the last.
one day joe baldwin, assisted by his old friend, rooney machowl, was busily engaged down at the bottom of the sea, off the irish coast, slinging a box of gold specie. he had given the signal to haul up, and rooney had moved away to put slings round another box, when the chain to which the gold was suspended snapt, and the box descended on joe. if it had hit him on the back in its descent it would certainly have killed him, but it only hit his collar-bone and broke it.
joe had just time to give four pulls on his lines, and then fainted. he was instantly hauled up, carefully unrobed, and put to bed.
this was a turning-point in our diver’s career. the collar-bone was all right in the course of a month or two, but mrs baldwin positively refused to allow her goodman to go under water again.
“the little fortin’ you made out in chiny,” she said one evening while seated with her husband at supper in company with rooney and his wife, “pays for our rent, an’ somethin’ over. you’re a handy man, and can do a-many things to earn a penny, and i can wash enough myself to keep us both. you’ve bin a ’ard workin’ man, joe, for many a year. you’ve bin long enough under water. you’ll git rheumatiz, or somethin’ o’ that sort, if you go on longer, so i’m resolved that you shan’t do it—there!”
“molly, cushla!” said machowl, in a modest tone, “i hope you won’t clap a stopper on my goin’ under water for some time yit—plaze.”
molly laughed.
“oh! it’s all very well for you to poke fun at me, mister machowl,” said mrs baldwin, “but you’re young yet, an’ my joe’s past his prime. when you’ve done as much work as he’s done—there now, you’ve done it at last. i told you so.”
this last remark had reference to the fact that young teddy machowl, having been over-fed by his father, had gone into a stiff blue-in-the-face condition that was alarming to say the least of it. mrs machowl dashed at her offspring, and, giving him an unmerciful thump on the back, effected the ejection of a mass of beef which had been the cause of the phenomena.
“what a bu’ster it is—the spalpeen,” observed rooney, with a smile, as he resumed the feeding process, much to teddy’s delight; “you’ll niver do for a diver if you give way to appleplectic tendencies o’ that sort. here—open your mouth wide and shut your eyes.”
“well, well, it’ll only be brought in manslaughter, so he won’t swing for it,” remarked mrs baldwin, with a shrug of her shoulders. “now, joe,” she continued, turning to her husband, “you’ll begin at once to look out for a situation above water. david maxwell can finish the job you had in hand,—speakin’ of that, does any one know where david is just now?”
“he’s down at the bottom of a gasometer,” answered joe; “leastwise he was there this afternoon—an’ a dirty place it is.”
“a bad-smellin’ job that, i should think,” observed rooney.
“well, it ain’t a sweet-smellin’ one,” returned joe. “he’s an adventurous man is david. i don’t believe there’s any hole of dirty water or mud on the face o’ this earth that he wouldn’t go down to the bottom of if he was dared to it. he’s fond of speculatin’ too, ever since that trip to the china seas. you must know, mrs rooney, if your husband hasn’t told you already, that we divers, many of us, have our pet schemes for makin’ fortunes, and some of us have tried to come across the spanish dubloons that are said to lie on the sea-bottom off many parts of our coast where the armada was lost.”
“it’s jokin’ ye are,” said mrs machowl, looking at joe with a sly twinkle in her pretty eyes.
“jokin’! no, indeed, i ain’t,” rejoined the diver. “did rooney never tell ye about the spanish armada?”
“och! he’s bin sayin’ somethin’ about it now an’ again, but he’s such a man for blarney that i never belave more nor half he says.”
“sure ain’t that the very raison i tell ye always at laste twice as much as i know?” said rooney, lighting his pipe.
