implicit obedience to the will of superiors will be strictly enforced. Wil- ling compliance with the orders you'll be compelled to execute will be expected to characterize your conduct. You'll have to AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 161 display cheerfulness and alacrity, however indisposed you may feel to exhibit either. You'll be required to control your temper under circumstances of extreme provoca- tion, and its trials are certain to be fre- quent and severe. You'll find it absolutely necessary to confine Avithin your own mind whatever surmises may arise respecting the injustice and inconsiderateness of the acts of those in authority over you, for any betrayal of a disposition to be insubordinate will assuredly entail on you numberless troubles and vexations. " 1 do not say this with the smallest in- tention of creating in your imagination disquieting thoughts. Far from it; I shall be glad to perceive your readiness to view the future without alarm. While I inform you of what you'll have to endure, I must not hide from you the prospect of attaining some felicity, if you can only pass through the ordeal with a firm resolution to adhere to that trite but goodly maxim, ' Bear and forbear,' and to keep in remembrance 'Aliquis not debet esse judex in propria causa' — 162 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, ' No man should be a judge in his own cause.' " The profession you're about to enter is honourable and popular, and possesses nu- merous charms and attractions well calcu- lated to awaken the finest feelings of pride and patriotism in the breasts of its members, whose exertions and exploits benefit their country in every zone and region of the earth. " This declaration you may think some- what anomalous, after what I have already said of the various unpleasant concomitants. But such is not the case certainly, for though it is ^Yell understood that no profes- sion abounds in so many disheartening trials and needs more constant vigilance of temper, yet it is also well known how captivated some dispositions become by the very dangers and difficulties that daunt and disgust others. The naval history of our native land is admirably adapted to instil into the minds of youth notions that beget desires to experience the delighting details they've either heard or read of with all absorbing interest, which prove sufficient to set on fire AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 163 the smallest spark of ambition that may have been kindled by nature in their breasts. " What, for instance, can be more soul- stirring than the accounts of brilliant vic- tories, enhancing our country's glory? — what more emulating than the records of individual intrepidity ? '^ Personal bravery, my dear Arthur, is our prominent national characteristic, and has ever distinguished our gallant naval and military guardians on ship-board and on shore, and our annals, of which, indeed, we may well boast, furnish abundant material to stimulate ambition, (which has been rightly called the * queen passion of the soul,') that impels mankind to make almost super- human efforts to achieve greatness and ac- complish good. "• I will now direct your attention to the simplest means of avoiding some of the prin- cipal risks you are liable to be exposed to. " Firstly, then, recollect the necessity of preparing yourself to overcome the obstacles to enjoyment you are sure to encounter in the course of your career through life, which is in truth — 164 A.RTHUR MONTAGUE ; OK, ' A painful passage o'er a restless flood, A vain pursuit of fugitive false good, A scene of fancied bliss and heartfelt care, Closing at last in darkness and despair.' And how greatly would it contribute to your chances of experiencing such happiness as the mutability of sublunary things ad- mits of, if you could show yourself — * Patient of contradiction as a child, Affable, humble, diffident, and mild.' For I can vouch for the correctness of what Terence says, in alluding to the advantages of a general meekness of spirit and politic adaptation of conduct to the colour of cir- cumstances — * Re ipsa reperi Facilitate nihil est homini melius neque dementia.' ^ I have found by experience that no- thing is more useful to man than a spirit of mildness and accommodation.' '* Nothing can be truer than this remark of an author, some of whose recorded senti- ments are worthy of exemplification, as well as those of Seneca, Tacitus, and other pre- ceding classical writers, who have be- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 1G5 queathed to us a fund of sapient observa- tions and elegant phrases, useful alike to give force to modern diction, or to illustrate acknowledged truisms. *' You have been nurtured in the lap of luxury, in the literal acceptation of the word, and are now about to undergo priva- tions of various kinds. The transition will be trying, no doubt, and when you institute comparisons between the present and the past, you may be for a while dissatisfied with the change; but I do not despair of your vanquishing any regrets that may be engendered by reflection, and I suspect you will be eventually reconciled, if not in per- fect amity with what upon first acquaint- ance promised nothing but perturbation. " Certain salutary convictions should ever occupy your mind, and serve to regulate your actions. The chief of these, perhaps, (imagining, of course, you always consider religion, your primary care,) should be fixed ideas of the importance and benefits of uni- form serenity of temper and constant con- tentment — of the injurious tendency and general impotency of anger and pride — of 166 AKTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, the direful effects of revenge and resentment — and of the baneful consequences of sensi- tiveness and sullenness. '* The value of temper and contentment is obvious, for they will conduce in no slight measure to ensure you a fair modi- cum of the approbation of your superiors, and the esteem of your associates. The first will enable you to bear reproof, the latter will render you a pleasing com- panion. " With reference to the preservation of temper, you may lay this down as an in- disputable axiom, that directly an adver- sary in argument succeeds in disturbing your equanimity, he makes the first step towards your overthrow ; and if you suffer him to perceive the advantage he has thus gained over you, your surrender or defeat will soon follow. Whereas, if it so happens you find he is substituting acerbity for logic, you can afford to smile at his being reduced to such shifts to conquer your obvious self-command, and, acting upon the advice of Solomon, who says, ' It is the true glory of a man, to pass by an offence,' AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 167 you will unquestionably derive ample satis- faction from the reflection that you've given proof of your superiority. " On the subject of contentment. I need scarcely explain to you what real happiness results from it to its possessor, who, if poor, feels not so keenly his poverty; if unfortunate, is able to bear his misfortune without clamour or complaint. " St. Paul, whose words we should dearly reverence, said, ' For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.' " Where can we look for an abler, a better monitor? " What was his conduct during his career of struggles, disaster, toil, and per- secution ? " What his attitude before Agrippa? " Verily it is to the Holy Writings we must turn for instruction, and for evidence of the nature of invincible virtue. " As to anger, you cannot be ignorant of its odious character, and sometimes awful consequences. " Its general unwarrantableness, its fre- 168 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, quent absurdity, you must be aware of, for you have doubtless often witnessed a person fly into a passion without a cause, and when under its enthralling influence, com- mit himself by uttering what, though in- tended to impress others with very high notions of his spirit (which won't suffer itself to be wounded) and of his sensibility, (that won't tolerate the semblance of an affront,) had only the effect of rendering him ridiculous in their sight, and of elicit- ing their laughter. '^ The outpourings of a passionate man prove fatal to himself, instead of affecting others, for during his fury, like the enraged scorpion, he penetrates himself with the poison of his own sting. " Horace calls anger ' a short madness,' (' ira furor brevis est'), which in fact it is, if the fit be violent, for Reason then com- pletely relinquishes her sway, and the mind becomes a chaos of confusion. '^ How very true is the maxim — • Iram qui vincit, hostem superat maximum !* * He who subdues his anger conquers his greatest enemy.' AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 169 " And how very true likewise is the re- mark of Horace — < Quisnam igitur liber? Sapiens qui sibi imperiosus !' 'Who, then, is free? — the wise man who can command himself.' ''Yes, Arthur, self-command is a certain sign of wisdom ; and the lack of it exposes us to infinite uneasiness. Bishop Hall observes — ' Nothing doth so fool a man as extreme passion. This doth make them fools which otherwise are not, and show them to be fools that are so.' And the Scripture says — ' Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry ; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.' So you see we are not without suggestions for our guidance. " The fact is that an angry man should always fancy himself in the presence of an enemy, and consider himself liable to sudden attack at any moment, and consequently be prepared to resist and repel the assault he anticipates, — which if not met with resolu- tion, will probably vanquish him, and make him a prisoner. To those who study life, it will ever be evident that though the mem- VOL. I. I 1 70 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, bers of the human race differ so essentially from each other in mental, moral, and physical qualities, the principal point of distinction between them is, whether they control their passions, or are controlled by them. " I need not tell you to which class I trust you do, or will henceforth, belong; nor is it necessary for me to state how sin- cerely anxious I am that you will, whenever you feel yourself irritated, follow the advice of Sappho : — * Ira cum pectus rapida occupavit, Futiles linguae jubeo cavere Vana latratus jaculantis.' Which you know signifies, * When you find yourself in anger ; shut your mouth, and let it not escape, for its want of vent will ensure its extinction.' '* I must therefore enjoin you to be ever watchful, ever guarded, ever determined to overcome any insidious influences of that arch enemy anger, that is so apt to strive for the mastery in our breasts, with, alas, too frequent success. " But I believe you to be capable of realizing the expectations I am inclined to AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 171 form of your future conduct, for I know you to be a boy of some merit, and not very likely to violate the laws of your Maker, or to act contrary to those precepts of morality which I now urge you to practise." I forbore expressing any opinion on the chances of my Mentor's hopes being literally fulfilled. He " paused for a reply," and then pro- ceeded with his harangue, and I — though perhaps scarcely feeling I could with perfect sincerity say — " I pray thee cease thy counsel, Which falls into mine ears as profitless As water in a sieve " — certainly deeply regretted, he had no inten- tion of respecting the axiom — < Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur.* However, he praised my patience ; so I made up my mind ",to sit out" his discourse, which he thus continued — " I will now, Arthur, briefly allude to the perniciousness of pride, which, according to the definition of some moralist is " inordi- nate and unreasonable self-esteem," ay, and 771 some of its phases it is very sure to sub- I 2 172 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, ject its possessor to the antipathy, contempt, and derision of sensible men conscious of its thorough despicableness, and of the sensa- tions that give it birth. " There is so much incident to the profes- sion you're entering that's calculated to arouse anger and offend and vanquish pride, that it is absolutely incumbent on the naval novice to learn as quickly as he can how to govern one and keep the other in close sub- jection, for the exercise of either is certain to destroy his happiness, and can never be displayed without incurring some penalty. *' I have not time to refer at any length to the hideous aspect of revenge, but I feel confident you're far too high-minded to be ever liable to its base influence, for as Juvenal very truthfully expresses it — 'Ee- venge is always the pleasure of a little, weak, and narrow mind.' " And as Dry den wisely remarks — * Revenge is but a frailty incident To crazed and sickly minds, — the poor content Of little souls, unable to surmount An injury, too weak to bear affront.* AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 173 " I have no fear either of your being envious, for your disposition has no bent of that sort; and glad, indeed, I am to think so; for envy is a most degrading passion, and always implies inferiority in the person affected by it, who, according to Horace, * Grows lean at the success of his neigh- bour.' " Now, Arthur, I must speak to you on what may appear to be minor matters, but at any rate deserving of consideration. " I've already pointed out to you, that the stream on which you're about to launch is not an unruffled one at any time, and is occasionally subject to tumultuous agita- tion. So, though you will have to employ your strong sails in stormy weather, you will also have great need of your lighter ones, which will be more frequently in use. " But to proceed. You must not get into the habit of regulating your expecta- tions of agreeable usage by the ideas you may chance to form of the strength of your claims to kindness or respect, for this sort of estimate will never answer in your pro- fession; nor should you allow yourself to 174 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, imagine that you have infinite cause for complainings, because you happen to fancy you perceive symptoms of being subjected to indifference and neglect. " The very bane of existence is a prone- ness to take offence where none is meant or intentionally offered, and many render themselves wretched by misconstruing the acts and motives of others, often receiving piercing pain from the reflection that they are most unjustly the objects of scorn or dislike to those who probably are wholly uninfluenced by any feeling of malevolence or aversion towards them, having merely inadvertently said or done something sus- ceptible of being interpreted as evidence of their possessing sentiments of which they are entirely free. " The only specific for this malady, from which so many suffer, is to deliberate care- fully and calmly on the actual import of a seemingly offensive remark ; mature thought often serving to disclose what at first was not perceptible, and also making you sen- sible of the imperfection of your judgment or the hastiness of your temper. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 175 " This sort of experience of tlie bitter sensations emanating from an unpleasant discovery concerning your own weakness of character, is perhaps the most effective in- struction you can gain to guide you aright, under similar circumstances afterwards, when you will avoid fancying you see a pretext for annoyance, when none really exists, and be spared the humiliating neces- sity of upbraiding your conscience for the effects of your self-deception. " I, likewise, think it right to caution you against being injudiciously credulous and confiding, yielding too ready a credence to protestations of friendship, when you are unaware of having given occasion for them ; or resting too much faith on the supposed safety of a secret in the keeping of an esteemed associate. " For though the first may appear to be genuine proofs of regard, they may be only ebullitions of a transient feeling of friend- liness towards you, and though you may see reason to admire and prefer a particular acquaintance, it does not follow he is the best qualified to become your confidant. 176 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " When, after mature cogitation, you find yourself impressed with strong convictions of the certainty of your discernment not being at fault, it will then be quite soon enough to say — "Tm sure Soand-So's my friend; and I'm convinced I can prudently and advan- tageously make my most secret thoughts known to such a one, whose character I like so much, and whose general conduct affords me such heart-felt gratification.' " Cowper, in speaking of Friendship, says — ' Candid and gen'rous, and just, Boys care but little whom they trust, An error soon corrected ; For who but learns in riper years, That man, when smoothest he appears, Is most to be suspected. ' But here again a danger lies, Lest having misapplied our eyes. And taken trash for treasure, We should unwarily conclude Friendship a false ideal good, A mere Utopian pleasure.' " Do not, however, Arthur, fancy for one moment that I would counsel you to be ever AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 177 mistrustful and suspicious (for suspicion is but at best ' a coward's virtue'), to escape being duped or disappointed. Far from it. It would be better to err on the best side, if you must fall into error at all. But what I wish you to understand is, that you may be open, frank, and candid, at the same time that you are circumspect, fitly reserved, and considerate. " It would be well to remember the words of Shakspeare — * To thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.' Or, as Seneca tersely expresses the sentiment, by an aphorism, ' He who is his own friend, is a friend to all men.' " I must now quickly bring my talk to a conclusion, an announcement you're not sorry to hear, I dare say. Eh, Arthur ?" I smiled significantly. " So I thought ; but I must crave your attention a few minutes longer ; for it occurs to me, I've omitted to mention one thing worthy of observation, and that is the ad- visableness of your shunning, for some years I 3 178 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, to come, arguments likely to embroil you in violent disputation, for whatever your acu- men and ability for conducting a wordy contest may be, a midshipman's mess cannot be a fit field for its display ; and you should bear in mind that youthful controversies often beget bitter quarrels, for that is the age of fiery feeling, when the heart rules more than the head, and spirit is more con- spicuous than sense. " I see that look of dissent, Arthur, and that smile of incredulity. But I don't despair of your being a convert to my creed some day, and ready to exclaim in the words of the poet— *Ye powers who rule the tongue, if such there are, And make colloquial happiness your care, Preserve me from the thing I dread and hate, A duel in the form of a debate. The clash of arguments and jar of words, Worse than the mortal brunt of rival swords, Decide no question with their tedious length, For opposition gives opinion strength.' ** You may possibly imagine, that some of the subjects on which I have touched are trifles; but such, in truth, they are not; AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 179 but even admitting they were, they ought not, on that account, to be deemed unde- serving of thought and attention. "No; certainly not. Not even trifles should be unheeded by those who value the retention of whatever meed of happiness may be allotted them : " ' Small sands the mountain, moments make the year. And trifles, life ; your care to trifles give, Or you may die before you truly live.' " Yes, indeed, — as from the acorn springs up the monarch of the forest that supplies the world with the means of transport from Pole to Pole, and yields the material for the construction of wonderful structures, that withstand the blasts of the hurricane and the blows of the seas, when -^olus and Neptune are uniting their efforts to deprive them of vitality. So, from trivial causes, important consequences arise, that generate national calamities, deprive a people of prosperity, destroy thousands, and dethrone kings ! Dear me ! that's the luncheon bell, Arthur; isn't it?'