The Scourge of the Ocean: A Story of the Atlantic

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Chapter I

And hast thou marked the pensive shade That many a time obscures my brow ? — Moore.

The first scene of this humble drama opens in New York, at a period when the Island City, though not possessing the extent and magnificence of the present day, was still the most important among all her rivals of the sea-board.

Her excellent harbor, together with the many commercial advantages offered by her particular locality, had drawn both foreign and domestic traffic to her shores, and she was even then fast attaining that pre-eminence which, in the space of little more than half a century, not only elevated her, in point of wealth and size, above all her sisters of the Union, but has also conceded to her an important rank amdngst the mighty emporiums of the world. <

This narrative commences at a time when much excitement prevailed throughout the colonies. The indignation of the Americans had been aroused by the oppressive measures of the British Parliament, and a general spirit of dissatisfaction was manifested from Maine to Georgia.

Some time previous, George Grenville had introduced into the House of Commons that famous bill which first awoke the patient colonist to a sense of the tyranny of Great Britain, and though their remonstrances proved successful in obtaining its repeal in the year after its passage, that spirit of resistance and insubordination to the measures of their rulers continued to augment, until it finally caused the mighty revolution that forever severed the political bonds that had before united the two countries.

A heavy frigate and two smaller vessels of war swung at their moorings oS the southern end of Manhattan Island, fit emblems of the jealousy of that mighty power that sent them forth, to assert and maintain their supremacy over the rest of the world. An observer conversant with nautical affairs^ Height have: perceived at a glance

6 THE SCOURGE OF THE OCEAN.

that they had entered the harhor for a prolonged stay ; all their sails, with the exception of the topsails, spanker, and jib, were unbent ; the lighter yards were stowed in the rigging instead of being at their proper stations aloft, and the nakedness of the spars betrayed the absence of that delicate gear that characterizes a vessel ready for sea ; the lower yards were nicely paralleled to each other, describing right angles with the firm and well-supported spars to which they were attached ; and the running rigging belonging to the few sails that still remained uyn their respective yards was as taut as the strings of a well-tunm harp ; the long bla^k guns looked out upon the scene with their usual gloom, but the peaceful contour of every other feature disrobed them of that fearful aspect they might wear in a more hostile situation. Presently the loud clear strokes of the bell, giving forth the hour of eight, were heard almost simultaneously from the three ships, whilst the banner of England rose to their peaks, fluttered for a moment, and then gave forth their blazoned fields to the breeze ; this was the signal for a dozen of the same gaudy ensigns to be unfurled over more than one structure in and about New York. Twenty years afterwards saw a different flag waving upon the scene, but as yet the mighty declaration of July, 1776, existed only \a the dreams and hopes of the American patriot.

Upon one of the city wharves stood two individuals, whom we would particularize from amongst a number of others that were lounging about with the air of men who have a curiosity that they are willing to satisfy with any and every object that may be presented. The younger of the two in question might be about twenty years in age, although the deep, thoughtful expression of his briw certainly belonged to a maturer time of life ; he was delicately though beautifully formed, and the attitude in which he had placed his person served to exemplify the grace and ease of his demeanor ; his mouth was rigid in expression, his eyes dark, deep, and penetrating, and his hair black as the wing of the raven ; his cheek was pale, and his features dignified, and calm ; there was in his appearance no touch of that characteristic levity that generally belongs to officers of his grade, for he was a midshipman, as his uniform intimated; but, on the contrary, there was all that hauteur that we associate with the idea of one who commands. The other individual was the boatswain of the frigate, a wellmade athletic man, with a pair of tremendous black whiskers, and a coat of fine broadcloth, which, however, seemed to have been made for a still larger individual than the wearer. It appeared upon interrogation, that the liberty of Mr. Spikes had some time before been stopped for a little indiscretion whilst on terra firma, and he, the said Mr. Spikes, being in need of an outer garment, did instruct and authorize John Cartridge, gunner of his majesty's frigate Ganymede, to be measured for the same, and cause it to be made and dispatched oi^ board to him, the aforementioned Spikes.

