Confessions Of Con Cregan Part 23

"Ah, sir!" said I, "sure an Irish gentleman with a 'Tay-boy' would be finer spoken than that. It would be: 'I certify that Cornelius Cregan, who served in my establishment as under-butler, and occasionally a.s.sisting the coachman, is a most respectable servant, well-mannered and respectful, having always lived in high situations, and with the most distinguished individuals.'"

"Ah, that's it," broke in Carrington; "'understands lamps, and is perfectly competent to make jellies, soups, and preserves.'"

"Confound it, man! you 're making him a cook."

"By Jove, so I was! It's so hard to remember what the fellow is."

"I think we may leave it to himself," said Pike; "he seems to have a very good notion of what is necessary. So, Master Con, write your own biography, my lad, and we 'll give it all the needful currency of handwriting and seal."

"It's a pity you're a Papist," said another, "or you could have such a recommendation from a 'serious family' I know of in Surrey."

"Never mind," rejoined the captain; "one signed 'P. O. Dowdlum, Bishop of Toronia,' will do even better in the Lower Province."

"Exactly, sir; and, as I used to serve ma.s.s once, I can 'come out strong' about my early training with 'his Grace'!"

"Very well," said Pike; "tell the tailor to take your measure for the livery, and you'll wait on us to-day at table." With this order I was dismissed, to con over my fict.i.tious and speculate on my true "character."

CHAPTER XIII. QUEBEC

As viewed from Diamond Harbour, a more striking city than Quebec is seldom seen.

The great rock rising above the lower town, and crowned with its batteries, all bristling with guns, seemed to my eyes the very realization of impregnability. I looked from the s.h.i.+p that lay tranquilly on the water below, and whose decks were thronged with blue jackets, to the Highlander who paced his short path as sentry, some hundred feet high upon the wall of the fortress; and I thought to myself, with such defenders as these, that standard yonder need never carry any other banner.

The whole view is panoramic. The bending of the river shuts out the channel by which you have made your approach, giving the semblance of a lake, on whose surface vessels of every nation lie at anchor, some with the sails bung out to dry, gracefully drooping from the taper spars; others refitting again for sea, and loading the huge pine-trunks, moored as vast rafts to the stern. There were people everywhere; all was motion, life, and activity. Jolly-boats with twenty oars, man-of-war gigs bounding rapidly past them with eight; canoes skimming by without a ripple, and seemingly without impulse, till you caught sight of the lounging figure who lay at full length in the stern, and whose red features were scarce distinguishable from the copper-colored bark of his boat. Some moved upon the rafts, and even on single trunks of trees, as, separated from the ma.s.s, they floated down on the swift current, boat-hook in hand, to catch at the first object chance might offer them.

The quays, and the streets leading down to them were all thronged; and as you cast your eye upwards, here and there above the tall roofs might be seen the winding flight of stairs that lead to the upper town, alike dark with the moving tide of men. On every embrasure and gallery, on every terrace and platform, it was the same. Never did I behold such a human tide!

Now, there was something amazingly inspiriting in all this, particularly when coming from the solitude and monotony of a long voyage. The very voices that ye-hoed, the hoa.r.s.e challenge of the sentinels on the rock, the busy hum of the town, made delicious music to my ear; and I could have stood and leaned over the bulwark for hours to gaze at the scene.

I own no higher interest invested the picture, for I was ignorant of Wolfe; I had never heard of Montcalm; the plains of "Abra'm" were to me but gra.s.sy slopes, and "nothing more." It was the life and stir; the tide of that human ocean on which I longed myself to be a swimmer,--these were what charmed me. Nor was the deck of the old "Hampden" inactive all the while, although seldom attracting much of my notice. Soldiers were mustering, knapsacks packing, rolls calling, belts buffing, and coats brus.h.i.+ng on all sides; men grumbling; sergeants cursing; officers swearing; half-dressed invalids popping up their heads out of hatchways, answering to wrong names, and doctors ordering them down again with many an anathema; soldiers in the way of sailors, and sailors always hauling at something that interfered with the inspection- drill: every one in the wrong place, and each cursing his neighbor for stupidity.