“well, my dear,” continued joe, “the short an’ the long of it is, that about the year 1588, the spaniards sent off a huge fleet of big ships to take great britain and ireland by storm—once for all—and have done with it, but providence had work for britain to do, and sent a series o’ storms that wrecked nearly the whole spanish fleet on our shores. many of these vessels had plenty of gold dubloons on board, so when divin’ bells and dresses were invented, men began to try their hands at fishin’ it up, and, sure enough, some of it was actually found and brought up—especially off the shores of the island of mull, in scotland. they even went the length of forming companies in this country, and in holland, for the purpose of recovering treasure from wrecks. well, ever since then, up to the present time, there have been speculative men among divers, who have kept on tryin’ their hands at it. some have succeeded; others have failed. david maxwell is one of the lucky ones for the most part, and even when luck fails, he never comes by any loss, for he’s a hard-workin’ man, an’ keeps a tight hold of whatever he makes, whether by luck or by labour.”
“but what about the bad-smellin’ job he’s got on hand just now?” asked rooney.
“why, he’s repairin’ the bottom of a gas tank. he got the job through recoverin’ some gold watches that were thrown into the thames by some thieves, as they were bein’ chased over london bridge. david found ten of ’em—one bein’ worth fifty pounds. well, just at that time an experienced and hardy fellow was wanted for the gas-work business, so david was recommended. you know a gas tank, as to look an’ smell, is horrible enough to frighten a hippopotamus, but david went up to the edge of this tank by a ladder, and jumped in as cool as if he’d bin jumpin’ into a bed with clean sheets. he stopped down five hours. of course, in such filthy water, a light would have been useless. he had to do it all by feelin’, nevertheless, they say, he made a splendid job of it,—the bed of clay and puddle, at the bottom, bein’ smoothed as flat a’most as a billiard table,—besides fixin’ sixteen iron-plates for the gas-holder to rest on. he was to finish the job this afternoon, i believe.” (see note 1.)
“ah, he’s a cute feller is david,” observed rooney, reflectively, as he watched a ring of smoke that rose from his pipe towards the ceiling. “what d’ee intind to turn your hand to if you give up divin’, joe?”
“if!” said mrs baldwin, with a peculiar intonation.
“well, when you give it up,” said rooney, with a bland smile.
“i’m not rightly sure,” replied joe. “in the first place, i’ll watch for the leadings of providence, for without that, i cannot expect success. then i’ll go and see mr berrington, who has just returned, they say, from his wedding trip. my own wish is to become a sort of missionary among the poor people hereabouts.”
“why, joe,” said his friend, “you’ve bin that, more or less, for years past.”
“ay, at odd times,” returned joe, “but i should like to devote all my time to it now.”
in pursuance of his plan the ex-diver went the following morning to the sea-shore, and walked in the direction of sea cottage, following the road that bordered the sands.
near to that cottage, about two hundred yards from it, stood a small but very pretty villa. joe knew its name to be sea-beach villa, and understood that it was the abode of his former master and friend, edgar berrington. there was a lovely garden in front, full to overflowing with flowers of every name and hue, and trellis-work bowers here and there, covered with jessamine and honeysuckle. a sea-shell walk led to the front door. up this walk the diver sauntered, and applied the knocker.
the door was promptly opened by a very small, sharp-eyed domestic.
“is your master at home, my dear?” asked joe, kindly.
“i ain’t got no master,” replied the girl.
“no!” returned joe, in some surprise. “your missus then?”
“my missus don’t live ’ere. i’m on’y loaned to this ’ouse,” said the small domestic; “loaned by miss pritty for two days, till they find a servant gal for themselves.”
“oh!” said joe, with a smile, “is the gentleman who borrowed you within?”
“no, ’e ain’t,” replied the small domestic.
at that moment mr hazlit walked up the path, and accosted joe.
“ah, you want to see my son-in-law? he had not yet returned. i expect him, however, to-day. perhaps, if you call in the afternoon, or to-morrow morning, you may—”
he was interrupted by the sound of wheels. next moment a carriage dashed round the corner of the garden wall, and drew up in front of the house. before the old gentleman had clearly realised the fact, he found himself being smothered by one of the prettiest girls in all england, and joe felt his hand seized in a grasp worthy of a diver.
while aileen dragged her father into the villa, in order to enable him to boast ever after that he had received the first kiss she ever gave under her own roof, edgar led joe to a trellis-work arbour, and, sitting down beside him there, said:—
“come, joe, i know you want to see me about something. while these two are having it out indoors, you and i can talk here.”