"There goes the flag of old England,*' said the youth, as the bunting arose to the peaks of the vessels of war: "I never behold that banner without feeliii^ the'.two Op{}osite emotions of veneration and

THE SCOUBGE OF THE OCEAN. 7

dislike ; there is food for both the admiration and displeasare of mankind in the contemplation of that emblem." This was uttered partly in soliloquy, and partly in address to the boatswain.

^' It's dev'lish strange, Mr. Everett, that you should speak in that kind o' way of the flag you sarve under," muttered Spikes; "but I suppose you, being a colonist born, don't altogether trim your ideas on the same tack with the chaps in p^urliament. It's nat'ral, you know, to have a kind o' hankering after the place o' one's birth ; but as to that piece o' bunting, sir, begging your pardon for my bluntness, I've fought under it, bled under it, and d — n me if I wouldn't like to die under it."

" While I applaud your sentiments, Mr. Spikes," returned the youth, calmly but impressively, "let me wish you to understand that I cast no shadow of disrespect upon yon ensign. I would only say, that whilst I remember the thousand scenes of glory with which it is associated, I cannot forget that it has invaded the peace of unofiending nations, and carried death, terror, and slavery, as the price of victory, to the hearts and homes of nearly every Christian and Infidel of the known world."

" As to that, Mr. Everett, I've nothing to say ; if the king chooses to have a hand in what's going on abroad, Frederick Spikes is not the man to ask him the why and the wherefore."

"You are a loyal subject, Mr. Spikes, and I wish I could add, a reasonable one."

" I don't know what you term reason," resumed the boatswain ; "you're a strange young man, Mr. Everett, and often spin out some singular ideas. I s'pose, however, it's what the knowing ones call philosophy. Howsomever it don't suit me. Whatever his majesty chooses to undertake, I'll be d — d if I don't back him in, always begging your pardon for my bluntness, sir."

"Then," resumed the midshipman, "you are at all times willing to become the instrument to enforce the unjust decrees of your sovereign ; is it so ? Do I understand you to say that you will oppress the innocent, burn, plunder, and destroy, without another license than the will of any tyrant who may claim your allegiance ?"

" Look ye, Mr. Everett," returned Spikes, somewhat warmly, "you know I love ye, as does every officer and man in the ship, with the exception of the first Luff, and he, d — n him, hardly knows a swab from a slush tub, so that his good will is like a reefer's wardrobe, not worth having; you know I've taken some little trouble to larn you how to fit rigging, knot, clinch, splice, and all that sort o' thing, and you must now excuse me when I tell you, that had any one else coupled the epithet of tyrant with the name of his majesty, God bless him, d — n me if I wouldn't have sarved him out a ration of slap chops that he'd have remembered forever and a day after."

"I must congratulate myself, then," said the youth, with a smile, " upon having secured the esteem of Mr. Spikes : but I am still unanswered."

" Right or wrong, I love my king, and will sarve him ; I have eaten

8 THE SCOUBGB OF THE OCEAN.

his bread from a boy, and d — n me if it shall be said that Frederick Spikes Qver hailed after the name of that chap Judas."

The midshipman regarded the speaker with a look of mingled sorrow and admiration ; no wonder, thought he, that England triumphs over the world; upheld by such spirits as those, to what supremacy might she not arrive ? When men cease to exercise the dear prerogative of thinking for tliemselves, and allow their actions to be guided by the will of a monarch, then. does that country over whose destiny he presides becojne invincible. Here is a being, thought he, that will rush into battle, fight and die without even inquiring or heeding the cause for which he is periling the first gift of God to his creatures. It was some time before Everett again spoke, and when he did his speech had taken the hue of his feelings, and the tenor of his discourse was more in an instructive than in an interrogative strain.

