my mother consents to my going to sea—journey to portsmouth—join h.m.s. blonde—take general prescott and suite on board—we sail—supply west indiamen with provisions and in return impress six seamen—windbound at falmouth—again sail—attacked by four french frigates, but escape and again make falmouth—finally sail for west indies—amusements in crossing the equator.
one morning sitting with my mother in the drawing room and entreating her to comply with my wish to enter the navy, she was so intent on listening to my importunities and her patchwork that she did not observe that the cat was running away with her favourite goldfinch; the cat, with the poor bird in its mouth, was near the door, waiting to escape. seeing what had happened, i immediately ran to the poor little bird’s assistance, but, alas! too late, as the cruel animal had torn off one of its wings.
whilst my mother was feelingly lamenting her favourite’s untimely death, and deliberating whether the cat should be given away, the door opened, [pg 2]the culprit escaped, and captain elphinstone entered. on his observing my mother’s paleness, he requested to know if anything of a serious nature had occurred in the family. “no,” replied she, “except the loss of a favourite bird, which i certainly regret, as it was killed by the cat in a most distressing manner, and,” added she, “my spirits are not at this moment very good in consequence of my son’s wishing to enter the navy.” “the first,” said he, “i lament, as it has deprived you of a pet; the latter may in the end be a matter of rejoicing. who knows but that your son, if he enters that noble service, may turn out a second hawke.” my ears thrilled at his remark.
“do you really think, captain elphinstone,” said my mother, with a half-sorrowful countenance, “that it would be to his advantage?” “most assuredly,” replied he, “as i think it very likely war will shortly be declared against that unhappy and distracted france, and he will have a very fair chance of making prize money, and in time will gain his promotion.”
“quit the room a short time, my love,” said my mother to me. in about a quarter of an hour, which i thought an hour, i was sent for. captain elphinstone had taken his leave. i found my mother still very pale. “i am afraid, dear boy,” she began, “that captain elphinstone has almost persuaded me against my will. he has spoken of the prospects of the naval service in so favourable a manner that i am nearly tempted to let you [pg 3]enter it, and should war unhappily be declared against our unfortunate neighbours, the french, and my friend captain markham be appointed to a ship, i believe i must make up my mind to be quite persuaded and let you have your wish.” “thank you, my dear mother,” replied i, overjoyed at what i knew nothing about. a short time after this conversation, war was declared against france, or rather france provoked it, and captain markham was appointed to the blonde frigate. my mother instantly wrote to him; his answer was favourable, and he requested her to let me join him as soon as possible. all now was bustle and preparation. my brothers were sent for home, and begged to be allowed to go with me. poor fellows! they little knew what they asked. in a few days i was fully equipped. i mounted my uniform, and i thought my brothers and the young friends who came to take leave of me appeared to envy me my finery, particularly my dirk, which they examined so often that i began to think they would wear it out. at length the evening arrived for me to quit my dear, happy home. my mother was sensibly affected, my sister looked serious, but my brothers, who were younger than myself—little rogues!—only looked disappointed that they could not go with me. i am sorry to say that my spirits were so buoyant that sorrow did not enter my head.
