Palace and cottage, or, Young America in France and Switzerland : a story of travel and adventure

Front matter

_J OZi

Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries

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Preface

Palace and Cottage, the fifth of the " Young America Abroad " series, is a further continuation of the history of the Academy Squadron in the waters of France, with the journey of the students to Paris, and through a portion of Switzerland. Like the volumes of the series which have preceded it, the book contains an outline-sketch of the history of each of the countries visited, a brief statement of its principal geographical features, a description of its form of government, and the note-worthy peculiarities of its manners and customs. As " Paris is France," the greater portion of the time of the young tourists was devoted to sight-seeing in the gay capital, though Havre, Rouen, Dijon, Macon, Lyons, Strasbourg, Chamouni, and Mont Blanc were visited. The tour in Switzerland included several of the lakes — Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Martigny, Sion, the Simplon, Altorf, Luzerne, Interlaken, Thun, Berne, and Basle. None of these places are minutely described, only their peculiar features being mentioned. So far as the work claims to be descriptive and historical, the greatest care has been taken to secure entire accuracy.

The story of the runaway cruise of the Josephine occupies a considerable portion of the volume; and if it incul-

6 PREFACE.

cates in another form the trite but never worn-out moral, that *' the way of the transgressor is hard," and the moral episode that it is unsafe to *' fight the devil with his own weapons," it will only accomplish what the writer intended.

The first series of Young America Abroad, of which the present volume is the last but one, has been received with a degree of favor so far beyond the author's expectations that he is encouraged to persevere in his original purpose of including all the countries of Europe in his plan ; though for the present it is more than ever incumbent upon him to acknowledge his sense of grateful obligation for the kindness of his young friends, as well as of their parents and guardians, and the conductors of the press, for the generous welcome and the unexpected favor accorded to these volumes.

Harrison Square, Mass., November 23, 1868,

Contents

CEAFTES FAGB

I. Whistling for a Breeze. . , . .11

II. The Burning Steamer 27

Chapter I. Whistling For A Breeze

" '' I ^HIS is lazy work," said Captain Paul Kendall, I of the Josephine, to the vice-principal, as he paced the deck rather impatiently for a young man in his dignified position.

*' Yes ; but it will be lazier than this before it is any livelier," replied Mr. Fluxion.

'*rm afraid we shall not see Havre to-morrow," added the young commander.

" Probably not ; for if I am not mistaken in the indications, we shall have a head wind before night."

*' Well, I would rather beat dead to windward all night than roll about in one of these stupid calms," added the captain. " I hate calms."

" So does every genuine salt-water sailor ; but we have no influence with the clerk of the weather, and we must take things as they come — calm as well as storm."

" I suppose we must," yawned Captain Kendall, as the topsails began to shake for the want of a breeze to fill them.

" By the way, captahi, don't you think it's rather undignified for a commander to complain or grumble at the weather ? "

" I know it is ; but I never grumble at anything but calms."

" Do you expect to grumble up a breeze, Paul ? "

" Of course not. The rule is, to whistle for a breeze."

" Then follow the rule."

" But I don't believe in it.

" Don't believe in whistling for a breeze ! " exclaimed the vice-jDrincipal, laughing, and with apparent astonishment.

" I certainly do not," replied Paul ; " though J remember being out with an ancient skipper at Brockway, who, when the wind died out, as we were going through a narrow place against the tide, began to whistle as though the safety of his venera ble craft depended upon the vigor of his piping."

"Didn't the wind come?" asked Mr. Fluxion.

" I believe it did, after we had drifted back half a mile," laughed Paul.

" Exactly so. The breeze came ; that is all I want to prove, If you only whistle long enough, 'tis sure to bring the wind."

"But what has the whistling to do with it?" demanded Paul.

" I don't know ; I can't explain the meteorological process by which the wind is started ; I only know that, if you keep whistling, a breeze is sure to come, sooner or later. I never knew it to fail," added Mr. Fluxion, seriously.

" Shall I set the watch on deck to whistling, sir?'* asked Paul.