'* You cannot but be aware," said he, "of the injustice with which the mother country is at present oppressing these her colonies? By what right does she arrogate the authority of taxing them ? You see the spirit of opposition has already been aroused amongst them. They cry loudly against the measures of parliament, and that body, instead of repealing her disgusting enactments, send armed forces here to enforce them. What must be the result of all this ? Tell me, do you think that three millions of men, separated by an immense ocean from that country which governs them, and possessing an extent of territory infinitely superior, will long tamely submit to such impositions? Assuredly not. A revolution is now fermenting in' this land; we behold the indications of it daily ; and mark me ! the time is not very far distant, when another than yon ensign will float from the flag-staff of that battery. But here comes the boat, and with your permission we will waive the subject."

Fifteen minutes afterwards the midshipman and his companion stood upon the quarter-deck of his Britannic majesty's frigate Ganymede.

G^rge Everett, though connected with the most ancient families of Virginia, was himself, an orphan. Like many other youths of the colonies, he had entered the naval service of Great Britain ; and had performed, at the period of his introduction to the reader, a probation of more than three years. During this time, his correct and gentlemanly deportment had gained for him the esteem of all with whom he sailed. But there was one individual, who for a trifling offence, and one which none but a narrow mind could have remeitabered, conceived a dislike to Everett, which he did not fail to manifest in a thousand little ways.

This person was the first lieutenant of the frigate, the officer, of all on board, who had the power of rendering the ship pleasant or disagreeable to her inmates. If there was any unpleasant duty to perform, George was always selected for its execution ; if, on the other handf there was any service to be done which was more honorable than another, George was always excluded from amongst those who were detailed for it. If a ball was given on shore, George was detained on board tinder some trivial pretext, and if it took place on

THB SCOUBGB 01* THE OCEAN. 9

board, he was dispatched to the shore for ^e accomplishment of some trifling and useless errand.

Such treatment could not fail to irritate the feelings of a high-spirited boy, and day after day he became more and more disgusted with a career, which to him was one continued series of humiliation and petty oppression : from a thoughtful and reserved youth, he became stern and melancholy, until at length a final revolution had taken place in both his character and habits.

But there was another, a more powerful and nobler motive, too, which rendered his situation intolerable. In consequence of the difference between the mother country and her colonies, he was often compelled in his duty to the first to act against the interests of the latter; being himself a colonist by birth, this was to bis feelings a source of extreme pain, and knowing that a revolution was fast hastening, he secretly resolved to throw off his allegiance at its earliest outbreak, and enrol himself in the ranks of his countrymen. To this his mind had been fully made up, not from the hasty impulse of a thoughtless and prejudiced moment, but from mature deliberation and welltimed reflection. An incident occurred, however, to bring his determination into immediate practice, whilst at the same time it illustrated a fresh instance of the first lieutenant's tyranny.

When midshipman Everett gained the deck of the Ganymede, he was told by the officer of the deck that Mr. Stanley desired to speak with him.

** Do you wish td see me, sir?** said George, politely touching his cap to the first lieutenant, whom he found promenading the poop.

"Yes, sir, I do," said Stanley, looking with all the sternness he could muster upon the upright and elegant form of the midshipman.

" Well, sir, I am at your service," responded George, coloring under the rude examination of the other.

"Why, sir," said Stanley, " in disobedience to my orders, did you remain on shore last night ?"

" Because I was so unfortunate as to arrive at the wharf after the sundown boat had left it, and your regulations forbid our coming alongside in another conveyance.''

" Why were you too late?" demanded Stanley.

" Why, sir?" repeated the midshipman.

" Yes, why, sir — do I not speak plainly — why, sir— why were you too late ?"

" Because," said Everett, " as I told you before, I arrived at the wharf after the boat had departed.*'

This was spoken with the utmost calmness ; that excitement the countenance of George had at first exhibited passed away, as if he deemed the man before him unworthy of his anger, and he stood up cool and serene ; while on the other hand Stanley was excited with rage both by his hatred for the midshipman, and the calmness he displayed in what had just taken place*

" Go aloft, sir,'* said he, frowning upon our hero, and pointing authoritatively to the rigging.

