John Deane of Nottingham Part 19

For several hours the fiery shower continued. Now flames were seen to burst out in one part of the town, now in another; and now the vessels in the harbour caught fire; several in succession exploded. As each of the enemy's vessels blew up, the English crews burst forth with loud cheers, and redoubled their efforts. The enemy were not idle, but the English s.h.i.+ps were so placed that not many of the French shot did damage. The s.h.i.+pping in the harbour suffered most, as the chief aim of the English was to destroy them, and a large number of privateers were blown up or burned. A strong wind was blowing when the action began, and it continued increasing, till the squadron could with difficulty hold their position before the town. Still the English persevered. A large portion of the town was burnt down, and a considerable amount of s.h.i.+pping was destroyed. Such would have been the fate of the whole, had not the gale at length compelled Sir Cloudesley Shovel to throw out a signal for retiring. This was done in good order, and the squadron returned to the Downs.

Soon after this, a squadron of which the "Weymouth" formed one of the s.h.i.+ps, was sent to cruise off Dunkirk, where it was understood that Jean Bart, with several s.h.i.+ps of war, was still lying ready for sea.

Rear-Admiral Benbow was placed in command of this squadron; but on his arrival before the place, he found the number of s.h.i.+ps he had with him too small to guard both channels; the weather, also, proving extremely foggy, Du Bart slipped out, and, steering to the north-east, fell in with the Dutch Baltic fleet of about a hundred sail, escorted by five frigates, all of which he took, and above half the merchantmen. In the midst of Du Bart's victory, he was surprised by the appearance of the Dutch outward-bound Baltic fleet, under the convoy of thirteen men-of-war, which so closely pursued him that he was obliged to abandon most of his prizes. He burned four of the frigates, and putting their crews on board the fifth, turned her adrift, which, with thirty-five of the merchant-s.h.i.+ps, were retaken. A fast galley brought this news to Admiral Benbow, who immediately steered in pursuit of the French squadron. The "Weymouth" was one of the leading s.h.i.+ps.

Jack Deane, who was now rated as an able seaman, was constantly at the mast-head looking out for the enemy, eager as any on board to come up with them.

"Several sail ahead!" he shouted out one morning at daybreak.

There was no doubt that this was the enemy. The signal was thrown out accordingly, and the English crowded all sail in chase. The wind, however, which was in their favour, began to fall, and, greatly to their disappointment, it became almost a calm. The Frenchmen, however, retained the breeze, and were soon again out of sight.

In vain the English seamen whistled for a wind. Noon pa.s.sed by, and still they remained becalmed. Whether it was their whistling or not produced the breeze, one sprung up towards evening, and the brave Benbow steered after the French. Again they were discovered, and again lost sight of. Once more their white canvas was seen ahead, and hopes were entertained that they would be overtaken before they could reach the shelter of Dunkirk, towards which they were steering. They, however, made good use of their heels, and before a shot could reach them they had run into Dunkirk.

The fleets of England were, however, enabled to punish the French severely for their audacious project of invading our "tight little island," and for their still more nefarious plan, which had been hatched under the sanction of their king, for a.s.sa.s.sinating the const.i.tutional and Protestant monarch whom her people had chosen, and imposing on them in his stead a Papist and a tyrant.

Jack kept his eyes and ears open, and picked up all the information he could as to what was going forward in all directions. He had resolved when he joined to become an officer, and he knew very well that the only way of accomplis.h.i.+ng his object was to attend strictly to his duties, to be obedient to his superiors, and to gain all the information in his power.

Among the novelties which had lately been introduced into the s.h.i.+ps of the Royal Navy were bra.s.s box-compa.s.ses. These were placed in front of the steering-wheels, and were a great improvement upon the former contrivances for the same object. A large number of s.h.i.+ps having been wrecked on the Eddystone Rock, off Plymouth, an application was made to the Trinity House to erect a lighthouse on it, which was begun that very year, and it was supposed that it would be completed in the course of the next three years. The masters and owners of s.h.i.+ps agreed to pay a penny per ton outwards and inwards to a.s.sist in defraying the expense.

