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THE LIBRARY
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LAIiil^EirS CABOET CYCLOFiEDIA,
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The "Cabinet CvcLor.i^mA," with the exroption of tliree volumes, bein;; now completed, the I'liblishcrs take the opportunity of laying- before the Tublic a detailed Catal(iu;ue of its Contents, and of calling attention to the general nature and oliject of tlie Series. It embraces a body of Oiuc. in a i. Works, on
HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE, THE SCIENCES, ARTS, AMD IVIANUFACTURES,
comprisin<^ contributions from the most eminent writers of the age in the various departments.
Each Work is complete in itself; and each Cabinet forms a complete boily of information on its own subject.
rinally, as a wliole, the Cvclop.hdia includes all the usual divisions of human knowledge that are not of a technical and professional kind.
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The volumes remaining to be imblished are— Mr. Moore's Histort of Ireland, last vol. | Tre.vtise on Electricitt and Magnetism, Up. Til 111 LW ALL'S History OF Greece, ditto. 1 the last volume, by Ur. Lardner.
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN '
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lijbtorg, antiquities, Src.
MACKINTOSH'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
Thi- Hist.irv c.r I'.iiL'lind. My Sut .Ume^ M ickintosh, W. WALLiCE, Esq. anil Robert Uki.l, 1,s.'i. Ill \ c.ls. fi p. .svii.' witli viiriu-Uc titK'3, Glis. cloth Icttevci!.
MOORE'S HISTORY OF IRELAND.
Till' Ilistorv i>f Iri-land. I!y Thomas MuonE, Esq. 4 vols. fcp. Pvo. with vignette titles cli.th k-tti'Veil. Vols. 1 to 3, 189.
P4 Vol. IV. shortly.
SIR WALTER SCOTT'S HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
The History of Scotland. By Sir Wai,te» Scott, B.-irt. New Edition. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. with vignette titles, 12s. cloth lettered.
FERGUS'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
The Ilistorv of the Initi'd St:ites of .\inerica, from tlie Discovery of America to the Election of Gem ral .(^iikson to tlie Presidency in Ifi'J. By the Kev. II. Fergus. 2 vols. f'jp. 8vo. with vignette title,*:, 12s. elotli lettered.'
CROWE'S HISTORY OF FRANCE.
The History of France, from the Earliest Period to the Abdication of Napoleon. By EvRE Evans Cuowe, Esq. 3 vols. fcp. Hvo. with vij^ette titles, Ihs. clotli lettered.
CRATTAN'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS.
The History of the Netherhmds, from the Iu\:u,inn of tiie Romans to the Belgian Revolution in IK«). By 'l\ C'oLLEV GuATTAN, Esq. New Edition. 1 vol. fcp. bvo. witli vignette title, Gs. cloth lettered.
HISTORY OF SWITZERLAND.
The History of Switzerland, from the Earliest Period to 1830. 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. with vignette title, Cs. clotli fettered. The object kejit in view in tlie composition of this volume has been to comjiress within tlie smallest possible compass those parts of the subject-matter which seemed of merely local impor- tance, and at the same time to dwell, as far as space would admit, on points of national character or of European interest.
DUNHAM'S HISTORY OF DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY.
The Ilistorv of Denmark, Sweden, and Norwav. By Dli. Di-nham. 3 ^ois. fcp. Svo. with vi^^ette titli s, Iss. cloth lettereil.
DUNHAM'S HISTORY OF POLAND.
'J'he History of Poland, from the EarUest Period to 1830. By Dr. Dunham. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title, 6s. cloth lett«red.
In submitting this work to his readers the author hopes, in justice both to them and himself, that he may not he^charged with presumption for saying that it is no compilation. Its parts have been carefully derived from about sixty original sources— Polish, Bohemian, Hungarian, Gennan, French, &c. some of which are very sca'rec in this country.
DUNHAM'S HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.
The History of the Germanic Empire. By S. A. Dinham, LL.D. &c. 3 vols. fcp. Svo. with vignette titles, 18s. clotli lettered.
Book I.— Political and Civil History of the Empire during tlie Middle Ages, A.n. 7.i2 to 1437.
Introduction. Merovingian period, 496~-752. Chap. 1. Carlovingian dynastv,752 — 911).
Chan. 2. Houses of .Saxony and Franconia, Oil— -1138. Chap. 3.' The House of Swabia
or IlohenstauHen, 1138—1271. Cliaii. 4. The Houses of Hapsburg, Luxemburg, and
Bavaria, 1273-1437. i- o. o.
Book II.— Keligious and Intellectual History of the Germanic Church during the Middle
Ages, A.n. 752—1403. Book III. — Modern History, Political, Civil, ami Religious, of tlie Germanic Empire,
1437—1792. Chap. 1. House of Austria to the lleign of Charles V. 1437 — 1519. Chap. 2.
Charles V. or the Reformation, 1437—1.553. Chap. 3. Ferdinand I. to Leopold II.
1558—1792.
DUNHAM'S HISTORY OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
The History of S|)ain ami I'ortuga!. By Dh. Di .sham. 5 vols. fcp. Svo. witli vignette titles, 30s. cloth lettered.
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History^ Antiquities^ dfc, — continued.
BELUS HISTORY OF RUSSIA.
The History of Kussiu, from tlie Earliest Period to the Treaty of Tilsit (1807). By Robert Bell, Esq. 3 vols. fcp. 8vo. with vignette titles, ISs. clotli lettered.
The increasinir extent and influence of tlie Kussian Empire have of late years attracted the anxious attention oi^ Europe, and will probably absorb a still wider sphere of observation in times to come. The want of a History of Russia in ttie ICnglish language is tlicrefore the more felt as that power enlar2:es its territories, ami developes those ambitious tlesipis to which, from tlie earliest
f)eriod of the Imperial rule, all its energies have been directed . So remarkable a desideratum in the listorieal library can be accounted for only by Uie threat difficulties that lay in the way of such an
investigation The autlior of the present work has endeavoured to extract from the mass of
authorities he has consulted, a consistent, correct, and comprehensive view of Russian history. The great variety of works to whieli he has had recourse, has frequently aflbrded him the means of rectifying Uie errors of previous writers, and of confirming tlie truth of assertions which interested historians had affected to disbelie-. e.
DUMHAM'S HISTORY OF EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE ACES.
A History of Europe during tlie Middle Ages. By Dr. Dvxham. -i vols. fcp. bvo. with vignette titles, i4s. cloth lettered.
Sect. 1— SorTHERN Europe. Book I.- Italy. Chap. 1. Rolitical and Civil History of Italy, a.d- 476— IJOO. Chap. 2.
Religious and Intellectual Stale of Italv. Book II.— Spain-. Chap. 1. Pohtical and Civil History, a.d. 711— 1492. Chap. 2. Religious and Intellectual State.
Sect. 2 - Germanic Europe. Book I.— Germany and Frvnce. Chap. 1. PoUtical and Civil History, a.d. 400-1500
Chap. 2. Religious and Intellectual History. Book II. —England. Chap. 1. Political and Civil History, A.n. 449— 14S.5. Chap. 2. Reli- gious Historv of the Anglo-Saxons. Chap. 3. Intellectual Historj' of the Anglo-Saxons. Chap. 4, Religious and Intellectual Kistory of England, from the Xorman Conquest to the Accession of Henrj* VII.
DE SISMONDI'S HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS.