captain elphinstone was kind enough to accompany me to the coach, and on the 12th day of october, 1793,—oh! happy day, at least i thought so[pg 4]—we repaired to the sign of that nondescript bird, the “swan with two necks” in lad lane, cheapside. after taking an affectionate farewell of those who came with me, i stepped into the vehicle of transport with a light foot, a light heart, and, i fear, a light head, as i fancied by the people staring at me that i was the lion of the occasion. when we stopped for supper a gentlemanly person, who sat opposite, asked me what ship i belonged to. i informed him, and he told me he was captain w., of the 31st regiment, going to join his division at portsea, destined for gibraltar. “it is probable you will not join the frigate for a few days after your arrival,” said he, “and if you do not, we have a mess at portsmouth where i shall be happy to see you.” i thanked him warmly for his considerate and kind invitation. i had only one opportunity of dining with him, as he embarked three days after his arrival. about six o’clock in the evening i reached the “blue postesses” where the midshipmen put their chestesses and eat their breakfastesses. next morning, and whilst i was prosing over my breakfast, in walked a midshipman, about twenty years of age, with a face which appeared to have been rolled down deal beach a dozen times. “waiter,” said he, “have you in the house a young officer lately arrived from lunnen?” “ho, ho!” thinks i, “my boy, you are from my country the west, and probably from where it rains upon dock1 nine months in the [pg 5]twelve.” “yes, sir,” said the waiter, “the young officer is eating his breakfastesses;” saying this he brought him to my box. “good morning, sir,” said he, “i have come on shore to take you on board. have you all your things ready?” “yes,” said i, “i shall be ready in twenty minutes. can you spare me that time? but,” continued i, “have you breakfasted?—you look rather cold,”—i was afraid to say hungry—“i think a cup of tea will warm you.” i then gave him one. “if you will allow me,” said he, “i’ll put a poker in it.” i wondered what he meant. it was soon explained. he called the waiter and told him to bring a glass of rum, which he put into the tea, and, as he thought i should feel the cold going off, he said i had better do the same. as i considered him my superior officer i complied, although the fiery taste of the spirit almost burnt my mouth, which he perceiving smiled, and told me i should soon be used to it. “you will oblige me,” said i, “if you will give me a little insight into the characters of the officers of the ship.” “why,” said he, “the captain is a tight one, and sometimes in a hurricane i never heard any officer pray so well or so heartily as he does: his prayers, if not heard elsewhere, are certainly heard by all on board, and are generally effective. however,” added he, “you will soon be able to judge for yourself. the first lieutenant is one of the old woman’s school, an easy and good kind of person, but not fit to be first of an active frigate. the second lieutenant is a [pg 6]regular-built sailor, and knows his duty well, but he is fond of mast-heading the youngsters when they think they do not deserve it. the third lieutenant would be a sailor if he knew how to set about it; he generally begins at the wrong end, and is always making stern way, but,” said he, “he almost prays as good a stick as the skipper. as for the other officers, we have not so much to do with them as with those i have described. however,” added he, “there is one more—i mean the purser: he is a complete nip-cheese, and as for his steward, he ought to have swung at the fore-yard arm long ago.” “there is one more question i have to ask,” said i, “which is, what sort of young gentlemen are the midshipmen?” “why,” replied he, “two of what you term young gentlemen are old enough to be your father, but take them in a lump they are not so bad; four of them are about your age, and full of fun and frolic. now,” said he, “it’s time to be off.” he beckoned to a seaman near the door, who, i found, was the coxswain of the cutter. “take this officer’s chest to the boat.” here the waiter interposed, and said it was customary for the waterman of the “blue postesses” to take packages down to the water side. to this i consented, and away we trotted to sally port where the boat was lying. on our arrival at the stairs, i found another midshipman about my own age, who had been left in charge of the boat’s crew during the other’s absence. he eyed me obliquely; then turning to the elder, “i thought,” said he, [pg 7]“you would never come. i have been so bothered during the time you were away by three of the men’s confounded trulls, who wanted me to give them a passage off, that every five minutes appeared an hour, and i have only this moment got rid of them.” “never mind, my boy,” said the other, “let’s shove off.”
