"Thou art the same, eternal sea!
The earth hath many shapes and forms
Of hill and valley, flower and tree;
Fields that the fervid noontide warms,
Or Winter's rugged grasp deforms,
Or bright with Autumn's golden store;
Thou coverest up thy face with storms,
Or smilest serene--but still thy roar
And dashing foam go up to vex the sea-beat shore."
LUNT.
I had a free conversation with my guardian, shortly after we reached
town, on the subject of my going to sea again. The whole country was
alive with the armament of the new marine; and cocked-hats, blue coats
and white lapels, began to appear in the streets, with a parade that
always marks the new officer and the new service. Now, one meets
distinguished naval men at every turn, and sees nothing about their
persons to denote the profession, unless in actual employment afloat,
even the cockade being laid aside; whereas in 1799 the harness was put
on as soon as the parchment was received, and only laid aside to turn
in. Ships were building or equipping in all parts of the country; and
it is matter of surprise to me that I escaped the fever, and did not
apply to be made a midshipman. Had I seen another captain who
interested me as much as Captain Dale, I make no doubt my career would
have been quite different: but, as things were, I had imbibed the
prejudice that Southey, in his very interesting, but, in a
professional sense, very worthless, life of Nelson, has attributed to
that hero--"aft, the more honour; forward, the better man." Thus far,
I had not got into the cabin-windows, and, like all youngsters who
fairly begin on the forecastle, felt proud of my own manhood and
disdain of hazards and toil. I determined, therefore, to pursue the
course I had originally pointed out to myself, and follow in the
footsteps of my father.
Privateers were out of the question in a war with a country that had
no commerce. Nor do I think I would have gone in a privateer under any
circumstances. The business of carrying on a warfare merely for gain,
has ever struck me as discreditable; though it must be admitted the
American system of private-armed cruisers has always been more
respectable and better conducted than that of most other nations. This
has been owing to the circumstance that men of a higher class than is
usual in Europe, have embarked in the enterprises. To a
letter-of-marque, however, there could be no objection; her regular
business is commerce; she arms only in self-defence, or, if she
capture anything, it is merely such enemies as cross her path, and who
would capture her if they could. I announced to Mr. Hardinge,
therefore, my determination not to return to Clawbonny, but to look
for a berth in some letter-of-marque, while then in town.
Neb had received private instructions, and my sea dunnage, as well as
his own, was on board the Wallingford--low enough the wreck had
reduced both to be--and money obtained from Mr. Hardinge was used to
purchase more. I now began to look about me for a ship, determined to
please my eye as to the vessel, and my judgment as to the voyage. Neb
had orders to follow the wharves on the same errand. I would sooner
trust Neb than Rupert on such a duty. The latter had no taste for
ships; felt no interest in them; and I have often wondered why he took
a fancy to go to sea at all. With Neb it was very different. He was
already an expert seaman; could hand, reef and steer, knot and splice,
and was as useful as nine men in ten on board a vessel. It is true, he
did not know when it became necessary to take in the last reef--had no
notion of stowing a cargo so as to favour the vessel, or help her
sailing; but he would break out a cask sooner than most men I ever met
with. There was too much "nigger" in him for head-work of that sort,
though he was ingenious and ready enough in his way. A sterling fellow
was Neb, and I got in time to love him very much as I can conceive one
would love a brother.
One day, after I had seen all the sights, and had begun to think
seriously of finding a ship, I was strolling along the wharves on the
latter errand, when I heard a voice I knew cry put, "There, Captain
Williams, there's just your chap; he'll make as good a third-mate as
can be found in all America." I had a sort of presentiment this
applied to me, though I could not, on the instant, recall the
speaker's name. Turning to look in the direction of the sounds, I saw
the hard countenance of Marble, alongside the weather-beaten face of a
middle-aged shipmaster, both of whom were examining me over the
nettings of a very promising-looking armed merchantman. I bowed to
Mr. Marble, who beckoned me to come on board, where I was regularly
introduced to the master.