The History of the Italian Republics : or, of the Origin, Progress, and Fall of Freedom in Italy, from A.iJ. 47G— 1K>5. By J. C. L. De Si&mondi. 1 vol. fcp. bvo. with vignette title, 6s. cloth lettered.
Contents or Introdtjctiox. Importance of the study of the Italian Rcpuhlies ; the Science of governing Men for their advantai^e he^an with them.-— There is nothing to study in the Abuse oi Force, or the Oppression of the Vanquished, by Barbarians.-— The Instructive Part of History begins with the Fusion of the Conquerors with the Conquered, for the good of all."-ProsjM?rity of Italv during the Middle .\ges ; her Neighbours, seeking only her jjlunder, are instructed by tier Example. --- l*nrpose of the Autlior. Summary of the History of this Prosperity ; it-- Causes and Hcstrurtinn.
DE SISIVIONDI'S HISTORY OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
'J'lie History of the Fall of tlic Rnnian Empire ; comprising a View of the Invasion and Settle- ment of tlie Barbarians. By J. C. L. De Sismonui. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. wiUi vignette titles, 13s. cloth lettered.
The longest, the most universal, the most important of all the convulsions to which tlie human rare has been exposed, is that which destroyed the whole fabric of ancient civilization, and jircpared the elements out of which the structure of modern .social life is composed. It found men at tlie liiirhcst fioint of perfecti(»n which tliey hatl as yet attained to, wlietlier in the career of social organization and legislation, or in those of philosophy, literature, and art ; and hurled them down by reiterate d sluicks, each more terrible than the last) into tlie deepest night of barbarism. After hai ing devoted many years to the study of the rei ival of Euro|>c.ln civilization, it .appeared to the author that a work presenting to tlie reader the prominent features of this grand overthrow of anciint culture, collected into one picture, would not be without its advantages. The author undertook, therefore, to compress within the limits of these volumes, the earlier portion of tlie history of the Middle .\ge8 ; that is, the history of tlie Fall of the Hom.an Empire---of the inv;isions of the Barbarians— and their establishment' among its ruins. It is more than the history of tlie destruction of ancient ci> ilization, or of the first attempts at the reconstruction of society, according to its mo.lem forms ; — it is the history of the sufferings of the human race, from the Third Century of the Christian era to the close of the Tcntli.
THIRLWALL'S HISTORY OF GREECE.
'lb. llwiorv of Grcc.,. Itv llic HiL'ht li. v. the I.onn Bisiior of St. David's (Cossor 'liuKi.w.vLL, U.U.J ^ w.ls. f. |. siu. «ith\ignetU- titles, cloth lettered. Vols. I to 7, 429. X\X Vol. VIII. shortly.
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History, Antiqidties, 8fC.— continued.
THE HISTORY OF ROME.
The History of Rome, from the Eariicst Times to the Founding of Constantinople. 2 vols, fep. 8vo. with vignette titles, 125. clotli lettered. The substanee of the present ivovk, with assistance from allthe standard writers already familiarly known to students of Ilistorv, an<l with requisite modifications as to form and method, &c has been mainly drawn from the labours of a frreat living historian, ScHLOssF.n, who is almost unknown to English readers in general, and hitherto to the Frencii only through the meduun ol a wretvhed translation.
FOSBROKE'S HISTORY OF THE GRECIAN AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES.
\ Trcitise on the Arts, Manufactures, Manners, and Institutions of the Greeks and Romans. Bv the Rev. T. D. Fosisuoke, i&c. 2 vols. fep. bvo. with vignette titles, 12s. cloth lettered. The first volume <'omprises the material .\rts and Monuments of antiquity ; and the second consists of an alphabetical account of the Laws, Literature, philosophy, Religion, Manners and Customs.
STEBBING'S HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.
The History of the Christian Church, from its Foundation to \.D. 1402. By the Rev. HENnif STEllBtso, D.D. 2 vols. fcp. 8vn. with vignette titles, 12s. cluOi lettered.
STEBBliMC'S HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION.
The lli^l(»ry ullltc lUfornialion. clotli It'tlered.
By Dr. Stebiung. 'i vols. iVp. 8vo. witli vignette titles, 12s.
COOLEY'S HISTORY OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.
A History of Maritime ami Inland lJit.coV(' vii'ni.'tte titlfs, Iht.. cloth Ktleretl.
By AV. D. CooLEY, Esq. 3 vols. fcp. 8vo. with
GEOGRAPHY OF THE ANCIENTS.
The Greeks
Discovery of the Monsoons.
The Arabians Travels of Ihn Baluta Discoveries of the Northmen Maps of the Middle Ages
Columbus and Amerigo Ves- pucci Early Discoveries in America Spanish Discoveries, and first Circumnavigation of the Earth Cortez
Conquest of Peru Conquests, of the Spaniards Conquests of the Tortuguesc Mendcz Pinto Voyages to the North Settlements in the East Settlements in North America
Ptolemy
C-ommcrce of the Ancients
Mytliic Geography of the Hin-
THE MIDDLE AGES.
Journey of Carpini into Tartary Travels of Rubruquis TravL'ls of Marco Polo Oderic, of Portenau
MODERN VOYAGES.
Establishments in Africa Voyage to the South Sea Voya;2;e in the Pacific, and
Discovery of Australia Expeditions of the Buccaneers Voyages of Privateers Discoveries of the Russians Progress of Geographical Sci- ence. Voyages of Byron,Wallis,Car-
taret, &c. Cook's Voyages r,a Perouse Europeans in the South Sea
doos,and its connection with Grecian Mythology
Embassy of Clavijo EarlyDiscoveries of Portuguese Passage by the Cape discovered Colunibus
The Coasts of Australia Interior of New Holland Vancouver
Interior of North America Ross and Parry Captain Franklin Humboldt
SouthernExtremity of Ameiicn Eastern Shores of Asia Travels in the Himalyeh Bruce
Mungo Park Denham and Clapnerton &c. &c. ^c.
KEIGHTLEY'S OUTLINES OF HISTORY.
Uiitlmes of History, from the Earliest Period to tlie Abdication of Napoleon. By Thomas IvEUiHTLEV, Esq. New Edition, corrected and considerably improved. 1 vol, fcp. 8vo. with vignette title, 6s. cloth lettered.
The object of the writer of this volume has been to give a correct and, as far as the limits would pcnnit, a comprehensive epitome of the history of the M'orld which accurate of narrative and chronology would render valuable as a book of' reference, and in wliich general views and reflections would rcmo\e the dryness inseparable from a mere enumeration of facts. As a portion of the Cabinet Cyclopaedia, it is to the historical volumes what in an atlas the map of the world IS to tliose which follow it, representing in connection what they exhibit isolated, and displayiiig the relative proportions and import^mce of the several parts.
DISTINCT WORKS COMl'RISED IX
LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA.
Historical Chronology.
NICOLAS'S CHRONOLOGY OF HISTORY.
'I'll!' Chniiinlcnv 111 lli-stcin : i'iiiil:iiiiiii^' 'IViI'li's, (':iliul:itions, and Stiti'ini'nts, incli>|)iM)-;iljli- fn
I'll!' Chniiinlcnv 111 lli-stcin : i'iiiil:iiiiiii^' 'IViI'li's, (':iliul:itions, and Stiti'ini'nts, incli>|)iM)-;iljli- fur asri ilaiiiiii^ tin- Dati's of Historical Kicnts aii.i of I'uhlic and I'rivalr niicunlcnts, frcnn the r.ailii'st IVriods to tlic Present Timu. I!v Siu IUiuiin Ntror.AS, KX'.M.Q. Seeuud Kilitiun, corrected tlirciiujlinut. ! vol. fcp. Mvo. wiOi ^ii^iiette titles, Cs. i-liitli lettered.