passing round a point, going out of the harbour, i observed a gibbet with part of a human skeleton hanging on it. “you are looking at the remains of jack the painter,” said the elder midshipman to me. “do you know his history?” i answered in the negative. “why,” said he, “that burning rascal set fire to the rope-house in the dockyard about the time you were born, and there the gentleman’s bones are rattling to the breeze as a warning to others.” the wind was blowing strong, and we were more than an hour before we reached the frigate, which was lying at spithead. my eyes during that time were fixed on twelve sail of the line ready for sea. as i had never seen a line of battleship, i was much struck with their noble and imposing appearance, and i imagined everybody who served on board them must feel pride in belonging to them. after a severe pull we got alongside as the boatswain and his mates were piping to dinner. i followed the elder midshipman up the side, the other came up after me. on reaching the quarter-deck we made our bows, when i was introduced to the second lieutenant, who had the watch on deck. he asked me some indifferent [pg 8]questions, and sent for one of the master’s mates to give orders respecting my hammock. the first lieutenant, an elderly, weather-beaten, gentlemanly looking person, now came on deck. i had a letter for him from my sister’s husband-elect, which i gave him. after reading it he asked me how i had left my friends, and before i could answer the question i heard him say to the second lieutenant, “what the devil do they send such delicate boys into the service to be knocked on the head for?—much better make civilians of them.” then turning to me, “well, youngster,” said he, with a good-humoured smile, “you’ll dine in the gun room with us at three o’clock.” he then sent for the gunner, and requested him to take me into his mess, who grinned assent. this last was a square, broad-shouldered welshman, with an open countenance, and of no little consequence. i descended to his cabin, which was under water, and i could, when in it, distinctly hear that element bubbling like a kettle boiling as it ran by the ship’s side above our heads. i found this said cabin not too large for three of us, as the surgeon’s mate was an inmate as well as myself. its dimensions were about eight feet by six, and when we were at table the boy who attended us handed everything in we wanted by the door. in a few days i was quite at home with the mids; some of them began spinning tough yarns respecting the hardships of a sea life—what a horrible bore it was to keep night watches, or any watch at all, and you are sure, [pg 9]said one of them, to catch the fever and ague after you have been four hours walking under the draught of the mizzen stay-sail; and, added another, to be mast-headed for three hours with your face to windward by those tyrants, the second and third lieutenants. they both ought to be turned out of the service for tyranny and oppression, and as to the last he does not know how to put the ship about without the assistance of hamilton moore or the old quartermaster. i thought this all very encouraging. i, however, kept my own counsel, and as i did not appear much discomposed by the recital of so many miseries, they considered me a complete johnny newcome just caught.
we were now ready for sailing, and only waiting the arrival of a general officer and his suite. the second morning after i joined the frigate a most serious accident occurred which might easily have proved fatal to all on board. in a part called the after cockpit, where, after breakfast, the surgeon examines the sick, a large piece of iron called a loggerhead, well heated, is put into a bucket of tar in order to fumigate it after the sick have left it. on this occasion the tar caught fire. it soon reached the spirit-room hatches, which were underneath, and the powder magazine bulkhead. unfortunately, without considering the consequences, a few buckets of water were thrown on the flaming tar, which made it spread more. at length the engine was set to work, and beds and blankets from the purser’s store-room surcharged with water [pg 10]soon got it under. these last were of the greatest service in smothering the flame, and were more effectual in saving the ship than the engine. the captain and officers behaved nobly on this occasion. i had the honour of conducting the hose of the engine down the hatchway, and was almost stifled by the smoke for my pains. on looking through one of the gunports after the danger was over, i could not help laughing to see two of the women with a rope fastened under their arms and held by their husbands, paddling close to the ship’s side, with their clothes rising like large bladders around them. a number of boats on seeing our danger came to our assistance, but they were ordered to lay on their oars at a distance. providentially we did not require their aid.
on the 2nd of november we received on board general prescott and his suite, and immediately afterwards got under weigh and made sail with a favourable wind down channel. we had taken our departure from the lizard, when, on the same night the wind, which had continued some time from the eastward, changed to the westward, and came on to blow fresh with very hazy weather. a number of west indiamen passed us; they had been beating about in the chops of the channel for more than a week. some of them were in great distress for provisions. we relieved three of them by sending some bags of biscuit and casks of salt beef, and as we were feelingly alive to their situation, we took from their crews six of their seamen. [pg 11]i was much interested in two of these men. they had been absent nearly eighteen months from their wives and families, and were fondly looking forward to a meeting with those for whom they lived and toiled, but, alas! they were doomed to return to that foreign climate they had a few months before left, and from whence it was impossible to know when they would come back.
