Part 6 (1/2)
AN UNLUCKY s.h.i.+P. THE DAYS WHEN WE WENT GIPSYING. INAMBANE. QUILP THE PILOT AND LAMOO.
It might have been that our vessel was launched on a Friday, or sailed on a Friday; or whether it was owing to our carrying the devil on board of us in shape of a big jet-black cat, and for whom the lifebuoy was thrice let go, and boats lowered in order to save his infernal majesty from a watery grave; but whatever was the reason, she was certainly a most unlucky s.h.i.+p from first to last; for during a cruise of eighteen months, four times did we run aground on dangerous reefs, twice were we on fire--once having had to scuttle the decks--once we sprung a bad leak and were nearly foundering, several times we narrowly escaped the same speedy termination to our cruise by being taken aback, while, compared to our smaller dangers or lesser perils, Saint Paul's adventures--as a Yankee would express it--wern't a circ.u.mstance.
On the other hand, we were amply repaid by the many beautiful spots we visited; the lovely wooded creeks where the slave-dhows played at hide and seek with us, and the natural harbours, at times surrounded by scenery so sweetly beautiful and so charmingly solitary, that, if fairies still linger on this earth, one must think they would choose just such places as these for their moonlight revels. Then there were so many little towns--Portuguese settlements--to be visited, for the Portuguese have spread themselves, after the manner of wild strawberries, all round the coast of Africa, from Sierra Leone on the west to Zanzibar on the east. There was as much sameness about these settlements as about our visits to them: a few houses--more like tents-- built on the sand (it does seem f.a.n.n.y to see sofas, chairs, and the piano itself standing among the deep soft sand); a fort, the guns of which, if fired, would bring down the walls; a few white-jacketed swarthy-looking soldiers; a very polite governor, brimful of hospitality and broken English; and a good dinner, winding up with punch of schnapps.
Memorable too are the pleasant boating excursions we had on the calm bosom of the Indian Ocean. Armed boats used to be detached to cruise for three or four weeks at a time in quest of prizes, at the end of which time they were picked up at some place of rendezvous. By day we sailed about the coast and around the small wooded islets, where dhows might lurk, only landing in sheltered nooks to cook and eat our food.
Our provisions were s.h.i.+p's, but at times we drove great bargains with the naked natives for fowls and eggs and goats; then would we make delicious soups, rich ragouts, and curries fit for the king of the Cannibal Islands. Fruit too we had in plenty, and the best of oysters for the gathering, with iguana most succulent of lizards, occasionally fried flying-fish, or delicate morsels of shark, skip-jack, or devilled dolphin, with a gla.s.s of prime ram to wash the whole down, and three grains of quinine to charm away the fever. There was, too, about these expeditions, an air of gipsying that was quite pleasant. To be sure our beds were a little hard, but we did not mind that; while clad in our blanket-suits, and covered with a boat-sail, we could defy the dew.
Sleep, or rather the want of sleep, we seldom had to complain of, for the blue star-lit sky above us, the gentle rising and falling of the anch.o.r.ed boat, the lip-lipping of the water, and the sighing sound of the wind through the great forest near us--all tended to woo us to sweetest slumber.
Sometimes we would make long excursions up the rivers of Africa, combining business with pleasure, enjoying the trip, and at the same time gleaning some useful information regarding slave or slave-s.h.i.+p.
The following sketch concerning one or two of these may tend to show, that a man does not take leave of all enjoyment, when his s.h.i.+p leaves the chalky cliffs of old England.
Our anchor was dropped outside the bar of Inambane river; the grating noise of the chain as it rattled through the hawse-hole awoke me, and I soon after went on deck. It was just six o'clock and a beautiful clear morning, with the sun rising red and rosy--like a portly gentleman getting up from his wine--and smiling over the sea in quite a pleasant sort of way. So, as both Neptune and Sol seemed propitious, the commander, our second-master, and myself made up our minds to visit the little town and fort of Inambane, about forty--we thought fifteen--miles up the river. But breakfast had to be prepared and eaten, the magazine and arms got into the boat, besides a day's provisions, with ram and quinine to be stowed away, so that the sun had got a good way up the sky, and now looked more like a portly gentleman whose dinner had disagreed, before we had got fairly under way and left the s.h.i.+p's side.
Never was forenoon brighter or fairer, only one or two snowy banks of cloud interrupting the blue of the sky, while the river, miles broad, stole silently seaward, unruffled by wave or wavelet, so that the hearts of both men and officers were light as the air they breathed was pure.