*' To all who in History look for the true connection between cause*; and cHei-ts,
f'hronoloiiy is not a dry and mechanical compilation of harren dates, but the exrdana- tion of events, and the philosophy of facts."— Sin E. L. Bri.\vi:i!.
3l5iogvnj l)i).
ROSCOE'S LIVES OF BRITISH LAWYERS.
I,a\\\i-1-. Ilv 111. SKY UOSCOE, • eloih lelU led.
Esq. B.irrister at Law. I vol.
Lord Somers,
Sir W. lilaekstonc,
Sir E. V. Jones.
The Ll.es of Klnilient Britisl fc]). 'S\o. with \i;^nette tilU's, i
Sir Edward Coke, Lord .\shhurton, Sir ,1. E. Wilmot,
Lord Guildford, Lord Erskine, Lord Thurlow,
Lord Mansfield, John ScUlen, Sir Samuel Romillv
Lord JefTeries, Sir Matthew Hale, '
FORSTER'S LIVES OF BRITISH STATESMEN.
Lives of th,- Statesmen of the ( r.mmon wealth of England. With an Introductory Treatise on the I'opular I'rosress in English IlLstory. Dv .Ioh.n I'ohstkii, Esq. 5 vols. fcp. S\o. with orif;inal I'ortraiUs of Pym, Eliot, Hampden, Cromwell, and an Historical Scene after a Picture hy Cattermole, i)riee :jUs. cloth lettered.
•." The iNTnoDucToiiv TRE.\TrsE lu-ins; intended as an Introduction to the Study of the Great Civil War in the Seventeenth Century, may he had, separately, price 2s. 6d.
The above 5 volumes form Mr. Forster's portion of — -
Lives of the most Eminent British Sfcitcsmen. By Sir J.vmes Macki.stosh, the Ri^dit Hon. T. 1". CoLRTE.N.vv, and J. FousxEH, Es(i. 7 vols. fcp. 8vo. vij^ette titles, 425. cloth lettered.
OLEICS LIVES OF BRITISH MILITARY COiVlJVIANDERS.
'i'he l.iM's of the nir.st laninent Militiry (,'tmiinand fep. h\o. with vii^nette titles, IJ-s. cloth lettered.
Bv the Uev. U. U. Glekj. 3 vols.
These volumes contain a Series of Biographical sketches, of which the creat object has been , not more to make the English reader accniainted witll the pc'isonal adventures of cert;iin of our most di.stini^iislied Milit.ary Commanders, than to convey t<i bis mind some i;eneral notion tif the Militiiry History of his own country. In furtherance of' tliis desi:rn, an attt'mjit has been made to Kive, in the Introduction, a condensed view of the rise and prosress of the British .\rmy, from its raile hejrinnings, in ayes prior to the Norman Conquest, down to its systematic orijanr/.ation in modern times. Witli respect to the Bioprraphies themselves, it will be seen that they .are selected, especially in the first volume, for the purpose of exhibiting the changes which from ai;e to a«e occurred in the tactics of our most renowned warriors. The Ufc of Sir W.alter dc >tanny, for example, exhibits a specimen of the militiry commander at an era when war was rather a trial of bodily prowess than a science. That of Sir 1 rancis de Veie senes to illustrate the gradu.il intro- duction of 11 new system, ori^ginatini^ in the invention of fire-arms, and necessarilv resultin:: from it. Cromwell, of course, holds his place in this eidkition as the founder of stanilini; armies in Eni-land ; and .Marlboroush, as the man w ho first established the claim of the British soldier to take rank willi the best and most skilful in Eurojic.
CoNTE.\Ts.— Introduction: General View of the MiliUiry Systems recognised in En;'lanil from the earliest j)eriods down to the present tinie---Sir Walter Manny ; being a s|Meimen of tile Military Commander ilurinu the Chivalrous Age— Sir Francis ile Vere ; being a spi'cimen of the MiUtary Commander!, in the ElizabeQian agc-Hliver Cromwell— John Duke of Marlhorough--Charle8 Earl of Peterborough— M.ajor-General Jiimes Wolfe— liohert Lord ("live— Charles Marquis (■ornwnUis--Sir Ralph .Mienroinbie— Sir John Moure.
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN
LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPAEDIA.
Biof/raphy — contmned.
SOUTHEY & BELL'S LIVES OF BRITISH NAVAL COMMANDERS.
The Lives of tlie British Admirals, "Witli an Introductory View of tlie Xavul History of Eni^land- Uv R. SoiTHEY, LL.n. The concluding volume is by Robeut Bell, Esq. 5 vols. fqi. &vo- witli vis^nette titles, 30s. cloth lettered.
EXTRACT FROM AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
" It will he n'-ither an unworthy nor a useless task for an Eni^lisliman who loves liis countrv. and who, in doing his duty towartfs it in his station, tmsts that he may deserve to be held in remembrance by posterity, ti> record the actions of tliose brave men by whom our dominion over the sea was acquired ; and a Series of their Lives will be the most convenient form for a Naval History.
" It is, however, no wish of tile 'writer that the work he has thus undertaken should be the cause of indueini; any hopeful youth, who otherwise miglit not have been so inclined, to enter the Naval st-rvice ; ne\ertlieless, us lor that profession, with all its determents and its moral dangers, adven- turers never will be wantijitj, so lon^ as, in the order of Providence, such means of national defence are needful .... it is yood that they should be proWded witli a m:muul of this kird, wherein, as in a chart, they may discern what they are to seek and what to shun, by jjerceiving what tilings in tlie conduct of their predecessors ought to be regan^ed as warnings, and wliat as examples. And as every way of life, from the higliest to the humblest, has its besetting sins, so, let it he remem- bered, each may ancl ought tn have its apjiropriate virtues; and those wliich the seaman is called upon to i)ractise arc of a high order. He li^es in a course of privations, self-denial, and strict obedience, always in insecurity, often in danger, not seldom in the face of death. Through such discipline no man can pass unchanged : he must he brutalized by it or exalted ; it will either c;:U forth Uie noble qualities of Ids nr.ture, or worsen a bad disjiosition, and harden an evil heart. 'I'he more necessary it is, therefore, that he should be taught where to look for examples, and wliere for assistance and support."
BELUS LIVES OF BRITISH POETS.
Li\i'sof them4)st Eminent English Poets. Bv Robert Bell, Esq. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. ivitli vignette titles, 12s. cloth lettered.
The design of the present work is to make such a selection as may exhibit, through the Lives of the principal Poets, the chief points of interest in tlie course and history of English Poetry. These biographies commence witli the middle of the Sixteenth Century, the Poets antecedent to Drayton liaving been previously included in a volume on the " Early English Writers."