A register for thirty thousand seamen was established. They were to be in readiness at all times for supplying the Royal Navy, and were to receive a bounty of forty s.h.i.+llings yearly. On the 29th of January of that year, the "Royal Sovereign," built in the reign of Charles the First, and at that time the largest s.h.i.+p ever built in England, was by accident burned at her moorings in Gillingham Reach, in the river Medway.

"Well, Deane, and how do you like a sea life?" asked Smedley, after Jack had been some time on board.

"I will tell you when I've been longer afloat," answered Jack. "From what I have seen of it, I am ready to stick to it; that's what I've got to say. And how do you like it?"

"To confess the truth, I am getting rather tired of it," answered Smedley. "I thought it would be an easier life than I find it, but this cruising up and down the Channel and blockading the enemy's ports is trying work, and often I wish myself on sh.o.r.e again, taking a stroll or galloping through Sherwood Forest."

"That's because you have not a right object in view," answered Jack.

"Now I have made up my mind to take the roughs and smooths as I find them. If I get shot or wounded, it is the fate of many a better man; and if I escape, I hope to fight my way up to wear a c.o.c.ked hat and laced coat."

"That's very well for you, Deane, because you were born a gentleman,"

said Smedley. "I came to sea because I could not help it: all about that poaching affair, and the burning of the houses."

"I wish we had never engaged in it, I own," said Jack. "It has cost me dear; and what I regret most is the injury it did my character in the place, and the annoyance it must have caused my family when it was found out."

"What do you mean?" asked Smedley. "I do not understand you."

"Why, that the man who met us on that night, and showed us how to spear the salmon, told me that a warrant was out against me for poaching and firing the huts, and that if I went back to Nottingham I should be sent to prison," answered Jack.

"He told you a lie, then. Your name has never been mentioned in connexion with the affair; and to this day, unless you have told any body, I am very sure that no one in Nottingham knows any thing about it."

"Then what object could Pearson have had for saying so?" said Jack.

"I have an idea," said Smedley; "I may be right or I may be wrong; and from what you have told me of the man, he has just wanted to keep you from going back to Nottingham. Why he did so I cannot exactly say, except that he probably wanted to make use of you in some way or other."

The light at length burst on Jack's mind, and at once he saw the danger of getting into bad company. Had he refrained from joining in that fatal expedition, he would not have met Pearson; and if he had not met Pearson, he would never have been drawn into the plot which had so nearly cost him dear. Perhaps even his life might have been sacrificed in consequence! He did not say this to Smedley, because he had determined not to say any thing to him about the plot in which he had been unintentionally mixed up.

"It shall be a lesson to me through life," he thought. "If a person once a.s.sociates with evil-disposed people, he knows not how soon he may be led to do as they're doing."

Often he thought of honest Will Brinsmead and his wise sayings, and the advice he had bestowed on him. Jack was every day becoming far more thoughtful than he had been hitherto. He was living among a wild, careless, rough set of men. Most of them were brave and honest; but there were rogues and cowards among them. The greater number lived only for the present moment, and were utterly thoughtless about the future.

Now, John Deane felt that he must either be drawn in to act as they were acting, and to become like them, or he must keep himself as much as possible aloof from them. This, however difficult it might be, he determined to do.

In former days laws had been pa.s.sed, not only to maintain a discipline in the navy, but for regulating the moral conduct of the men. There were regulations against profane swearing, or gambling, or fighting, or quarrelling; and orders were issued for the performance of Divine Service, not only on Sundays, but on weekdays, and on every occasion before going into action with an enemy. Unhappily, however, by this time this had become a dead-letter; and a general indulgence was allowed to the seamen in all the vices which have been mentioned. The men were also badly and tyrannically treated; and often their pay was kept back from them. The provisions were frequently very bad, and the greater number of men who were sent as surgeons on board the s.h.i.+ps were grossly ignorant of their professional duties. Still the love of adventure existing in the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of English lads, the opportunities which seamen enjoyed of obtaining prize-money, and the efforts of the press-gangs, kept the Royal Navy tolerably supplied with men. A large number also joined, whatever can be said to the contrary, from patriotic motives, desirous of maintaining the honour of the British flag, protecting the commerce of the country, and guarding their native sh.o.r.es from foreign aggression. Such was the feeling which animated the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of thousands when Jack Deane joined the navy. Such is the feeling which has induced many thousands more on various occasions, when their country needed their services to a.s.sist in manning her fleets.