The men, bending cheerfully on their oars, sang s.n.a.t.c.hes of Dibdin-- Neptune's poet laureate; and we, tired of talking, reclined astern, gazing with half-shut eyes on the round undulating hills, that, covered with low mangrove-trees and large exotics, formed the banks of the river. We pa.s.sed numerous small wooded islands and elevated sandbanks, on the edges of which whole regiments of long-legged birds waded about in search of food, or, starting at our approach, flew over our heads in Indian file, their bright scarlet-and-white plumage showing prettily against the blue of the sky. Shoals of turtle floated past, and hundreds of rainbow-coloured jelly-fishes, while, farther off, many large black bodies--the backs of hippopotami--moved on the surface of the water, or anon disappeared with a sullen plash. Saving these sounds and the dip of our own oars, all was still, the silence of the desert reigned around us, the quiet of a newly created world.
The forenoon wore away, the river got narrower, but, though we could see a distance of ten miles before us, neither life nor sign of life could be perceived. At one o'clock we landed among a few cocoa-nut trees to eat our meagre dinner, a little salt pork, raw, and a bit of biscuit.
No sooner had we ”shoved off” again than the sky became overcast; we were caught in, and had to pull against, a blinding white-squall that would have laid a line-of-battle on her beam ends. The rain poured down as if from a water-spout, almost filling the boat and drenching us to the skin, and, not being able to see a yard ahead, our boat ran aground and stuck fast. It took us a good hour after the squall was over to drag her into deep water; nor were our misfortunes then at an end, for squall succeeded squall, and, having a journey of uncertain length still before us, we began to feel very miserable indeed.
It was long after four o'clock when, tired, wet, and hungry, we hailed with joy a large white house on a wooded promontory; it was the Governor's castle, and soon after we came in sight of the town itself.
Situated so far in the interior of Africa, in a region so wild, few would have expected to find such a little paradise as we now beheld,--a colony of industrious Portuguese, a large fort and a company of soldiers, a governor and consulate, a town of nice little detached cottages, with rows of cocoa-nut, mango, and orange trees, and in fact all the necessaries, and luxuries of civilised life. It was, indeed, an oasis in the desert, and, to us, the most pleasant of pleasant surprises.
Leaving the men for a short time with the boat, we made our way to the house of the consul, a dapper little gentleman with a pretty wife and two beautiful daughters--flowers that had hitherto blushed unseen and wasted their sweetness in the desert air.
Our welcome was most warm. After making us swallow a gla.s.s of brandy each to keep off fever, he kindly led us to a room, and made us strip off our wet garments, while a servant brought bundle after bundle of clothes, and spread them out before us. There were socks and s.h.i.+rts and slippers galore, with waistcoats, pantaloons, and head-dresses, and jackets, enough to have dressed an opera troupe. The commander and I furnished ourselves with a red Turkish fez and dark-grey dressing-gown each, with cord and ta.s.sels to correspond, and, thus, arrayed, we considered ourselves of no small account. Our kind entertainers were waiting for us in the next room, where they had, in the mean time, been preparing for us the most fragrant of brandy punch. By-and-bye two officers and a tall Pa.r.s.ee dropped in, and for the next hour or so the conversation was of the most animated and lively description, although a bystander, had there been one, would not have been much edified, for the following reason: the younger daughter and myself were flirting in the ancient Latin language, with an occasional soft word in Spanish; our commander was talking in bad French to the consul's lady, who was replying in Portuguese; the second-master was maintaining a smart discussion in broken Italian with the elder daughter; the Pa.r.s.ee and officer of the fort chiming in, the former in English, the latter in Hindostanee; but as no one of the four could have had the slightest idea of the other's meaning, the amount of information given and received must have been very small,--in fact, merely nominal. It must not, however, be supposed that our host or hostesses could speak _no_ English, for the consul himself would frequently, and with a bow that was inimitable, push the bottle towards the commander, and say, as he shrugged his shoulders and turned his palms skywards, ”Continue you, Sar Capitan, to wet your whistle;” and, more than once, the fair creature by my side would raise and did raise the gla.s.s to her lips, and say, as her eyes sought mine, ”Good night, Sar Officeer,” as if she meant me to be off to bed without a moment's delay, which I knew she did not. Then, when I responded to the toast, and complimented her on her knowledge of the ”universal language,” she added, with a pretty shake of the head, ”No, Sar Officeer, I no can have speak the mooch Englese.” A servant,-- apparently newly out of prison, so closely was his hair cropped,-- interrupted our pleasant confab, and removed the seat of our Babel to the dining-room, where as nicely-cooked-and-served a dinner as ever delighted the senses of hungry mortality awaited our attention. No large clumsy joints, huge misshapen roasts or bulky boils, hampered the board; but dainty made-dishes, savoury stews, piquant curries, delicate frica.s.sees whose bouquet tempted even as their taste and flavour stimulated the appet.i.te, strange little fishes as graceful in shape as lovely in colour, vegetables that only the rich luxuriance of an African garden could supply, and numerous other nameless nothings, with delicious wines and costly liqueurs, neatness, attention, and kindness, combined to form our repast, and counteract a slight suspicion of crocodiles' tails and stewed lizard, for where ignorance is bliss a fellow is surely a fool if he is wise.