" If you please. You command this vessel," answered the vice-principal, gravely.

" Do you really think, sir, that we can whistle up a breeze?"

" Do you really think you can grumble up a breeze?"

" No, sir ; I do not pretend that I can."

*^I only mean to say that if you whistle long enough, a breeze will come ; and it is a great deal better to spend the time in whistling than in grumbling."

" I think I will not grumble any more, sir," said Paul, accepting the good-natured rebuke as kindly as it was given.

" Better whistle."

" But sailors are proverbial grumblers, Mr. Fluxion."

" Old sailors before the mast have a constitutional right to grumble ; but it does not become an officer," replied the vice-principal, as he went back to the steerage to attend to his classes, which he had left for a few moments at recess.

Paul Kendall was full of life and spirit. He was impatient of delay, and had the American anxiety ever to be going ahead, even when he was in no hurry to reach his destination. The breeze certainly did not come for his grumbling ; on the contrary, it died out entirely, and the Josephine rose and fell idly on the long swells, her sails flapping and beating as if they too were growling at the inactivity to which the vessel was doomed.

The Young America and her consort had sailed from Rotterdam that morning, and the squadron was bound to Havre, where the students were to be introduced to French life and manners. As boys, they were naturally impatient for something new. Paris, " the city of luxury," had a thousand attractions to them, and the libraries of the two vessels had been thoroughly ransacked for information, and especially for pictures, relating to France and its gay capital. Mr. Lowington, the principal, had always kept the students well supplied with newspapers, and especially with the pictorials, the latter of which, instructing through the e3^e, he deemed exceedingly valuable as educational agencies. In the bound volumes of the magazines and weekly illustrated papers were pictures of the streets, public buildings, parks, and people of Paris and other cities of Europe. These volumes had been in great demand since the ship sailed from Brockway, and some of the students declared, when they visited Paris, that its palaces and parks seemed as familiar as though they had often seen them before.

Paul was impatient, and though he was able to refrain from manifesting his feeling, it was not so easy to banish it from his mind. He walked the deck uneasily ; but the vessel was making no progress, and it was impossible for him to be satisfied. He went below, sat for a while in his state-room, reading the letters he had last received. This occupation consoled him for half an hour, especially as he had a letter from Miss Grace Arbuckle, who was still with her friends in the vicinity of London, but who wrote that the family would soon start for the continent, and would be in Paris earl}'' in September. The young commander read the letter several times, but even its perusal did not seem wholly to satisfy him. The Josephine lay idly upon the waters of the German Ocean. Possibly he was afraid the delay would prevent him from reaching Paris in time to see his fair friend.

He went on deck. The Young America, as helpless as her consort, lay rolling on the long billows, less than half a mile distant. Paul voted that the calm was mtensely stupid ; and at last he found it so difficult to restrain the expression of his impatience, that he ordered the officer of the deck to call the watch, and set them to whistling for a breeze. Of course it was regarded as a merry joke on the part of the commander, and all hands gathered in the waist to execute the order. There was a noted whistler among the crew, who led them in Yankee Doodle.

" Do you expect to raise a breeze in this way, Captaia Kendall?" asked Henry Martyn, the second lieutenant, who was on duty.

" Mr. Fluxion says it is better to whistle than to grumble," replied Paul ; " and I have adopted his suggestion. He is sure that if we only whistle long enough, the breeze will come."

" No doubt of it," laughed Henry. '•'• But I suppose the same result would follow if we grumbled long enough, and would be just as effectual as the other in stirring up the elements."

" Whether the whistling brings a breeze or not, it has a tendency to keep us good-natured," added Paul.

" That music is not so bad. I'm not sure that we can't beat the Young America's band."