“first, mister eddy,” said joe, holding out his big horny hand, “let me congratulate you on comin’ home. may the lord dwell in your house, and write his name in your two hearts.”
“amen!” returned edgar, again grasping the diver’s hand. “my dear wife and i expect to have that prayer answered in our new home, for we put up a similar one before entering it. and now, joe, what is it that you want?”
“well, sir, the fact is, that my old woman thinks since i smashed my shoulder, that it’s high time for me to give up divin’, and take to lighter work; but i didn’t know you were comin’ home to-day, sir. i thought you’d been home some days already, else i wouldn’t have come to you, but—”
“never mind, joe. there’s no time like the present—go on.”
thus encouraged, joe explained his circumstances and desires. when he had ended, edgar remained silent for some minutes.
“joe,” he said at length, “you used to be fond of gardening. have you forgotten all about it?”
“why, not quite, sir, but—”
“stay—i’ll come back in a few minutes,” said edgar, rising hastily, and going into the house.
in a few minutes he returned with his wife.
“joe,” said he, “mrs berrington has something to say to you.”
“mr baldwin,” said aileen, with a peculiar smile, “i am greatly in want of a gardener. can you tell me where i am likely to find one, or can you recommend one?”
joe, who was a quick-witted fellow, replied with much gravity:—
“no miss—ma’am, i mean—i can’t.”
“that’s a pity,” returned aileen, with a little frown of perplexity; “i am also much in want of a cook—do you know of one?”
“no, ma’am,” said joe, “i don’t.”
“what a stupid, unobservant fellow you must be, joe,” said edgar, “not to be able to recommend a cook or a gardener, and you living, as i may say, in the very midst of such useful personages. now, aileen, i can recommend both a cook and a gardener to you.”
“you see, ma’am,” interrupted joe, with profound gravity, and an earnestness of manner that quite threw his questioners off their guard, “this is an occasion when you may learn a valuable lesson at the outset of wedded life, so to speak—namely, that it is much safer an’ wiser, when you chance to be in a difficulty, to apply to your husband for information than to the likes of me; you see, he’s ready with what you want at a moment’s notice.”
aileen and edgar were upset by this; they both laughed heartily, and then the former said:—
“now, mr baldwin, we won’t beat any longer about the bush. we have not succeeded in getting a cook, being in the meantime obliged to content ourselves with a temporary loan of the green-grocer’s wife, and of miss pritty’s small domestic; therefore i want to engage your wife, who is at present, i believe, open to an engagement. we are also unprovided with a man to tend our garden, look after our pony, and help me in the missionary work, in which i hope immediately to be engaged in this town. do you accept that situation?”
aileen said this with such an earnest irresistible air, that joe baldwin struck his colours on the spot, and said, “i do!” with nearly as much fervour as edgar had said these words six weeks before.
the thing was settled then and there, for joe felt well assured that his amiable susan would have no objection to such an arrangement.
now, while this was going on in the bower, mr hazlit, observing that his children were occupied with something important, sauntered down the sea-shell road in the direction of his own cottage. here he met miss pritty.
the sight of her mild innocent face called up a thought. dozens of other thoughts immediately seized hold of the first thought, and followed it. mr hazlit was sometimes, though not often, impulsive. he took miss pritty’s hand without saying a word, drew her arm within his own, and led her into the cottage.
“miss pritty,” he said, sitting down and pointing to a chair, “you have always been very kind to my daughter.”
“she has always been very kind—very kind—to me,” answered miss pritty, with a slight look of surprise.