CONTENTS.
|
Dravton, wit |
1 notices of |
Cowlcv, Milton, |
Dryden. |
|
his contemporaries, |
Waller, Butler, |
||
|
TWO CENTURIES OF MINOR POETS. |
|||
|
SackviUe, Earl |
Taberville, |
Davies, |
Saltonstall, |
|
of Dorset, |
Sir E. Dver, |
Lodge, |
Gomersal, |
|
Browns werd. |
Lord Grenvillc |
, Sir t. Overburv, |
Wild, |
|
Hevwood, |
Brooke, |
Corbet, Sir .1. Beaumont, |
Randolph, |
|
Watson, |
Withers, |
Clic^ eland, |
|
|
Fulwell, |
Browne, |
Holland. |
Gayton, |
|
Stanyhurst, |
Sir J. Stradling, Slater, |
Sir J. Birkenhead, |
|
|
Storer. Churchard, |
Iloskins, |
Brathwayto, |
Fisher, |
|
Sir J. Davies, |
Sandys, |
Lovelace, |
|
|
Ne^vton, |
Barnes, |
Sir J. Wortley, |
Hatman, |
|
■\Varner, |
S;mdsb\iry, |
Llovd, |
Morgan, |
|
Leyson, |
Owen, |
Sir.). Mennes, |
Sir R. Blackmore, |
Retrospect; Main object of these Notices of neglected Poetry. Prior, Pope. Young, Akenside.
DUNHAM'S LIVES OF BRITISH DRAMATISTS.
Th€ Lives of Briti.'^h Dramntists. vignette titles, 12s. cloth lettered.
The Stage immediately before Shakespeare.
In the Time of Shake- speare.
TIic Life and Works of Shakespeare.
Ben Jonson.
Beaumont ifc Fletcher.
Mas singer.
Ford.
By Dn. Dunham, R. Bell, Esq. &c
CONTENTS.
Webster.
! vols. fcp. 8vo. with
Ten Minor Dramatists. Shirley. Daveuant.
Till- St;ige in the Seven- teenth Century. Otway. Lee.
Mis. Belin. Shadwcll-
Wycherley. Van burgh. Cougreve. Farquhar. Colley Cibbcr. Mrs. Centlivre. Arthur Murphy. Cumberland. Mis. Coivli v.
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN
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Bioffrajjhy — continued.
DUNHAIVI'S LIVES OF EARLY BRITISH WRITERS.
The F.iily \\ritiTs of Gn-;it liiitain vignette title, Gs. clutli h'tti-i-ed.
St. C"()l«m1t<'i.
Tlie Introduction of Chris-
ti;initv and ('!'■ Uizutiun
into !^orth IJritain.
By I>u. l)iMi \M, K. 13eli., Esq. &c. 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. with
Alfifd tlie Grcnt.
English Civiii/alion in the
Ninth Century. C'hauriT.
Hey wood.
The ()rie;in and Enrly His- tory of the English Slaf^e. Spenser.
JAMES'S LIVES OF FOREIGN STATESMEN.
Li^■es (d'tlie most Eminent Forcii^n Statesmen, By G. P. K. Jame.s, Esq. rvnd E. E. Crowe, Esq. 6 vols. fep. Hvo with vignette titles, aos. cloUi lettered.
Cardin. d'Amboisc, Ximenes, Leo the Tenth, Cardinal Gx-anvellc & Mauriee of Saxony, Ba mo veldt, Sully, Uuke of Lenna,
Duke of Ossuna, I,oren7o de Meclici, Kiehelieu, Oxenstiern, Olivarez, Mazarin. Cardinal dc Ri t/, Colbert,
nc Witt, Frantjois-Miehcl le
Telher, Marquis de T/OU^ois, Don Louis dc Ilaro, ('ardinal Dubois, John-William, Dukc
uf Kijiperda,
(Cardinal Allu-roni, Cardinal de Fleury, Count Zinzendtirf, Marquis de I'ombal, Jos. Alonino, Count of Florida lllanca, Duke of Choiseul, Necker.
SHELLEY'S LIVES OF AUTHORS OF FRANCE.
Li\)-s of the mr)st l-'minent Frcneh Writers. By Mrs. Suli-lly, and othei*s. 2 vols. fep. 8vo. with vignette titles, I'is. c:loth lettered.
Montaigne, Rochefoucauld, Pascal, Racine, Rousseau, Mme. Roland, Rabelais, Moliere, Sevigne, Fenelon, Condorcet, Mme. de SUiel.
Corneille, La Fontaine, Coih-au, Voltaire, Mirabeau,
MONTGOMERY'S LIVES OF AUTHORS OF ITALY.
Lives of the most Eminent Literary Men of Italv, Spain, and Portugal. By Mrs. Shei-i.ky, Sir D. Bkewster, J Montgomery, «&c. 1 vol. Icp. hvo. with vignette title, 6s. cloth lettered.
Fernando Ilerrera,
Saade Miranda,
Ereilia,
Jorge de Monte-
Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Lorenzo de Medici, Ficino, I-Tirandolo, Poliziano, Bernardo Pulci, Luea Pulci, Liiigi Pulci, Cieco de Ferrara,
Burrhiello,
Bojardo,
Berni .\riosto,
Machiavclli,
Galileo,
Guieciardini,
Vittoria Colonna,
Guarini,
Torquato Tasso,
Chiabrera,
Tassoni
Marini,
Filiraja,
Metastasio,
Goidoni,
Alfieri,
Monti,
Vgo Foscolo,
Boscan,
Oanilasso de Vega,
Mendoza,
Luis dc Leon,
Castilejo [maycr, Cervantes, Lojie de Vega, Vicente Esj)inel, Estevan deVillegas Gongora; Que\edo Calderou.
Eibeyro,
The Early Poets of Portugal :— Gil Vicente, Saade Miranda, Ferrcvia,
Camoens.
ii^alural ^i)tlogOi;t'ji,
l-IZRSCKEL ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL PHILOSOPI-IV.
.\ rielimiiiary IJiHcimr-^e on the Sturly of Nnlural PhiloMipliy. By Sm John Hciisciiei,. New Edition. I vol. fcp. Hvo. with vignette title, price 6s, clolli lettered.
On the general nature and advantages of the study of the physical sciences.
On the means <*n which physical science relics for its successful prosecution, an«l the rules by which a ttystematic cKamination of nature
should be conducted ; with illnstratifms of their influence, as exemplified in the history of its progress. Of the subflivision of phvsics into distinct branches, and their mutual relations.
** It is not easy to devise a c>»re for sucli a state of things ftlie decHning taste for science] ; but the most obvious remedy is to provide the educated ehisses with a series of wc-rks on pojtularand practical science, fned I'rom mathematit al symliols and technical terms, writtm Jn simple and pcrspicui>us laiiifuage, and illustrated by facts and expi.riment* which are level Iv the capacity uf ordinary minds.'*— QtAnrERLi Revii;\v.
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN
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Natural Fh'dosojihy , Sfc- — continued.
POWELL'S HISTORY OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
The History nf NfiUnal Philosophy, from the F.nilicst Periods to the Present Time. By B\i>en rowEi.i.,"M.A. Siivilhan I*rofi-ssor oi' Matliemiitics in the University of Oxford. 1vol. fop. i^vo. witli \ignette title, 6s. eloth lettered.
LARDNER'S ARITHIVIETIC.
A Treatise on Arithnjetic. By D. L,\rd>er, LL.D. F.R.S. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title, Cs. cloth lettered.
Book 1. Whole Numbers. Chap 1. Ideas of Numher, and their expression by words.— 2. Method of expressing numbers by symbols and figures.— 3. Addition. — 4. Sub- traction.—5. Multiphcation.— 6. Division,
Book II. Fractions. Chap. 1. Lana^uage and notation of fractions ; varii,us ways of ex- pressing tiieni ; their relative values ; their addition and subtraction. — 2. MultipUcation and division of fractions.— 3. Decimals.
Book III. Complex numbers. C'hap. 1. Complex numbers in general; their reduction and simplification. — 2. Addition and subtraction of complex numbers.— 3. Their multipU- c-:tion. — 4. Division of complex numbers.