The effect was, as the captain declared, quite pleasing. The boys whistled well, and there was no little music in their piping. It certainly soothed the restlessness of the impatient tars, and actually proved to be a new sensation. It was voted that Ben Duncan, who led the exercise, should be the "chief whistler" of the ship's company. At eight bells in the afternoon, the watch was changed ; but the whistling was diligently kept up, though not with such a pleasing effect, on account of the absence from the deck of the *' chief whistler." Unfortunately the breeze was very obstinate, and would not come even for all the industrious wooing which was bestowed upon it. The starboard watch whistled, and the port watch whistled. The sun went down ; the exercises of the school-room were ended, and both watches whistled in concert, till such a whistling was never heard before ; but the wind heeded it not yet.

" Whistling seems to do no good," said Terrill, the first lieutenant. '

" We have not whistled long enough," replied Captain Kendall, laughing.

" We have kept it up for about four hours, I believe," added the first lieutenant. . " We may have to keep it up four hours more ; but Mr. Fluxion says the wind is sure to come, if we whistle long enough."

Ben Duncan had changed the tune from " Yankee Doodle" to "Hail, Columbia;" which, however, did not seem to produce any better effect upon Old Bo* reas, for he still held out against all these earnest adjurations. But the boys enjoj-ed the exeixise, and Ben led his piping orchestra through several of the popular airs of the day. Mr. Fluxion and Mr. Stoute listened to the concert with genuine pleasure.

" As playing cards may lead to gambling, I am afraid this sport will lead to pernicious practices," said Professor Stoute. "When I hear a boy whistling in the house, or in a public conveyance, I always conclude that his education has been neglected."

" I agree with you ; but as a boy is taught to take off his hat when he enters a parlor, so should he be required to leave his whistle out doors. We will have no whistling in the cabin or steerage."

" It's coming ! " exclaimed Captain Kendall, who, as a prudent seaman, cast frequent glances at the sea and the sky. "There's a ripple at the southward."

" I knew it would come, if you only whistled long enough," replied the vice-principal. " I never knew it to fail."

" It's coming from the south-west — dead ahead," added the captain. " Mr. Terrill, brace her sharp up, with her starboard tacks aboard."

" Man the sheets and braces ! " shouted the first lieutenant.

" All ready, sir," called the officers of the watch from their stations.

" Haul on the jib-sheet ! Haul on the main-sheet ! Port the helm, quartermaster ! "

" Port, sir," replied the petty officer in charge of the wheel.

"That will do. Belay, all!" added Terrill, when

1 8 PALACE AND COTTAGE, OU.

the jib and mainsail had been hauled as flat as the course required.

These two sails caught the gentle breeze, and the Josephine began to ripple slowly through the water.

" vSlack the weather-braces, and haul on the leebraces ! " continued the executive ofhcer. " Haul in the fore-sheet ! A pull on the flying-jib-sheet ! "

Tlie officers at their stations repeated the orders, each to the hands in his charge, as it related to his duty.

" Belay, all ! " called Terrill, when the sails indicated were flat enough to' draw.

" So much for whistling," said Paul, ga} ly, for the breeze seemed to bring a new vitality to his frame.

*•' 1 am glad you acl<nowledge the efficiency of the means, Captain Kendall."

*' 1 am wilhrig to grant that it is better to whistle than to grumble, especially when tlie fellows whistle as well as ours do."

" l>ut 1 am afraid you have overdone the matter," added the vice-principal, as a smart flaw suddenly careened the vessel till the water bubbled up through her scupper-holes.

*' I hope not," replied Paul. " The night is clear."

" These south-west winds arc very unsteady ; and you may have whistled up more wind than we want."

*' We can. take care of it, if we have," laughed Paul. " Tlie Josephine is good against almost any south-west flaw, after she gets her bearings. I don't see any signs of bad weather, sir," added i'aul, more anxiously.

YOUNG AMERICA IN FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND. 1(J

"No; I don't think we shall see any very heavy weatlier to-night; but it may blow pretty hard before morning," replied Mr. Fluxion.