^ 180 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, I answered *' Yes," most readily; and he rushed out of the room. Five minutes afterwards, my Mentor was devoting his undivided attention to cold fowl and salad, as I entered the dining- room, where my mother greeted me with a smile and a , and expressed a hope that I should not forget one word I had heard. I made no such rash promise, but was soon busily engaged examining the contents of a currant and raspberry tart, and subse- quently transferred a portion of it to my plate, while my father contented himself with a piece of biscuit and a glass of wine, and my moih^v feasted herself on the sight of her son. Our party were soon afterwards assembled in the drawing-room, when Mr. Oswald, looking out of the window, praised the weather; which tempted my mother to put on her pastoral bonnet to take a walk with her husband, recommending me to the care of her guest, who thereupon suggested our sauntering along the fields, and discussing divers matters relating to my departure. Directly we got out, I drew forth the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 181 momentous document from my pocket, and asked him what he thought of it, as I was fully persuaded the peremptory demand for my immediate services signified that my presence was really much required to aid in preparing the ship for sea. He read the letter over attentively, and then stated he was not very conversant in the general nature of Admiralty communications, but thought 1 ought certainly to obey the order the letter contained, as it seemed to be im- perative. I acknowledged my readiness to set off in half an hour, but this proposal he considered my mother might object to ; and he likewise expressed his opinion that I was on no account to fail to consult her feelings and wishes on the subject, as a considerable time might elapse before I saw her again, as the uncertainty of human affairs precluded the possibility of any one being able to promise for the future. Remembering his consolatory speech to my afilicted mother that had lessened her tribulation, I could not comprehend how he could reconcile the two ideas. 182 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, He, perhaps, perceived my perplexity and guessed the cause of it, for, in a few minutes, he revealed his motive for having en- deavoured to impress her with the belief that I should not be long absent. 1 there- fore gave him due credit for his desire to diminish her anxiety, for I always appre- ciated any kind of evidences of warmth of heart, which many are too apt to undervalue. After crossing several rich meadows we sat down on a stile, and surveyed the varied beauties of the scenery that surrounded us. The prospect in every direction was very picturesque. ^^ You will have no views like this at sea, Arthur," said my companion, after a moment^s musing on the objects he beheld. " The sameness of the scene that will meet your eye, as you gaze around you when voyaging on the dreary waste of waters, will probably seem monotonous and produce a sigh, as you call to mind the sylvan charms you've left behind you ; and if you indulge in a retrospective reverie, you'll no doubt picture to yourself the hills, the dales, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 183 the meads, the groves, the rills you were wont to frequent; and think of the many times you've sat beneath some umbrageous canopy, listening to the clear calls of the cuckoo, or the cooings of the timid wood- pigeon ; or perhaps looking into the limpid rivulet at the beautiful yellow iris or soft blue water forget-me-nots ; or may be scan- ning the gnarled roots of the trees growing on its banks, and seemingly tottering into the stream." Since this prediction I have learned how erroneous are the notions of many, that the fancied unchanging uniformity of a voyager's prospect, when out of sight of land, makes one pant for the picturesque. 'Tis true that variety is wanting, and that the eye has nought to rest upon but the vault above and the watery plain below, and that one perceives few changes save the varying appearance of the heavens, or the altera- tions in the undulations of the deep. But what the eye lacks, the mind may surely supply, by contemplating in a right spirit the wondrous works of Him — 184 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, « Who poises and proportions sea and land, Weighing them in the hollow of his hand ; And in whose awful sight all nations seem As grasshoppers, as dust, a drop, a dream I" Can the meditative wayfarer on tlie trackless main think of the frail character of the bark that bears him o'er the oft boisterous seas, without reflecting on the nature of the Godhead, and considering to whom he is indebted for his safety, when his vessel is imperilled by the tumultuous heavings of the relentless deep, and whose hand converts the still calm into the raging tempest, and quells the furious storm and restores tranquillity? Can he muse on the wide expanse of waters, as he wistfully be- holds it, without pondering on the countless perishable fabrics that have been consigned to the bed of Ocean, after falling sacrifice to flames, the broadsides of an enemy, or the animosity of the elements ? AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 185 CHAPTER VIII. The memorable day when I gleefully quitted a woe-fraught mother, to commence a career that fancy pictured as characterized by ex- cessive enjoyment, and yielding the acme of worldly bliss, will ever be a ' dies notandcC in the calendar of my life. It would un- questionably be futile attempting to per- suade the tender-hearted, that a youth, however ardent his aspirations, however fervent his solicitude to gratify self, who could be prompted by any motives what- ever to disregard the intense anguish of a fond, pleading parent, could be otherwise than hopelessly obdurate, so perhaps it is inexpedient to offer any excuses in extenua- 186 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, tion of conduct so clearly culpable. I may, however, be permitted to state that, when I reflect upon the fact, that had I suffered myself to be governed by maternal wishes, the British navy would unquestionably have sustained an irreparable loss, my con- science almost acquits me of filial ingra- titude in having yielded to the impulses of ambition, that dictatorial monitor seldom disobeyed, who said, " Go forth, contribute to thy country's glory, and gain for thyself an undying name !" My mother, thanks to the repeated remonstrances, prognostics, injunctions, and importunities of Mr. Oswald, had undertaken to bear my de- parture with exemplary fortitude. Thus worked up to the determination to enact the heroine, she even left her handkerchief in-doors ; but, alas ! for the undeniable weak- ness of poor human nature, when the bitter, soul-rending parting did take place, resolu- tion melted away, grief defied restraint, and tears gushed forth so copiously as to certify how fallible is the self-controlling power of the afflicted! It cannot be expected of me to portray AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 1B7 the scene, the bare recollection of which is so harrowing to the mind; so I'll merely mention that nobody could have witnessed it without emotion ! At length, the climax over, the maids bestowed their joint valediction with great liberality; Susan provided a brown-paper parcel of sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs for the journey, and off we went to meet the " Tally Ho !" In due course the said vehicle was descried in the distance, and rapidly it approached the spot where we awaited it. With busy haste the luggage was lodged on the roof, and we deposited inside. The coachman re-ascended alertly, re- ceived the whip and reins from the sharer of the box seat, adjusted them in an instant, and at the sound of his familiar " juc, juc," the high-bred steaming steeds started off at a gallop, their accustomed opposition speed, distending their reddening nostrils, scatter- ing the clots of foam o'er chests and harness, and raising the thick dust in enshrouding clouds ! We entered London as night was setting 188 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, in, and were only able to satisfy hunger ere it was time to ensconce ourselves in the mail for Portsmouth. Towards the end of the second stage, we heard a wrangling outside, and from the phraseology of one of the disputants dis- covered that he was a seafaring man; for we could make out the words " privateer — false colours — grappling irons — store room — silk ensign — shove overboard — smash figure-head." " Pull up, coachman !" cried the other voice; " Pll not submit to such insult and contamination any longer !" " Dear me, what's all this?" remarked my father; and just at that moment the coach stopped, the door was drawn open, the steps let down, and in got, or rather stumbled, a stout elderly gentleman, in a state of visible excitement, almost weighed down by a cum- brous drab great coat, with capes, and a heavy fur-collared cloak, in which he was enveloped; a thick red-worsted comforter was round his throat, and a rough seal-skin cap, with velvet lugs, came close down over head and ears. Thus very nearly her- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 189 metically enclosed, he fell back into a corner, gave a moan, and sneezed out any damp air he might have inhaled during the altercation. He then apologised for having, whilst taking up his position, trod on my parent's worst corn, knocked down his hat, and poked the ferrule of his umbrella, which was fortunately blunt, against my seat of digestion during my mastication of a biscuit. He was hardly seated before he began to enlighten us as to the cause of his obvious agitation. " You must know, sir," he said, " that soon after we got out of town a person, dressed as a sailor, got up in front, and placed himself beside me. In a very short time he complained of the cold, and when we changed horses asked me to lend him a shilling to buy some spirits, to relieve the frigid sensations he was suffering from. I immediately made him a present of the coin he required, and he expressed himself very much obliged and delighted. When he got up again, with my assistance, he began to be disagreeably loquacious, and thumped me on the back several times, in spite of 190 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, my requesting him to desist, on the plea of its hurting me. He then praised me in a very fulsome manner, declared I must be a nobleman, and expatiated on my generosity. Not liking his conversation or deportment, I again besought him to be silent, for his familiarity discovered to me that he was far from sober. This did not arrest his unin- telligible jargon, but I would not be induced to notice his observations on my merits. The next time we stopped, he again averred that his stomach was cramped with spasms, which a glass of something hot would speedily remove if I would ' stand Sam,' as he called it, and supply him with another shilling. Unwilling to increase his intoxi- cation, I replied very courteously, * My good man, I opine that you have already imbibed as much spirits as your state re- quires, and therefore I must beg to decline complying with your request.' Instead of receiving this refusal as he should, he forth- with began to abuse me most shamefully, and actually charged me, as I understood from a fellow-passenger, with having picked the coachman's pocket of a silk handkerchief. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 191 This infamous assertion so annoyed me, that I desired lie might be put down, whereupon he threatened to ' knock my head off,' and would certainly have struck me if he had not been prevented ! Now, sir, what do you think of that piece of unprovoked insolence and ill-usage?" *' I never heard of such a thing, sir, never! His behaviour was abominable! Some of his abuse reached my ear !" " It's my full intention to give him into custody when the journey ends, for he's going all the way ; and if I prosecute him, sir, I shall certainly subpoena you as a witness, as you say you heard a part of what occurred." This announcement startled my father, and he replied that, much as he appre- ciated the feeling of confidence in the value of his testimony, he really had a very decided disinclination to appear in any court of law, as he had ahvays been told that, if a person once entered one, it was extremely difficult to get out again. This objection seemed to shake the resolu- tion of the aggrieved, for he responded, — 192 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " Oh, indeed ! Perhaps so ! I'll think of it!" A silken slumber soon seized my eyelids, but ere ray imagination had conducted me to Elysium, that charming region that so many have the privilege of traversing during their dreams, a cry of " Murder !" invaded my repose, and on putting my head out of the window to ascertain whence the alarming exclamation proceeded, I per- ceived by the faint light of a dimly burning oil-lamp, suspended in front of a small country inn at which we were changing horses, that a mixed group of tars and females, who had just got out of a caravan in which they were travelling to the metro- polis, were in a state of violent commotion, and it appeared from the nature of the language uttered, that the main cause of the uproar was a fierce quarrel between two of the party, one of whom had been so fool-hardy as to impugn the nautical knowledge of his late shipmate in some particular, who, incensed almost to madness at such a damnatory insinuation, had de- nounced the accuser in unmeasured terms, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 193 and threatened to have his life. There was now a good deal of general swearing, screaming, recrimination, and demands for ^'liquor;" and what was the sequel it is not easy to say, as we drove away in the midst of the noisy affray, which had thrown our fellow passenger into a state of distress- ing indignation. " Talk of sailors," he cried; " are we not told they're proverbial for courage, frank- ness, and warmth of heart, and does not daily experience falsify such accepted notions of their character ? In my eyes they seem the most sinful and depraved beings in existence, having no fear of God, or respect for the feelings of their fellow-creatures. We're told to view them on ship board, but that's not the place to see them in a true light. It's when they're released from the dread of the punishment they're liable to whilst under naval discipline that their real nature manifests itself, and they prove themselves the most lawless, pugnacious, dissipated, wicked creatures imaginable. Delighting in worrying the simple, tricking publicans, jostling strangers, teasing animals, VOL. I. K 194 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, offending the serious, annoying indiscrimi- nately by their mischievous propensities, and glorying in the consequences of their heartless buffoonery, which many foolish people style joking pranks and consider mere ebullitions of vivacity arising from a redundancy of spirits, that, after being pent up at sea so long, naturally exhibit them- selves in excesses on shore. These exculpa- tory opinions I think very pernicious, and act as encouragements to immoral men to perpetrate enormities without fear of even stringent condemnation ! For my part, I'll never be deterred from saying what I think of their reprehensible practices — never!" This tirade quite took us by surprise ; we exchanged inquiring glances, and I felt strongly disposed to resent this attack on a class I was about to associate with ; for I considered him guilty of the most unjusti- fiable aspersions on the characters of very- praiseworthy men, and I had actually made up my mind to charge him with unfairness and prejudice, when he again ejaculated — "Oh, my dear Charles ! your time must AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 195 not — shall not — be spent amongst such a set, whom I hold in abhorrence !" This soliloquy induced my father, whose astonishment was painful to him, to ask if he had a son at sea. " No," said the excited speaker, with a long drawn sigh ; ^' he is not yet embarked on the tumultuous element that engulfs so many; but, alas, he's firmly determined to go to sea, and I have as yet failed, in spite of reiterated entreaties, to alter his apparently immutable resolution, though I have pointed out to him, as forcibly as possible, the sinfulness of acting so contrary to the supplications of the earthly authors of his being." An incipient doubt as to the correctness of my own conduct now crossed my mind, but did not tarry there. " Many a kind friend," he continued, "has recommended me to accomplish by decided opposition what I cannot effect by persuasion ; but the fear of being charged with parental severity has deterred me from adopting such a course, so I must only trust that he may even now, ere it is too k:2 196 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, late, be awakened to a sense of the criminality of his contumacy." I felt my face getting very hot. *' Pray, sir, is he in the royal naval service?" " No. I was advised by a naval acquaint- ance to set my face entirely against his entering the navy, as there he might find inducements to make him anxious to follow it as a profession. And it was suggested to me by the same gentleman that if I could not by any means succeed in over- coming his fixedness of purpose, I had better let him take a voyage in a merchantman round the Cape of Good Hope, in the winter season, as the best chance of curing him of his love for the sea. Acting upon this advice, he is going, as an amateur, in a vessel bound to Bengal, where he has a first cousin in the civil service, but the ship is now detained by adverse winds, and I'm proceeding to Portsmouth with the view of once more endeavouring to prevail upon him to return to his disconsolate parents." " Have you a large family, sir?" " He's our only male child," answered AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 197 the bereaved gentleman, shaking his head, dolefully. " Bless me, how unfortunate! I'm similarly circumstanced, sir, I grieve to say. My boy here is going to sea." "Is it possible, sir? I pity you! I sincerely pity you, that I do! He's not your