Part 10 (1/2)
PUNCTUALITY.
A Quarter of an Hour.--When Lord Nelson was leaving London, on his last, but glorious, expedition against the enemy, a quant.i.ty of cabin furniture was ordered to be sent on board his s.h.i.+p. He had a farewell dinner party at his house; and the upholsterer having waited upon his lords.h.i.+p, with an account of the completion of the goods, was brought into the dining-room, in a corner of which his lords.h.i.+p spoke with him. The upholsterer stated to his employer, that everything was finished, and packed, and would go in the wagon, from a certain inn, at _six o'clock_. ”And you go to the inn, Mr.
A., and see them off?” ”I shall, my lord; I shall be there _punctually at six_.” ”_A quarter before six_, Mr. A.,” returned Lord Nelson, ”be there _a quarter before six_. To that _quarter of an hour_ I owe everything in life.”
Mr. Scott, of Exeter, travelled on business till about eighty years of age.
He was one of the most celebrated characters in the kingdom for punctuality, and by his methodical conduct, joined to uniform diligence, he gradually ama.s.sed a fortune. For a long series of years, the proprietor of every inn he frequented in Devon and Cornwall knew the day, and the very hour, he would arrive. A short time before he died, a gentleman on a journey in Cornwall stopped at a small inn at Port Isaac to dine. The waiter presented him with a bill of fare, which he did not approve of; but observing a fine duck roasting, ”I'll have that,” said the traveller. ”You cannot, sir,” said the landlord; ”it is for Mr. Scott of Exeter.” ”I know Mr. Scott very well,” rejoined the gentlemen; ”he is not in your house.”
”True, sir,” said the landlord, ”but _six months ago, when he was here last, he ordered a duck to be ready for him this day, precisely at two o'clock;_” and, to the astonishment of the traveller, he saw the old gentleman, on his Rosinante, jogging into the inn-yard about five minutes before the appointed time.
Sir W. Scott.--A gentleman who, in the year 1826, travelled with Sir Walter Scott in the coach from Edinburgh to Jedburgh, relates the following anecdote ill.u.s.trative of his regard for punctuality, and his willingness to serve all who placed confidence in him, particularly those engaged in literary pursuits.--”We had performed half the journey,” writes our informant, ”when Sir Walter started as from a dream, exclaiming: 'Oh, my friend G----, I have forgotten you till this moment!' A short mile brought us to a small town, where Sir Walter ordered a post-chaise, in which he deposited his luggage, consisting of a well-worn short hazel stick, and a paper parcel containing a few books; then, much to my regret, he changed his route, and returned to the Scottish capital. The following month I was again in Edinburgh, and curiosity induced me to wait on the friend G---- apostrophised by Sir Walter, and whose friends.h.i.+p I had the honour to possess. The cause of Sir Walter's return, I was informed, was this:--He had engaged to furnish an article for a periodical conducted by my friend, but the promise had slipped from his memory--a most uncommon occurrence, for Sir Walter was gifted with the best of memories--until the moment of his exclamation. His instant return was the only means of retrieving the error. Retrieved, however, it was; and the following morning Mr. G---- received several sheets of closely-written ma.n.u.script, the transcribing of which alone must have occupied half the night.”
ROBBERS.
Candid Robber.--The duke of Ossuna, viceroy of Naples, once visited the galleys, and pa.s.sing through the prisoners, he asked several of them what their offences were. All of them excused themselves upon various pretences; one said he was put in out of malice, another by bribery of the judge; but all of them declared they were punished unjustly. The duke came at last to a little black man, whom he questioned as to what he was there for. ”My lord,” said he, ”I cannot deny but I am justly put in here; for I wanted money, and my family was starving, so I robbed a pa.s.senger near Tarragona of his purse.” The duke, on hearing this, gave him a blow on the shoulder with his stick, saying, ”You rogue, what are you doing here among so many honest, innocent men? Get you out of their company.” The poor fellow was then set at liberty, while the rest were left to tug at the oar.