Book IV. Proportion, and its practical appli- ations. Chap. 1. Proportion. — 2. Rule of three.— :i Interest; Discount; Profit and loss; Brokerage; Commission; Tare and tret ; Insurance ; Partnership.
HERSCHEL'S ASTRONOIVIY.
A Treatise on Astronomy. By Sir John Herschel. New Edition, 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title, Gs. cloth lettered.
The object of the present work is not to offer to the public a technical treatise, in which the student of practical or theoretical astronomy shall find consigned the minute descriptit n of methods of observation, but .... to present in each "case the mere ultimate rationale of facts, arguments, and processes ; and, in all cases of mathematical application avoiding what<-ver «ould" tend to encumber its pages with algebraic or geometrical symbols, to place under the inspection of t!ie student that central thread of common sense on which tlie pearls of analytical research are invariably strung.
KATER X LARDNER ON IVJECHAiMICS.
A Treatise on Mechanics. By Capt. Katkr and Dr. L.vrdner. New Edition. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title, and 19 plates (com])rising 224 distinct figures), 6s. cloth lettered.
Properties of matter.
Inertia.
Action and reaction.
Composition and resolution
of force. Atti action. Terrestrial jrravity. Motion of bodies on inclined
planes aud curves.
The centre of gravity. Mechanical properties of an
axis. Of the pendulum. Simple machines. Of the lever. Of wheel- work. Of the inclined plane, wedge,
and scre\v.
Of the pulley.
Of the regiilation and accu- mulation of force.
Mechanical contrivances for modifying motion.
Friction, and" the rigidity of cord;ige.
Strengtli of materials.
Balances and pendulums.
BREWSTER'S OPTICS.
A Treatise on Optics. By Sir D.vvid Brewster, LL.D. F.R.S. &c. New Edition. 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. with ^ignctte title and 176 woodcuts, 6s. cloth lettered.
P-S.RT I. Reflexion and Refraction of Light---Peflexion by specula and mirrors; Images
formed by mirrors ; Refraction through prisms, &c. &c. Part II. PhysicalOptics— -On the colours of light ; The dispersion of light ; The polarization
of light ; Phenomena of composite crystals ; On the double colour of bodies. P.vRT III. Application of optical prin( iples to the explanation of natural phenomena— The
Rainbow ; Halos ; On the eye and vision, &c. P VRT l\ . On optical instruments ; The camera-obscura ; Microscopes ; Telescopes, &c. &c.
LARDNER ON HEAT,
A Treatise on Heat. By D. Laru-XEu
cuts, 6s. cloth lettered. CiiAP. 1. Introduction.
2. Dilatation of solids.
3. Dilatation ofgjtses.
4. Dilatation of iiqiiids
5. Thermometer.
6. Li (jue faction.
7. Ebullition. '"^ Natural forces ma- oy contact.
LL.D. &c. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title and wood-
nifested by the effects of heat. CiiAP. 9. Vaporization. lU. K^aporation.
11. Specific heat.
12. Radiation.
13. Propagation of heat
by contact.
Chap. 14. Mutual influence of lieat and light.
15. Combustion.
16. Sensution of lieat.
17. Sources of lieat.
18. Theories of lieat. Appexi/IX. Tables.
&c. &c.
DISTINCT WORKS COMl'RISKD IN
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Natural Philosoph}/, <5*c. - continued.
DOVOVAN'S CHEYISTRY.
A Tic.itiM- <.n Clicmistry. liy Mich.vel Donovan, M.R.I. A. ^^ ith \ iimctU* title, 6s. cloth lettered.
Paiit I. Survey of Crkation. Chat. 1. Introduction.
2. Attnu'tion of gravitation. ;j. Atlniction of t-ohcsion.
4. Attraction of affinity.
5. Heat or cuJoric. fi. Light.
TvuT II. AnnANGEMrNT AND Ex VMIN vTioN OF THE Mateuials OF Cheation.
CuAP. 2. C'omponmls of some elements as pre-
Fourth Edition. 1 vol. fcp. S^o.
Chap. 7. Constitution of the globe. Till* atmosphere. The waters. Mineral substances. Organized structures.
Chap. 1. Elements^ or simple substances, and tlieir immediate compounds : Oxycen Sulphur
1 [ydio^^en Sclenir.m
Azote or Nitrogen Phosphorus Carbon ^ Tluorine
Chlorine Silicon
Imline Hnron
Bromine Metals.
senteil by the vegetable kingdom r Acids of vegetables Alkalies of vegetables Other pro.Nimate principles. 3. Compounds of some elements as j)rc-
sented by the animal kingdom. i. Compounds of acids with iin-t.illic ox- ides &non-mt't;iUic alkalies-- Salts.
Paut III. Pheno.^ena presented dvring somk remvrkvble Chemical Changes.
Chap. 4, Ultimate particles of matter---
Chap. 1. On some processes connected with animal life. E. Of the spontaneous i^ecompoiiilion
of vegetable uud animal matter. li. f )rcomliustion.
Their relative weights Ratios in which tliey combine iV:iture of atomic numbers.
LARDNER ON HYDROSTATICS AND PNEUMATICS.
A Treatise on Hydrostatics and I'licvmi^it fis. cloth lettered.
Introduction.
Pressure of hquids.
Of tlie pressure produced by
the weiglit of a lif^uid. T-iquids maintain their level. Immersion of sfdids in fluids.
■s. By Dr. Lvkdniir. New Edition. 1 vol. fep. 8vo.
Of rlifferent liquids in commu- nicating vi'ssels. E'luiUbrium of floating bodies. Specific gravities. Hydraulics, of liydraulii- machines.
Properties of atmosj)lieric air.
Elasticity of air.
^Veiglit of air.
Ilurefaction and condensation
of air. Machines.
DE MORGAN'S ESSAY ON PROBABILITIES.
An Essay on I'ro'iabilities, nnd on their applioatiim to Life Contingencies and Insurance Offices. By Arc. I)j; Morgan, of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1 vol. fcp. bvo. with vignette title, Os. cloth lettered.
Common us life-insurance h:is now become, the present amount of capitil so invested is
triljini!: compared with what will be the ease when its nrinciplcs are better understood It is,
in f;ict, in a limite<l sense, and a practicable method, tiie agreement of a community to consider the gooils of its individual members as common. It is an "agreement that those whose fortune it shall be to have more than a\er,ipe success, shall resign tlie overplus in favour of those who ha- e less. And tho\ii;h, as yet, it has only been applied to the reparation <)f the evils arising from storm, fire, premature death, disease, and old ai;e, vet there is no pj-i. ins a limit to the extension wbicli its api>lieation might receive, if the public \v'ere iuUv aware of its principles, ;uul of tlie saftly wiUi which Uiey may be put in jiractice.
Notion of i)robability and its measurement;
Province of Mathematics witli reg.ud to it ;
Heply to objections. Direct probaliilities. In\ er.se i)rol)ability. Itisks <if loss or gain.
Common notions with regard to probability. EiTors of observation ; luid
Jtisks of mistake. Application of probabilities to life-contin- gencies. On annuities, nnd other money contingencies. ^"alue of reversions and insurances. Nature of the contract of insurance ; and
Ui-^ks of insurance-offlees in general. .\djustment of the int*'rest-s of the dilFercnt members iu an insuntntx- ollice.
APPENDIX.
Ultimate ch.inces of gain or loss at play, with a particular application to the game of Uoiige et Noir.