The wind freshened very rapidly, and the whistling appeared to have done its perfect work. As the vice-principal suggested, tlie wooing of the breeze appeared to have been overdone, for it was soon necessary to take in the foretop gallant-sail, and a little later the niain-gaO-topsail, for the Josephine almost buried herself in the billows. Thus relieved, she sped through the water at the rate of ten knots an hour. Then to avoid running away from tlic Young America, whose best point in sailing was not upon the wind, it became necessary to lower the foresail, and take in the flying-jib. Under this easy sail she went along very comfortably. At ten o'clock, Paul went IjcIow, and turned in. Having a good conscience, and no immediate hope of seeing Miss Grace Arbuckle, he dropped asleep without any needless delay.

At eight bells, or midrjigiit, the starboard watch was relieved, and the first lieutenant reported to the captain that the Young America was three miles ahead.

"• Direct Mr. Humphreys to set the foresail," said he, turning over, and going to sleep again ; for these interruptions were so frequent that they hardly disturbed him.

The wind v/as still fresh and flawy, and under the additional sail, the Josephine often reeled over until one unaccustomed to such accommodations miglit have found a good excuse for rolling out of the berth on the floor. Of course Captain Paid Kendall was too dignilied to do such an absurd tiling ; and the uneasy motion of the schooner, as she rolled and pitched, head to the sea, did not even awake him from his peaceful slumbers.

At six bells in the morning there was a lively excitement among the quarter watch in charge of the vessel. Martyn, the second lieutenant, and Pelham, the second master, who had the deck, held a consulta^ tion together, while the hands on duty climbed upon the bulwarks, and gazed eagerly at the object which had attracted their attention. It was a bright light to the north-west of the vessel, which had just flamed up with startling brilliancy.,

"What is it?" asked Pelham, anxiously.

'' I don't know. Would you report it to the captain?" replied Martyn.

" I should do so, if I were in j-our place. I think it must be a vessel on fire. I can't think of anything else which would make such a light."

" You may inform the captain, if you please," added Martyn, as he raised his spy-glass to examine more carefully the bright light.

Pelham went down into the cabin, and knocked at the door of the captain's state-room.

" Come in ! " replied Paul ; and Pelham entered.

''We have just discovered a bright light bearing north-west ; and Mr. Martyn directed me to report to you, sir," said Pelham.

"What is it?"

" I don't know, sir ; but I think it is a vessel on fire."

Paul jumped out of his berth.

"Where is the ship?" he asked.

YOUNG AMERICA IN FRANCE AND SWITi":ERLAND. 21

" She is about two miles to the leeward of us. We have been beating her two to one for the last three hours."

" I will be on deck in a moment," replied Paul, as lie began very hastily to dress himself.

"Shall we change her course?"

" No ; but call the first part of the port watch."

Pelham went on deck, where Paul soon appeared.

" How long since you discovered the light, Mr. Martyn?" he asked of the officer of the deck.

" Only a minute or two before I reported to you."

«' Put her head for the light."

" Stand by sheets and braces ! " called the second lieutenant.

" All ready, sir."

" Ease off the fore and main-sheets ! Let out the jib-sheet ! " continued the officer of the deck.

" Set the foretop-sail ! " added the captain, after he had examined the light, which was at least ten milea distant.

Having the wind free now, the Josephine began to tear through the water at a rate highly creditable to her reputation as a fast sailer. The fore-topsail was shaken out, sheeted home, and hoisted up. But even then, Paul was not satisfied, and ordered the fore-top-gallant-sail and main-gaff-topsail to be set. He felt that he was justified in crowding on all her spars would bear, and even in risking the lighter ones, for a fire at sea is one of the most terrible of calamities. At that moment, scores of men, women, and children might be struggling for life with the rude waves, and the existence of a score who could endure for another hour might depend upon the brief moments he should gain by pressing the vessel.