10 THE SCOURGB OF THE OCEAN.

Everett moved not.

"Go aloft, sir!''

Still \he midshipman was motionless.

*' Am I not your superior officer ?'* asked the lieutenant.

" In rank, sir, you are ; in nothing else,'' replied Everett.

"Instantly go aloft,'* repeated Stanley, stamping with ire.

" Never!'* was the firm reply.

Our hero folded his arms upon his breast, and the lieutenant stood regarding him for one moment as if he would devour him with his eyes, then forgetting his dignity and himself, he caught the midshipman by the collar of his coat, with the intention of forcing him to the lower shrouds ; but George turned, and with one blow felled the insulter to the deck.

" D — d tyrant,'* muttered he, between his clenched teeth, as he placed his foot upon the fallen lieutenant, " thus do I scorn you."

"I arrest you, Mr. Everett,'' said the marine lieutenant, after George had been separated from his enemy. The midshipman bowed, and in obedience to the authority, gave up his sword.

CHAPTER II. Murdoch of Alpine, prove thy speed

For ne'er had Alpine's son such need. — Scott.

Left to the solitude of his own thoughts, George found leisure to reflect upon the incidents which had just taken place. He was too conversant with the regulations of the service not to be aware of the heavy penalty he had incurred. To strike a superior officer while in the lawful execution of his duty was punishable with death ; for this, however, our hero did not fear, as so great a sacrifice to even the discipline of a king's ship would scarcely be demanded ; but then there would be an ordeal to pass nearly as painful ; his persecutor would demand a court martial, and the most lenient punishment they could award woul^ be expulsion from the service ; the disgrace of this, the tediousness of the operation of a trial, and a thousand unpleasant attendant circumstances flashed upon him with a distressing conviction of the impropriety of his conduct ; yet no one could detect in that slightly contracted brow, and decided eye, the slightest indication of regret for what had been done. There was much to be offered in our hero's extenuation, but whether these palliating circumstances would be taken into consideration by his judges was a matter over which Everett pondered in doubt; his offence was aggravated, so heinous, and so entirely subversive of discipline, that he deemed the prejudices of every one would be roused against him.

It was not long before Captain Bangor sent a messenger desiring an interview with the young offender.

THE SCOURGE OF THE OCEAN. 11

" Mr. Everett,'* said he, 'with sternness, " are you aware of the heavy punishment that awaits your offence of to-day?''

" I am aware,'* returned the midshipman, " that it can at farthest but be a forfeit of my life."

. "And that itself, young man, would be but a just penalty for so great a breach of discipline. Strike your superior officer! — why, Mr. Everett, do you not marvel that you could in your most* forgetful moment be so rash?"

" My conduct in that affair. Captain Bangor, wasthe result of cool deliberation ; were the circumstances to occur again I should act in the same manner. Mr. Stanley, sir, forgot the dignity due to his station, and the respect to which I, as an officer, was entitled. He personally insulted me, and I knocked him down."

" Is there not a tribunal, young man, to appeal to when aggrieved ?" |said the commander, warmly; "or are you so high-spirited that you could not bear a slight reproof from one who is your superior in years as well as rank ?"

" To the first question, I reply that I adopted the only alternative the exigency of the moment demanded and my own feelings dictated. To the second, I must add, that I have not been so high-spirited as to prevent a thousand indignities from having been put upon me by the same individual ; he has marked me out, sir, as the butt of his petty tyranny and malevolence. Ask amongst your officers, sir, of the treatment I have always received at the hands of your first lieutenant.''

" Well, well, George," said Captain Bangor, a little softened, for the words of the midshipmai\ carried their truth along with them, "all this may be so; in fact, I have heard as much, and have reproved Stanley severely for it; it is in consideration of this that he has consented to push the matter no farther, provided you atone for your misconduct by an apology; now go, my boy, see Stanley, and arrange the thing amicably."

Everett shook his head with a mournful smile.

