Part 12 (1/2)
At the gate, the gentleman stopped a hackney-coach, put the females in, and desired us to follow But to this ould not consent, both being wet, and Marble particularly so After a short parley, he gave us an address in Norfolk Street, Strand; and we promised to stop there on our way back to the shi+p Instead of following the carriage, however, we -house, turned in and eat a hearty dinner each, the chief- cold On what principle this is done, I cannot explain, though I know it is often practised, and in all quarters of the world
As soon as we had dined and dried ourselves, ent into Norfolk street We had been told to ask for Major Merton, and this we did The house was one of those plain lodging-houses, of which most of that part of the town is composed: and we found the Major and his faentility on which soh, however, to see that these people were not rolling in that splendour, of which we had just seen so allantry of the English tar in your conduct,” observed the Major, after he had given us both quite as warm a reception as circu out his pocket-book, and turning over some bank-notes ”I wish, for your sakes, I was better able than I am to reward you for what you have done; but twenty pounds is all I can now offer At soive further and better proofs of ratitude”
As this was said, the Major held two ten-pound notes towards Marble, doubtless intending that I should receive one of the to all theory, and the established opinion of the Christian world, America is _the_ avaricious country; the land, of all others, in which s respect gold lobe I never dispute anything that is settled by the common consent of my fellow-creatures, for the siainst reat end of Areat model republic Politics have fallen into such hands, that office will not even give social station; the people are oovernor, they cannot s are sometimes puzzled to do that; literature, arms, arts, and fa us as in other nations, leaving the puissant dollar in its undisturbed ascendency; still, as a rule, twenty Europeans can be bought with two ten-pound Bank of England notes, much easier than two Americans I leave others to explain the phenomenon; I only speak of the _fact_
Marble listened to the Major's speech with great attention and respect, fu in his pocket for his tobacco-box, the whole tian to be afraid that the well-known cupidity of Kennebunk was about to give way before the teside of the tobacco but I washiain, and then he inerous in you, Major,” he said, ”and all shi+p-shape and right
I like to see things done just in that way Put up the money; we thank you as much as if we could take it, and that squares all accounts I would just ht get us i man and I are both born Americans--he froh edicated down east”
”A hi toout the notes, of which he now seemed as anxious to be rid, as I had previously fancied he was sorry to see go--”_you_ will do ratitude”
”It is quite impossible, sir,” I answered, respectfully ”We are not exactly e seem, and you are probably deceived by our roundabouts; but we are the first and second officers of a letter-of-marque”
At the word ”officers,” the Major drew back his hand, and hastily apologised He did not understand us even then, I could plainly see; but he had sufficient sagacity to understand that his money would not be accepted We were invited to sit down, and the conversation continued
”Master Miles, there,” resumed Marble, ”has an estate, a place called Clawbonny, so about the world in jacket and trowsers, when he ought to be studying law, or trying his hand at college But as the old cock crows, the young 'un l'arns; his father was a sailor before him, and I suppose that's the reason on't”
This announcement of e in the deporthtily, or even coldly; but it now regarded me as more on a level with itself We remained an hour with the Mertons, and I promised to repeat the call before we sailed This I did a dozen ti, I suppose, that he had a tolerably well-educated youth to deal with, was of great service in puttingLondon I went to both theatres with the fa care to appear in a well-made suit of London clothes, in which Imen I saw in the streets Even Eht she blushed She was a pretty creature; gentle and mild in her ordinary deportment, but full of fire and spirit at the bottolish eye Then she had been well-educated; and, in irl of seventeen I had ever met with Grace and Lucy were both clever, and had been carefully taught by Mr Hardinge; but the good divine could not give two girls, in the provincial retirement of America, the cultivation and accomplishland To me, Emily Merton seemed a marvel in the way of attainments; and I often felt asha to the natural and easy s, of which I then heard for the first time
CHAPTER XI
”Boatswain!”
”Here, master: what cheer?”