For half an hour the Josephine sped furiously on her errand of mercy. The Young America had also crowded on all sail, and was bearing down upon the burning vessel. The consort outstripped her in speed under her heavy press of canvas. Hardly ten minutes had elapsed since the light was discovered, and from a little flame, " no bigger than a man's hand," it had now become a broad sheet of glaring fire. The waters were illuminated for miles around, and the scene, terrible as it was, had an element of sublimity which filled the ship's company with awe. In half an hour, the Josephine had approached near enough to enable the young commander to make out the burning vessel. She was a large steamer. Her smoke-stack was still standing, and from it poured forth a dense volume of smoke and flame. A closer scrutiny assured him that her wheels v/ere still working. The fire had apparently broken out near "the stern, and her head had been turned up to the wind, so the flames could be confined to that part of the vessel. It was evident that she was in the hands of a brave and skilful man, who was doing all that human arm could for the preservation of her passengers.

" There will be a terrible loss of life, I fear," said Paul, with a shudder, to the first lieutenant.

" I saw a small vessel near her just now," replied Terrill.

" So did I ; but she cannot do much. She is only a fishing-boat. Where is Mr. Fluxion?" asked Paul, who had been so little accustomed to rely upon others, that it had not yet occurred to him he had a superior on board.

" He has not been on deck," replied Terrill. " I suppose he does not know anything about it."

" Keep her steady as she is," added Paul, as he hastened below to the apartment of the professors, where he knocked at the door.

" Who's there?" called Mr. Fluxion.

" Captain Kendall, sir," replied Paul. " I wish to see you, sir."

*' I will be out in a moment."

The captain sat down in the cabin to await the appearance of the vice-principal, who soon opened the door of his room.

" What's the matter, Paul?" demanded Mr. Fuxion, assured, by this unseasonable summons, that some unusual event had occurred.

" There's a steamer on fire within three miles of us," replied Paul.

" On fire ! " exclaimed Mr. Fuxion, startled by the intelligence, for his long experience at sea enabled him fully to appreciate the nature of the calamity.

" Yes, sir ; I was called more than half an hour ago."

"Why didn't you call me?"

*' I was so busy, sir, that I did not think of you," replied Paul, honestly ; " but I have done everything I could, and I hope I have done it right."

" No doubt you have. Do you make out the steamer?" inquired the vice-principal, as he hurried on the rest of his clothing.

" She is a large steamer, and seems to be very well handled. The fire is aft, and they keep her head up to the wind."

" Is there any other vessel at hand?"

" The Young America is a couple of miles astern of us, and I made out a small fishing-boat near the burning vessel."

" What's the matter?" demanded Professor Stoute.

" A steamer afire," replied Mr. Fluxion, as he hastened to the deck with Paul.

" I have crowded on all sail, and we were making twelve knots just now, sir," said the captain. " Can I do an3'thing more?"

" Nothing more can be done till we come up with the burning vessel," replied the vice-principal, as he anxiously surveyed the exciting scene.

A booming gun now broke upon the ears of the appalled beholders, and it was followed, at intervals, by others ; and its dull, heavy sound seemed to be in harmony with the catastrophe it proclaimed to all within hearing. Miles away, on the fire-lighted ocean, were other vessels hastening to the scene of peril, guided by the noble instinct of the seaman, who heeds no danger in the service of the suffering and dying upon his chosen element.

Only a mile of white-capped billows, glaring with the reflection of the fiendish destroyer, lay between the Josephine and the burning steamer ; and still the gallant bark leaped fiercely over, or impatiently cut her way through, the angry waves, towards the arena of peril. In the angry waters, without the aid of the glass, could now be seen men and women, clinging to various objects for support. Shrieks and groans could be heard above the dashing waves, and the crew of the Josephine were horrified by the scene which a closer inspection revealed. Paul felt that his blood Vv'as almost frozen in his veins, and he prayed that God would spare the poor wretches who were struggling with the fire and the waters before him. Though the schooner almost flew^ on her course, her pace was all too tardy for him. He was impatient to have the work of mercy begin.

" Call all hands, Mr. Terrill ! " said he. " Pipe to muster, and see that the boats' crews are ready for duty, with officers detailed for each ! "

" All hands on deck, ahoy ! " piped the boatswain, who had been expecting the order for some time.