only son, I hope?" " Yes, our only child. We never had another, and Mrs. Montague — my name's Montague, sir. I live in Kent." " Mine's Muspratt. I live in the city.'' " Let us shake hands." " By all means. I'm glad I've met you." " And I, too. I can always feel for the distresses of others. But what I was going to observe, sir, is, that Mrs. Montague has no expectation, that I am aware of, of in- creasing her family; and I scarcely think she would entertain a hope of the kind without communicating it." " I dare say not, sir; she would hardly conceal from you such a pleasurable pros- pect." " I really don't think she would. I've no reason to suppose she would. In fact, I 198 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OE, am almost sure she would not, for we've no secrets between us." " That's the way, sir, to enjoy the mar- ried state; want of confidence soon gene- rates indifference; indifference begets ne- glect; neglect complainings; then follow, as a natural sequence, mutual mistrust, taunts, and bickerings, succeeded may be by bitter reproaches, creating aversion, the prelude to separation or elopement, — which not unfrequently close the brief stormy career of an unwise couple, unsuited for wedlock, but who could have maintained tlie semblance of concord had they trusted each other with their secret thoughts that fretted their feelings — producing ebullitions of anger or despondent ideas." '' You're quite right, sir. Those are exactly my notions on the subject. I re- joice to say I'm singularly blessed. Mrs. Montague and I have never differed in any way since our union." " And I can safely say, that Mrs. Mus- pratt is a pattern of what a sensible loving wife should be." The satisfied husband then leaned back AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 199 his head, and was soon alike insensible of the virtues of his spouse and the errors of his son. About seven o'clock we reached our desti- nation; and as the coach pulled up before the Quebec Hotel, a waiter, who had been standing at the doorway in expectancy, bounded forward with zealous alacrity, and assisted us to alight. " Put up here, gentlemen, I presume?" said the smiling obsequious attendant, as we emerged from the interior of the vehicle. " Yes; I suppose so." " Has the Mary Soames sailed?" in- quired Mr. Muspratt, in a quick tremulous voice. " No, sir," was the comforting announce- ment; " nor not likely to, till the wind changes ; most of her passengers are at the * Star and Garter,' opposite. This intelligence lit up the pallid hag- gard countenance of the sorrow-stricken parent. He clasped his hands, and ex- claimed with emphasis, '* There's hope yet !" A messenger was sent to make inquiries ; and shortly afterwards the coflfee-room door 200 ARTHUR MO.NT ague; OR, flew open, and in rushed a fat, bloated-faced, loutish-looking youth, about fifteen, who made straightway for the extended arms of his father, who enclasped him affectionately, and tears chased each other down his fur- rowed cheeks, as he cried, in a tone of wretchedness — " Oh, my beloved George ! cannot my be- wailings tempt you to relinquish your pre- sent intentions, and return home. Every comfort my purse can command shall be freely offered you ! Every reasonable wish shall be gratified! Every study of my remaining years shall be to promote your happiness ! So do not — do not, I beseech you — stretch a fond mother's heart-strings till they snap, and hurry an indulgent father into his grave !" " Oh, dear papa!" responded the churlish gaby — who had aped the tar in every article of his dress : his round head was sur- mounted by a low-crowned narrow-rimmed straw hat, encircled by a bright blue ribbon, broad enough for a bonnet; his blue jacket, with side pockets, was thickly studded with mother-o'-pearl buttons, and numberless AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 201 small blue anchors were strewed over his hopeful shirt, worn loose at the neck with the collars turned down, and a black silk handkerchief, fastened with a sailor's knot, flowing away from the breast; his trowsers were so tight at the knees as to display the bandiness of his legs, and so loose at the bottoms as to nearly cover his shoes, barely two inches at their extremities being visible — " Please, don't press me to leave the Mary Soames. I'm really so very happy there, you can't think. My little room is so snug, and the sailors so civil, and the cuddy servant, too, is such a nice obliging person. He does everything he can think of to make me comfortable, and he has taken charge of several of my things, and he has told me I ought to have plenty of money, as in foreign parts I can buy shells, trinkets, and all sorts of curiosities. Now, how can you expect me to change my mind? Oh, dear papa, I would if I could, but 1 can't!" My parent was quite overcome by this exhibition of perverseness and filial ingrati- tude, and sank down into an easy chair. k3 202 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, The waiter entering said, '* Require beds, sir?" "Oh, yes, certainly. A double-bedded room, if you have one." "Able to accommodate you, sir. No. 11 just vacant. The two officers that slept there last night have gone off to Plymouth in the steamer. It's a line airy apartment, and such a grand view, sir, of the Harbour, Spithead, and the Island !" " Do you see the sea from here, pray?" " See the sea, sir? we're almost built over it, and it runs under a part of the house." "You don't say so? Isn't this rather dangerous ?" " Not at all, sir ! It's very seldom we lose a lodger ; but I'll tell the truth, a gentleman was once drowned out of the coffee-rootn window." "Bless me! how was that? — a very unsafe apartment, I should say." " Why, I'll tell you how it happened, sir* The gentleman had been here nearly three weeks, and an excellent customer he was, too, took the best of everything, drank lots of port, paid his bill regularly once a weekj AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 203 and always put down something handsome at the foot of it for ' attendance.' He was very fond of a chat ; and the only fault I had to find with him was, detaining me sometimes when I wanted to get away. Who he was, or what he was, or where he came from, we couldn't tell, nobody couldn't tell ! All his trunks were marked ' L, Passenger,' and nothing else; and the chambermaids all swore there was nothing but ' L,' on his nightshirts. That he had plenty of cash, and didn't care about spending it, was very clear ; but, for the life of me, I could never make him out! He once said something about Devonshire, when talking about clotted cream ; and my notion was that he was a restless gentleman with a good fortune, liked travelling, and had a fancy for hotels. Well, then, sir, he was sitting one evening as usual after dinner, with his feet up on the window sill, asleep, after finishing his port wine and filberts, and snoring away ever so, when I last saw him. I went away with the dessert things, and might have been out of the room perhaps half-an^hour, when I returned with his coffee, and he was gone. 204 AIlTHUIl MONTAGUE; OR, " I was frightened, for I knew he couldn't have passed out of the door without my seeing him ; besides which he never moved from his chair after dinner till 1 awoke him. A horrible idea came into my head that he must have gone through the window in his sleep ! I ran for the landlady, the house was searched, everything was done, but Mr. L., as we called him, was nowhere to be found. This was a dreadful business ; boats were sent to look about under the window, and all around, but 'twas very dark and the tide was flowing, so everybody said he must have gone up the harbour, and sure enough he had ; next morning he was picked up in the mud, in one of the creeks." "Poor fellow!" cried my uncomfortable parent; " and did you never find out who he was?" "Never, sir; and I'd give a good deal even now to know. His luggage was searched, but nothing told the secret. A pocket-book was found, but there was no address — no card inside. It was full of tavern bills, headed Mr. L. to So-and-So; and there wasn't one of them that hadn't AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 205 two port-wine neguses down, besides a pint of sherry, at dinner, and a pint of port afterwards; and at the back of each bill was written, in his handwriting, what he thought of the larder and wdne. Some good of one — bad of the other; some good of both. But if you'd like to see these little forget-me-nots, sir, as I call them, of poor Mr. L., I'm sure you're welcome. I keep them as curiosities ; and, to tell you the truth, sir, I never took such a fancy to a lodger since I've been in the line." The said mementoes were produced, and we examined them all carefully, for we felt an interest in the fate of the unfortunate stranger, whose critical remarks showed he was a good judge of creature comforts. On one Avas inscribed, " excellent dinner, every- thing first rate, served hot, and enjoyed.'^ On another, " Duck not fat, peas too old, pudding not eatable, and port sweet, evi- dently doctored." Another said, '' Meat middling, but sherry very fair, and port superior." Another, " Mutton, old ewe, vegetables stale, plum-pudding like a cricket ball, and port a decoction of sloe juice and 206 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, brandy." Another, " Everything unex- ceptionable; mulligatawney soup delicious, cod's head and shoulders firm and fresh, beefsteak beautifully broiled, sweet omelet light and frothy, port old, sound, and splendid flavour." This panegyric did not surpass some others, nor were there wanting proofs of frequent dissatisfaction. Having attentively read every opinion expressed, the bundle was restored to its owner, who was told we were ready to go up stairs to our bed-room to prepare our toilet. He begged us to follow him, and as we got into the passage, he said, " No. 11, Lucy," to a comely-looking female, who forthwith preceded us up the staircase. " This way, sir, if you please," lisped the pretty agile maiden, as we reached the second landing. " That's the room, if you please; do you please for to want any hot water, sir?" " If you please." " If you please, sir !" and away she skipped. Directly we entered, we hurried to the open window, and called out together, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 207 -' What a magnificent view !" as we gazed at the prospect in the distance, backed by the well- wooded Isle of Wight; and then turned our heads round to survey the large ships at their moorings in the harbour ; then looked at the crowded deck of a steamer passing by ; at men jumping about on board a vessel getting under weigh; at a cutter yacht making sail ; at a man-of-war brig lashing to a hulk; a collier discharging cargo; wherries pulling about in all directions, and also under sail, &c. The sight was very animating, and we both enjoyed the scene, which was novel, although we had been at Portsmouth before ; for during our brief sojourn, we stayed at the Bush Inn, Southsea, whence there was no view of salt water, which was some dis- tance off. After a hasty toilet, we descended to breakfast, and afterwards sallied forth to the tailor's to order my equipment. As the man- architect measured me, he made some observations on my size and stature; insinuated I should not get stouter on my new fare — then affirmed that nobody who 20S ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, had ever once employed him was ever dis- satisfied with his goods or charges, and that young gentlemen he had fitted out on their first going to sea, came to him again as post-captains, sometimes bringing their youngsters for their outfits. " Now this speaks in favour of our establishment — doesn't it, sir?" said the shrewd self-recom- mender. *' Certainly!" admitted his easily pleased customer. I then gave a few directions about not making the clothes too loose, the tails too short, the straps to the trowsers too wide, and we departed almost smothered with thanks. " I consider that an extremely obliging person, Arthur. He seems so anxious to leave nothing unexplained, to enumerate all your wants, to procure for you what he does not keep himself, and to guarantee that you shall not go to sea without being furnished with a plentiful supply of everything you can possibly require." I concurred in this sentiment, and did not hesitate to avow my favourable opinion of his character, in return for his promise AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 209 that my outfit should be a very superior one, as everything was left to his discretion. After perambulating the streets, and in- haling the fresh sea-breezes on Southsea Common, we sauntered to the Semaphore platform, where several artillery-men were evidently preparing to perform some duty; and presently one of them ran towards us with a long hot iron, and ere we could divine what use he was going to make of such an odd looking implement, he applied it to the touch-hole of a gun close by; a deafening report was the result, and we were completely enveloped in smoke. Before the expiration of half a minute another was fired, then another, and another, in quick succession. We were fairly stupified with astonishment; and my companion, who had seized my hand and clasped it firmly, said plainly by his looks, " There is no fleeing hence or tarrying here." There seemed no possibility of escape, so dense was the cloud we were in; at length, however the en- thralling vapour began to disperse, an opening was discerned, and we rushed thank- fully towards it, regardless altogether of the 210 ARTHUR MOiNTAGUE ; OR, remark of Tacitus, that '' Speed borders upon timidity, and slow movements are nearer akin to steady valour;" and my characteristic candour compels me to confess that during our flight I forgot all about Nelson, the Nile, and Trafalgar; and had a misgiving of my qualifications to " seek a reputation at the cannon's mouth." On returning to the hotel, to which my unerring time-piece below my waistcoat told me it was time to repair, we found Mr. Muspratt alone, absorbed in deep thought, his eyes fixed on his feet, and his chin rest- ing on his chest. This attitude of medita- tion indicated the failure of his appeal. *^I'm afraid you've not succeeded, sir!'^ said his ready-compassionator, in a tone of sincere condolence. He shook his head, shut his eyes, raised his hands, but uttered no reply. I, too, pitied his fate, and felt for his condition, quite unmindful of having left a sorrowing mother at home in a state bor- dering on distraction. The subsequent history of the deserted parent and undutiful son is soon told. The AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 211 latter met with a watery grave; the vessel in which he was returning to England, thoroughly sick of the sea, after having nearly died of fever at Calcutta, foundered in a hurricane off the Mauritius; and in less than a month after the tidings reached his parents, (awaiting his expected arrival at Portsmouth,) his mother was borne to her last resting-place in the little church- yard of her native village; and her hus- band, at the brink of the closing vault, fell down in a fit of apoplexy, and expired ! 212 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, CHAPTER IX. We were sitting in the evening in the CofFee-room, chatting on the events of the day, when in walked two peculiar looking individuals, whose heads had just before appeared at the oval glasses in the upper part of the green baized doors. One had on a stout blue surtout coat, garnished with two rows of gilt buttons on the breast, each bearing a raised crown and anchor, and a cap, with a broad gold lace band of dazzling brilliancy, ornamented his globular caput. A glazed leather belt, with a clasp displaying the emblems of Eoyalty and Hope, confined his unwasp-like looking waist much within its natural cir- cumference, and from this was suspended a sword that was allowed to trail on the AN ONLY SOX AT SEA. 213 ground to testify the presence of a person of consequence. His companion was in a less imposing- garb ; being clad in a loose shaggy flushing coat, studded with black horn buttons, the size of penny pieces, and an ample pair of trowsers of the same warm material. In his right hand was a tarpaulin hat, off which he was shaking the salt water that had sprayed it on his passage to the shore, and in his left was a short thick stick with a knob at the end. They glanced contemptuously at us as we gazed at their costume, then walked up to the looking-glass over the chimney piece, examined their facial charms for several minutes with evident pride and satisfac- tion, and the tarrish wight seemed disposed to bestow some care in restoring with his fingers the disturbed damp ruffle of jet black hair that environed his countenance. His friend's physiognomy, devoid of such embellishment, needed less attention ; so after a brief inspection of his prominent gnomon, and the interior of his mouth, he laid hold of the poker, and gave a large lump of 214 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, coal, that would not ignite, several blows, one after the other, determined to over- come its obstinacy and produce a blaze. Success attended his exertions, and he smiled exultingly as he saw the flame ex- tending, and endeavoured to aid its expan- sion by thrusting the heel of his boot into the centre of it. This object attained, he rose, turned his back to the fire to enjoy the warmth he had helped to create, and bawled out—*' Charles !" The suddenness of the shout startled us, which he perceiving, burst out laughing, and begged we would not be alarmed, as he did not contemplate doing either of us any injury. This rude speech was answered by offended looks, intended to convey reproof. A waiter, with his hair highly curled and anointed, promptly appeared, a glass- cloth depending from his arm, and some- thing undergoing rapid mastication in his mouth. Directly he was able to speak he assumed the military " Attention" position, and exclaimed — *' Sir !" AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 215 " Two stiff glasses of the right sort, Charles," was the order he received. " All right, sir ! Hot or cold ?" " Hot, of course ! It's past eight o'clock. Any good cigars?" " Plenty, sir, — opened a fresh box of Manillas last night; and everybody says they're excellent." " Bring us a dozen." In a few minutes the attendant returned, bringing on a tray two tumblers of what looked like brandy and water of more than ordinary strength, being of a dark burnt- sienna tint, and also some of the exquisite cigars. '' I'm afraid I've made yours a leetle too strong, sir," he said, addressing the gentle- man in frieze, who, grinning, replied — " I'll forgive you, Charles; but mind it never happens again. Do you hear?" " Ay, ay, sir. I think I know your mixture, — two from the bottle and one from the pump." " Exactly. You're a person of sense, Charles, I see." '• Thank you, sir." 216 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, '' But, Charles !" ^^Sir!" " Navy List." In execution of this demand, the well- known little book, containing the names of numberless disappointed mortals was quickly produced. The whiskered weight seized hold of it, drew a chair to the table, took a large sip of the liquid he so much admired, re- volved it in his mouth for several times ere 'twas suiFered to descend, then turned over the leaves hurriedly backwards and forwards, and being unable to find what he w^as looking for, threw the book on the floor with a bang, and vented his disgust in two monosyllables. He then snatched a cigar oif the table, squeezed it at both ends, rolled it on his knee, got up, put it in his mouth, and commenced the hazardous task of lighting it. His hand trembled, the flame of the candle quivered, and its flicker- ing rendered the operation one of great nicety. Now too great an inclination of tlie head brought the light in contact with nose or eyebrows, now the cigar went through the flame almost to the lips, now AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 217 the tobacco became lit in the wrong place ; at last the fringe of hair caught fire. The candle and cigar were dropped toge- ther, the conflagration was quiclily extin- guished, and the inexpert smoker, deprived of a portion of what he most valued of all he possessed, resumed his seat sorrowfully. After a moment's thought, he seized the container of comfort, lifted it to his lips, and his throat received the copious stream of vivifying elixir. He now leant his body forward, resting his jaws on his hands, the elbows planted on the knees; and in this attitude he was musing on his misfortunes, when his companion jocularly shook him by the shoulder, displacing his supports, and asked if he was asleep. This aroused him from his lethargy, he tossed his head up with a jerk, and declared his willingness and fit- ness to go anywhere and do anything. '' Come along, then," said the other, " for I want to go to Portsea to the hop, and I must be back here by eleven to sup with some of the 'Crocodiles and Rattlesnakes.'" We stared aghast at the speaker, wonder- VOL. I. L 218 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, struck at his entertaining such an extra- ordinary intention, and greatly to our relief we soon perceived symptoms of their pre- paring to depart. The bell was rung by the unsteady officer, who, as the person summoned appeared, said — "If any of the Zebras or Jackals arrive while I'm away, mind I shall be back at the right time." " Very good, sir !" " By-the-bye, do you expect any of the Dragons here to-night?" " Yes, sir — certain of one or two." " Are any of the Hydras or Gorgons likely to come, do you think?" " Sure to, sir." " Very well; mind you get plenty to eat, for they'll all be hungry." " Come, come, let's away, for it's getting late," remarked his friend, impatiently, slip- ping an arm through one of his, and leading him out of the room. Directly they were gone, my parent having resolved to change his quarters be- fore their return, desired the waiter to bring him his bill without delay. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 219 "Bill, sir?" ejaculated the astonished menial. "Yes, immediately; and send the 'boots' up-stairs to cord the trunks, and the ' porter' out to call a hackney coach." "Sir!" " Make haste now, there's a good man; I'm in a hurry to get away." " Your beds are made, sir!" rejoined the prudent servitor, ever alive to his master's interests and never forgetful of his own. " What of that ? I don't care if they are. I'll not sleep in a menagerie." "A menagerie, sir?" "Yes, a menagerie ! or else you're all mad." The person accosted, doubting the sanity of the speaker, went at once to the bar, and informed the lady presiding therein that " No. 11" was out of his senses, and wanted his bill. Our packing was got through as fast as possible, the luggage taken clown stairs, the bill paid, the servants well fee'd, and shortly afterwards the fly was at the door, and we were off! The driver having asked where he was to go to, and being told to take us " to some L 2 220 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, quiet hotel," drove away at a furious rate, so much so as to induce his employer to call out to him to stop. He pulled up, and learning that his speed was considered dan- gerous, said if we v/anted a " slow coach" we had no business to hire him. He then whipped his horse several times, bolting off again at the same pace, and after a disagree- able jolting drive we stopped before the door of a small insignificant-looking house, that bore no appearance of respectability. This was somewhere in a narrow street in Portsea. ^' Where in the name of earth have you brought us to?" demanded my father of the flyman as he followed us into the uninviting tenement, the character of which was soon discovered, for on peeping into the first room we came to, we beheld sundry labour- ing men in smock frocks, smoking long pipes in an atmosphere of haze, and drink- ing beer. The stone floor was thickly strewed with sand; and a few tin articles, more for use than ornament, were lying about it. The furniture consisted of an oblong deal table and a lot of elm chairs. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 221 The individual who had conducted us to til is public-house, which he patronized him- self, upon being reproved for imagining it suitable for us, put on an impudent air, and said we seemed " a deal too particular;" but that if we had " no liking for it," he could take us to a larger one, and would se- lect the Fountain Hotel, High-street, Ports- mouth, if we chose to go tliere. We assented to this proposal condition- ally, and then re-entered the uncomfortable damp-cushioned vehicle just as the florid- faced, full-bodied hostess came to the front door, with her hands inserted in the pockets of her apron, making a jingling amongst the divers coins deposited therein. She jeered us for our fastidiousness, affirmed that a bigger Inn we might find, but not a better regulated or more comfortable one, and that many people quite as good, if not better than we were, had often eaten oyster suppers and baked potatoes in her house, and declared they never enjoyed anything so much in their lives. " I cannot help that, my good woman; I never eat oysters or potatoes for supper," re- 222 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, sponded the reproached in a conciliatory tone, putting his bare head out of the window, and shaking it to and fro. '^ Put your bald head in, you old humbug !" she vociferated, turning round to attend to a call of '^ Missus, you're wanted," and ere he had time to be re-seated the fly whirled away, rattling over the rough stones, the prolonged laughter of the driver manifesting his approval of the foregoing speech. In the course of ten minutes or so, we pulled up before a very different looking building, the aspect of which was pronounced satisfactory, so we desired to alight, and as we got out the disrespectful driver observed, with a toss of the head, " Most like the size of this ere house is more to your fancy?" "What's your fare?" asked his employer, much displeased. " Only five shillings," answered this in- nately insolent impostor, who had taken us the long unnecessary drive on purpose to increase his fare, " and that's what I call dirt cheap for all the pleasure you've had; AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 223 besides which you aint no light weight for one OSS." Two half-crowns were given him. ^' What, nothing for the driver then, and no consideration for the oss ! Look at the smoke from un !" No notice was taken of this demand, and I, as the fellow was settling himself on his seat, wrapping his coat round his legs, called out, " You're an impudent blackguard," and ran up the front steps, as hard as I could, into the house for shelter. He shook his whip at me, and cried, " What wood were you caught in, and who cut your tail off?" We were glad to get into a comfortable sitting-room, after receiving assurances that there were no animals in the house, and in less than an hour retired to our dormitory much fatigued. The next day the expeditious outfitter brought me a suit of uniform "to begin with," and as I invested myself in my new habiliments, that fitted to perfection, I own I fell desperately in love with my- 224 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, self from head to heel, and was quite as much enraptured with the reflection of my person in the glass, as Narcissus is said to have been with his on the water. E very- few minutes the blue enameled dirk was drawn out of its resplendent gilt sheath to gaze at the devices engraved thereon, and then thoughts arose of its great utility as a weapon. The showy cap was taken off repeatedly to admire the bright gold band, — the insignia of my new rank; for in those days it had not been universally adopted by soi-disant officers; nor were omnibuses (or omnibii as a very correct writer somewhere styles them) then in vogue, affording facilities for their exhi- bition. The silk waist-belt, with its glit- tering clasp, slings, and buckles, was viewed as a very attractive article, and every button was considered an ornament in it- self; in fact, the impression produced on my mind by my appearance upon that oc- casion was perhaps the pleasantest it ever received. We then sallied forth to pur- chase cabin furniture, plate, table linen, and other articles deemed indispensable; AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 225 and being recommended to Mr. Marvin, at Portsea, as an excellent upholsterer, we proceeded thither, and found him standing at the door of his premises. On being told he had a large stock we could choose from, we followed him up to his extensive show-rooms, where we examined sundry- iron bedsteads, mahogany chests of drawers, washing-stands, easy chairs, &c., and after a good deal of wavering, selected one of the former on castors, also a very handsome Honduras mahogany chest of drawers, fitted with an escritoir, a pillar washing-stand, with a circular white marble slab at the top, a high-backed spring-seated easy chair, covered with green leather, a piece of best Brussels carpet, and two ex- tremely comfortable looking foot-stools. The bill was settled, and the delighted vendor evidently appreciated the character of his customer; who then asked to be directed to a good silversmith, and was shown the way to Mr. Emanuel on the Hard. As we stepped into the shop, the owner, with a smile of satisfaction, handed us chairs, and requested to know our wants. 226 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, He was desired to show us some forks and spoons of different sizes, a cruet-stand, a fish-slice, a milk and cream jug, a sugar basin, some wine labels, knife rests, and candlesticks. This order quite brought the colour to his cheeks, and he busied about here and there collecting what was asked for. He praised his goods very sufficiently during our inspection, and earnestly informed us ''the dearest were best in the long run, and people must pay for superior things." He then pointed out the beauty of the workmanship, combining chasteness and so- lidity ; asked us to feel the weight of some of the plate ; mentioned the number of ounces of silver each piece contained ; said every- thing he had was town made, and war- ranted if necessary, and then he saw it was not required of him to say any more in their favour, as his advice had already taken due effect, and the counter was getting covered with the various articles chosen, with a greater care to appearance than cost. When all that was fancied was bought, AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 227 he was told to pack the purchases away in a suitable case, lined with green baize, and direct it to — Mr. Arthur Montague, of the King's Navy, Fountain Hotel. The long elastic purse, netted by my industrious mother, was now drawn forth, several crisp Bank of England notes were presented to Mr. Emanuel, whose eyes glistened as he counted them, and he then appended his name at the foot of the long bill, handed it over bowing, expressed a hope of seeing us again ; and we de- parted, having rendered him very happy in a very short time. When we got into the open air, we stood still for a moment or two, to look about us, and on casting our eyes to the right, ob- served a high wall with a large gateway, and a small door on one side. Towards this we bent our steps, and on nearing it, a sleek policemen, seeing us staring in every direction, very considerately inquired if we wished to enter. " Where, pray?" asked my father. " Through this gate into the dockyard, sir." 228 AETHUR MONTAGUE; OR, '' Is there anything there worth seeing?" '^ Lor, bless you, sir; people come all the way from London, on purpose to go over it." "Dear me! you don't say so? Well, we should very much like to do what others do; we've just come from London ourselves. But how is it to be accom- plished? Can we easily obtain permission to see it? To whom must we apply?" " If you go in at that door, you'll see somebody just inside; and after you've put your name down in the strangers' book, you will be allowed to walk over the yard, attended by a policeman, who will explain things to you." "That's very kind, I'm sure; and I'm excessively obliged to you for your polite- ness and information." "You're very welcome, Sir! Thank you!" Two female vendors of fish, at a rude stall close by, with their petticoats tucked up, and their arms akimbo, who had been staring at us very hard, listening to what was said, now began to laugh together, and AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 229 expressed some opinions concerning us that we could not exactly comprehend. They then called out that they could show us something we shouldn't see inside, and asked us if we were hungry. AYe replied, " No, not the least," and then, according to the policeman's directions, we walked through the opening in the wall, when an individual clothed in blue, with some silver embroidery on the collar of his coat, asked if we wanted to inspect the yard. " If you please," replied my companion. *' Not foreigners, I suppose, sir?" " Oh dear no ! Englishmen. I live in Kent. I've never been abroad. Not likely to go. I've been told there's no country like England. I believe it. But my son here is going to travel. That will be no objection, or make any difference, will it?" " Not at all, sir," said the government servant, smiling. *' Please to put your name down in this book ; just there — under that last one." ^'Exactly; I see. Here?" '' Yes, sir." 230 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, ^^ My name's Montague." '' Write it down, sir." "Address too?" " If you please." " My house is near Hopdale." "Indeed, sir!" " Yes ; beautifully situated, and very healthy; no illness known there beyond a headach." " That's wholesome, indeed, sir!" " You're quite right. I love Hopdale." " Not surprised to hear you say so, sir. This person will conduct you over the dockyard." " Oh ! thank you. Good morning." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning. Are we to come back this way?" " Yes, sir. This is the only way out." " Very well. We'll remember that, and be sure not to lose ourselves, which people are very apt to do, in strange places." " Just so, sir. You'll be late back, if you don't start at once." " Oh ! indeed. Tm all ready." " This way, sir," said our guide. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 231 In regular routine, we visited the mast house, and saw the carpenters forming spars; then the mast pond, and gazed at the immense quantity of timber deposited therein ; then we viewed the abundant collection of anchors of all sorts and sizes ; then we went over the rigging house ; and afterwards, the rope house. We remained some time in the latter, examining its interior, being struck with its peculiar flooring, which our guide told us was cast iron and tin, used to obviate the likelihood of its catching fire, as it had been destroyed by a conflagration in 1760, and public pro- perty to a large amount consumed; but this was supposed to have been caused by lightning. Ten years afterwards, another fire occurred here, committing a great deal more havoc than the first; and six years after that, again the building was nearly burnt to the ground by a rascally in- cendiary, who was hung for it. All the cables are made here, and the building is nearly two thousand feet long. From hence we proceeded to the block machinery, worked by steam, the admirable 232 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, invention of the famous Mr. Brunei, who brought it into use in 1808. The inesti- mable advantages of this application of science may be duly estimated by the simple knowledge of the fact that the work wrought by it, by the aid of four men, equals what used to be produced by the manual labour of fifty artisans before ; and it is easy to com- pute how very great is the saving of expense, as well as time, considering that the largest men of war are supplied with between one and two thousand blocks each. When we had, in the course of our tour, viewed the huge wooden fabrics, in various stages of construction, and expressed our astonishment at their stupendous size and odd shape, and offered many remarks on their general appearance within and with- out, above and below, we walked up to the side of a vessel fitting out in one of the basins, and were permitted to step on board, but there seemed to be so many impedi- ments to easy walking about the deck, and so much noise from the hammering of arti- ficers, and so much smell of paint, and such a look of discomfort pervading the unat- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 233 tractive aspect of all we saw, that we did not feel anxious to make a long stay, but were contented with a cursory survey of the different objects on the upper deck. We were in the act of walking along the plank tliat was the only means of egress and in- gress, when suddenly my ftither exclaimed — "Dear me! what's that? Is it raining, I wonder? I heard something drop on my hat." He was not fond of remaining in doubt, so he took off his hat, to satisfy his curiosity on the subject, looking up at the same time towards the sky to see what it betokened; when lo! instead of rain, something in the fluid form, but not so clear or clean, came pattering down over his bare head and the side of his face presented to the heavens. *' Bless me, bless me ! — what's all this?" he cried, increasing his pace at the risk of a worse accident. " It's only tar, sir !" replied a sailor over- head, who was blacking the rigging of the mainyard, and did not display any regret at what happened. " Well, really this is very unpleasant, I 234 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, must say," truthfully remarked the sufferer, as his efforts to remove the certainly not re- dolent plashes of the black compound that spotted his countenance only had the effect of extending the mischief. " I don't recollect anything near so dis- agreeable as this ever having happened to me before. No, I cannot, really. I cer- tainly remember having been much dis- tressed and inconvenienced at home one day when Martha thoughtlessly threw a whole basinful of dirty water all over me. But, dear me ! the feeling was nothing like so bad as this. It feels as if it was spread- ing, and it sticks so, and it smells so queer and so nasty. Upon my honour, I don't know what to do, and that's a fact. Here, Arthur, lend me your white pocket-handkerchief, for mine's soaked, and it's no use putting it up again. Bless me ! this is paying very dear for what we saw there. Can you, my good man, suggest any way of my getting rid of this?" '' Only by grease, sir," answered the policeman, whom I had seen laughing a AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 235 good deal, although he had turned his head round, to prevent my noticing it. " " Grease ? What ! grease my face all over? Whoever heard of such a thing?" " Nothing else will touch it, sir." " What! Wont hot water and soap get it off ?" " Oh dear no, sir ! Only make it w^orse." " You don't say so ! What a real mess I seem to be in ! But what am I to do, then? This is really very uncomfortable — very uncomfortable, indeed !" " Xever mind, sir. Come this way with me, and I'll soon put you to rights. But I'm afraid your hat's spoilt." " Oh, never mind my hat. It's my face I care most about, and then my head ; as to the hat, that's nothing ! — I can soon buy another." ** Walk in here, sir," said our conductor, leading the way into a small workshop, and afterwards leaving us for a few minutes, returning with a basin of water, a towel, a piece of soap, and a lump of grease. 