Then Larry gave them a second tune on the fiddle, which pleased him still more, and he set to work with Phil to put to rights the harness, which had been considerably disarranged by the prancing of our steeds.
Then he exclaimed--
"Good luck to you. You"ll give us some more tunes when you come back.
Off with you now. Success! success!"
Phil lashing on the horses, away we went, laughing heartily at our adventure. We soon arrived at the castle, where we found the guests rapidly a.s.sembling. I won"t describe the ceremony. My brother and Kathleen O"Brien were indissolubly united. No sooner was it over than every one rushed forward to kiss the blushing bride, and then we all heartily congratulated each other at the happy event. My mother took charge of her new daughter-in-law, who cried a little, but, soon recovering, looked as bright and blooming as any of her fair bridesmaids.
Plum-cake and wine were then handed round, just to stay our appet.i.tes till dinner was announced,--a substantial repast, to which all did good justice. Then the ball commenced, the bride leading off the dance. It was kept up, with an interval for a hot supper, until three or four in the morning. It was lucky for me that Nora O"Flaherty, for some reason or other, was not present, or I believe that in spite of my uncle"s advice I should have forgotten my poverty and confessed my love. But there"s luck in odd numbers, and there were so many charming girls present that my heart was pretty evenly divided among them. The whole of the guests were put up in the house,--and pretty close stowing it was, but no one complained,--and, after a breakfast as substantial as the supper, we set off to return home. We purposely went back by the way we came, and greatly astonished the old pike-keeper by not only paying him his toll, but treble the value of the whisky he had bestowed on us, as well as two or three additional songs. He had by this time discovered who we were, and was profuse in his apologies for the way in which he had behaved. We a.s.sured him that he had but done his duty, and as we had chosen to pa.s.s for stage-players we could not complain of him for believing us. For a few days things went on much as usual. At last my uncle received a letter from Captain Macnamara, saying that he had not been appointed to a ship himself, but had applied to Lord Robert Altamont, who had just commissioned the _Jason_ at Plymouth, and who had agreed to receive me on board on his recommendation. "Your nephew will meet some of his old shipmates, who, I have no doubt, will be glad to have him among them," he added.
At first I was highly delighted at this news, but when the time came for parting I wished that I had been able to remain longer at home. It appeared to me very unlikely that I should ever see my father again, and the state of our pecuniary affairs was evidently telling on my mother, though my brave uncle was doing his utmost to keep things together. It was settled, of course, that Larry was to accompany me.
"I should like to go with you," said my uncle; "but you"re old enough to take care of yourself, and affairs at home require my presence. Two men will, however, attend you, to look after the horses and bring them back."
I will not describe our leave-takings a second time, or my journey to Cork. I found there was a vessel just about to sail for Plymouth, and I therefore secured berths on board her for myself and Larry. Nothing particular occurred during the pa.s.sage. We dropped anchor in the Cat.w.a.ter at Plymouth five days after leaving Cork. I at once repaired on board the _Jason_, lying in Hamoaze.
Who should I find walking the deck as first lieutenant but old Rough-and-Ready. He put out his hand and shook mine cordially.
"Glad to have you aboard, my lad," he said. "You see, their Lordships, knowing my value as a first lieutenant, have taken good care not to promote me, lest my peculiar qualities should be lost to the service."
"I should have been glad to have served under you, had you been in command of a corvette, sir," I said; "and I"m very happy to be with you again."
"You"ll find two or three old shipmates on board, for Lord Robert, being a friend of Captain Macnamara, applied to him to recommend such officers as he thought well of. He has immense interest, and I hope that we shall all get our promotion when he"s done with us, though he"ll take very good care it will not be till then."
I begged Mr Saunders to let me go ash.o.r.e again to procure an outfit, as I had not got one at Cork.
"Have you brought another family chest with you?" he asked.
"No, sir; I"ll get one of the proper dimensions this time, knowing the size you approve of," I answered.
On going into the berth, I found, to my infinite satisfaction, my old friends Nettleship and Tom Pim.
"Glad to see you, Paddy," they exclaimed in the same voice, each grasping a hand.