Strange as it may seem, nearly the whole of the starboard watch were asleep below. The regulations forbade any one on duty to go below without permission, and the startling news of the hour had not been communicated to the slumberers. Even the officer of the watch below had not been disturbed. There had been no unusual noise on deck. The manoeuvre of tacking, reefing, or setting sail, with whatever of trampling feet and rattling ropes on the deck attended them, had become too familiar to rouse the sleepers. There was many a cry of terror, and many a shout of astonishment when the starboard watch tumbled up the hatchway, and discovered the appalling display.

The crew were piped to muster, and every one took his station, ready to do his duty to the sufferers in the water and on the burning hulk. Paul, in the loudest tones he could command, addressed a few stirring words to the ship's company, admonishing them to obey orders promptly and strictly, and not to expose themselves needlessly to the perils of the fire or the water.

" There is a high sea running, and the service upon which you go is dangerous," he added. " You have distinguished yourselves before by brave and noble conduct, and I hope you will do it again. Remember that the honor of your ship is in your keeping. Be firm and steady, but don't be rash. Clear away the boats, Mr. Terrill."

One after another all the boats' crews were called away, and the four officers who had been detailed to go with them took their stations near the davits, to superintend the preparations for lowering. The adult boatswain and carpenter inspected the boats and rigging, and reported to the first lieutenant that they were ready for use.

The flames were now making fearful progress upon the devoted steamer. Her smoke-stack suddenly went by the board, and her wheels ceased to turn. Two boats, which had been slung inboard abaft the paddleboxes on one side, could not be reached on account of the fires. When her headway was stopped, she came about, and the fire made quick work of her then. The passengers and crew dropped into the water, and the waves were alive with them, as the Josephine came up into the wind to lower her boats. The gig and the three cutters were lowered, one after another, into the water, and the gallant young tars pulled for the scene of danger.

Chapter II. The Burning Steamer

DURING the stay of the Academy Squadron at Rotterdam, two twelve-oar boats had been added to the former complement of the Young America. Though the four boats with which she crossed the ocean would accommodate all hands on an emergency, several considerations induced the principal to increase the number. A collision, or any other calamity at sea, which would render it necessary to resort to the boats, might destroy or carry away one or more of them. But, independent of the perils of the sea, exercise at the oars was good for the students ; and, in some instances, the tourists could ascend rivers, or visit points, where the depth of water did not permit the passage of the ship, more conveniently in the boats than by public conveyances.

The two barges had been built in Liverpool to the order of Mr. Lowington. They were light for their size, but very strong, and were provided with air-tanks, which made them life-boats. After the ship was clear of the Hock of Holland, the first business of the officers was to re-arrange the boats' crews. In order to test the efficiency of the new details, and to prepare for any emergency, an hour had been taken from the

28 PALACE AND COTTAGE, Ol^

studies, during the calm, and devoted to practice at the oars. Unlike the -other boats, these barges were double-banked ; that is, the two hands who pulled opposite oars sat on the same thwart — an arrangement admitted by their greater width.

The addition of these two barges required that the boats should receive new names. Thus far the flag:- officer had been merely an ornamental personage. He had occasionally been called the " commodore ;" but his position was one of honor rather than usefulness. In order to add to the glory of his office, one of the new boats was appropriated to his use, and styled the commodore's barge. He was to go on shore, or visit other vessels, in state, and a twelve-oar barge was necessary to support his dignity. The other of the new boats was called the first cutter ; the captain's gig remained the same as before ; the professors' barge was the second cutter, and the two four-oar boats were the' third and fourth cutters.

The order of the Knights of the Golden Fleece was still in active existence on board of the ship. It was a rebellious band, whose only object was to do a " big thing" in the way of mischief. Its affiiirs, with the experience of several failures and disasters, were singularly well managed. All the clap-trap of signs, dialogues, and other mystical machinery, had been abandoned as dangerous ; and no member was permitted to speak of the affairs of the order in the presence of those who did not belong to it. Wilton and Perth were the prime movers in the enterprise. They had already planned a voyage from Havre to Man seilles, which would occupy about ten days, during which period the knights were promised the best time that ever was known, or could even be imagined.