236 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, Each of these was skilfully used — the last-named first; and directly my father felt his physiognomy relieved of its pre- vious coating, he applauded the policeman's exertions, and presented him with a half- sovereign, which he did not refuse. We soon afterwards emerged from the dockyard, with mixed sensations of delight and disappointment. No time was lost in procuring another beaver, and the damaged one was given to a sailor-boy, who, having had a hint from our dockyard friend that a purchase of a new one was about to be made, very sen- sibly obtained a promise of the old one, before we reached the shop where its suc- cessor was to be got. " You'll find the smell uncommonly un- pleasant," observed the donor, as he be- stowed the injured article on the anxious youth, awaiting the gift at the shop- door. *' 'Taint nothin' new to me, sir," re- sponded the recipient, *' and, what's more, I likes it, and so do mother too, for she keeps faither's jacket, that's veil nigh kivered AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 237 vith it, always under her piller o'nights ; and says the smell makes her sleep, and per- vents her takin in too much o' father's baccy smoke, for he always takes a pipe in bed the last thing, and agin venever he vakes up ongry in the middle o' the night." " What very odd fancies, to be sure ! How true it is, what everybody says, that 'there's really no accounting for tastes!"* " Oh, how green you are !" "Green? why you don't mean to say I've got any paint about me ? I shouldn't be surprised, though, if I had, for I cer- tainly saw plenty of it in that untidy look- ing vessel. Arthur, look round my small- clothes, and well over the back of my coat, and tell me where it is. I hope there's not much, for though turpentine will take it out, the smell of spirits of turpentine is so strong that I don't think I could stand it, — in fact, I'm sure I couldn't. Well, do you see any, Arthur? — eh?" "Not a bit anywhere, and I've looked everywhere." " Then his statement is false?" 238 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, "Yes, Vm confident there's none; not a speck." " How could you tell such an untruth, you wicked little boy? How dare you deceive me in this way ? — eh ? Answer me that." " Hookey !" cried the censured urchin, putting the extremity of his right thumb to the point of his nose; and skipping back a few steps, preparatory to flight. I felt incensed at this impertinence, and jumped forward to seize him; but his nimbleness baffled me, and he ran oif a short distance, looking round, with his thumb and nasal organ still in contact, and exclaiming, " Hookey! Hookey!" ^' Vel, vide avake ! How are you hoff for tarr'd tiles, old un ? — ha ! ha ! ha ! Did you think it, lumpy? You warn't quite smart enough. If he hadn't been nigh I'd have pitched into you prime, and no mis- take. Go home ; go home — your mother's a-vaitin' for you !" His vain boast, and unfeeling allusion to my disconsolate mother, excited my direst indignation, My blood boiled up to steam AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 239 heat ; and I was in the act of pursuing him, to demand satisfaction for the insult, when I was restrained by the arm of my parent, who, though evidently very angry himself, dreaded witnessing a combat between us, and therefore prudently suggested my treat- ing our scurrilous enemy with contempt. We accordingly turned round to walk away in an opposite direction, but I could not resist my inclination to look back to see what effect my retreat had on my chal- lenger, whose defiance had inflamed me so much. At one glance, I perceived that he was surrounded by several sailors, with their hands in their jacket pockets, all laughing noisily, and apparently enjoying the story of the triumphant slanderer, who stood in the midst of them, with his head buried in the hat he had obtained so cunningly, every now and then lifting it up by the rim, and letting it fall down again over his face, till it hid it altogether. I never felt more thoroughly mortified, or more completely convinced of the possi- bility of well-disposed, tender-hearted, 240 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, charitable people being mistaken in their ideas of their gifts being rightly bestowed on deserving objects who have appealed to their sympathies or applied for assist- ance, to save themselves and their starving family from perishing from absolnte want of sustenance and clothing. My companion remained absorbed in contemplation for some minutes, and then said, " How true Mr. Oswald was in what he has told me over and over again. That it never does to be influenced altogether by appearances or plausible speeches, and that kindness is often rewarded by ingratitude. Who would have thought, now, that that sinful boy, directly he got my hat, would have abused me as he did, and without any provocation, too? Ah! how very difficult it is to know what one ought to do, when one is so liable to err in attempting to do good." In returning to the hotel, we had just crossed over the drawbridge that connects Portsmouth and Portsea, when we met a consequential-looking, portly personage, attired in a military frock coat, and a red AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 241 silk sash round his waist, walking arm-in- arm with a stout lady, seemingly about his own age, which I took to be fifty, or there- abouts. As this grave and dignified -looking couple came abreast of a sentinel at his post, the latter suddenly stopped walking, and held his musket perpendicularly before him. The grandees thus honoured signified their consciousness of their right to the compliment by not noticing it beyond casting their eyes — in passing — at the motionless man staring straight before him at the barrel of his gun. The Major, for such was his title, as attested by the yellow spurs on the heels of his boots, no doubt thought it un- becoming his newly - acquired rank, to return a soldier's salute in the customary way; and his partner, inflated with pride, since his elevation, took especial pains to impress this magnificent idea on his mighty mind; nor was it difficult to convince him of his increased claims to the homage of his inferiors, for he was naturally as im- perious as ridiculously vain and unin- YOL. I. M 242 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, tellectual. But his propensity to dilate on his martial performances in a hyperbolical strain, was a source of infinite amusement to his brother officers, who were likewise often entertained by his boasts of feats effected by bodily activity, whereas his personal proportions did not betray evi- dence of his capacity for agile movements, but, on the contrary, proved he did not exhibit the form of body Vegetius con- sidered proper for a soldier, whom he imagined ought to have " vigilant eyes, an erect neck, a broad chest, muscular shoulders, strong fingers, long arms, a belly of moderate bulk^ rather slender legs, with the calves and feet not distended with superfluous flesh, but hard with compacted sinews." The Major, in truth, possessed exactly such a figure as would tempt one to infer that his feelings would have been acutely affected by any such change in uniform as has recently taken place; and the con- sciousness of pervading plumpness would doubtless have caused him infinite anguish, if apprehensive of being shorn of his friendly skirts! AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 243 CHAPTEE X. The visitor at Portsmouth, after seeing the sea-lions and matters connected therewith, is much in the condition of Othello — left with- out an occupation, and on inquiry " What's to he done now?" is recommended to view the interior of St. Thomas's Church, where Charles 11. was married to the Infanta of Portugal, on whose dowry Bombay, Tangier, and three hundred thousand pounds he had bestowed his affections for the more effectual gratification of his tastes for expenditure and enjoyment. This auspicious union is thus appropriately recorded in letters of gold, in the marriage register : — " Our most gracious Sovereign Lord Charles the Second, by the grace of God King of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender m2 244 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, of the Faith, &c., and the most illustrious Princess Donna Catherina, Infanta of Por- tugal, daughter of the deceased Don Juan, King of Portugal, and sister of the present Don Alphonso, King of Portugal, were married at Portsmouth upon Thursday the two and twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord God 1662, being in the fourteenth year of His Majesty's reign, by the Right Rev. Father in God, Gilbert, Lord Bishop of London, Dean of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, in the presence of several of the nobility of His Majesty's dominions and of Portugal." We may fancy the larking Rochester (if he was not out of favour at the time) pre- sent at the ceremony, laughing in his sleeve at the bride's prospects of matrimonial feli- city, he having a pretty good knowledge of his royal chum's propensities. It is somewhat entertaining, or at least edi- fying to think of the divers expedients this kingly spendthrift resorted to, to recruit his exhausted private finances. First of all filling his purse for a time with the marriage portion of his foreign heiress, and when that AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 245 was squandered away, selling Dunkirk, the only remaining English continental posses- sion, for 400,000 crowns. Again lacking funds, not hesitating to plunge his kingdom into a war with the Dutch, in the hope of gaining the wherewithal to indulge his pre- dilections. The modest Southampton very kindly wished to obtain an annual revenue of tiuo millio7is for his extravagant sovereign's own use, but the virtuous Clarendon pa- triotically resisted this preposterous idea of encouraging Charles's reckless expenditure, which no national generosity could satisfy. It was certainly owing to Charles being hard up for tin, or some other metal, that his navy were indebted for their obstinate sea-fights with the tough mariners of Hol- land, with whom there had been a sufficient number of hard tussles during the Common- wealth, although their issue in the time of Cromwell had been so creditable and profit- able to England, who came out of the contest the gainer of about six millions sterling, the value of prizes captured amounting to no less than seventeen hundred. 246 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR Holland had likewise sustained a severe loss in the death of the valorous, skilful, and able Van Tromp, who was killed like our great naval hero by a musket ball in action, July 1653, about nine months be- fore the close of that war. But some stout- hearted stubborn fellows in De Witte and De Euyter and others remained for future service, in Charles's reign, and proved them- selves formidable antagonists. A recent visit to the tomb of Van Tromp in the old church at Delft, the place so celebrated for its pottery, situated about eight miles from Kotterdam, naturally raised reflections in my mind on the almost total decay of the maritime power of one nation, and the in- creased naval might of the other — the often equally matched combatants of other days : Holland now scarcely capable of securing her own internal safety, after the loss of the richest portion of her kingdom. England exhibiting her strength and stability to the wonder and admiration of the world, and proving the impotency of rebellious efforts to shake the firm foundations of the throne, or to alienate the affections of a AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 247 wise and truly loyal people from a Queen endeared to them by her private virtues and regal justness and beneficence. Yes, and long is time-honoured little Britain likely to stand unscathed by foreign enemies, and to be unaffected by the imbe- cility of revolutionary fanatics in her own territory. I tarried some time examining the monu- ment of the Dutch Nelson, the veteran of upwards of thirty engagements, who boast- fully pretended to have beat Blake in the Downs, in 1652, and afterwards challenged fresh combat by sailing through the Channels, with a broom at his masthead, to show how he had swept the English waters of his foes. A transitory illusion, poor man ! The action in which he fell (fought near the mouth of the Maes) is represented in bas- relief on his monument. This memorable battle lasted two days, and the defeat of the Dutch was most disastrous. They lost twenty-six vessels and four thousand men! Van Tromp's 248 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, doughty rival, Blake, only lived four years after this victory. Clarendon thus speaks of this renowned English admiral, who died a natural death before he had completed his sixtieth year : — " He was the first man that declined the old tract, and made it manifest that the science might be attained in less time than was imagined, and despised those rules which had been long in practice to keep his ship and men out of danger, which had been held in former times a point of great ability and circumspection; as if the prin- cipal art requisite in the captain of a ship had been to be sure to come home safe again. He was the first man who brought ships to contemn castles on shore, which had been thought ever very formidable, and were discovered by him to make a noise only, and to fright those who could be rarely hurt by them. He was the first who infused that proportion of courage into the seamen, by making them see, by experience, what mighty things they could do if they were resolved, and taught them to fight in fire as well as upon water; and AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 249 though he hath been very well imitated and followed, he was the first that gave the example of that kind of naval courage and bold and resolute achievements." But now for a few words anent the fruits of Charles's unjustifiable war. He was completely deceived in his expectation that France and Denmark would aid him in bully- ing the Dutch ; and directly he waged war, he found his supposed auxiliaries intended to fight against him, they having fairly enough determined to assist Holland in her endea- vours to make him rue his temerity in com- mencing hostilities without a sufficient " casus belli." Several celebrated naval actions were the consequence; but England, thanks to the indomitable courage, national spirit, and nautical skill of her sons, proved then, as she has done since, that she was more than a match for her adversaries. On the 3rd of June, 1665, the English fleet of one hundred and fourteen vessels, commanded by the Duke of York, Prince Kupert, and the Earl of Sandwich, attacked the Dutch of equal force, under Admiral Opdam, Van m3 250 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, Tromp, (son of the defunct veteran,) Evertz, and others, off Lowestoft, on the coast of Suffolk, and gave them a severe thrashing. During the engagement, the duke's flag-ship, the Royal Charles^ of eighty guns, and an eighty-four gun-ship, bearing Admiral Opdam's flag, came to close quarters, and fought desperately, until the latter was blown up by accident, and only five men saved out of the entire crew, which consisted of more than five hundred souls. Many obstinately contested actions of minor note took place between the date of this grand defeat of the Dutch, and their subsequent victory over Albemarle and Kupert, a year afterwards. But in less than two months after this last discom- fiture, the same English admirals effectually wiped off the score, by obtaining a splendid triumph over De Ruyter, with his eighty sail, which fled homewards precipitately. Charles, dissatisfied with the result of his aggressive war, now wished to con- clude it, but upon terms so advantageous to the enemy, as to elicit the general sur- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 251 prise and murmurings of his subjects, who considered they had reason to expect a better bargain after all they had undergone, to achieve the upper hand. This mani- festation of public feeling, however, had but little weight with a monarch whose innate selfishness prevented his studying the wel- fare or consulting the desires of his people, or caring much for popular indignation. Negotiations commenced, and while they were pending, an event of some moment occurred that will ever be remembered as a notable naval exploit, displaying the bold- ness and bravery of a worthy foe. A Dutch fleet were at anchor off the Nore, commanded by De Euyter, who, discovering that his late opponents were hors de combat^ (having most injudiciously been dismantled, in the confident hope that peace was at hand,) considered it was in his power to do some damage to an enemy in such a state of unpreparedness for de- fence, and naturally thought it his duty to strike a last blow with some effect when so tempting an opportunity presented itself. Accordingly, he despatched the enterprising 252 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, Van Ghent on this mission with a squadron of seventeen vessels, and some fire-ships ; so, after destroying the insignificant fort at Sheerness, breaking the chain that crossed the river, burning sundry craft met with en route, a part of the attacking force ad- vanced in the hope of soon witnessing the conflagration of Chatham Dockyard; and though these sanguine expectations were not fully realized by the result of the exploit, yet enough was accomplished to make the invaders exultant, for they suc- ceeded in setting fire to six men-of-war, three of which were once theirs; and they also contrived to carry away the Royal Charles — a peculiarly acceptable prize, no doubt. But they did not escape loss them- selves, for two of their ships grounded, and were necessarily abandoned. A portion of the stern of their memorable capture is preserved, with suitable pride, in one of the storehouses in the dockyard at Rotter- dam — a relic the sight of which made me somewhat uncomfortable, as I had been before, when viewing the flags Nelson lost in his unsuccessful attempt against Tene- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 253 riflfe, that are carefully deposited as precious trophies in the church of Santa Cruz. The Dutchman's visit to the Thames naturally excited the dire