Ingenious Contrivance.--Many years ago, when stagecoaches were not unfrequently attacked by highwaymen, a party was once travelling on a lonely road, when one of the gentlemen mentioned to the company that he had ten guineas with him, which he was afraid of losing. Upon this an elderly lady who sat next to him, advised him to take his money from his pocket, and slip it into his boot, which he did. Not long after the coach was attacked, when a highwayman rode up to the window, on the lady's side, and demanded her money; upon which she immediately whispered to him that if he would examine that gentleman's boot, he would find ten guineas. The man took the hint, and the gentleman was obliged to submit patiently; but when the robber had gone, he loaded his fellow-traveller with abuse, declaring her to be in confederacy with the highwayman. She replied that certainly appearances were against her; but if the company in the stage would sup at her house the following evening, she would explain a conduct which appeared so mysterious. After a debate among themselves, they consented to go the next evening according to her invitation. They were ushered into a magnificent room, where an elegant supper was served, after which, the lady taking a pocket-book from her pocket, showed that it contained various notes to the amount of several hundred pounds, and addressing herself to the gentleman who had been robbed: ”I thought, sir,” said she, ”it was better to lose ten guineas, than all this valuable property, which I had about me last night; and I have now the pleasure of returning what you so kindly lent me.”
Reclaimed Felons.--The late Dr. Lettsom says, ”I have been so happy as to reform two highwaymen who had robbed me; and from this I think that few of our fellow-creatures are so hardened, as to be impenetrable to repentance.
One of these men has since been twice in the Gazette promotions, as a military officer. The other married, and became a respectable farmer in Surrey.”
A similar story is told by the celebrated Rowland Hill. He was attacked by a highwayman, whom he succeeded in convincing of the evil of his way of life, and who afterwards became a most faithful servant to him. The secret was never revealed by Mr. Hill until the death of the servant.
SAILORS.
The Wounded Sailor.--When Admiral Benbow was a common sailor, his messmate, who was stationed with him at the same gun, lost his leg by a cannon shot.
The poor fellow instantly called out to his friend, who immediately took him up on his shoulder, and began with great care to descend with him into the c.o.c.kpit; but it happened that just as the poor fellow's head came upon a level with the deck, another ball carried that off also. Benbow, however, knew nothing of the matter, but carried the body down to the surgeon, and when he came to the bottom of the ladder, called out that he had brought him a patient, desiring some one to bear a hand, and help him easily down. The surgeon turned about, but instead of giving any a.s.sistance, exclaimed, ”You blockhead, what do you do here with a man that has lost his head?” ”Lost his head!” says Benbow; ”the lying fellow, why he told me it was his leg; but I never in my life believed what he said without being sorry for it afterwards.”
When Lieutenant O'Brien (who was called Skyrocket Jack) was blown up at Spithead, in the _Edgar_, he was on the carriage of a gun, and when brought to the admiral, all black and wet, he said with pleasantry, ”I hope, sir, you will excuse my dirty appearance, for I came out of the s.h.i.+p in so great a hurry, that I had not time to s.h.i.+ft myself.”
A painter was employed in painting a West India s.h.i.+p in the river, suspended on a stage under the s.h.i.+p's stern. The captain, who had just got into the boat alongside, for the purpose of going ash.o.r.e, ordered the boy to let go the painter (the rope which makes fast the boat); the boy instantly went aft, and let go the rope by which the painter's stage was held. The captain, surprised at the boy's delay, cried out, ”Heigh-ho, there, you lazy lubber, why don't you let go the painter?” The boy replied, ”He's gone, sir, pots and all.”
Precedence.--At a grand review of the fleet at Portsmouth by George III., in 1789, there was a boy who mounted the shrouds with so much agility, as to surprise every spectator. The king particularly noticed it, and said to Lord Lothian, ”Lothian, I have heard much of your agility, let us see you run up after that boy.” ”Sire,” replied Lord Lothian, ”it is my duty to _follow your majesty_.”
Admiral Haddock, when on his death-bed, called his son, and thus addressed him: ”Considering my rank in life, and public services for so many years, I shall leave you but a small fortune; but, my boy, it is honestly got, and will wear well; there are no seamen's wages or provisions, nor one single penny of dirty money, in it.”