This vessel was called the Crisis, a very capital name for a craft in
a country where crisises of one sort or another occur regularly as
often as once in six months. She was a tight little ship of about four
hundred tons, had hoop-pole bulwarks, as I afterwards learned, with
nettings for hammocks and old junk, principally the latter; and showed
ten nine-pounders, carriage-guns, in her batteries. I saw she was
loaded, and was soon given to understand that her shipping-articles
were then open, and the serious question was of procuring a
third-mate. Officers were scarce, so many young men were pressing into
the navy; and Mr. Marble ventured to recommend me, from near a
twelvemonth's knowledge of my character. I had not anticipated a berth
aft quite so soon, and yet I had a humble confidence in my own ability
to discharge the duty. Captain Williams questioned me for fifteen or
twenty minutes, had a short conversation with Mr. Marble alone, and
then frankly offered me the berth. The voyage was to be round the
world, and it took my fancy at the very sound. The ship was to take a
cargo of flour to England; there, she was to receive a small assorted
cargo for the North-West Coast, and some of the sandal-wood islands;
after disposing of her toys and manufactures in barter, she was to
sail for Canton, exchange her furs, wood and other articles for teas,
&c., and return home. To engage in this voyage, I was offered the
berth I have mentioned, and thirty dollars a-month. The wages were of
little moment to me, but the promotion and the voyage were of great
account. The ship, too, carried out letters-of-marque and reprisal
with her, and there were the chances of meeting some Frenchman in the
European waters, at least.
I examined the vessel, the berth I was to occupy, made a great many
shy glances at the captain, to ascertain his character by that
profound expedient, analyzing his looks, and finally determined to
ship, on condition Neb should be taken as an ordinary seaman. As soon
as Marble heard this last proposal, he explained the relation in which
the black stood to me, and earnestly advised his being received as a
seaman. The arrangement was made accordingly, and I went at once to
the notary and signed the articles. Neb was also found, and he was
shipped too; this time regularly, Mr. Hardinge attending and giving
his sanction to what was done. The worthy divine was in excellent
spirits, for that very day he had made an arrangement with a friend at
the bar to place Rupert in his office, Mrs. Bradfort insisting on
keeping her young kinsman in her house, as a regular inmate. This left
on the father no more charge than to furnish Rupert with clothes, and
a few dollars of pocket-money. But I knew Rupert too well to suppose
he would, or could, be content with the little he might expect from
the savings of Mr. Hardinge. I was not in want of money. My guardian
had supplied me so amply, that not only had I paid my debt to the
owners of the John, and fully equipped myself for the voyage, but I
actually possessed dollars enough to supply all my probable wants
during the expected absence. Many of the officers and men of the
Crisis left behind them orders with their wives and families to
receive their wages, in part, during their absence, as letters from
time to time apprised the owners that these people were on board, and
in discharge of their several duties. I determined on giving Rupert
the benefit of such an arrangement. First presenting him with twenty
dollars from my own little store, I took him with me to the
counting-house, and succeeded, though not without some difficulty, in
obtaining for my friend a credit of twenty dollars a-month, promising
faithfully to repay any balance that might arise against me in
consequence of the loss of the ship, or of any accident to
myself. This I was enabled to do on the strength of my credit as the
owner of Clawbonny; for, as is usual in these cases, I passed for
being much richer than I really was, though far from being poor.
I will acknowledge that, while I felt no reluctance at making this
arrangement in favour of Rupert, I felt mortified he should accept
it. There are certain acts we may all wish to perform, and, yet, which
bring regrets when successfully performed. I was sorry that _my_
friend, Lucy's brother, Grace's admirer--for I was quick enough in
perceiving that Rupert began to entertain fancies of that sort--had
not pride enough to cause him to decline receiving money which must be
earned by the sweat of my brow, and this, moreover, in a mode of life
he had not himself sufficient resolution to encounter a second
time. But he accepted the offer, and there was an end of it.
As everything was alive in 1798, the Crisis was ready to sail in three
days after I joined her. We hauled into the North river, as became the
dignity of our voyage, and got our crew on board. On the whole, we
mustered a pretty good body of men, ten of them being green; fellows
who had never seen the ocean, but who were young, healthy and
athletic, and who promised to be useful before a great while.