astonishment, and aroused the fiery wrath of John Bull; who considered it foul play showing fight and hitting so hard when he fancied hos- tilities were all over, and at first there was a universal clamour for revenging the insult ; but it afterwards subsided, and peace en- sued. In five years' time, strife was re- newed, owing to the persuasions of the crafty Louis XIY., who overreached Charles, and prompted him to engage in another war, that opened with a fierce and stubborn battle, in which the gallant Dutch com- manders Yan Ghent and Evertz were killed, and one of the English admirals, the heroic Earl of Sandwich (the other being the Duke of York) perished in his own vessel, in preference to abandoning her, though in flames. During this war, as in the first, numerous were the sanguinary conflicts that occurred. The valiant Rupert and his formidable rival De Ruyter, had a sharp and severe trial of 254 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, strength, which ended in a drawn game, and no particular triumph of any conse- quence could be claimed by either party afterwards ere the close of this second series of scuffles with Holland. But I must ask pardon for this long di- gression, speaking of " Bella, horrida bella !" instead of mentioning that on our return to the hotel I found the following touching letter from my mother : — " Montague Hall, " Friday evening, after tea. " Oh, my precious Boy ! — " If you could but have known what sufferings were in store for me, I'm sure you would not have deserted me as you have done, — just for the sake of pleasing your dreadful fancy for the abo- minable sea. I'm very, very wretched, — in spite of all that the good Mr. Oswald says about its being my duty to submit to my hard lot. He is staying in the house, to keep me company, and is very, very kind, and does his best to comfort me ; but it's no use, I shall continue miserable, I know I AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 255 must, until you return. Directly I was able to move, after you left, I went upstairs into your dear bed-room, and secured every- thing I could see that would help to remind me of my lost child. These I have put away in my wardrobe, for they may serve to do my poor spirits a little good when I look at them. Oh, Arthur ! when are you likely to come back to me? '' I've asked Mr. Oswald this question, over and over again ; but he never gives me a satisfactory answer. He says it will en- tirely depend upon circumstances, and when I beseech him to tell me what circumstances, he always replies he cannot exactly say for certain ; so how am I to find out how long you are to be away. Mind you particu- larly explain all this to me before you leave that horrid Portsmouth, — which, if you had never seen, you never would have wanted to go on the sea, and I never should have had you torn from me by all those Lords of the Amiralty, who ordered you away from home in such a severe way. I'm awake all night, and my appetite is entirely gone; and were it not for what good Mr. Oswald is able to do, the dinner 256 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, might just as well remain in the kitchen. I sent for Dr. Dillon yesterday, and told him how seriously ill I felt all over, but he appeared to make very light indeed of all I complained of, and said he couldn't see anything the matter with me, excepting that my pulse beat quick in consequence of my state of mind, which was all my own fault. I thought this a very unkind speech for him to make, but he spoke more kindly afterwards; however, I'm sorry to say I saw a smile on his face as he wished me good-bye, which I thought very heartless. I'm very much afraid he's not so feeling as he should be; he never says anything soothing; but, on the contrary, talks loud and laughs as if nothing had happened. Oh, Arthur ! my tears are making the paper quite wet, and my eyes are quite sore from crying, and I feel so faint that I cannot write any more by candle-light. Pray don't forget what I told you about never sitting in wet socks. Bless you — bless you my fond child ! and do think of, and pity, — Your bereaved and wretched mother, Rebecca Montague. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 257 This moving appeal to tender feelings operated upon my father with much effect ; for after he had read it, he folded his arms, looked very dejected, and asked me if I would return home, instead of going to Spithead. This proposal I met with a decided ne- gative; and as he perceived it was no use pressing the point, he sagely desisted from trying to prevail upon me to do what I was resolved not to do, — an example worthy of imitation by those who are addicted to the troublesome and unprofitable employ- ment of endeavouring to convince stubborn people, against their own unalterable con- victions. This was the last day of my stay at Ports- mouth — that far-famed seaport, that so often attracted the French, whose unwelcome visits to the neighbouring island (Isle of Wight) commenced soon after the time of William the Conqueror, and continued at intervals from that period to the seventeenth century ; and so great became the alarm of the inhabitants who had anything to lose, that we find they were in the habit of aban- 258 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, doning their estates, until that fearless monarch, Edward the Third, determined to adopt measures to keep them at home by- threatening to confiscate their properties if they quitted them. This no doubt had a beneficial tendency, and served to reduce the evil effects of apprehension and flight. Edward's death in 1377, after a glorious reign of more than half a century, seemed to be the signal for his oft-defeated enemies to show their preference for Portsmouth once more; for his successor was scarcely on the throne, w^hen they, emboldened by the decease of him they so much dreaded, endeavoured to burn the town, which they attacked and partly destroyed; but after they had set it on fire — their usual plan of proceeding, they were compelled to beat a quick retreat, and forced to embark in all possible haste. Three years after the accession of Henry the Fifth, and one after the battle of Agin- court, the first fruits of that monarch's in- vasion of France, the French again showed themselves off Portsmouth, and, " mirabile dictu," blockaded our fleet in the harbour. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 259 But, in 1420, four years after this event, matters had taken a very queer turn; for Henry, who had espoused Catherine, daughter of Charles YL, was living in clover in the French capital, as the acknowledged succes- sor to the throne, and was no doubt deriving infinite enjoyment from his regal state and splendour, surrounded by a court of his own, quite independent of that of the ruling sovereign. But death, which, indeed, is no respecter of persons — levelling all distinctions and laying low with equal unpitifulnessthe prince as well as the pauper, carried off this warlike and ambitious king in the meridian height of fame in 1422. His latest meditations were bestowed on the future fate of his infant son and his inheriting the Crown of France. But alas ! for the fallibility of human foresight, Joan of Arc quite upset these calculations ! Well, indeed, may the French and English be considered to have been inveterate ene- mies for a long period, for verily the hatred of our Norman ancestors towards our Gallic neighbours appears to have been transmitted 260 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, to tlieir distant posterity, for the pages of history shew us that since 1141, six years after Stephen began to reign, down to the conclusive battle of Waterloo, a space of 673 years, for no less than 243 years have the two nations been at war. It is not very surprising though that during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the French were tempted to pay visits to Portsmouth when its defences were in the condition thus described, or probably of an inferior character, as Leland writes in the middle of the sixteenth century — ^' The toun of Portesmouth is muried from the east tour a furlong length, withe a mudde waulle armid with tymbre whereon be great peaces both of yron and brassen ordenances ; and this peace of waulle having a diche without it runneth so far flat south- south-east, and is the place moste apte to defende the toun there open to the haven. Ther runneth a diche almost flat east for a space, and wythin it is a waulle of mudde like to the other, and so there goeth aboute the toun the circuite of a myle. There is a gate of tymbre at the north-east of the AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 261 toun, and bye it is cast gunnes to defende the entre into the toun by land. I learned in the toun that the tourres in the haven mouth were begun in King Edward lY. tyme, and set forwarde yn building by Kichard III., King HenrieYIL, ended then at the procuration of Fox, bishop of Win- chester, King Henry YIII. of late tyme settle in Portesmouth, capitaines, and cer- tain souldiours in garrison." 262 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, CHAPTER XL " Boat, sir ? boat ?" vociferated half-a- dozen voices together, as we approached a group of sailors near the bottom of Point- street, the place of embarkation. " Up the 'arbour? Gosport?'' *' Common ard?" " Fine ebb just making, if so be you want to go to Spit-ed, sir?' said one of the tars, touching his hat most respect- fully, and evincing great anxiety to be employed. *' It's to Spithead we require to go, Arthur, isn't it?" asked my father, turning round to me. (I was walking a few paces behind him, in conversation with one of the eager applicants for a fare.) AX ONLY SOX AT SEA. 263 " Oh, yes!" I cried; "the Felicity is at Spithead." " So she be, sir; you're quite right; and a worry fine craft she be, too, as 'as bin fitted out 'ere for years. I've had minny a job from 'er ossivers, and I niver see better. So free vith their shillins, and so 'umour- some, to be sure. One on 'em made me drink pritty nigh 'alf a pint o' raw brandy one day, because I told 'en I'd 'ad nothin' like a drop o' licker sin' the mornin'. You be goin' to jine she, then, be you? Yell, you're in the luck of it, sir — that you be. She's bin the fancy wessel 'ere, ever sin the pennant were 'oisted. She be commanded by sich a favour-ite skipper. All the ossi- vers and men what ever sailed vith 'en swears by 'en." This intelligence was extremely gratify- ing ; my looks, I'm sure, bespoke ray delight ; and my sire smiled his satis- faction, as he told our informant he might convey us to our destination. A few steps carried us to the beach, and as we got into the wherry, with some assist- ance, the boatman said, " Excellent wind. 264 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, I'll touch 'er up vith the veather scull, now and thin, and you'll be alongside afore you've time scarce to smoke a cigar." " I never smoke," observed my father, with a shake of the head. " Oh ! indeed, sir. P'raps the young gintilman do ;" casting a sly look at me. " No, I don't 1" said I, rather indignant that he should utter such an insinuation. " Thin you most like soon vill, sir; and I make no manner o' doubt that in a werry short time you'll 'ave larnt to dodge the fust leeftenant round the 'en coops of a night, vith the lighted end of your cheroot in your mouth, ven 'e's a goin' the nine o'clock rounds, vith the mate o' the main deck, and the rest on 'em." I did not comprehend the exact nature of this suspicion, so I made no reply. He then requested us to be seated on the stern sheets. " Where are they?" cried my father; " I see nothing like sheets here; and I'm sure something of the sort is much wanted, for the boards all appear very wet." The tar laughed, took off his thick AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 265 jacket, and arranging it to the Ijest ad- vantage, for us to sit upon, said, " There, sir — that'll keep your starns dry; but wait one minit, till I spreads it out more this side. Now, thin, it's all correct, and you'll find it don't make a bad cushin. Here, young gintilman, yill you pliz for to put these 'ere lines into your 'ands?" I laid hold of the pieces of cord affixed to the top of the rudder, and waited zealously for further instructions. " Keep one in each *and, sir, till I've shipped the mast and spritted the sail." I did as directed, feeling proud at being entrusted with the management of such an important matter, at the very outset of my career, and I watched his movements intently, longing for the boat to be in motion. "Now, thin, sir!" he exclaimed, wiping the moisture generated by his previous exertions off his forehead, with the sleeve of his shirt — '^ vould you like to steer a bit?" *' Yes, very much." " Yell, thin, I'll give you your lesson." VOL. I. N 266 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, " I'm quite ready." " Glad to 'ear it, sir; 'ope you'll always be as ready for any dooty. Now for it. Ven I sais starboard, you pulls the right line ; ven I sais port, the left un. That's easy, now, ain't it?" I nodded assent, and fixed my feet firmly against the piece of wood across the bottom of the boat, and my back against the board behind. " Starboard a bit, sir — if you pliz !" I chanced to pull the proper cord. " Worry good for a beginnin', werry good, indeed !" Presently he bawled out, *' Hard a-port !" " Eh?" I cried, not knowing what to do. The instant afterwards, we came in con- tact with another boat. My fatlier was flung forward by the shock. I managed to keep my seat, being better prepared. The sailor jumped up, and vented his feelings in an imprecation. The two men in the other boat assailed him with a volley of the most virulent abuse, and tried to splash him by hitting the water with the blades of their oars. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 267 By way of retaliation, he veliemently enunciated a variety of figurative epithets of an uncomplimentary character, and con- tinued to pour forth copious ardent invec- tives as long as they remained within ear- shot, thereby testifying that his fund of offensive phraseology was quite as inex- haustible as theirs. " No damage done, I hope ?" said my parent, rising, with our aid, from his pros- trate position. " You ain't hurted, sir, I 'ope?" " Oh no — not at all, thank you." " Thank you^ sir. The gun whale's stoved in a bit for-ed ; but a shillin' or two extra, ven you're payin' the fare, vill put all that 'ere to rights, I don't doubt." "Oh yes; I dare say we shall be able to settle that business without any diffi- culty." " You're a gintilman, sir." " I hope so." " Egzacly, sir — so you be, I see; but it hain't all they what calls theyselves gin- tilmin that be sich, though. Oh no ! — not by no manner o' means !'' n2 268 AP/riTUR MONTAGUE ; OK, '' Whose fault was the accident, pray?" " Their'n, on coorse, sir. The fat- 'eaded fools! — it were their business to get out o' our vay ven they see us a comin'." "Oh, I'm very glad we're not to blame for the occurrence. I was really afraid that Arthur " " Me ! I didn't do it— now, did I?" *' You, sir? Lor' bless you, no! 'Alf they chaps what call theyselves watermen, because they 'appen to 'ave a boat and a licence, arn't got no larnin' o' the kind; and all tliey thinks on is 'ow to rob we old 'ands of our bread, though we've bin plyin* 'ere afore they was 'atched. Ay, many on us 'ave to do night-work all the year round, to keep from starvin' at 'ome, vith a lot o' mouths to feed, vile they spends their arnins' drinkin', and turns in more nor 'alf drunk every night reg'lar. I niver see times so bad — niver! I've stud shiverin' 'our after 'our in that there place vere you met me vaitin' for a fare, vithout so much as makin' a tizzy by a job anywheres; and I've bin over at Gosport side ever so long, AX ONLY SOX AT SEA. 2G9 bawlin' out ready to bust ail my blood- -vessels, for a passenger to make up the number for a trip to Portsea, and then, arter all, bin obliged to start twopence short, and pull across a strong flood, vich ain't no easy vork, I can tell you, sir, single-'anded. Ah! vere I used to take five shillin' a few years agone, I don't pocket one now ! ]N"o ships fittin' out scarce; no stationers comin' in to pay off; and ossivers sometimes is quite curiosities 'ere — that they be. Ay, times is gettin' "werry 'ard indeed, for we what looks to the sea for wittels; and as I pulls about the 'arbour by myself, I feel as 'ollow and empty as a drum, and I ain't 'ad no bowels, I don't know yen." We stared in astonishment at the healthy- looking human being before us, whose florid complexion certainly did not indicate the internal action of any painful ailment ; but as we had no reason to doubt his statement, we viewed him with pity, as an unfortunate man suffering from a very serious consti- tutional defect, and my parent suggested his consulting a doctor without delay. 270 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, The imagined invalid laughed heartily at this proposition, which sign of merriment we thought very extraordinary, as betoken- ing the co-existence of cheerfulness with the ravages of a dreadful disorder. Perceiving our surprise, he said — ''I beg pardon, sir, for lafFm, — but I couldn't 'elp myself: your adwice is so werry queer." "I certainly think you require and should seek medical aid," answered his compas- sion ater, looking very grave — " that's my firm conviction. You say you have a large family dependent upon your exertions, whose wants you are scarcely able to sup- ply. You allege that you experience con- siderable difficulty in procuring even an imperfect livelihood, and you also declare that your health is in a wretched condition. Now I ask you how you can hope to con- tinue to work without health — the first of all blessings, and the foundation of enjoy- ment and independence ; and how you can possibly expect to improve your health without the assistance of those only com- AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 271 petent to arrest the progress of the com- plaiut you describe?" "It's werry veil talkin', sir; but what 1 wants inside is not physic, but ballist, and that's only to be 'ad at the bu tcher's and baker's, and there's no use goiii' there to fall in love vith a beafsteak or a quartern loaf vithout bein' able to can y it back vith un." " What ! you don't mean to say your in- disposition arises from want of food?" " That's jist it, sir — and no mistake !" This announcement of the deplorable vacuum in his stomachic regions instantly excited our commiseration, and I quickly drew forth half-a-crown, and gave it him." He thanked me plentifully for the gift, and then glanced inquiringly to ascertain if my liberality was approved of; any doubt on this point was set at rest by the exclamation — " Quite right, Arthur ! He seems a very deserving man struggling with poverty." " You've jist guissed it, sir. This be your son, I persume?" 272 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, " Yes, he 2*5," replied the fond parent, ^vith emphasis. " Thought as much, sir. 'E be the werry image of you; I shud know en to belong to you anywheres. 