It was a great relief to Jack Deane to find that he still maintained an honourable name in his native town, and he at once wrote home in a strain he had not before ventured to use, telling his father, to whom he addressed his letter, that he had come to sea for the sake of fighting for the cause of King William, and that he hoped when he returned home to present himself in the rank of an officer.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

FIRST SEA-FIGHT.

John Deane had soon the opportunity he had long wished for, of engaging in a naval fight. As the "Weymouth" was cruising in the Channel, a sail was seen on the lee bow. Captain Jumper immediately ordered the s.h.i.+p to be kept away, and clapped on all the canvas she could carry in chase.

The stranger, on seeing this, bore away, but the "Weymouth" was a fast s.h.i.+p, and rapidly came up with her. The drum beat to quarters, and the s.h.i.+p was prepared for action. Shot were brought up from below and placed in the racks ready for use. The powder-magazine was opened, and the powder-boys were sent up with their tubs and arranged in rows along the deck, ready to supply the seamen who fought the guns with powder.

The slow-matches were got ready, and pistols, boarding-pikes, and hangers served out to the men. Jackets and s.h.i.+rts were discarded, and the crew stood ready, dressed alone in their trousers, with belts round their waists in which their pistols were stuck, and their hangers attached. There could be no doubt that the stranger was an enemy, though he had not yet shown his colours.

Few would have supposed that the crew who now stood at their guns were about in a short time to be engaged in deadly fight. Jokes of all sorts were pa.s.sed along the decks, and peals of laughter were indulged in, till silenced when they became too uproarious by the officers. Jack found Smedley standing close to him, both having been appointed to the same gun. A handkerchief was bound round his head to keep his hair, which in the fas.h.i.+on of seamen in those days was worn long, away from his eyes. He was as cool and collected as the rest of his s.h.i.+pmates, but did not seem inclined to join in the jokes in which they were indulging.

"You seem somewhat out of spirits, Jem!" said John Deane. "What makes you so grave? we're sure to thrash the enemy, however big he may be."

"Just the thoughts of home, Jack," answered Smedley. "I was thinking just now whether I should not have been better off attending to my father's business, with the prospect of marrying pretty Mary Smithers, than out here, stripped to the waist, with a chance of having my head carried off before the day's over!"

"Nonsense, Jem!" answered Deane; "you should not let such thoughts trouble you. Your head is as firm on your shoulders as that of any other man on board."

"Ay, but how many other men will lose theirs?" said Smedley. "I cannot help thinking of home at all events, and though I may come out of this day's fight unscathed, I often wish I had remained quietly at home, without hankering after the sea. It all comes of that wild life we boys led in the forest. We did many things we ought not to have done, and it's to those I owe being out here. However, I will try to do my duty and bring no discredit on our native town."

"I am sure you will not do that," said Jack; "and I hope I shall see you throw up your cap with the rest of us, when the enemy strikes to our flag."

As the "Weymouth" drew near the stranger it was seen that she was a very large s.h.i.+p, considerably larger than the former, and probably carrying many more guns, with a more numerous crew. Still this in no way daunted the courage of the British seamen, but only made them the more eager for the attack. Most of them had already engaged in many a hard-fought battle with superior numbers, and come off victorious. They knew what British pluck and British muscle could do, and that if they could handle their guns twice as fast as the enemy could haul in and out theirs, that even should they have only half the number of their antagonist, they might still hope to beat her.

Jack had frequently spoken to the man whose countenance he thought he knew when he first came on board, but the latter denied ever having seen him before. Jack now saw him standing at a gun not far from the one where he was stationed. The man looked very pale, and, like Smedley, was not joining in the jokes of his s.h.i.+pmates. Jack watched his countenance, and now was more convinced than ever that he was Burdale.