Including those aft, we counted thirty-eight souls on board. The ship
was got ready in hopes of being able to sail of a Thursday, for
Captain Williams was a thoughtful man, and was anxious to get the ship
fairly at sea, with the first work done, previously to the next
Sabbath. Some small matters, however, could not be got through with in
time; and, as for sailing of a Friday, that was out of the
question. No one did that in 1798, who could help it. This gave us a
holiday, and I got leave to pass the afternoon and evening ashore.
Rupert, Grace, Lucy and I took a long walk into the country that
evening; that is, we went into the fields, and along the lanes, for
some distance above the present site of Canal street. Lucy and I
walked together, most of the time, and we both felt sad at the idea of
so long a separation as was now before us. The voyage might last three
years; and I should be legally a man, my own master, and Lucy a young
woman of near nineteen, by that time. Terrible ages in perspective
were these, and which seemed to us pregnant with as many changes as
the life of a man.
"Rupert will be admitted to the bar, when I get back," I casually
remarked, as we talked the matter over.
"He will, indeed," the dear girl answered. "Now you _are_ to go,
Miles, I almost regret my brother is not to be in the ship; you have
known each other so long, love each other so much, and have already
gone through such frightful trials in company."
"Oh! I shall do well enough--there'll be Neb; and as for Rupert, I
think he will be better satisfied ashore than at sea. Rupert is a sort
of a natural lawyer."
By this I merely meant he was good at a subterfuge, and could tell his
own story.
"Yes, but Neb is not Rupert, Miles," Lucy answered, quick as thought,
and, I fancied, a little reproachfully.
"Very true--no doubt I shall miss your brother, and that, too, very
much, at times; but all I meant in speaking of Neb was, as you know,
that he and I like each other, too, and have been through just the
same trials together, you understand, and have known each other as
long as I can remember."
Lucy was silent, and I felt embarrassed, and a little at a loss what
to say next. But a girl approaching sixteen, and who is with a youth
who possesses her entire confidence, is not apt to be long
silent. Something she will say; and how often is that something warm
with natural feeling, instinct with truth, and touching from its
confiding simplicity!
"You will sometimes think of us, Miles?" was Lucy's next remark, and
it was said in a tone that induced me to look her full in the face,
when I discovered that her eyes were suffused with tears.
"Of that you may be _very_ certain, and I hope to be rewarded in
kind. But, now I think of it, Lucy, I have a debt to pay you, and, at
the same time, a little interest. Here are the half-joes you forced me
to take last year, when we parted at Clawbonny. See, they are exactly
the same pieces; for I would as soon have parted with a finger, as
with one of them."
"I had hoped they might have been of use to you, and had quite
forgotten them. You have destroyed an agreeable illusion."
"Is it not quite as agreeable to know we had no occasion for them? No,
here they are; and, now I go with Mr. Hardinge's full approbation,
you very well know I can be in no want of money. So, there is your
gold; and here, Lucy, is some interest for the use of it."
I made an effort to put something into the dear girl's hand as I
spoke, but all the strength I could properly apply was not equal to
the purpose. So tightly did she keep her little fingers compressed,
that I could not succeed without a downright effort at force.
"No--no--Miles," she said hurriedly--almost huskily; "that will never
do! I am not Rupert--you may prevail with him; never with _me_!"
"Rupert! What can Rupert have to do with such a thing as this locket?
Youngsters don't wear lockets."
Lucy's fingers separated as easily as an infant's, and I put my little
offering into her hand without any more resistance. I was sorry,
however, to discover that, by some means unknown to me, she had become
acquainted with the arrangement I had made as respected the twenty
dollars a month. I afterwards ascertained that this secret had leaked
out through Neb, who had it from one of the clerks of the
counting-house who had visited the ship, and repeated it to
Mrs. Bradfort's black maid, in one of his frequent visits to the
house. This is a common channel of information, though it seldom
proves as true as it did in this instance.