'Is face looks so plizant, I'll be bound e'll be a great favour-ite aboord. You'll miss en a good deal I don't doubt, and praps be werry lonely vithout en." "Ah, indeed I shall! and so will his mother; but I shall try to bear up as well as I can." " So do, sir; that's my adwice.'' " Dear me, Arthur ! I wonder where Thomas is. I told him to hire a boat to embark all the Inggage in ; so I suppose he is before us somewhere." "Did you see him, pray?" " Seed who, sir, if you pliz?" " My man-servant in livery." " 'Ow were he dressed, sir?" " A sky blue coat with vermillion collar, trimmed with gold lace, a gilt aigulet on his shoulder, a yellow waistcoat, and scarlet plush breeches." AN OlSLY SON AT SEA. 273 " Then I did see en, sir ; for I tiik notice of 'is 'andsome uniform. 'E cum down to the Pint a good bit afore you, vith a lot o' furniture in a large cart." *' Ay, that must have been him with my son's luggage." ^^ Ho, indeed, sir ! The young gintilman's sartin to find room for it all aboord, and if 'e carn't get quite all into 'is own cabin the fust leeftenant be sure to offer to put away the rest of it in 'isn." " But I hope I shall be able to have it all in mine," said I. " I shouldn't vender, sir!" As we approached Spithead the garrulous tar directed our observation to a buoy at some distance off, that he said marked the spot where the Boyal George^ line-of-battle ship of 108 guns, was sunk in 1782, whilst purposely on one side ; with the object of repairing a water-pipe that could not have been got at with the ship upright. This intelligence, so calculated to disquiet our minds, immediately rendered us ex- tremely uncomfortable and apprehensive, N 3 274 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, as the thought of the fearful disaster created imaginings of the perils incident to a sea life. " What an awful accident !" cried my perturbed parent, with a look expressive of tlie greatest uneasiness. " What was the loss of life pray? — I^m afraid terrific! Explain, my good man, explain how many poor souls met with a watery grave." " A rare lot on 'em, sir, misfortunately. She 'ad sicli a precious sight o' people aboord : nigh one thousand two hundred — three hundred on 'em shemales ; but only nine liundred out o' the 'ole was drownded, all the others was saved. Two hundred o' they was on deck ven the wessel began to fill afore going down, and they WQrry knowinly tuk to the rigging, and got aloft, by vich means they bided on the upper yards ven the ship was under water. Ther was two hundred picked up by the boats of the other ships that was laying there, as the chaps clung on for their worry lives, and most o' the rest what was saved was picked up floating about upon anythin' they'd got hold on, and swimmin' the best A^ ONLY SON AT SEA. 275 way they could. Four o' the leeftenants was amongst the lucky ones. They looked arter theyselves, they did, knowin 'ands, I don't make no manner o' doubt." " But you don't mention how many of the unfortunate women were rescued?" " Eleven was all that answered their muster ven they come to be counted, and I niver 'eard if the bum boat woman was one on 'em. I 'ave 'eard tell that all the marine sentries all over the wessel was missing ven their names was called over by the barrack roster arterwards, and the reason were be- cause none on 'em would leave their posties without bein' relieved. " The last as was seed of the ship's cook who 'ad only one arm, was 'is leanin' over the coppers tastin' the beef soup, and tellin' 'is mate to get a net o' tatees out for No. 13 mess. " The Admiral were in 'is cabin writin' to the Admiraltree to tell what 'e intended to do when he got to sea, and two midship- mites was in the after cockpit a dressin' theyselves in their best ready to go ashore to the Isle o' Wight to a pic-nic*" 276 ARTHUR xMOx\TAGU£; OR, This appalling adcount of the most dread- ful disaster we had ever heard of quite un- nerved us. I say Hs, for conscience compels me to speak in the plural, and my father's consternation was such as to impel him to propose our immediate return to the shore. I hesitated a moment, but bright visions of future honour and glory rose up so pal- pably before my eyes that such expectations forced me to decline turning back, and no subsequent persuasions could shake my de- termination to seek renown on the deep. So we proceeded towards the Felicity, but deep thought was depicted on the countenance of my father, and after some musing he said abruptly — " The more I reflect upon the details of this horrifying story, the more uncomfortable and dissatisfied I feel. But, tell me, my good man, is there any chance of such an awful catastrophe ever occurring again?" " I don't cum at what you says egzacly, sir." ^' I asked if there was the least likelihood of anything of the kind ever happening AX ONLY SON AT SEA. 277 " Lor' bless yon, no, sir!" responded the discreet informant, discerning the injurious effect of liis tale; " things be managed a deal better now, they be, and ships be werry safe tilings to live in. They stands up so stiff under a press o' canvas it seems most um- possible to capsize 'em, nor be it a easy matter for 'em to get loose from their anchors, for they be so terrible big and strong made, and the chain cables all tried at the dockyards afore they're shipped, that I always says to myself venever I 'ear of a wessel with three good anchors a-'ed getting adrift that she's done it for the sake o' mis- chief to worry the skipper, because people arn't comfortable aboord. " You needn't feel noways uneasy, young gintilman — you needn't, I do assure yon, for no 'arm vill cum to your craft, she's a deal too well commanded." " Do you really think so, my good man?" " I do, sir. She's as safe as any 'otel; I'll bet my fare on't." "On your honour?" '' I don't take much account of that, sir, but if vou like I'll swear -" 278 ARTHUft MONTAGUE; OK, "• No, no, don't — I ablior swearing — it's a most debasing liabit, and I'm only asto- nished it's ever tolerated." ^' Werry veil, thin, sir — if so be you'd much raither not — I dez say I can do vithout it till I get's home." " If you've contracted the odious habit, pray, breakyourself of it as fast as possible." " Bless your 'art, sir, I might jist as veil try to do vithout my chaw ; but I'll tell you what I'll do, sir — my Missus shall 'ave a 'olliday to-day, out o' compliment to you." " I wish I could extort from you a faith- ful promise that you'd act upon my advice." " Your adwice be werry good, sir, but V "What?" '' If it were know'd I'd undertook sich a thing, I'd 'ave no peace nowheres, and praps be obliged to give up my licence." " MVliere there's a will there's a way;' people who wish to cure themselves of bad propensities can always do it by degrees, if not thoroughly at once. " I request you to bear in mind what I say, and here — here's half-a-sovereign for AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 279 you ; for you've relieved my mind of a load of anxiety, by assuring me of Arthur's future safety." The rejoiced recipient of this unlooked- for donation held it out at arm's length, in the palm of his left hand, and gazing at it rapturously, said — " These be jist the coins I've a fancy for, sir; but, vorse luck, I seldom sees sich plisant-looking things, and I arn't 'ad one in my ^and I don't know ven. Thank ye kindly, sir, for me and my missus. Yont she jist be tuk aback ven I shoves it into 'er flipper, and tells 'er to buy a pound o' black tea, some shugger, a piece o' bacon, and a bottle o' gin." On nearing the frigate, we perceived a soldier standing on a wooden projection out- side the ship, with a musket in one hand and a large lump of something that looked like a white stone in the other; and, as we got rather close, he began to wave his hand and call out to us to keep further off. ''What does he mean ?" exclaimed my sire. " Why this obstruction ? What's that he's got in his hand? He's surely not 280 AIITIITJH MONTAGUE ; OR, going to tlirovv^ it at us ! I believe lie is, though, for look, he's lifting it above his head in a threatening way; and what provocation have we offered him?" " Oh, thim young marine recruits don't think nothin' of 'eavin' most nigh anythin' at one, ven they's in tlie 'umour. They thinks they'll be made corporals afore they've larjit their drill, if they only manage to make a 'ole in a wherry, and thin swear they see tlie waterman stow away a bladder o' sperets under the 'ead sheets." The soldier continued in the same alarm- ing attitude, and vociferated something we did not make out, whereupon my com- panion, fearing for our safety, stood up, and shaking his clenched fist at the threatener, bawled out, ^' I'll prosecute you for an assault if you do, as sure as you're alive ! You dare attack inoffensive persons in this way! You dare, I say! You dare do it!" " Thur you be thun, if thee 'ool arve it!" cried the sentinel, ejecting the missile AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 281 at US, wliich fell close to the side of the boat, and splashed us all over. "You're a smart en, you bel" said our nautical companion, deriding the aggressor. " Go and pipe clay your belts, Joey, and thin write to the Dook o' Yellington, and ax for your perraotion." " 0, I've onother for ye inon," responded the incensed martial individual, holding up another ponderous projectile, considerably larger than the last. " Pat it in your bag, Joe," answered the waterman, with a scornful laugh, " for you arn't got much there yet, 1 shud say !" My father, who was wiping the wet off me, with his pocket-handkerchief, before he had removed the pearly drops from his own face, was apprehensive of a fresh soaking ; so directly he heard the renewed threats, he turned round, and ejaculated lustily, " Desist, sir, this minute ! I'll show you you're amenable to lawl I'll send a constable for you, the instant I land!" " Just peel off your outer coat, young 282 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, gintilman," suggested the boatman, '' and let en see who we be." I was in the act of doing as directed, Avhen a midshipman looked over the gang- way, and seeing my white stripe on my collar, said, " You can come alongside in that boat.'' The boatman gave two strokes with his oars, then laid them in, and with his boat- hook caught hold of one of the irons under the place where the marine was standing, at the same time saying, in an exultant tone of voice, " Now, Joey, ven you're relieved, take that ere stone down to the lower deck vith you, and break it up small, as you 'ad used to do many times agone, in the vorkhouse yard. Do you mind?" The other's looks bespoke his wrath and mortification, but his exercise of authority, as far as we were concerned, had ceased, so he prudently made no reply, but shouldered his musket, and comforted himself with the assurance that he'd done no more than his duty. "Well, how are we to get up here?" AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 283 inquired my father, after scanning the perpendicular side of the vessel, which certainly seemed to offer no facility for ascent ; and though the waterman ex- plained the mode of accomplishing it, his instructions were not deemed satisfactory, and his pupil resumed his seat, folded his arms, and felt convinced of the imprac- ticability of climbing up so steep a place in the manner described. Whilst he was cogitating on the hazard of any such enter- prise, the little midshipman who had before addressed us to our advantage, again ap- peared at the gangway, and seeing us still in the boat, fancied we had not understood his permission to come on board ; so looking over, he said, " You can walk up, sir !" "You speak ironically, sir, I presume?" answered the unenlightened visitor. "An ironmonger, eh? Ah, I thought as much !" muttered the sentry. Our worthy waterman overhearing this remark, exclaimed, " You be a excellent judge, Joey — you be ; don't know a admiral from a ironmonger ; but you soon vill, tho', ril be bound, directly 'e gets aboord." 284 AIITIIUR MO.NTAGUE; Or., Two lads no^v jumped dovvai the ship's side, v>dth the agility of lamplighters, and each holding forth one of the pieces of covered cordage hung from the gangway, tempted me to show an example, which I did very creditably, and was soon on board, when I solicited my parent to divest himself of all fear, and to make an effort, as he would find the task much less difficult than he imagined. This appeal, and the sight of me above, prompted him to get his courage to the sticking-point; so he grasped the ropes firmly, and by dint of the aid he received from the boatman pushing from behind, succeeded in getting up a few steps, where the power of progress was arrested, and he clung on with the utmost tenacity, as the rolling motion of the vessel assured him of his rashness in undertaking such a feat. At length, however, by the united exertions of the active youths, he gained the deck, panting and pale, and laying hold of my hand, was about to walk towards the fore part of the frigate, when another punctilious sentry authoritatively AX ONLY PON AT SEA. 285 desired us to " walk aft," and seemed sur- prised we did not conipreliend, and at once obey his order. Directly \\e were made acquainted with the nature of his wishes, we proceeded to comply wdth them, and in passing two sailors at work near the mainmast, they eyed us archly, and one observed to the other, that my companion pretended to be very fond of me, but that his sending me to sea was a proof to the contrary. We now perceived, a few steps from us, a tall, stern-looking officer, dressed in a bhie surtout coat, wdth a sindc row of lace round each cuff. His face w^as much tanned, his hair grizzled, his right cheek bore a conspicuous scar, and he appeared to be about eight and forty. On coming close to him, my father, in accord- ance with his usual practice, took off his hat, bowed, and held forth his hand. The officer smiled good-naturedly, gave the proffi^red hand a slight shake, and as I was expected, probably guessed who I was, for turning to me, he said, " Come to join, I suppose?" " My son, sir!" was the reply, by way of 286 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, introduction. " He's come to fill this ap- pointment that he received from the Lords of the Admiralty." " Let's see it, sir. Yes, all right. He's likely to occupy a very exalted position in his Majesty's service, for some time to come." " I'm very happy and proud to hear it!" responded the gratified parent, quite un- mindful of the terrible narrative of the loss of the Royal George. I drew myself up to my greatest alti- tude, gazed about me with a feeling of considerable consequence, and was fully impressed with the belief that I was in a fair way of acquiring enviable fame. The first lieutenant, for such was the rank of our new acquaintance, now left us, jumped up on a carronade, and gave some order, and immediately afterwards we heard a pipe, and the deck on one side soon became crowded with men, who all laid hold of some stout ropes, and seemed waiting for fresh commands. We were puzzling ourselves to conjecture what was to happen, when somebody shouted AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 287 out — ^' Marry them ;"* an interjection that greatly astonished us, but before we had time for reflection, a voice, not far from us, said "Keep stealing," whereupon my com- panion seized hold of his coat tails, and looking about him suspiciously on every side, exclaimed — " What an infamous pro- position to be sure; where did that come from, I wonder? one's pockets are never safe in a crowd 1" AVhilst thus perplexed, the officer, who appeared to be looking at something in the water, near the ship, sud- denly threw up his head, and vociferated " Away with her !" an order that caused all the assemblage to rush away together in great haste; and in the impulse of the moment my father, in whom curiosity was a dominant quality, joined in the throng, demanding — " Who is it ? What's she done ?" inquiries that elicited laughter from tliose that heard them, and one of the auditors replied, " She's come off from the shore wet, and we're hanging her up to dry." * " Marry them :" order to hold two ropes to- gether. " Keep stealing :" keep tightening them." " Away with her :"' hoist away. 288 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, " A. very severe punishment for a very slight offence," answered my feeling father, turning away dissatisfiecl ; and leading me to the other side of the deck, where, upon looking up, we beheld a quarter of beef oscillating in the air from the main yard. As it was lowered down, we could not tell exactly whereabouts it would come, so we thought it prudent to keep well out of the way ; but directly we saw it prostrate on the deck incapable of injuring anyone, we advanced to inspect it. One sailor lifted it upon the broad shoulders of another, and as he was on tlie point of carrying it away, my parent, admiring its appear- ance, caught him by the arm and detained him, saying — '• This is splendid beef, my man; what is it a pound?" The person addressed anathematized the inquisitive intruder's optics, spoke dispa- ragingly of his wisdom, and subsequently departed, declaring himself an enemy to all interruption in the execution of his duties. This speech convinced us of the naval AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 289 butcher's want of courtesy, and we walked away to rejoin the lieutenant, who met ns, and politely invited us to descend to the gun-room to taste sea-biscuit and drink a glass of sherry. As we w^ere going down the after-ladder, I last — just as my head was on a level with the deck, I observed the figure of Thomas, and did not follow, but came up again. He had that minute obtained a footing on deck, much to his relief, after being dragged up the side, which operation had so far deranged his costume as to render it necessary to readjust the front of his shirt, to draw up his white stockings to their orthodox tightness, to pull down his waistcoat, disentangle his aigulet, and im- prove in some way the set of his crumpled white cravat, which had previously been in a condition fit for the use of the fastidious Beau Brummel, immortalized by the intro- duction of starched neckcloths — his prin- cipal claim to distinction, forsooth ! Ay, his fate was a fair sample of the transitoriness of surreptitious notoriety, and of the fleeting nature of fashionable fame ! VOL. L 290 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, His star, once so bright, whose radiance other planetary beings were glad to borrow, set at last in obscurity in a foreign land : and the man who had been the acknow- ledged intimate of a prince, and whose com- panionship was courted by the best-born in the land, ended his chequered career as a pauper, bereft of reason, in a French asylum ! Sic transit gloria mundi I AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 291 CHAPTEE XII. When Thomas first arrived on board, see- ing before him a fine open space, and un- aware of its sanctity, he naturally directed his footsteps thither, purposing to enjoy an agreeable promenade, which was scarcely commenced, when a significant beck from a little midshipman to some tars in the neigh- bourhood, rudely interfered with his survey of the quarter-deck. He had paused for a moment, and was standing in a stooping attitude, with his hands on his hips, and a face full of astonishment and curiosity, when two jocular-looking wights, without address- ing him, suddenly poked an arm through each of his, and conveyed him, at a quicker pace than he liked, to the forecastle. There a concourse of sailors, who