photograph of falmouth harbour.
falmouth harbour. [frith, reigate.
we kept the sea for two days longer notwithstanding the violence of the westerly gale, in the hope it would not long continue; but finding we were losing ground, we on the third day bore up for falmouth, where we anchored in the evening and remained windbound four days, during which period we exercised the guns and sails.
on one of these days i went with a party of my shipmates on shore at st. maw’s. before coming off i bethought me of a pair of shoes, which i had forgotten to procure at falmouth. i inquired of a boy who passed me where i could find a shop to supply my wants; he informed me the mayor was the best shoemaker in the town. to this worthy magistrate i repaired, who i found very busily employed on a pair of boots. he had spectacles on nose, which feature was not very prominent and of a reddish-blue. i acquainted him with my wish to have a pair of solid, good understanders. pointing to some shoes, “good,” said he, “young officer, here’s a pair will fit you to a t. they were made for captain h.’s son, but the ship sailed before he could send for them.” as they fitted me i bought [pg 12]them. “so i understand,” said he, “gentlemen,”—for two of the mids were with me—“you are going to the indies to make your fortunes.” “are we?” said i, “that is more than we know.” “yes,” continued he, “i am sure of it, and in a year’s time you will return with your pockets well filled with french money; and i hope,” added he, “that if you return to falmouth you will pay my shop a second visit.” i need not inform my reader that the worshipful shoemaking magistrate proved a false prophet. we did return within a twelve-month, and to falmouth, ’tis true, but nearly as poor as when he told us our fortunes; consequently we did not visit his shop a second time.
as we were the senior officer, and there being several sloops of war and cutters in the harbour, we fired the evening and morning guns. the first evening we fired proved fatal to a pilot and four boatmen, who imagined the firing proceeded from a ship seen standing for the harbour with the loss of her fore top-mast. the night was very dark and tempestuous, and a short time after leaving st. maw’s the boat upset and they were all lost. this was the more distressing as they all left wives and families. the officers among the squadron made a subscription for them, and the mids, although not rich, were not backward. the wind becoming favourable, we on the fifth morning made sail out of the roads and stood down channel. the same night, which was very dark and squally, we fell in with the venus frigate, who, before we could [pg 13]answer the private signal, favoured us with a discharge of musketry. fortunately, it did no other damage than cutting some of the ropes.
on the morning of the second day after leaving falmouth we saw four ships about five miles distant to the s.w. at first we took them for indiamen homeward bound. in the expectation of procuring some good seamen we stood towards them. after a short time we discovered them to be french frigates. we immediately altered our course, and made all possible sail to avoid them. on perceiving this they signalled each other and stood after us under a press of sail. the wind was moderate, and had again changed to the westward. the enemy was drawing fast on us. after a chase of five hours the nearest frigate fired her foremost guns at us, which cut away the maintop bowline. we returned their fire with our stern chasers. as they had neared us so rapidly, we thought it prudent to throw overboard the foreign stores in order to improve our sailing. two of the enemy’s frigates were now within gunshot and the two others nearing us fast. we had almost despaired of escaping, when fortunately one of our shot brought down the advanced frigate’s fore topsail yard, and we soon found we were leaving her. the second yawed, and gave us a broadside; only two of her shot took effect by striking near the fore channels. her yaw saved us, as we gained on her considerably. the wind had become light, which still further favoured us. we were now [pg 14]nearing our own coast, and towards sunset the enemy had given up the chase and hauled off to the s.w. the wind veering to the northward, we altered our course to the westward; but, singular to say, at daylight next morning we found ourselves about six miles from the same vessels, who, directly they perceived us, made all sail towards us. we tacked and stood again for falmouth, where we anchored that evening and remained three days to complete our stores. we once more made sail for our destination, which i now found was the west indies, without meeting further obstacle. as we neared the tropic those who had crossed it were anticipating the fun; others were kept in ignorance until neptune came on board, which he did with one of his wives. it was my morning watch, when the frigate was hailed and desired to heave to, which was done. the cooper, a black man, personated the sea-god. his head was graced with a large wig and beard made of tarred oakum. his shoulders and waist were adorned by thrumbed mats; on his feet were a pair of greenland snow-shoes. in his right hand he held the grains (an instrument something resembling a trident, and used for striking fish). he was seated on a match tub placed on a grating, with his wife, a young topman, alongside of him. her head-dress consisted of a white flowing wig made of oakum, with a green turban; on her shoulders was an ample yellow shawl; her petticoat was red bunting; on her feet were sandals made from the green hide [pg 15]of a bullock. in her right hand she held a harpoon; her cheeks were thickly smeared with red ochre.