At last the sh.o.r.e-boats boarded us, as if our confusion wanted anything to increase it. Red-faced harbor-masters shook hands with the skipper and pilot, and disappeared into the "round-house" to discuss grog and the late gales. Officers from the garrison came out to welcome their friends, for it was the second battalion we had on board of a regiment whose first had been some years in Canada; and then what a rush of inquiries were exchanged. "How's the Duke?" "All quiet in England?" "No signs of war in Europe?" "Are the 8th come home?" "Where's Forbes?" "Has Davern sold out?"--with a ma.s.s of such small interests as engage men who live in coteries.

Then there were emissaries for newspapers, eagerly hunting for spicy rumors not found in the last journals; waiters of hotels, porters, boatmen, guides, Indians with moccasins to sell, and a hundred other functionaries bespeaking custom and patronage; and, although often driven over the side most ignominiously at one moment, certain to reappear the next at the opposite gangway.

How order could ever be established in this floating Babel, I knew not; and yet at last all got into train somehow.

First one large boat crammed with men, who sat even on the gunwales, moved slowly away; then another and another followed; a lubberly thing, half lighter, half jolly-boat, was soon loaded with baggage, amid which some soldiers' wives and a scattering population of babies were seen; till by degrees the deck was cleared, and none remained of all that vast mult.i.tude, save the "mate" and the "watch," who proceeded to get things "s.h.i.+p-shape,"--pretty much in the same good-tempered spirit servants are accustomed to put the drawing-rooms to rights, after an entertainment which has kept them up till daylight, and allows of no time for sleep.

Till then I had net the slightest conception of what a voyage ended meant, and that when the anchor dropped from the bow, a scene of bustle ensued, to which nothing at sea bore any proportion. Now, I had no friends; no one came to welcome me,--none asked for _my_ name. The officers, even the captain, in the excitement of arriving, had forgotten all about me; so that when the mate put the question to me, "why I didn't go ash.o.r.e?" I had no other answer to give him than the honest one, "that I had nothing to do when I got there." "I suppose you know how to gain a livin' one way or t' other, my lad?" said he, with a very disparaging glance out of the corner of his eye.

"I am ashamed to say, sir, that I do not."

"Well, I never see'd Picaroons starve,--that's a comfort you have; but as we don't mean to mess you here, you 'd better get your kit on deck, and prepare to go ash.o.r.e."

Now, the kit alluded to was the chest of clothes given to me by the captain, which, being bestowed for a particular purpose, and with an object now seemingly abandoned or forgotten, I began to feel scruples as to my having any claim to. Like an actor whose engagement had been for one part, I did not think myself warranted in carrying away the wardrobe of my character; besides, who should tell how the captain might resent such conduct on my side? I might be treated as a thief,--I, Con Cregan, who had registered a solemn vow in my own heart to be a "gentleman"!

Such an indignity should not be entertained, even in thought. Yet was it very hard for one in possession of such an admirable wardrobe to want a dinner; for one so luxuriously apparelled on the outside, to be so lamentably unprovided within. From the solution of this knotty question I was most fortunately preserved by the arrival of a corporal of the--th, who came with an order from Captain Pike that I should at once repair to his quarters in the Upper Town.

Not being perhaps in his captain's confidence, nor having any very clear notion of my precise station in life,--for I was dressed in an old cloak and a foraging-cap,--the corporal delivered his message to me with a military salute, and a certain air of deference very grateful to my feelings.

"Have you a boat alongside, Corporal?" said I, as I lounged listlessly on the binnacle.

"Yes, sir; a pair of oars,--will that do?"

"Yes, that will do," replied I, negligently. "See my traps safe on board, and tell me when all's ready."

The corporal saluted once more, and went to give the necessary directions; meanwhile the mate, who had been a most amazed spectator of the scene, came over and stood right opposite me, with an expression of the most ludicrous doubt and hesitation. It was just at that moment that, in drawing the cloak round me, I discovered in a pocket of it an old cigar-case. I took it out with the most easy _nonchalance_, and, leisurely striking a light, began smoking away, and not bestowing even a glance at my neighbor.

Astonishment had so completely gotten the better of the man that he could not utter a word; and I perceived that he had to look over the side, where the boat lay, to a.s.sure himself that the whole was reality.

"All right, sir," said the corporal, carrying his hand to his cap.

I arose languidly from my rec.u.mbent position, and followed the soldier to the gangway; then, turning slowly around, I surveyed the mate from head to foot, with a glance of mild but contemptuous pity, while I said, "In your station, my good man, the lesson is perhaps not called for, since you may rarely be called on to exercise it; but I would wish to observe that you will save yourself much humiliation and considerable contempt by not taking people for what they seem by externals." With this grave admonition, delivered in a half-theatrical tone of voice, I draped my "toga" so as to hide any imperfection of my interior costume, and descended majestically into the boat.