“true—there is no doubt whatever about that,” returned mr hazlit, “but just now i wish to refer to your kindness to her. you came, unselfishly, at great personal inconvenience, to china, at my selfish request, and for her sake you endured horrors in connection with the sea, of which i had no conception until i witnessed your sufferings. i am grateful for your self-sacrificing kindness, and am now about to take a somewhat doubtful mode of showing my gratitude, namely, by asking you to give up your residence in town, and come to be my housekeeper—my companion and friend.”
mr hazlit paused, and miss pritty, looking at him with her mild eyes excessively wide open, gave no audible expression to her feelings or sentiments, being, for the moment, bereft of the power of utterance.
“you see,” continued mr hazlit, in a sad voice, looking slowly round the snug parlour, “i shall be a very lonely man now that my darling has left my roof. and you must not suppose, miss pritty, that i ask you to make any engagement that would tie you, even for a year, to a life that you might not relish. i only ask you to come and try it. if you find that you prefer a life of solitude, unhampered in any way, you will only have to say so at any time—a month, a week, after coming here—and i will cheerfully, and without remonstrance, reinstate you in your old home—or a similar one—exactly as i found you, even to your small domestic, who may come here and be your private maid if you choose.”
miss pritty could not find it in her heart to refuse an offer so kindly made. the matter was therefore settled then and there, just as that of the diver and his wife had been arranged next door.
is it necessary to say that both arrangements were found, in course of time, to answer admirably? miss pritty discovered that housekeeping was her forte, and that she possessed powers of comprehension, in regard to financial matters connected with the payment of debts and dividends, such as she had all her previous life believed to be unattainable anywhere, save in the bank of england or on the stock exchange.
mrs baldwin discovered that cooking was her calling—the end for which she had been born—although discovered rather late in life. joe made the discovery that gardening and stable-work were very easy employments in the berrington household, and that his young mistress kept him uncommonly busy amongst the poor of the town, encouraging him to attend chiefly to their spiritual wants, though by no means neglectful of their physical. in these matters he became also agent and assistant to mr hazlit—so that the gardening and stable-tending ultimately became a mere sham, and it was found necessary to provide a juvenile assistant, in the person of the green-grocer’s eldest boy, to fill these responsible posts.
the green-grocer himself, and his wife, discovered that christian influence, good example, and kind words, were so attractive and powerful as to induce them, insensibly, to begin a process of imitation, which ended, quite naturally, in a flourishing business and a happy home.
the small domestic also made a discovery or two. she found that a kitchen with a view of the open sea from its window, and a reasonable as well as motherly companion to talk to, was, on the whole, superior to a kitchen with a window opening up a near prospect of bricks, and the companionship of black pots and beetles.
at first, aileen travelled a good deal with her husband in his various business expeditions, and thus visited many wild, romantic, and out-o’-the-way parts of our shores; but the advent of a juvenile berrington put a sudden stop to that, and the flow of juvenile berringtons that followed induced her to remain very much at home. this influx of “little strangers” induced the building of so many wings to sea-beach villa, that its body at last became lost in its wings, and gave rise to a prophecy that it would one day rise into the air and fly away: up to the present time, however, this remains a portion of unfulfilled prophecy.
mr hazlit became rich again, not indeed so rich as at first, but comfortably rich. nevertheless, he determined to remain comparatively poor, in order that he might pay his debts to the uttermost farthing. his cottage by the sea had comforts in it, but nothing that could fairly be styled a luxury, except, of course, a luxurious army of well-trained grandchildren, who invaded his premises every morning with terrific noise, and kept possession until fairly driven out by force of arms.
rooney machowl and david maxwell stuck to their colours manfully. they went into partnership, and continued for years struggling together at the bottom of the sea. mrs machowl tended the amiable teddy during the early, or chokable period of infancy, but when he had safely passed that season, his father took him in hand, and taught him to dive. he began by tumbling him into a washing-tub at odd times, in order to accustom him to water. then, when a little older, he amused himself by occasionally throwing him off the end of the pier, and jumping in to save him. afterwards he initiated him into the mysteries of the dress, the helmet, the life-line, the air-pipe, etcetera, and, finally, took him down bodily to the bottom of the sea. at last, teddy became as good and fearless a diver as his father. he was also the pride of his mother.