I could see that Lucy was delighted with her locket. It was a very
pretty ornament, in the first place, and it had her own hair, that of
Grace, Rupert, and my own, very prettily braided together, so as to
form a wreath, made like a rope, or a grummet, encircling a
combination of letters that included all our initials. In this there
was nothing that was particular, while there was much that was
affectionate. Had I not consulted Grace on the subject, it is
possible I should have been less cautious, though I declare I had no
thought of making love. All this time I fancied I felt for, and
trusted Lucy as another sister. I was shrewd enough to detect Rupert's
manner and feeling towards my own sister, and I felt afraid it was, or
soon would be, fully reciprocated; but as to imagining myself in love
with Lucy Hardinge, or any one else, the thought never crossed my
mind, though the dear girl herself so often did!
I saw Lucy's smile, and I could not avoid noticing the manner in
which, once or twice, unconsciously to herself, I do believe, this
simple-minded, sincere creature, pressed the hand which retained the
locket to her heart; and yet it made no very lively impression on my
imagination at the time. The conversation soon changed, and we began
to converse of other things. I have since fancied that Grace had left
us alone in order that I might return the half-joes to Lucy, and offer
the locket; for, looking round and seeing the latter in its new
owner's hand, while Lucy was bestowing on it one of the hundred
glances of grateful pleasure it received that afternoon, she waited
until we came up, when she took my arm, remarking, as this was to be
our last evening together, she must come in for her share of the
conversation. Now, I solemnly affirm that this was the nearest
approach to anything like a love-scene that had ever passed between
Lucy Hardinge and myself.
I would gladly pass over the leave-taking, and shall say but little
about it. Mr. Hardinge called me into his room, when we got back to
the house. He spoke earnestly and solemnly to me, recalling to my mind
many of his early and most useful precepts. He then kissed me, gave me
his blessing, and promised to remember me in his prayers. As I left
him, and I believe he went on his knees as soon as my back was turned,
Lucy was waiting for me in the passage. She was in tears, and paler
than common, but her mind seemed made up to sustain a great sacrifice
like a woman. She put a small, but exceedingly neat copy of the Bible
into my hand, and uttered, as well as emotion would permit--"There,
Miles; _that_ is _my_ keepsake. I do not ask you to think of
_me_ when you read; but think of _God_." She then snatched a
kiss, and flew into her room and locked the door. Grace was below,
and she wept on my neck like a child, kissing me again and again, and
calling me "her brother--her dear, her _only_ brother." I was
obliged actually to tear myself away from Grace. Rupert went with me
to the ship, and passed an hour or two on board. As we crossed the
threshold, I heard a window open above my head, and, looking up, I saw
Lucy, with streaming eyes, leaning forward to say, "Write,
Miles--write as often as you possibly can."
Man must be a stern being by nature, to be able to tear himself from
such friends, in order to encounter enemies, hardships, dangers and
toil, and all without any visible motive. Such was my case, however,
for I wanted not for a competency, or for most of those advantages
which might tempt one to abandon the voyage. Of such a measure, the
possibility never crossed my mind. I believed that it was just as
necessary for me to remain third-mate of the Crisis, and to stick by
the ship while she would float, as Mr. Adams thinks it necessary for
him to present abolition petitions to a congress, which will not
receive them. We both of us, doubtless, believed ourselves the victims
of fate.
We sailed at sun-rise, wind and tide favouring. We had anchored off
Courtlandt street, and as the ship swept past the Battery I saw
Rupert, who had only gone ashore in the pilot's boat at day-light,
with two females, watching our movements. The girls did not dare to
wave their handkerchiefs; but what cared I for that--I knew that their
good wishes, kind wishes, tender wishes, went with me; and this little
touch of affection, which woman knows so well how to manifest, made me
both happy and sad for the remainder of the day.
The Crisis was an unusually fast ship, faster even than the Tigris;
coppered to the bends, copper-fastened, and with a live-oak frame. No
better craft sailed out of the republic. Uncle Sam had tried to
purchase her for one of his new navy; but the owners, having this
voyage in view, refused his tempting offers. She was no sooner under
her canvass, than all hands of us perceived we were in a traveller;
and glad enough were we to be certain of the fact, for we had a long
road before us. This, too, was with the wind free, and in smooth
water; whereas those who knew the vessel asserted her _forte_ was
on a bowline and in a sea-that is to say, she would sail relatively
faster than most other craft, under the latter circumstances.