When we reached the barrack, which was in the Upper Town, the captain was at mess, but had left orders that I should have my dinner, and be ready at his quarters, in my full livery, in the evening.

I dined, very much to my satisfaction, on some of the "debris" of the mess, and, under the auspices of the captain's servant, arrayed myself in my new finery, which, I am free to confess, presented what artists would call "a flashy bit of color;" being far more in the style of Horace Vernet than Van d.y.k.e. Had the choice been given me, I own I should have preferred wooing Fortune in more sombre habiliments; but this was a mere minor consideration, and so I felt as I found myself standing alone in the captain's sitting-room, and endeavoring to accustom myself to my own very showy ident.i.ty, as reflected in a large cheval gla.s.s, which exhibited me down to the very buckles of my shoes.

I will not affirm it positively, but only throw it out as a hint, that the major part of a decanter of sherry, which I discussed at dinner, aided in lifting me above the paltry consideration of mere appearance, and made me feel what I have often heard ragged vagabonds in the streets denominate "the dignity of a man." By degrees, too, I not only grew reconciled to the gaudy costume, but began--strange accommodation of feeling--actually to enjoy its distinctive character.

"There are young gentlemen, Con," said I, in soliloquy, "many are there who would look absurd merry-andrews if dressed in this fas.h.i.+on. There are fellows to whom this kind of thing would be a sore test! These bright tints would play the very devil with their complexion,--not to mention that every one's legs could n't afford such publicity! But Con, my friend, you have a natural apt.i.tude for every shade of color, and for every station and condition. Courage, my boy! although in the rear rank at present, you 'll march in the van yet. Nature has been gracious with you, Mr. Cregan!" said I, warming with the subject, while, with my hands deep down in my coat-pockets, I walked backward and forward before the gla.s.s, stealing sidelong glances at myself as I pa.s.sed; "there are fellows who, born in your station, would have died in it, without a bit more influence over their fate in this life than a Poldoody oyster; they 'd vegetate to the end of existence, and slip out of the world as a fellow s.h.i.+rks out of a shebeen-house when he has n't tu' pence for another 'dandy' of punch. Not so with you, Con Cregan! You have hydrogen in you,--you have the buoyant element that soars above the vulgar herd. These are not the partial sentiments of a dear friend, Con, they are the current opinions of the world about you. How soon the 'Captain' saw what stuff you were made of! How long was old Pike in detecting the latent powers of your intellect?" What a shout of laughter followed these words! It came from half-a-dozen officers, who, having entered the room during my apostrophe, had concealed themselves behind a screen to listen to the peroration.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 204]

They now rushed out in a body, and, throwing themselves into chairs and upon sofas, laughed till the very room rang with the clamor, the captain himself joining in the emotion with all his heart. As for me, however self-satisfied but one moment back, I was humbled to the very earth now; the vauntings by which I had been soothing my vanity were suddenly turned into scorns and sneers at my self-conceit, and I actually looked to see if I could not leap out of the window, and never be seen by one of the party again. The window, however, was barred, the door was unapproachable, there was a fire in the grate; and so, as escape was denied me, I at once abandoned a plan which I saw unfeasible, and, with a quickness to which I owe much in life, immediately adopted an opposite tactic. a.s.suming a deferential position, I drew back towards the wall, to be laughed at as long as the honorable company should fancy it.

"So, Mr. Cregan," cried one, drying his eyes with his handkerchief, "modesty is one of those invaluable gifts with which nature has favored you?"

"I sincerely trust it may be no bar to your advancement," said another.

"Rather cruel," added a third, "to be balked for such a mere trifle."

"I say, Pike," added another, "I rather envy you the insinuated flattery of your discrimination. It would seem that you detected the precious metal here at once."

"What country do you come from, boy?" said a hard-featured

old officer who had laughed less than the others.

"How can you ask, Chudleigh?" said another. "There 'a only one land rears that plant."

"There's a weed very like it in Scotland, M'Aldine," said the captain, with a grin which the last speaker did not half relish.

"You're Hirish, ain't you?" said a very boyish-looking ensign, with sore eyes.

"Yes, sir."

"Very much so, I fancy," said he, laughing as though he had been very droll.

"I always heard your countrymen had wings; what has become of them?"