one afternoon—a bright glowing afternoon—in the autumn of the year, mr hazlit sat in a favourite bower in the garden of his cottage, with aileen on one side of him, and edgar on the other. at the foot of the garden a miscellaneous group of boys, girls, and babies, of all ages, romped and rolled upon the turf. in front lay the yellow sands, and, beyond, the glorious glittering sea rolled away to the horizon.
mr hazlit had just been commenting on their happy condition as compared with the time when they “knew not god.” the children having just romped themselves into a state of exhaustion, were reasonably quiet, and the sun was setting in floods of amber and gold.
“what a peaceful evening!” remarked aileen.
“how different,” said edgar, “from that of which it is the anniversary! don’t you remember that this is the evening of the day in which we attacked the malay pirates long ago?”
“so it is. i had forgotten,” said mr hazlit.
“dinner, sir,” said a boy in buttons, who bore a marked resemblance to the green-grocer’s wife.
as he spoke a stout gentleman opened the garden gate and walked up the path leading to the bower. at the same moment miss pritty issued from the house and echoed the green-grocer’s boy’s announcement.
they were all silent as the stout gentleman approached.
“what! can it be?” cried edgar, starting up in excitement.
“the captain!” exclaimed mr hazlit.
“impossible!” murmured aileen.
“pirates!” cried miss pritty, turning deadly white, and preparing to fall into edgar’s arms, but curiosity prevented her.
there could be no mistake. the bright glittering eyes, the black beard and moustache, the prominent nose, the kindly smile, the broad chest and shoulders, revealed unquestionably the captain of the rajah’s gun-boat.
“miraculous!” cried edgar, as he wrung the captain’s right hand. “we were just talking of the great fight of which this is the anniversary.”
“amazing coincidence!” exclaimed mr hazlit, seizing the other hand.
“not so much of a coincidence as it seems, however,” said the captain with a laugh, as he shook hands with the ladies, “for i made arrangements on purpose to be here on the anniversary day, thinking that it might add to the interest of my visit.”
“and to come just at dinner-time too,” said miss pritty, who had recovered.
“another coincidence,” observed aileen, with an arch look.
“come—come in—here, this way, captain,” cried mr hazlit, dragging his friend by the hand. “welcome—heartily welcome to sea cottage.”
the captain submitted to be dragged; to be placed by the side of aileen; to be overwhelmed with kindness by the elder members of the family, and with questions by the younger members, who regarded him as a hero of romance quite equal, if not superior, to jack the giant-killer.
but how can we describe what followed? it is impossible. we can only say that the evening was one of a thousand. all the battles were fought over again. the captain came out strong for the benefit of the youngsters, and described innumerable scenes of wild adventure in which he had been personally engaged. and to cap it all, after dinner, when they went out into the garden, and were seated in floods of moonlight in the bower, two men opened the garden gate and made for the back kitchen, with the evident intention of calling on the cook. these were discovered to be rooney machowl and david maxwell.
of course they were made to come and shake hands with their old commander, the captain, and gradually got into a talk, and laughed a good deal at the recollection of old times, insomuch that the noise they made drew joe baldwin to the scene, and, as a natural result, this led the conversation into divers channels—among others to life and adventure at the bottom of the sea, and there is no saying how long they might have talked there if a cloud had not obliterated the moon, and admonished them that the night was at hand.
and now, good reader, with regret we find that our tale has reached its close. we may not have added much to your knowledge, but if we have, in any degree, interested you in the characters we have summoned to our little stage, or in the incidents that have been enacted thereon, we shall not have wrought in vain, for the subject into which you have consented to dive with us is not only an interesting, but a dangerous one—involving as it does the constant risking of manly lives, the well-being of large communities, the progress of important industries, and the salvation of much valuable property to the world at large.