Rule for dctenniuing the value of successive lives, and of Cf.pvhold cstites.
Bule ior determining tlio probability of sur- vivitrship.
Average result of a number of observa- tions.
Method of calcuhiting decreasing or increas- ing annuities.
Question connected with the valuation of Uiv asM.-tji of an iusurance-oince.
10 DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN
LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA.
Natural Philosophy, ^c. — continued. LARDNER'S GEOMETRY.
A Treatise on Geomt'try, and its application to the Arts. By Dr. Lardner. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with \'ignette title and upwards of 'J60 fibres, 6s. clotli letterea.
It has been the endeavour of the author, in the present treatise, to supply sut-h views of geometry as will be found useful to those classes who, while they do not pursue geometry as a mere intellei tual exercise, are i-apaMe, ne\'crtheless, of appreciating its clearness and certainty, and are unwillini? to receive a projiositinn as true without a proof of it, where a proof may be obtained, and wlio, on tlie other hand, also delia;ht to contemplate some of the most important useful purposes to which the abstract princijjles of the science have been apphed.
LARDFsiER'S ELECTRICITY, MAGNETISM, AND METEOROLOGY.
A Manual of Electricity, Magnetism, and Metecroloffy. By D. Lardxer, D.C.L. F.R.S. &c. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. with woodcuts. Vol. I. is now published,'6s. cloth ; Vol. ll. is in the press.
^vtg ant» iManufacUirrg.
PORTER ON THE IViANUFACTURE OF SILK.
A Treatise on the Manufacture of Silk. By G. R. Porter, Esq. F.R.S. Author of " The Progress of the Nation," &c. 1 vol. Svo. v.ith vignette title and ;jy engravings on wood, 6s. cloth lett'd.
Part I. Historical Account.
Trade of foreign countries in silk.
Progress made in England in the manufacture
History of silk to the jwriod wb<'n silkworms were first introduced into Europe.
Attempts to naturalize the silkworm in dif- ferent countries.
and trade in sillc.
On tlie cxilture of the mulberry tree.
Descrx])tion of the silkworm.
Mode of rearing silkworms in China.
" " Europe.
Gathering and sorting cocoons.
Part II. Ox the Culture of Silk.
Diseases of silkworms.
Attempts to substitute other food for mulberry
leaves.
Attempts to produce silk from different animate creatures.
Peeling. Throwing. Plain weaving.
Part III. Ox the Maxufacture of Silk.
I Figure weaving. i Gauze.
Mechanical or power weaving,
I Velvet, Chemical, Medical, and Electric Properties of Silk
Brocade. Damask, &c.
PORTER OM THE ^^ANUFACTURES OF PORCELAIN AND GLASS.
A Treatise on the Manulu'turcs <if Por-'clain and Glass. By G. R. Porter, Esq. F.R.S. fcp. 8vo. \\ith vignette title and 50 woodcuts, Gs. cloth lettered.
Part T. Porcklaix Maxufacture.
1 vol.
Historical notice of the rise and progress of potteries and the porcelain manufac- ture.
General description of ingredients used in the manufacture.
On the preparation of materials.
Part II. Glass On llie nature and properties of glass. History of its invention and manufacture. Of the various ingredients employed ir
making glass. On the construction of furnaces, &c. On the manufacture of flint glass. On the manufacture of crown glass.
Broad glass, and
Bottle glass. On the manufacture of plate glass. On the composition of artificial gems.
On the formation of utensils.
On the processes of firing and glazing.
On the art of api)lying colours and engravings
to earthenware. On the manufacture of tobacco-pipes. On the porcelain manufacture of China.
Manufacture.
On the manufacture of Mass from calcined bones. On the use m.ade of the blowpipe, and on various
small manufactures of glass. On the formation of lenses. On the principal defects observable in glass. On the specific gravity of glass. On tlie art of colouring glass. On tlie art of staining and painting glass. On tlie art of cutting, engraving, "and etching
on glass. On the clevitrifi cation of glass.
I
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN 11
LARDNER'S CABINET CYCLOPEDIA.
Arts and Manufactures — continued.
HOLLAND ON THE P/IANUFACTURES IN METAL.
A Trcjitise on tlic M;iniif;uturcs in Metal. f!y JuriN TIull.\ni», Es(i. \ignctte titles and about 3U0 woodcuts, IHs. clo'th lettered.
Vol. I. Iron and Steel.
Introduction. Iron w(irks in Kn^-
hind. Smtdtiii^^.
C':>st-iron i'oundery. Iron- I uddiin^. The forge.
Ori:;inal cutting in- !^ t rumen Us.
Intorcluirigeable use of instruments of airriculture, ^'c.
Militaj'y weapons.
Tin mines.
Smelting.
Tin-phitc working.
Lead.
Manufactured lead.
Pewter.
Zinc.
An\ ils. Ant hors. C'hain bridges, tolling iron. Poller pbitc^;. MisccHancfms articles. Iron j)Iating. Hailroads.
Blacksmiths' work.
Chains.
Nails.
S<Tews.
Sparables,
Steel.
Alloys of steel.
Natural steel.
Vol. II. M.\ciii>;euy and Manufactures.
Firc-ai-ms. Stoves.
I'"i re -grates. Iron printing machi- nery.
Copperplate and other
presses. Hand-mills. Manffles. Chafl'-cutters.
Vol. 111. Tin, Lead, Coim-er, &c. Britannia metal. Ty]>e foundery. Co])i;er mines Smelting.
Manufactured copper Br.-.ss. [dery,
Brass or bronze fuun-
Lacquered brass
w ork. Lamps. Brass tubes. Turning.
Optical instruments. Clocks.
3 Aols. fcp. 8vo.
Steel forging. Steel hardening. Stx-cl tempering. Steel plates lur tn Grinding, [giavini^ Files.
Kdge- tools. Saws.
Locks.
Weighing macliiiies.
Miscellanies.
Wire-(h awing.
Wire- working.
Needles.
Watclies.
Brass toys.
I'ins.
Precious metals.
Flate-Wfirking.
Metal huttons.
Coining.
DONOVAN'S DOMESTIC ECONOiVIY.
A Treatise (m Domestic Economy. Tiy M. D-inovan, Esq M.U.I. A. Professor of Chemi^^try to the Company of Apothecaries in Ireland. 2 vols. fcp. 8vo. witli vignette titles, 12s. cloth Utt'd. In conformity with the general plan of the Cabinet Cvcloi-.tiiia, the author has endea\oured tn render his exjtlanations i>f processes complete in themselves, and as little as possible deiii-ndent on the presupposed scientific ac'iuiicmcnt-s of the reader. With a moderate share of general infor- mation, and occasional reference to tlie author's "Treatise on Chemistry," he trusts that the nn sent work will be intelligible, and that it may attain tlic ends proposctl. "by dillusing a know- Icilge of prtM-esses in which every consumer of the most ordinary articles of food and drink is directly interested.
Vol. I. Drinks, &c.
Attenuation. Storing, &c. Water.
Colouring matter Domestic brew- ing, Sic. VnxT. 7. Distillation.
8. VVine-making.
9. Vinegar -ma king, 10. Baiting.
Vol. II. Animal and Vegetadle Food.
|
c> |
\\v. 1 |
History of intoxi- cating liquors. |
Chap |
G. Brewing. Mashing. |
|
2. |
Cultivatiim of bar- ley intended for malting. |
Crintling. Iloiling. Hoppling. |
||
|
3. |
Nature and consti- tution of Seeds. |
C'ooling. Fermentation in |
||
|
1. |
Malting. |
the tun. |
||
|
5. |
Theory of fermen- tjition. |
Cleansing. Fining. |
ClIAr. I,
Appctit*'. Epicurism. Cruelty to animals. General observations on the animal
f()od <if dilfcrent nations. Acc<iunt of animals used as food. FrocesseK tn which animal food is Bubjecte*! to fit it for use.