As the "Weymouth" drew near, the stranger hoisted French colours, and finding that escape was impossible, hauled up her courses, and fired a gun in defiance, which was answered by one from the "Weymouth." Both of the shots, however, fell short of their aim. The combatants, without again firing, now rapidly drew near each other, with their flags and streamers flying and their trumpets loudly sounding. Men armed with muskets were stationed in the large heavy round-tops, each holding a dozen or more soldiers, while others were stationed in the topgallant forecastle, and others at the p.o.o.p. Guns were also placed inside the forecastle, as also under the p.o.o.p, with their muzzles turned in-board, so that should the enemy attempt to board, the decks might be swept by their fire. These guns, however, were not loaded with round-shot, but with langrage, which, by scattering around, might kill a number of persons at each discharge. The wind was moderate, the sea tolerably smooth. Captain Jumper stood in the mizen-rigging directing the movements of his s.h.i.+p, while the other officers were stationed in different parts in command of the guns, some on the upper and main-deck, others on the forecastle and p.o.o.p. The surgeons were below in the c.o.c.k-pit, getting ready their instruments, and lint, and bandages, and preparing the tables on which amputation when necessary might be performed. Here also were restoratives arranged, for those who might faint from loss of blood. They had taken a look at the enemy, and aware from her superior size that the fight would be a desperate one, were coolly talking over the amount of work in store for them. Not a word was now spoken along the decks, for all jokes were silenced by command of the officers. The captains of the guns stood ready with their slow-matches in their hands, prepared to fire at the signal being given.

Already the two antagonists were within range of each other's artillery, but both waited to get still nearer that the greater effect might be produced by their fire. John Deane could not help holding his breath, as did many a brave man on board, not from any sensation of fear, but from intense eagerness for the moment when the combat was to begin. They had not long to delay. Captain Jumper had contrived to place his s.h.i.+p in the position which British officers of all ages have wished to hold with regard to the enemy--that is, broadside to broadside; and now he saw that the wished-for moment had arrived.

"Fire!" he shouted. The word was echoed along the decks. The trumpets now brayed out their loudest sounds of defiance. The captains of the guns applied their matches, and the loud roar of artillery broke the silence which had hitherto reigned over the water. The Frenchmen were not slow to answer, and their shot came cras.h.i.+ng on board with terrible effect. Many a fine fellow who had been laughing and joking with the rest was laid low. The white splinters were flying on either side, and ropes which had just before been trim and taut hung in festoons or flew out in the breeze, while many a shot-hole was seen through the sails.

Without a moment's delay the guns were hauled in. The powder-boys sprang up from their tubs and handed out the powder, which being quickly rammed home, the shot was thrown into the muzzle. Again the guns were run out. No order was now required for firing, but as rapidly as the guns could be loaded they were discharged towards the enemy.

Thus for some time the English s.h.i.+p ran alongside her huge antagonist.

Her name painted on her stern was the "Fougueux," and thirty ports were counted on each side. Jack Deane stood at his gun, hauling it in with right good will, and running it out still more eagerly as fast as his arms and those of his mates could work it, thinking of nothing else, and not looking round, even to see what had become of any of those near him.

Now and then he heard a groan or a cry, and as he turned round to hand on the powder or the shot, he saw perchance a poor fellow amidst the smoke struggling on the deck. Next moment there was a loud crash close to him, and he found himself sprinkled over from head to foot with blood. He felt no pain, and scarcely knew whether it was his own or that of a s.h.i.+pmate. No sound was heard, but he saw that the man who had stood next to him the moment before was no longer there, but a few feet off a human being lay stretched on the deck. He was about to stoop down to help the man during the interval that the charge was being rammed home.

"Let him alone," said the captain of the gun; "he has drunk his last gla.s.s of grog. See, that's his blood which has turned you into a red Indian. Hurrah, lads! we'll revenge him, and all those who lose the number of their mess to-day!"

All this time the small-arm men were not idle. Showers of bullets were flying from the tops and forecastle, returned from those of the enemy.

Now an attempt was made by the "Fougueux," by bracing up her yards, to cross under the stern of the "Weymouth." This, however, was quickly prevented by Captain Jumper, by a similar manoeuvre, as he had no intention of giving up the advantageous position he held.

It was impossible to ascertain the effect which the fire of the British s.h.i.+p was producing among the French crew, but Jack could not help fearing that a considerable number of his s.h.i.+pmates were either killed or wounded. Those who were wounded were immediately carried below, while the killed were borne to the other side of the deck, and slipped overboard through the ports, in order to avoid discouraging the survivors. Still the fight continued with unabated fury.