after being drawn round the decks three times in order to astonish those confined below by the noise and bustle it made, neptune introduced his young bride to the captain, and informed him he was in mourning for his last wife, pointing to his skin. “what occasioned her death?” inquired the captain. “she,” replied the sea-god, “died of a violent influenza she caught on the banks of newfoundland nursing her last child in a thick fog, and,” added he, “i intend next month blockading the coast of shetland in order to compel the mermaids to give up one of their young women whom i hired three months ago to suckle my last infant, since the death of its mother.” he then requested to know if there were any new arrivals from his favourite island, england. the captain informed him there were several, and as some of them were rather delicate, with very little beard, he hoped his barber would not shave them too close. one of the midshipmen was then brought up blindfolded. neptune asked him how he had left his mamma, that he must refuse biscuit when he could have soft tommy (white bread), that he should lower his main-top gallant sail to a pretty girl, and make a stern board from an ugly one. after being taken to the sea-god’s wife, who embraced him most cordially, leaving no small proportion of the ochre on his cheeks, he was desired to be seated, and was [pg 16]led to the narrow plank placed over a very large tub of water. the barber then began his operations with grease and tar, and as the mid did not admire the roughness of the razor, he began to be a little restive, when over he went into the tub, where he floundered for some short time. he was drawn out, the bandage removed from his eyes, and he appeared not a little surprised to see so many grotesque figures around him. he soon recovered himself and entered into the fun which followed.
all the others came up one at a time and went through the same ceremony. some were inclined not to submit to neptune’s directions. this only made matters worse for them, as the more they struggled the oftener they were plunged into the tub of water. after about two hours’ amusement the decks were dried, everything in order, and all hands at breakfast. i could not help laughing at one of the lieutenants of marines who, to avoid getting wet, had placed himself on the forecastle to enjoy the pastime without partaking in it. one of the mids who had been ducked determined he should not escape, and had a couple of buckets filled with water on the gangway, ready to throw on him when he quitted his post, which he did when he saw the tub removed from the quarter-deck. as the youngster wished, he went along the main-deck, when, as he passed, over his shoulders went the first bucket of water; he unfortunately lifted his head to see who threw it, when over went [pg 17]the other right in his face and breast, so that he was as completely drenched as if he had been ducked. unluckily, he had on his red coat, which was completely spoiled; salt water is a bitter enemy to red cloth, as it turns it black. a few days afterwards we caught several dolphins and a shark seventeen feet in length. we were obliged to fire seven pistol balls into its head to kill it before we could get it on board. it was cut up and put into pickle for those who chose to eat it. there was a beautiful fish, striped alternately black and yellow, swimming under it. the sailors called it a pilot-fish, and they informed me that sharks are very seldom without one or two, and that they appear to direct them where to go; this last must be mere conjecture. the pilot-fish is generally about a foot long, and in shape like a mullet.