CiiAr. 6. Loss of wei<;ht which animal feud
sustains in roasting, A-c. G. Use and abuse of animal food, and
its dilfcrent qualities. 7. Account of veget.ifdes usi*<l ns food by
the varicuN nations. S. Some properties and nlfections of the
organs of tiste.
12
DISTINCT WORKS COMPRISED IN
LARDNER"S CABINET CYCLOPyEDIA.
Katural ?i^)istorg.
SWAINSO.M OIM THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY.
A Frelrminary Discmrso nn the Study of Natural History. By W. Swainson, Ei^q. I'.U.S, L.s. 1 vol. fcp. Svo. with vignette title, price 6s. cloth lettered .
Part 1. Rise and progress of zoologv.
2. On the general natiire antl mlviin-
tages of the study of natural history-
3. On the principles on which natural
history ri'Ues for its successful prosecution, and the considera-
tions hy wliich the natural system may be developed. Pakt 4. On the present state of zoological science in Great Britain, and on the means best cali^ulatcd for its encouragement and exten- sion.
SWAINSON ON THE HABITS AND INSTINCTS OF ANIMALS.
On the Habits and Instincts of Animals. By M^illiam Swainson, Esq. 1 vol. fcp. 8^o. with vignette titles and woodcuts, 6s. cloth lettered.
On the Instincts of the Animal World
As different from human reason, I Various instances of instinct.
On the Senses of Animals.
On the different senses as developed in all tlie cliuses of animals.
General remarks on those of the vertebrated division.
Vitality of aniro.als. Fascination of snakes. On the passions of animals. On the motions of animals. On the means of defence pos- sessed by animals.
Direct injuries inflicted by animals.
Indirect injuries.
On the hybernation, torpi- dity, and migration of animals.
On imperfect societies of ani mals.
On jierfect societies of ani- mals.
Luminous animals.
SWAINSON ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF ANIIVIALS,
A Treatise on the Natural History and Classificalion of Anunals. By William Swainson, Esq, 1 lol. fcp. b\o. with vignette title, Gs. cloth lettered.
Tart 1
Part 1. On the geography of animals.
2. On the rise and progrn^s of syste-
matic zoidogy.
3. On the first principles of natural
classiji cation.
familiar explanation of the first principles of practical and scientific zoology, Avith suggestions for a plan of studying tlie details of each
(!L]iartmcnt.
SWAINSON ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS.
A Treatise on the Natural History an! Classification of Quadrujjeds. By W. Swainsox, Esq. 1 vol. fcp. &VO. with vignette title and 17fi wooilcuts, 6s. cloth lettered.
Pa ax 1. On the great divisions of organized matter,and on the relations which quadrupeds bear to other groujis of the iUiimal kingdom.
SWAINSON ON ORNITHOLOGY.
Part 2. On the naturnl history of quadrupeds. 3. The class Mtunmalia arranged accord- ing to its natural affinities.
On the Natur.il llistory and Classificiition of Birds, By W. Swainson, Esq with vignette titles and aljove 3(10 woodcuts, l'2s. clotli lettered.
2 vols. fcp. Svo.
Part 1. On the sti-ucture and natural history of birds in general. 2. On the bibliography, nomenclature, and preservation of birds.
Part. 3. On the natural history and relations of the different orders, tribes, and families of birds. 4. Synopsis of a natural arrangement of birds.
SWAINSON'S HISTORY OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.
Animals in Menageries. By W. Swainson. ICsq. 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. with vignette title and numerous woodcuts, 6s. cloth lettered.
r.iUT 1. Menagerie of quadrupeds, conUiin- . Part 2. On living or domesticated birds suit- ijig accounts of ninety-eight able for aviaries or preserves, con-
species. I taining accounts of 53 species.
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13
Natural History — continncil.
SWAINSOFM ON FISH, AMPHIBIANS, AND REPTILES.
( )n tlic Xatural History and Classifi'jation of Tish, KeiJliles, &c. By W, Swainson, Esq. f(:p. 8vo. with vigiiette titles and numerous woodcuts, 12s. cloth lettered.
I vols.
The nature and relation of monocardian animals, and more especially fishes.
A sketch of the history and biOlioi^^raphy of ichtliycdoirv, with some remarks oncol- Ifctinij an<I piX'ser\in3 fishes.
The systematic arranijement of fishes.
The natural arrangement of fishes.
The various orders of fishes.
Tlie am])hibians. The reptiles.
The crocodiles, tortoises, and fish-Uzards. The serpents. The lizards.
The characters and descriptions of sixty-two new or little-known species. &c. &c. &c.
SWAINSON ON INSECTS.
The History and Natural Arrangement of Insects. By W. Swainson, Esq. vS: W. E. Phuck.vrd, Esq. 1 vol. fcp. 8vo. with vignette title and woodcuts, 63. cloth lettered
SWAINSON ON SHELLS,
A Trt-atise on Mnlacoin^y ; or, the Natural Classification of Shells and Shell Fish. By W. Sw AiNsoN, Esq. 1 vul. fcp. bvo. with vignett*' title and verv numerous illustrationjt oil wood, 6s. cloth lettered.
Takt 1. A general survey of the testaceous mollusca. 2. .\ natural arrangement of the uni- valve and bi\alvc shellfish ( om-
posing the orders gasteroptMla and dithyra of the class Testacca. Explanation of tenns used in describing tlie shells of testaceous mollusca.
SV/AINSON'S TAXIDERMY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Treatise on Taxidermy. M'ith the Biograpbv of Zoologists, and Notices of their Works. 1 vol. fe]>, hvu. with Tortrait of the Author, 6s. cfolh lettered.
Part 2. The bibliography of zoologj-, with bio- graphical sketches of tlie principal zoologists.
PaHt 1. A Treatise on Taxidermy.
On collecting zoological subjects. On preserving them. On the formation and arrange ment of collections.
PHILLIPS'S GEOLOGY.
A Treatise on Geology. By John PniLLirs, F.R.S. G.S. Professor of Gec;log>- in King's College, Londtm. 2 \ols. [m\>. &vo. with vignette titles and numerous woodcuts, 12s. "cloth lettered.
Chat. G.
Histori<-iil view of the stratified rocks in the crust of the earth.
7. I'nstratified rocks.
8. Mineral ^eins.
U. Modern eifects of heat in the globe.
10. State of geological tlieory.
11. popular views and economical ai)pU-
cations of geology.
("11 vr. 1. Introductory views.
2. General reasonings concerning the
substance i>f the globe.
3. General truths concerning tlie
structure of the external jiarts of the globe.
4. Series of stratified rocks.
5. (frganic remains of plants and
animaU.
HENSLOW'S BOTANY.
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PERCIVAL KEENE,
VOL. I.
PERCIVAL KEENE
BY CAPT. MARRYAT,
AUTHOR OF
"PETER SIMPLE," "JACOB FAITHFUL,"
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, BUBLISIIER,
GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1842.
I'rinled liy J. t. Cox & Sonb, 76, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn-Fields.
TR
PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER I.