”Good: speak to the round: bestir, bestir”
_Tempest_
As Captain Williams wished to show me so, he allowed ht never see London again; and, understanding I had fallen into good co by it So careful was he, indeed, as to get one of the consul's clerks to ascertain who the Mertons were, lest I should becoues hich London abounds
The report was favourable, giving us to understand that the Major had been much employed in the West Indies, where he still held athen in England to settle certain long and vexatious accounts, as well as to take Emily, his only child, from school He was expected to return to the old, or some other post, in the course of a few leaned from Emily herself, and it was all very fairly corroborated by the account of the consul's clerk There was no doubt that the Mertons were persons of respectable position; without having any claih From the Major, moreover, I learned he had so married in Boston
For my part, I had quite as much reason to rejoice at the chance which threw me in the way of the Mertons, as they had If I was instru their lives, as was undeniably the case, they taught me more of the world, in the ordinary social sense of the phrase, than I had learned in allseen London society; that lay far beyond the reach of Major Merton himself, as born the son of a merchant, when lish social scale than they do to-day, and had to look to a patron for entleman; maintained the notions, sentiments, and habits of the caste; and was properly conscious of reat jeopardy As for Eot to converse with me with the freedohts expressed in pretty language, and froht me a little rustic and provincial; but I had not been all the way to Canton to be brow-beaten by a cockney girl, however clever and handsome On the whole--and I say it without vanity, at this late day--I think the iood people, was favourable Perhaps Clawbonny was not without its influence; but, when I paid my last visit, even Emily looked sorrowful, and her mother was pleased to say they should all miss me much The Major made me promise to hunt him up, should I ever be in Jamaica, or Bombay; for one of which places he expected to sail hihter, in the course of a few ht receive another, and hoped everything would turn out for the best
The Crisis sailed on her day; and she went to sea fro southerly wind Our Philadelphians turned out a noble set of fellows; and we had the happiness of beating an English sloop-of-war, just as we got clear of the channel, in a fair trial of speed To lessen our pride a little, a two-decker that was going to the Mediterranean, treated us exactly in the same manner, only three days later What , was the fact that Marble had just satisfied hi the fastest description of vessel, and we having got the better of one of theht be fairly inferred we could outsail the whole British navy I endeavoured to console hi hirowled out so to know out of what book I had picked up that nonsense
I have no intention of dwelling on every little incident that occurred on the long road ere now travelling We touched at Madeira, and landed an English faot soain Our next stopping-place was Rio, whither ent for letters froht to expect them The shi+p's letters were received, and they were filled with eulogiu been written after the arrival of _la Da there was not even a scrawl for myself
Our stay at Rio was short, and we left port with a favourable slant of wind, running as far north as 50, in a very short time As we drew near to the southern extremity of the American continent, however, we met with heavy weather and foul winds We were now in the month that corresponds to November in the northern hemisphere, and had to double The Horn at that unpropitious season of the year, going ard There is no part of the world of which navigators have given accounts so conflicting, as of this celebrated passage Each man appears to have described it as he found it, himself, while no two seem to have found it exactly alike I do not reht winds are by no h tempests are undoubtedly the predominant characteristic Our captain had already been round four times, and he held the opinion that the season made no difference, and that it was better to keep near the land We shaped our course accordingly for Staten Land, intending to pass through the Straits of Le Maire and hug the Horn, as close as possible, in doubling it We made the Falkland Islands, or West Falkland rather, just as the sun rose, onea little on our weather-quarter, with the wind blowing heavily at the eastward The weather was thick, and, as still worse, there was so little day, and nofor a passage as narrow as that we aimed at Marble and I talked the matter over, between ourselves, and wished the captain could be persuaded to haul up, and try to go to the eastward of the island, as was still possible, with the here it was Still, neither of us dared propose it; I, on account of my youth, and the chief-mate, as he said, on account of ”the old fellow's obstinacy” ”He likes to be poking about in such places,”
Marble added, ”and is never so happy as when he is running round the ocean in places where it is full of unknown islands, looking for sandal wood, and beche-la-ive us a faet us up on the North-West Coast” Here the consultation ters take their course
I confess to having seen the mountains on our weather-quarter disappear, withany observation that day; and to render an to haul more to the southward As it hauled, it increased in violence, until, at ale; the commencement of such a tees at sea