" Captain Bangor," said he, " were I certain that death and eternal disgrace awaited me, I would not purchase a redemption from it at so humiliating a price — you mistake his clemency, sir; he has committed himself, and is fearful that pushing this affair to extremities would bring circumstances to light discreditable to himself."

" Recollect, sir, the disgrace that must be the award of a court martial; recollect that your prospects in the service may be blighted forever."

" I have thought of all these things. Captain Bangor," said Everett, mildly.

"And will not apologize?"

" And will not," responded the midshipman.

"To your apartment, then," said the captain, sternly, rising from his seat, " and await the consequences of your obstinacy."

Captain Bangor, unlike most naval commanders, was a good-natured, easy man, who loved his officers, and contributed by every

•

12 THE SCOUBGB OF THE OCEAN.

means in his power to their comfort; in return for this he was respected by them all, and there was not one in the ship, to use the phraseology of a certain Frederick Spikes, who wouldn't have gone to merry h — 1 for him ; but he, like every one else, had his weak side, and this was the circumstance of his being led away by the prejudices and opinions of his first lieutenant. "A d — d fine fellow," he was wont to say, " is Stanley." Hovi^ frequently is it the case, and how much is it to be regretted, that the depraved obtain ascendencies over the minds of the virtuous, infinitely more powerful than the shackles of a tyrant; for the latter can only confine his body, but the former too often holds his very soul in bondage.

Stanley was the only son of a man of family. Like the generality of only sons, he was spoiled by his mother — indulged and petted in his youth, until, from a peevish boy, he grew up to a prejudiced and ill-tempered man. A tyrant in every sense of the word, he became^ despised by both his equals and inferiors. There was much of the veoman in his disposition, too; and it was to be believed that the old lady had infused a goodly quantity of her own spirit into the mind of her darling ofispring. Yet, there w^s one circumstance, which, pore than the consideration of his office, obtained respect for the first lieutenant of the Ganymede ; this was, that his uncle was first lord of the admiralty. None, therefore, opposed him openly, from motives of personal interest; and if Frederick Stanley received the slightest courtesy, further than that which was extended among gentlemen, from any of his brother officers, he might very justly attribute it to the same cause. Our hero was right in supposing that his proffered moderation was caused by the fear of having his tyranny exposed ; for had Stanley possessed the power of ruining the prospects of Everett, he would have been the last man on earth that would not have exercised it.

It was about one bell in the middle watch, and but a few sounds disturbed the deep stillness that reigned throughout the precincts of the Ganymede. The tread of the sentinels as they walked to and fro, and the heavy breathings of the sleepers upon the berth deck, just served to render the stillness more apparent, and relieve the scene from utter solitude ; the pale, full moon was rising over the heights of Brooklyn, diffusing a mild pearly light throughout the heavens, and tipping with dashes of snowy splendor each object that faced the orient ; the breeze which had prevailed with freshness during the day went down with the sun, and the waters of the bay had sunk to still repose. There was an enchantment in the scene that would defy description, a hallowed influence that nothing of words could convey to the imagination. The officer of the deck was seated upon a gun carriage indulging in those musings of happiness which often fly off with the weary hours of a watch; and the two midshipmen on the opposite side of the deck had suffered duty and discipline to yield to the influence of sleep, and were dreaming, perhaps, of their happy homes in merry England. But there was one individual on board, who, though relieved from duty, had not resigned himself to slumber;

THB SCOUEGB OF THE OCBAN. IS

thoughts of too agitating a nature crowded upon his brain to permit that drowsy influence, and he lay awake reflecting upon the incidents that placed him in his present situation. At length his mind seemed to have been made up on some subject, for rising from his recumbent position, he possessed himself of some articles in his locker and ascended to the gun deck.

^^ Is that you, Mr. Everett ?" said an individual on the main-hatch ladder.