"We heard rumours that you were appointed to the _Jason_, but could not ascertain the fact for certain," said Nettleship. "Well, here you see me, after all the actions I have taken part in, still an old mate. Lord Robert a.s.sures me that he will look after my interests; but he has said the same to everybody else, and will probably tell you so likewise."
Tom Pim accompanied me on sh.o.r.e, and a.s.sisted me by his advice in getting the outfit I required, and I took care to choose the smallest chest I could find, that there might be no risk of its being cut down.
In the evening Nettleship joined us, and we accompanied him to pay his respects to his mother and sister. I was more than ever struck by the sedate manner of the young lady, after having been so lately accustomed to those of Irish girls. Though Miss Nettleship was very pretty, I didn"t lose my heart to her. Tom Pim, however, seemed to admire her greatly, though it was impossible to judge of how her feelings were affected towards him. We spent a very pleasant evening, and I took greatly to Mrs Nettleship, who seemed to me to be a very kind and sensible old lady. We had to return on board at night, to be ready for duty the next morning, for the frigate was now being rapidly fitted out Old Rough-and-Ready was in his true element, with a marline-spike hung round his neck, directing everywhere, and working away with his own hands. He made us do the same.
"We don"t want dainty young gentlemen on board," he said, "but fellows who are not afraid of the tar-bucket."
Though not pleasant, this was useful, and I learned a good many things which I had before not known perfectly. The ship was completely fitted for sea before Lord Robert Altamont made his appearance on board. We all turned out in full fig to receive him as he came up the side. He had sent down a pattern of the dress he wished his crew to wear, and the men as they joined had to put it on. It consisted of a blue jacket, a red waistcoat, white or blue trousers, slippers of white leather, and a hat with the ship"s name in gold letters under a crown and anchor. All the men wore pigtails, to the arrangement of which they devoted a considerable portion of Sunday morning. They might then be seen in groups, combing and brushing each other"s hair, which hung down very long behind, and then tying up the tails with a bit of blue cotton tape.
The captain was a young man, tall and slight, with a very effeminate air, and as unlike his first lieutenant as he well could be. Still his countenance was not bad, and he smiled in a pleasant way as he returned our salutes.
"Very well done, Mr Saunders," he said, looking aloft, and then glancing round the deck. "You have got the ship into good order, and I hope to find the crew in the same satisfactory state. If not, we must take measures to make them so. Though it"s peace time, we must maintain the discipline of the service."
After a few more remarks he retired to his cabin, where he had ordered dinner to be prepared. He now sent to invite the first and second lieutenants, the lieutenant of marines, the doctor, and three of the young gentlemen, to dine with him. Such an invitation was like a royal command. Nettleship and I, with d.i.c.k Larcom, who had just joined the frigate, and who was a _protege_ of the captain, were the favoured ones.
The repast was sumptuous in my eyes, and unlike anything I had seen before. Lord Robert was all courtesy and kindness. He inquired of each of us what service we had seen, and particulars about our family history.
"My father was a lieutenant, killed in action, and my mother lives in a cottage near Plymouth," answered Nettleship.
"And I came in at the hawse-holes, and worked my way up. I have been in ten general actions, and five-and-twenty engagements with single ships, or cutting-out expeditions in boats," said Mr Saunders. "Here I am a first lieutenant; and a first lieutenant I suppose I shall remain until I"m too old to keep at sea, when perhaps I shall be rewarded with my master"s and commander"s commission."
"Long before that period arrives, I hope," said Lord Robert, smiling blandly. "I trust before many years are over to see you posted to a ship like this."
I answered his lordship"s questions with all due modesty, and he seemed well pleased at hearing about my family. His lordship happened to look at d.i.c.ky Larcom, who, supposing that he had to give an account of himself, said--
"I haven"t done anything yet, Lord Robert, because I have only been two days in the navy; but I intend to do as much as Admiral Benbow, Lord Rodney, or Sir Samuel Hood, if I have the chance."
"No doubt about it, youngster," said his lordship, laughing. "While I think of it, I wish two of you young gentlemen to breakfast with me every morning. I wish you all to learn manners, in which I find occasionally a great deficiency among the junior officers of the service. I"ll say nothing about their seniors. You"ll let it be known in the berth, Finnahan. You can all come in rotation."