There was a strange pleasure to me, notwithstanding all I had suffered
previously, all the risks I had run, and all I had left behind me, in
finding myself once more on the broad ocean. As for Neb, the fellow
was fairly enraptured. So quickly and intelligently did he obey his
orders, that he won a reputation before we crossed the bar. The smell
of the ocean seemed to imbue him with a species of nautical
inspiration, and even I was astonished with his readiness and
activity. As for myself, I was every way at home. Very different was
this exit from the port, from that of the previous year. Then
everything was novel, and not a little disgusting. Now I had little,
almost nothing, to learn--literally nothing, I might have said, were
it not that every ship-master has certain _ways_ of his own, that
it behooves all his subordinates to learn as quickly as possible. Then
I lived aft, where we not only had plates, and table-cloths, and
tumblers, and knives and forks; but comparatively _clean_
articles of the sort. I say comparatively, the two other degrees being
usually wanting in north-west traders.
The Crisis went to sea with a lively breeze at south-west, the wind
shifting after she had got into the lower bay. There were a dozen sail
of us altogether, and in our little fleet were two of Uncle Sam's men,
who felt disposed to try their hands with us. We crossed the bar, all
three of us, within a cable's length of each other, and made sail in
company, with the wind a trifle abaft the beam. Just as Navesink
disappeared, our two men-of-war, merchantmen altered, hauled up on
bowlines, and jogged off towards the West Indies, being at the time
about a league astern of us. This success put us all in high
good-humour, and had such an effect on Marble in particular, that he
began to give it as his opinion that our only superiority over them
would not be found confined to sailing, on an experiment. It is very
convenient to think favourably of one's self, and it is certainly
comfortable to entertain the same notion as respects one's ship.
I confess to a little awkwardness at first, in acting as an officer. I
was young, and commanded men old enough to be my father--regular
sea-dogs, who were as critical in all that related to the niceties of
the calling, as the journalist who is unable to appreciate the higher
qualities of a book, is hypercritical on its minor faults. But a few
days gave me confidence, and I soon found I was obeyed as readily as
the first-mate. A squall struck the ship in my watch, about a
fortnight out, and I succeeded in getting in sail, and saving
everything, canvass and spars, in a way that did me infinite service
aft. Captain Williams spoke to me on the subject, commending the
orders I had given, and the coolness with which they had been issued;
for, as I afterwards understood, he remained some time in the
companion-way, keeping the other two mates back, though all hands had
been called, in order to see how I could get along by myself in such a
strait. On this occasion, I never saw a human being exert himself like
Neb. He felt that my honour was concerned. I do really think the
fellow did two men's duty, the whole time the squall lasted. Until
this little incident occurred, Captain Williams was in the habit of
coming on deck to examine the heavens, and see how things were getting
on, in my night-watches; but, after this, he paid no more visits of
this sort to me, than he paid to Mr. Marble. I had been gratified by
his praises; but this quiet mode of showing confidence, gave me more
happiness than I can express.
We had a long passage out, the wind hanging to the eastward near three
weeks. At length we got moderate southerly breezes, and began to
travel on our course. Twenty-four hours after we had got the fair
wind, I had the morning watch, and made, as the day dawned, a sail
directly abeam of us, to windward, about three leagues distant, or
just hull down. I went into the main-top, and examined her with a
glass. She was a ship, seemingly of about our own size, and carrying
everything that would draw. I did not send word below until it was
broad daylight, or for near half an hour; and in all that time her
bearings did not vary any perceptible distance.
Just as the sun rose, the captain and chief-mate made their appearance
on deck. At first they agreed in supposing the stranger a stray
English West-Indiaman, bound home; for, at that time, few merchant
vessels were met at sea that were not English or American. The former
usually sailed in convoys, however; and the captain accounted for the
circumstance that this was not thus protected, by the fact of her
sailing so fast. She might be a letter-of-marque, like ourselves, and
vessels of that character did not take convoy. As the two vessels lay
exactly abeam of each other, with square yards, it was not easy to
judge of the sparring of the stranger, except by means of his
masts. Marble, judging by the appearance of his topsails, began to
think our neighbour might be a Frenchman, he had so much hoist to the
sails. After some conversation on the subject, the captain ordered me
to brace forward the yards, as far as our studding-sails would allow,
and to luff nearer to the stranger. While the ship was thus changing
her course, the day advanced, and our crew got their breakfast.