We spent a most pleasant evening in asking questions, spinning yarns, singing songs, and making love. The younger daughter--sweet child of the desert--sang 'Amante de alguno;' her sister played a selection from 'La Traviata;' next, the consul's lady favoured us with something pensive and sad, having reference, I think, to bright eyes, bleeding hearts, love, and slow death; then, the Pa.r.s.ee chanted a Persian hymn with an ”Allalallala,” instead of Fol-di-riddle-ido as a chorus, which elicited ”Fra poco a me” from the Portuguese lieutenant; and this last caused our commander to seat himself at the piano, turn up the white of his eyes, and in very lugubrious tones question the probability of ”Gentle Annie's” ever reappearing in any spring-time whatever; then, amid so much musical sentimentality and woe, it was not likely that I was to hold my peace, so I lifted up my voice and sang--
”Cauld kail in Aberdeen, An' cas ticks in Strathbogie; Ilka chiel maun hae a quean Bit leeze me on ma cogie--”
with a pathos that caused the tears to trickle over and adown the nose of the younger daughter--she was of the gus.h.i.+ng temperament--and didn't leave a dry eye in the room. The song brought down the house--so to speak--and I was the hero for the rest of the evening. Before parting for the night we also sang 'Auld lang syne,' copies of the words having been written out and distributed, to prevent mistakes; this was supposed by our hostess to be the English national anthem.
It was with no small amount of regret that we parted from our friends next day; a fresh breeze carried us down stream, and, except our running aground once or twice, and being nearly drowned in crossing the bar, we arrived safely on board our saucy gunboat.
”Afric's sunny fountains” have been engaged for such a length of time in the poetical employment of ”rolling down their golden sands,” that a bank or bar of that same bright material has been formed at the mouth of every river, which it is very difficult and often dangerous to cross even in canoes. We had despatched boats before us to take soundings on the bar of Lamoo, and prepared to follow in the track thus marked out.
Now, our little bark, although not warranted, like the Yankee boat, to float wherever there is a heavy dew, was nevertheless content with a very modest allowance of the aqueous element; in two and a half fathoms she was quite at home, and even in two--with the help of a few breakers--she never failed to b.u.mp it over a bar. We approached the bar of Lamoo, therefore, with a certain degree of confidence till the keel rasped on the sand; this caused us to turn astern till we rasped again; then, being neither able to get back nor forward, we stopped s.h.i.+p, put our fingers in our wise mouths, and tried to consider what next was to be done. Just then a small canoe was observed coming bobbing over the big waves that tumbled in on the bar; at one moment it was hidden behind a breaker, next moment mounting over another, and so, after a little game at bo-peep, it got alongside, and from it there scrambled on board a little, little man, answering entirely to d.i.c.kens's description of Quilp.
”Quilp!” said the commander.
”Quilp!! by George!” repeated our second-master.
”Quilp!!!” added I, ”by all that's small and ugly.”
”Your sarvant, sar,” said Quilp himself. ”I am one pilot.” There certainly was not enough of him to make two. He was rather darker in skin than the Quilp of d.i.c.kens, and his only garment was a coal-sack without sleeves--no coal-sack _has_ sleeves, however--begirt with a rope, in which a short knife was stuck; he had, besides, sandals on his feet, and his temples were begirt with a dirty dishclout by way of turban, and he repeated, ”I am one pilot, sar.”
”Can you take us over the bar?” asked the commander.