"Thank you, my lord," I answered, for I found that he always liked to be thus addressed.
The announcement did not afford as much pleasure as I had expected. The oldsters voted it a great bore, though d.i.c.ky Larcom and the other youngsters looked upon the invitation as an especial honour, and antic.i.p.ated the good breakfasts they were to enjoy several times a week.
Where we were to be sent to was now the question, for as yet that important information had not transpired. The b.u.mboat-woman, the great authority as far as midshipmen were concerned, could not enlighten us, though some of the more knowing expressed an opinion that we should be attached to the Channel squadron, which, in other words, meant that Lord Robert intended to remain in harbour as much as possible, to save himself from the perils and discomforts he might be exposed to at sea.
We waited day after day, while the captain, it was understood, was transacting important business on sh.o.r.e, though it was shrewdly suspected that he was amusing himself as he thought fit. At length he received a peremptory order to proceed to sea. When he came on board, he complained to old Rough-and-Ready of the hardships to which he was subjected.
"Don"t you think, Mr Saunders, that it"s a shame that men of rank like myself should be at the beck and call of such old fogies as my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty?" he exclaimed. "I have had positively to give up Lady Seacombe"s ball on the 15th. Putting my own feelings aside, there will be several sweet girls who will be bitterly disappointed."
"I don"t know anything about b.a.l.l.s, except round shot and musket-b.a.l.l.s,"
answered the first lieutenant. "For my part, if I"m asked the use of a ship-of-war, I should say that it is to be afloat, looking after the interests of the country. I don"t know, however, since the Government have thought fit to shake hands with the French and Spaniards, and to knock under to the Yankees, what we have got to do; only I do know that we shall never get the ship into a proper state of discipline till we"re at sea, and can exercise the men at their guns, reefing and shortening sail."
"Oh, yes, to be sure! that"s a very proper matter for you to think about, Mr Saunders," said the captain; "but for my part, I esteem that sort of thing as a great bore. However, understand that I want you to do whatever you consider right and proper."
"Thank you, my lord. If you leave the matter to me, I"ll do my best to make the ship"s company the smartest in the service," answered the first lieutenant.
"Well, I"m much obliged to you, and will support you to the best of my ability," said the captain.
I overheard this conversation; indeed, his lordship was not at all particular as to what he said, or as to who was present when he expressed his opinions.
That afternoon, the wind being fair, we went out of harbour, and by dark were well to the south-west of the Eddystone. As Lord Robert said he preferred having plenty of sea-room, we at once steered out into the Atlantic.
"We may thus, you see, Mr Saunders, be able to get a fair breeze from whatever quarter the wind blows, which is far better than having to batter away against a head-wind, and make ourselves uncomfortable. I wrote some lines on the subject:--
"We"re rovers where"er rolls the fetterless sea, For the boundless blue ocean was made for the free.
"They are fine, are they not? Shall I go on with them?"
"They may be, my lord, but I"m no judge of pottery," answered Mr Saunders; "indeed, I never read a line in my life, except some old sea-songs. And as to being free, we should soon get the ship into a pretty state of disorder if the men were to get that notion into their heads; they may not be slaves, but they must do what they"re ordered, and pretty smartly too, or look out for squalls, I"ve a notion. That"s what we must do at present.--All hands, shorten sail!" he shouted. "Be smart about it, lads."
Lord Robert put his paper into his pocket, and threw himself into an att.i.tude of command, while he glanced up at the straining canvas, and Mr Saunders shouted the necessary orders, which he did not receive from the captain.
The hands flew aloft. My station was in the main-top, to which I quickly ran up. Royals and topgallant sails were speedily taken in, two reefs in the topsails, the yards were squared, and we ran off before the fast-rising gale. We pitched and rolled pretty considerably as it was; it would have been much worse if we had been close-hauled. As the gale was from the northward, we ran south all the night.
In the morning it was my turn, with d.i.c.ky Larcom, to breakfast with the captain, which, according to his lordship"s orders, the young gentlemen in the berth had taken their turns to do with considerable, regularity.
We had to dress in our best, and at the appointed hour we made our appearance at the cabin door.