As a matter of course, the strange ship, which kept on the same line
of sailing as before, drew ahead of us a little, while we neared her
sensibly. In the course of three hours we were within a league of her,
but well on her lee-quarter. Marble now unhesitatingly pronounced her
to be a Frenchman, there being no such thing as mistaking the
sails. To suppose an Englishman would go to sea with such triangles of
royals, he held to be entirely out of the question; and then he
referred to me to know if I did not remember the brig "we had licked
in the West Indies, last v'y'ge, which had just such r'yals as the
chap up there to windward?" I could see the resemblance, certainly,
and had remarked the same peculiarity in the few French vessels I had
seen.
Under all the circumstances, Captain Williams determined to get on the
weather-quarter of our neighbour, and take a still nearer look at
him. That he was armed, we could see already; and, as near as we could
make out, he carried twelve guns, or just two more than we did
ourselves. All this was encouraging; sufficiently so, at least, to
induce us to make a much closer examination than we had yet done.
It took two more hours to bring the Crisis, fast as she sailed, on the
weather-quarter of her neighbour, distant about a mile. Here our
observations were much more to the purpose, and even Captain Williams
pronounced the stranger to be a Frenchman, "and, no doubt, a
letter-of-marque, like ourselves." He had just uttered these words,
when we saw the other vessel's studding-sails coming down her royals
and top-gallant-sails clewing up, and all the usual signs of her
stripping for a fight. We had set our ensign early in the day, but, as
yet, had got no answering symbol of nationality from the chase. As
soon as she had taken in all her light canvass, however, she clewed up
her courses, fired a gun to windward, and hoisted the French
_tri-color_, the most graceful flag among the emblems of
Christendom, but one that has been as remarkably unsuccessful in the
deeds it has witnessed on the high seas, as it has been remarkable for
the reverse on land. The French have not been wanting in excellent
sailors--gallant seamen, too; but the results of their exploits afloat
have ever borne a singular disproportion to the means employed--a few
occasional exceptions just going to prove that the causes have been of
a character as peculiar, as these results have, in nearly all ages,
been uniform. I have heard the want of success in maritime exploits,
among the French, attributed to a want of sympathy, in the nation,
with maritime things. Others, again, have supposed that the narrow
system of preferring birth to merit, which pervaded the whole economy
of the French marine, as well as of its army, previously to the
revolution, could not fail to destroy the former, inasmuch as a man of
family would not consent to undergo the toil and hardships that are
unavoidable to the training of the true seaman. This last reason,
however, can scarcely be the true one, as the young English noble has
often made the most successful naval officer; and the marine of
France, in 1798, had surely every opportunity of perfecting itself, by
downright practice, uninjured by favouritism, as that of America. For
myself, though I have now reflected on the subject for years, I can
come to no other conclusion than that national character has some very
important agency--or, perhaps, it might be safer to say, _has_
had some very important agency--through some cause or other, in
disqualifying France from becoming a great naval power, in the sense
of skill; in that of mere force, so great a nation must always be
formidable. Now she sends her princes to sea, however, we may look for
different results. Notwithstanding the fact that an Englishman, or an
American, rarely went alongside of a Frenchman, in 1798, without a
strong moral assurance of victory, he was sometimes disappointed.
There was no lack of courage in their enemies, and it occasionally
happened that there was no lack of skill. Every manifestation that the
experience of our captain could detect, went to show that we had
fallen in with one of these exceptions. As we drew nearer to our
enemy, we perceived that he was acting like a seaman. His sails had
been furled without haste or confusion; an infallible evidence of
coolness and discipline when done on the eve of battle, and signs that
the watchful seaman, on such occasions, usually notes as unerring
indications of the sort of struggle that awaits him. It was
consequently understood, among us on the quarter-deck, that we were
likely to have a warm day's work of it. Nevertheless, we had gone too
far to retreat without an effort, and we began, in our turn, to
shorten sail, in readiness for the combat. Marble was a prince of a
fellow, when it came to anything serious. I never saw him shorten sail
as coolly and readily as he did that very day. We had everything ready
in ten minutes after we began.