had o2 292 ARTIIUll MONTAGUE; OR, witnessed what had occurred, immediately surrounded the new-comer, and began to pull him about, greatly to his discomfiture, accompanying the close examination of his habiliments, with various pertinent, or, as the sufferer no doubt considered impertinent, remarks, expressive of their opinions of his personal appearance. One seizing hold of his aigulet, and twisting it about, cried — " Here, let me overhaul this, Mr. Red- smalls : a fathom of inch, with a gilt marlin- spike at the end of it !" Another, in spite of objections offered, buttoned up his coat, and told him to look up at the foretop, while he secured the last button; and then he scrutinized the re- splendent crest emblazoned thereon, and observed it was a very suitable one: it was a rampant griffin. A third provoker was busily employed getting the girth of the calf of his leg with a greasy ropeyarn, that left a ring round the stocking; and after the measurement, he averred that with such foundations he need never be afraid of falling down, but that it would be advisable for him to be on AN OXLY SON AT SEA. 293 his guard against the attacks of wasps, who always went to the best fruit, and pegged away at it until it was hollow. Two other laughing tars assisted each other buckling a cutlass round his waist; and on finding its circumference needed the belt's being enlarged, they pointed out to notice the dimensions of his convex pro- jection, declaring that its aspect denoted his propensity for keeping his victualling store well stocked. These offensive insinuations, and the roughness of the handling, altogether, were very mortifying to the staid landsman, who prided himself upon the symmetry of his form, the attractiveness of his attire, and his qualifications for a lover. Yes, Thomas was unquestionably a beau of a certain calibre. His aim was conquest; and the object of his warmest admiration, Susan! But he, like many other mortals, found that love's current runneth not smooth. He had a rival in the gardener, whose ardent temperament and unceasing assiduity constituted serious obstacles to the successful progress of his suit with the coy maiden, 294 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, who very judiciously acted upon tlie principle of her betters, by having two strings to her bow, or rather retaining the beneficial atten- tions of a brace of applicants for her hand and heart, occasionally embarrassing both without diminishing the admiration or ardour of either. Frequent indeed were the bond Jide proposals of Thomas, but all his per- suasions failed to wring from her a promise to plight her faith to him at the altar. Surrender was not her policy: but he did not, however, despair of seeing her his bride some day, when she ceased to encourage the advances of his competitor, whose acceptable gifts of fruits and flowers wrought very powerfully upon her affections, for the seat of her love was some way lower down than it is usually supposed to be seated — fully accounting for the difficulty of the attempt to neutralize the pleasant influence of peaches, greengages, nectarines, and plums. But the in-door suitor might certainly be said to have some slight advantage over the amorous " nature's journeyman," inasmuch as he was more in her society and possessed many opportunities of contributing to her AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 295 contentment and internal satisfaction, by consulting her tastes at meals and assisting her bountifully to choice morsels. But even continued perseverance in this laudable practice did not serve to elicit any decided demonstrations of her appreciation of his efforts, nor was he even suffered to test her sentiments by a touch of the foot under the table, such an experiment invariably causing him to be put to shame by exposure, and often was his heart lacerated by the excla- mation — '^ There you are, at it again, Thomas ; but it's no manner of use, I tell you — so you'd better learn to behave yourself." Want of reciprocity sometimes conduces to abate love, and ridiculing an attachment often engenders indifference ; but the passion in this instance was inextinguishable, the power of enduring rebuff such as might be coveted. Hope, the ignis-fatuus of the lover, upheld Thomas, and his complaints were confined to celibacy. Is it surprising, then, that he experienced the most disagreeable sensations when undergoing the torments in- flicted on him by a set of merciless tars — 296 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, and the shout that succeeded his frank avowal tliat he'd come on board the Felicity " to put up master's bed and settle the furniture," nearly drove him distracted with indignation. When I first saw him taken forward, I strolled in that direction, and, observing the pranks of the sailors, concluded they were merely quizzing him ; but wdien I noticed his look of mingled displeasure and disgust, I thought it my duty to rush to his rescue, and therefore forthwith hurried towards the spot, where he formed the centre of a circle; but just as I was forcing my way through the barrier, a young middy, seeing my object, ran up to me, and laying hold of my arm, drew me away, saying, " You've no business here, my good fellow; it's very unofficerlike ; you mustn't be familiar with the men, remember that; keep your place, and they'll keep theirs,''^ This incontrovertible advice T promised to bear in mind, not wishing to do aught in the smallest degree derogatory to my newly- acquired dignity, for the appellation of officer I conceived carried with it infinite AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 297 importance, that ought not to he impaired by any deviation from propriety; so I felt the wisest thing I could do was to go in quest of my parent; and with the view of ascertaining his whereabouts, I asked my juvenile counsellor if he could tell me where papa was, as I had seen him go down stairs. In answer to this inquiry, he burst out laughing, and said he supposed he was in the purser's steward-room, begging biscuit. This suspicion vexed me, and I confuted it by stating that I was confident that could not be the case, as we had had an excellent late breakfast, just before leaving the hotel. He replied, that judging by my fat chops, I had eaten the best portion of it, although perhaps my sire had preferred appearing satisfied with his short allow- ance, rather than complain of my vora- ciousness, just as he was getting rid of me. This insult stung me to the quick; in fact, so deep did it penetrate, that I at once resolved, in spite of all Mr. Oswald's advice, to be revenged as soon as prac- 03 298 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, ticable; and, burning with wrath, I com- municated this determination, and re- minded him of my being quite as tall as he was. " And quite as ugly, too, aint you?" he responded. "No; I don't think I am," I cried, hurling a look of scorn and defiance at my foe, as I quitted him. I then went down to the main deck, and when there, peeped down the gun-room skylight, and to my ineffable delight, beheld the well-known bald head of my beloved parent. By great ingenuity, I succeeded in find- ing my way into the place where he was, and walked straight up to him, seated myself on a chair by his side, and made myself quite at home, not doubting my right to remain there. The officers all looked at me, then at one another, and smiled ; and a facetious-looking young lieutenant asked if I was not very bashful. My father answered in the negative. The inquirer replied, he had fancied I was, as I was blushing so much, and seemed so very uneasy in a strange place. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 299 I denied this charge with vehemence. The utterer of it bowed, smiled, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, " Very glad to hear you speak out so well, youngster. You shall be in my watch. You'll do, I see; and if I'm not mistaken, you'll make a sailor now before your mamma." Mr. Montague, imagining the speaker was labouring under some misconception upon this point, deemed it necessary to explain that my mother had no intention of accom- panying me, although she had expressed a determination to do so at first. This announcement produced a smile on the physiognomies of all present, and the lieutenant kindly remarked, that he was afraid Mrs. Montague's spirits would be greatly depressed by my absence. This surmise was ackno\vledged to be correct ; and as I did not like the company into which I had accidentally fallen, I glanced about a few minutes, and then nudged my father, to signify my wish to depart. The hint was understood, and by way of a plea for curtailing our stay, he 300 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, exclaimed, "By - the - bye, I wonder if Thomas has arrived yet." " Oh, dear, yes," said I, " he's on deck; and the boat has come with all the fur- niture." " Furniture ! what furniture, pray, young gentleman ?" demanded the first lieutenant, in a tone of astonishment. The articles were enumerated. His look, at first grave, soon relaxed into a smile, and afterwards broke out into a laugh, in which everybody joined. When he recovered the command of his coun- tenance, he said, " And has he brought no sea-chest?" " Oh, dear, yes! he's got two, besides a plate-chest, a box containing a pair of candlesticks, and a flat case holding his looking-glass." " Is that all, sir, pray ?" inquired the interrogator, with a very serious expres- sion. *' Let me see! — is it, Arthur? Have I omitted to mention anything?" •^ Did you say anything about the cask of wine?" was my helping reply. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 301 " No, by-the-bye, I quite forgot that. There's also a quarter cask of very choice Madeira that's been two voyages to the East Indies, and in my cellar for the last fifteen years. It's excellent — Mr. Oswald and Doctor Dillon have often told me they never tasted better." "Very good outfit, indeed, sir! He's valuable, I see — we must take great care of him.*' " I sincerely hope and trust you will^ sir. He's our only son and only child ; and Mrs. Montague will, I'm sure, unite with me in grateful thanks for any attention you may have it in your power to bestow. You'll find him a very interesting boy, and he'll be quite a companion to you." This prediction caused fresh smiles around, but Mr. Nettings' (for such was the name of my future benefactor) face bespoke com- passion on viewing a youth exchanging parental indulgence for strict discipline and the many discomforts inseparable from a middy's lot, under the most favourable cir- cumstances. He then went into his cabin to fetch a small blue leather backed book 302 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, with a clasp, and as he came out he tapped me on the shoulder and told me to hope for the best, and he then suggested our going on deck, so we emerged from the gunroom, my father leaving behind him a general invita- tion to all the members of the mess to visit Montague Hall, at any future period. Following our guide, we soon got up into the open air, and directly Thomas spied us he forgot the prohibition about the quarter- deck, and walked rapidly towards us, and at once complained that the saucy little mid- shipman with whom I had quarrelled had prevented the furniture from being brought on board. Thinking this was done out of spite, I walked to the other side of the deck where he was pacing up and down, looking as if he had done no harm to any one, and I accused him of indefensible conduct. He pushed me away with a malediction I cannot repeat. My sire, upon becoming fully acquainted with the particulars of the refusal to receive my luggage, inquired of Mr. Nettings upon what grounds such an extraordinary inter ^ AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 303 ference with private property could be justified. It took but few minutes to explain how misled he had been in his expectations of my requirements, and how incompatible such superfluous possessions were with the cha- racter I had now assumed, and likewise how utterly impossible it would be, allowing that indulgence was strained to the utmost in my favour, to permit any of the furniture to enter the vessel; but all this information proved anything but convincing of the ne- cessity that was said to exist for so seeming an act of inconsiderate unkindness, and when it was announced that by the custom of the service midshipmen were only allowed space enough throughout the ship for one chest and one hammock, the surprise of my parent was of the acutest kind. Nor was I free from misgivings of the inconvenient consequences of such restrictions ; however, I had no time for reflection, which perhaps was fortunate, for there is no saying what might not have been the pernicious tendency of meditation at that moment. My parent repeated his solicitation, which was met 304 ARTHUR MONTAGUE; OR, with tlie same unrelenting negative, and the futility of his efforts to overrule the decision tempted him to remark that he certainly was greatly amazed at the veto, as the waterman had distinctly told us that he, Mr. Nettings, would provide room in his cabin for all the things I could not get into mine. This communication seemed to afford the said officer some amusement, for he laughed outright, and said he was afraid he could not undertake to fulfil such a promise. ^' But I'll tell you what, sir," he continued — ^* as a proof of my really regretting the error you have fallen into, and the great needless expense you've incurred, I'll stretch a point, and incur the charge of deviation from my rigid adherence to the rule of right, by granting leave for your son to receive on board both the chests you spoke of, and also the cask of wine, and any other little thing, in a small way, that could be put out of sight without exciting jealousy amongst his new associates." He then called the disagreeable wily- looking midshipman from the other side of the deck. AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 305 " Sir," exclaimed the small officer, touch- ing his hat, and displaying an expression of countenance not likely to cause any one's suspicion of its susceptibility of a smile. " What have you done with your mess- mate's traps," demanded his superior, whom he viewed as a sort of demi-god. " One of the chests is struck below, sir." *' Where's the other?" A slight movement of certain muscles ac- companied this query. " In the boat, sir." " Hoist it out, and let it be put for the present in the fore cockpit; and where's the cask of wine?" *' Under the table in the larboard berth," responded the catechised, exchanging the demure look before alluded to for one of a different nature. *' Where you think it had better remain, I suppose — eh? That'll do. Go and see about what I've told you." Immediately after the delivery of this order, Thomas, desirous of receiving some explicit directions himself, laid hold of Mr. Nettings' arm, and familiarly proposed 306 ARTHUR MONTAGUE ; OR, his accompanying him to view the things, and state which were to be received and which were not. The last sentence of this speech was uttered in such a tone of imagined self-importance that the first lieutenant deemed it ad- visable to set the erring visitor right as to the relative difference between their respec- tive ranks; and as I considered Thomas was spoken to unkindly without deserving it, I begged that he might not be scolded, as I was very partial to him, and thought him altogether free from blame. Mr. Nettings then observed that as I appeared to be so fond of him, perhaps I would like him to stay on board to act as my servant. " Oh, indeed I should !" cried I. "I've no mind to stay," said Thomas, shaking his head. " Would you also like to bring your pony on board?" inquired Mr. Nettings. Being excessively fond of riding, I ex- claimed — " Oh yes, indeed, I should; but I'd no idea I should have been able to get a good place for him in the ship." AN ONLY SON AT SEA. 307 " Ah, you're not bringing him is rather unfortunate, for you would have found him so useful to ride about the quarter deck on holy- stoning morning, when it is well sanded; but as you have left him behind you must now be satisfied with the pros- pect of riding one of our ' Flemish horses'* though they are so uneasy at times, in spite of their being so much used; and you'll be able to take your choice from a variety of our saddles, bridles, bitts, mar- tingales, stirrups, whips, and spurs."* These encouraging promises tended in some degree to lessen my disappointment; and my father's disquieting dubiousness was certainly somewhat relieved by the recom- mendation that all the purchased furniture should be placed in some particular dormi- tory at his residence, under the especial care of one of the housemaids, so that on my return from my first trip at sea, I might find it all ready for use, and looking quite as good as new. This rational proposal was acknowledged * Short foot-ropes at ends of topsail yards, t Names of different ropes, &c. 308 AHTHUR MONTAGUE ; OF., to possess some claim to consideration ; and I not dissenting, an intention of acting upon it was expressed; and there is no knowing liow long the colloquy on this absorbing subject would have continued, had not the first-lieutenant been obliged to leave the conference to attend to matters elsewhere, requiring his superintendence and the issue of orders. The business being thus arranged, and our friend the boatman having come on board to point out the desirableness of his fare quitting the ship for the shore, as the wind was evidently freshening, and its in- crease would impart a liveliness to the boat likely to disturb his interior, my beloved parent allowed the necessity for departure, and after embracing me with much emotion, with a throbbing heart said — " Good bye, Arthur — God bless you, and protect you !" His look betrayed the poignancy of his grief, as he was assisted over the gangway, closely followed by Thomas; and directly he was seated in the wherry, he glanced up at me, and I saw he had a handkerchief in AX ONLY SON AT SEA. 300 his hand, uith which he pretended to be wiping his brow; but, ah^s ! it was applied to remove the moisture from his eyes. As the boat, under sail, glided away from the ship's side, he kept kissing his hand to me, until he was again compelled to use it as before. My heart, not yet quite obdurate, was keenly operated upon by this affecting manifestation of a fond father's bitter sorrow. On leaving home in his company, super- naturally excited by joyous anticipations of opening felicity of a novel kind, I had not, as has been shown, felt, as I should, the otherwise painful separation from an afflicted mother. But when the unthought-of, un- dreaded moment arrived, to hear the final farewell issue from the quivering, whitened lips of my other parent — to contemplate the sad severance that was taking place — and to witness the intense suffering, — verily did " a change come o'er the spirit of my dream," and my eyes yielded several suc- cessive drops, and my heart ached, my mind misgave me, and a feeling such as I had never experienced before produced a 310 ARTHUR MONTAGUE. thrill throughout my whole frame. But I must confess I averted my face from ob- servation, to hide the evidence of my state, for I was impressed with the idea that cry- ing at my age was next to criminal. END OF VOL. I.