" Yes, Mr. Spikes ; why are you up at this hour?'*

" Because, do you see, sir, I couldn't close the hatches of sight for overhauling the logbook of memory, and so I thought I'd plank the deck a while ; I was thinking of one Sal Spanker, of Ragged Row, Portsmouth. You might have made her afore now in your cruisings, Mr. Everett; she sold sassages to the chaps down about the sally port ; a good, tight, weatherly wench is that same Sal, sir ; and I was thinking as how it wouldn't be a bad plan, after the ship is paid off, to try a spell on the tack of matrimony.'*

" The married state is generally allowed to be aQ enviable one,'* said the midshipman.

" Why, as to that, sir, I won't be so positive ; I thought as how I could weather the shoals of misfortune with Mrs. Spikes ; but it was a false reckoning. She took a fancy to a corporal of marines, and >^e parted company." ^^ Then you have been married before, Mr. Spikes ?'*

"O, yes, sir, seven or eight times,'' returned the boatswain, xnodestly.

" Seven or eight times, sir !" repeated the midshipman ; " and "what has become of all your wives?" '

*^ Some veering and hauling in one place and some in another ; ye see, Mr. Everett, although I have as nat'ral an affection for children as any other man, I don't like to be hailed daddy by other people's."

"Your wives were then unfaithful ?"

" Call it what you please, sir," returned Spikes ; " when I made Portsmouth after my first three years' cruise, I found two little chaps at home, and I know d — d well I hadn't a hand in the building of but one on 'em ; how's this, Doll, said I ; where did this youngstfr come from ? It's yours, Fred, said she. That be d — d, says I ; and so I sheered off from her altogether."

" Did the remainder of your wives act in the same manner?" asked the midshipman.

"Some of 'em," said the boatswain; "some hauled their wind afore I hove in sight."

" Yon have been unfortunate in your marriage speculations, Mr. Spikes."

" Why, yes, a little so; but I don't mind it, sir; landmarks, you know, an't seen out at sea, and I manage to cast 'em off when we take a departure. But enough of my own yarn and a little more of yours ; you've worked yoursetf into a d— d bad channel^ Mr. Everett."

14 THB SCOURGE 07 THE OCEAN.

'^ If you mean to say that I am at present involved in difficulties," said the midshipman, gravely, " you are right."

" That's my drift, exactly. Master George," answered Spikes ; " and how the devil do you intend to work your traverse out of it ?"

"By quitting the ship to-night."

" Yes, that would be as easy done as said if you had the first luflTs permission to leave, and the officer of the deck's order for a boat.''

" My departure from this ship, Mr. Spikes, shall not be dependent upon either of those favors ; I shall swim to the shore this very night."

" What! an officer turn deserter?"

" Even so ; 'tis my only chance."

" And the sentries ; how do ye expect to weather the red-coats?" asked Spikes.

" By discretion."

" Well, well, Mr. Everdtt, you'rd a fine young gentleman, and d — n me if I don't lend you a hand tho' they smash me for it. I liked the manner you capsized his lorcfship this morning, and so did every one for'ad of the steerage bulkhead. I've got a thing stowed away here in the starboard locker of this pea-jacket that will keep the soger in play while you slip down by the bobstays. So now, Mr. Everett, I'll go for'ad, and you must watch tht; moment to slip cable, and fill away.''

So leaving our hero to await the instant when the attention of the sentry should be diverted from his duty, Mr. Spikes proceeded to tie topgallant forecastle to effisct that desired end. Seatipg himself upon the forecastle chest within a few feet of the upright form of the marine, he gave a loud hem to satisfy the other of his presence, and perceiving that this had the desired efied^, he drew forth a bottle half full of good old rum. Giving it a hearty shake, he held it up into the light of the moon for a moment, as if in examination of its bead, and then uncorking it, took a hearty and long-continued draught. This was striking at the very foundation of the soldier's philosophy ; he looked wistfully at the bottle, and seemed to distrust the event of a separation between its mouth and the mouth of the man ; but when the boatswain at length took it from his lips, with a smack of satisfaction, and held it invitingly towards the sentry, the philosophy of the latter disapptared altogether, and, laying down his musket, he did as much justice to its contents as did its legitimate possessor the moment before,