It was rare, indeed, to see two letters-of-marque set-to as coolly,
and as scientifically as were the facts with the Crisis and _la Dame
de Nantes;_ for so, as we afterwards ascertained, was our
antagonist called. Neither party aimed at any great advantage by
manoeuvring; but we came up alongside of "The Lady," as our men
subsequently nick-named the Frenchman, the two vessels delivering
their broadsides nearly at the same instant. I was stationed on the
forecastle, in charge of the head-sheets, with orders to attend
generally to the braces and the rigging, using a musket in moments
that were not otherwise employed. Away went both my jib-sheet blocks
at the beginning, giving me a very pretty job from the outset. This
was but the commencement of trouble; for, during the two hours and a
half that we lay battering _la Dame de Nantes_, and she lay
battering us, I had really so much to attend to in the way of reeving,
knotting, splicing, and turning in afresh, that I had scarcely a
minute to look about me, in order to ascertain how the day was
going. I fired my musket but twice. The glimpses I did manage to take
were far from satisfactory, however; several of our people being
killed or wounded, one gun fairly crippled by a shot, and our rigging
in a sad plight. The only thing encourag'ng was Neb's shout, the
fellow making it a point to roar almost as loud as his gun, at each
discharge.
It was evident from the first that the Frenchman had nearly twice as
many men as we carried. This rendered any attempt at boarding
imprudent, and, in the way of pounding, our prospects were by no means
flattering. At length I heard a rushing sound over my head, and,
looking up, I saw that the main-top-mast, with the yards and sails,
had come down on the fore-braces, and might shortly be expected on
deck. At this point, Captain Williams ordered all hands from the guns
to clear the wreck. At the same instant, our antagonist, with a degree
of complaisance that I could have hugged him for, ceased firing
also. Both sides seemed to think it was very foolish for two
merchantmen to lie within a cable's length of each other, trying which
could do the other the most harm; and both sides set about the, by
this time, very necessary duty of repairing damages. While this was
going on, the men at the wheel, by a species of instinctive caution,
did their whole duty. The Crisis luffed all she was able, while _la
Dame de Nantes_ edged away all she very conveniently could, placing
more than a mile of blue water between the two vessels, before we, who
were at work aloft, were aware they were so decidedly running on
diverging lines.
It was night before we got our wreck clear; and then we had to look
about us, to get out spare spars, fit them, rig them, point them, and
sway them aloft. The last operation, however, was deferred until
morning. As it was, the day's work had been hard, and the people
really wanted rest. Rest was granted them at eight o'clock; at which
hour, our late antagonist was visible about a league distant, the
darkness beginning to envelope her. In the morning the horizon was
clear, owing to the repulsion which existed in so much force between
the two vessels. It was not our business to trouble ourselves about
the fate of our adversary, but to take heed of our own. That morning
we go' up our spars, crossed the yards, and made sail again. We had
several days' work in repairing all our damages; but, happening to be
found for a long voyage, and well found, too, by the end of a week the
Crisis was in as good order as if we had not fought a battle. As for
the combat, it was one of those in which either side might claim the
victory, or not, as it suited tastes. We had very ingenious excuses
for our failure, however; and I make no doubt the French were just as
ready, in this way, as we were ourselves.
Our loss in this engagement amounted to two men killed outright, and
to seven wounded, two of whom died within a few days. The remaining
wounded all recovered, though the second-mate, who was one of them, I
believe never got to be again the man he had been. A canister-shot
lodged near his hip, and the creature we had on board as a surgeon was
not the hero to extract it. In that day, the country was not so very
well provided with medical men on the land, as to spare many good ones
to the sea. In the new navy, it was much the fashion to say, "if you
want a leg amputated, send for the carpenter; he _does_ know how
to use a saw, while it is questionable whether the doctor knows how to
use anything." Times, however, are greatly altered in this respect;
the gentlemen who now compose this branch of the service being not
only worthy of commendation for their skill and services, but worthy
of the graduated rank which I see they are just now asking of the
justice of their country, and which, as that country ordinarily
administers justice, I am much afraid they will ask in vain.