A FEW miles from the town of Southampton there is an old mansion house, which has been for centuries known as INIadeline Hall, in the possession of the De Versely family. It is a handsome building, surrounded by a finely tim- bered park of some extent, and what is more important, by about 12,000 acres of land, which also appertain to it. At the period in which I commence this history, there resided in this mansion an elderly spinster of rank, named the
VOL. I. B
2 PERCIVAL KEENE.
Honourable Miss Delmar, sister of the late Lord de Versely and aunt to the present earl, and an Honourable Captain Delmar, who was the se- cond son of the deceased nobleman. This pro- perty belonged to the Honourable Miss Delmar, and was at her entire disposal upon her decease. The Honourable Captain Delmar, at the time I am speaking of, commanded a frigate employed upon what was designated channel service, which in those days implied that the captain held a seat in the House of Commons, and that he voted with the ministry ; and further, that his vote might, when required, be forthcoming, the frigate was never sea-going, except during the recess. It must be admitted that H.M. ship Paragon did occasionally get under weigh and remained cruising in sight of land for two or three days, until tlie steward reported that the milk provided for the captain's table was turning sour ; upon which important informa- tion the helm was immediately put up, and the frigate, in a case of such extreme distress.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 3
would drop her anchor at the nearest port under her lee. Now as the Paragon was constantly at Spithead, Captain Delmar was very attentive in visiting his aunt, who lived at Madeline Hall ; ill-natured people asserted, because she had so fine an estate in her own gift. Certain it is, that he would remain there for weeks, which gave great satisfaction to the old lady, who liked her nephew, liked attention, and was even so peculiar as to hke sailors. But it must be observed that there was another person at the mansion Avho also liked the captain, liked atten- tion, and liked sailors ; this was Miss Arabella Mason, a very pretty young woman of eighteert years of age, who constantly looked in the glass merely to ascertain if she had ever seen a face which she preferred to her own, and who never read any novel without discovering that there was a remarkable likeness between the heroine and her pretty self.
Miss Arabella Mason was the eldest daujjhter of the steward of the old Lord de Versely,
B 2
4 PERCIVAL KEENE.
brother to the Honourable Miss Delmar, and was much respected by his lordship for his fidelity and his knowledge of business, in the transaction of which he fell, for he was felling trees, and a tree fell upon him. He left a widow and two daughters: it was said that at his death Mrs. Mason was not badly off, as her husband had been very careful of his earnings. Mrs. Mason, however, did not corroborate this statement ; on the contrary, she invariably pleaded poverty, and the Honourable Miss Delmar, after Lord de Versely's death — which happened soon after that of his steward — sent both the daughters to be educated at a country school, where, as every thing that is taught is second-rate, young ladies, of course, receive a second-rate education. Mrs. Mason was often invited by the Honourable Miss Delmar to spend a month at Madeline Hall, and used to bring her eldest daughter, who had left school, with her. Latterly, however, the daughter re- mained as a fixture, and Mrs. Mason received
PERCIVAL KEENE. 5
4
hut an occasional invitation. It may be in- quired in what capacity Miss Arabella Mason remained at the Hall; she was not a servant, for her position in life was above that of a menial ; neither was she received altogether in the saloon, as she was of too humble a grade to mix with gentry and nobility ; she was, therefore, betwixt and between, a sort of humble companion in the drawing-room, a cut above the housekeeper in the still-room, a fetcher and carrier of the hon- ourable spinster"'s wishes, a sort of link between the aristocratic old dame and her male attend- ants, towards whom she had a sort of old maid- ish aversion. However this position might be found useful to her mistress, it nmst be admit- ted that it was a most unfortunate position for a young, thoughtless, and very pretty girl, more- over, who was naturally very lively, very smart in repartee, and very fond of being admired.
As the Honourable Captain Delmar was very constant in his visits to his aunt, it was but natural that he should pay some little atten-
6 PERCIVAL KEENE.
tion to her humble companion. By degrees the intimacy increased, and at last there were reports in the servants' hall, that the captain and Miss Bella Mason had been seen together in the evergreen walk ; and as the captain's visits were continually repeated during the space of two years, so did the scandal increase, and people became more ill-natured. It was now seen that Miss Bella had been very often found in tears, and the old butler and the older housekeeper shook their heads at each other like responsive mandarins ; the only per- son who was ignorant of the scandal afloat was the old lady spinster herself.
I must now introduce another personage. The Honourable Captain Delmar did not, of course, travel without his valet, and this important per- sonage had been selected out of the marine corps which had been drafted into the frigate. Ben- jamin Keene, for such was his name, was cer- tainly endowed with several qualities which were indispensable in a valet ; he was very clean
PERCIVAL KEENE. 7
in his person, very respectful in his deport- ment, and, after the sovereign of Great Britain, looked upon the Honourable Captain Delmar as the greatest person in the world. Moreover, Benjamin Keene, although only a private marine, was, without exception, one of the handsomest men that ever was seen, and being equally as well made and well drilled as he was hand- some in person, he was the admiration of all the young women. But Nature, who delights in a drawback, had contrived to leave him almost without brains ; and further, he was wholly un- educated— for he was too stupid to learn — his faculties were just sufficient to enable him, by constant drilling, to be perfect in the manual exercise, and mechanically to perform his duties as a valet,
Ben always accompanied his master to the Hall, where the former was at one and the same time the admiration and laughter of all the ser- vants. It hardly need be observed, that the clever and sprightly ^liss Arabella Mason con-
8 PERCIVAL KEENE.
sidered Ben as one much beneath her — that is, she did so on his first airival at Madeline Hall ; but, strange to say, that two years afterwards, just at the time that reports had been raised that she had been frequently discovered in tears, there was a change in her manner towards him ; indeed, some people insinuated that she was set- ting her cap at the handsome marine : this idea, it is true, was ridiculed by the majority, but still the intimacy appeared rapidly to increase. It was afterwards asserted, by those who find out every thing after it has taken place, that Ben would never have ventured to look up to such an unequal match had he not been prompt- ed to it by his master, who actually proposed that he should marry the girl. That such was the fact is undoubted, although they knew it not ; and Ben, who considered the wish of his captain as tantamount to an order, as soon as he could comprehend what his captain required of him, stood up erect, and raised his hand with a flourish to his head, in token of his obedience.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 9
Shortly afterwards, Captain Delmar again canic over to Madeline Hall, accompanied, as usual, by Ben, and the second day after their arrival it was made known to all whom it might con- cern, that Miss Arabella Mason had actually contracted a secret marriage with the handsome Benjamin Keene.
Of course, the last person made acquainted with this interesting inteUigence was the Ho- nourable Miss Delmar, and her nephew took upon himself to make the communication. At first the honourable spinster bridled up witli indignation, wondered at the girl's indelicacy, and much more at her demeaning herself by n)arrying a private marine. Captain Delmar replied, that it was true that Ben was only a private; but that every common soldier was a gentleman by profession. It was true that Bella Mason might have done better; but she was his aunt's servant, and Keene was his valet, so that the disparity was not so very great. He then intimated that he had long perceived the
B 3
10 PERCIVAL KEENE.
growing attachment; talked of the danger of young people being left so much together; liinted about opportunity, and descanted upon morals and propriety. The Honourable Miss Delmar was softened down by the dexterous reasoning of her nephew ; she was delighted to find so much virtue extant in a sailor; and, after an hour's conversation, the married couple were sent for, graciously pardoned, and Mrs. Keene, after receiving a very tedious lecture, received a very handsome present. But if her mistress was appeased, Mrs. Keene's mother was not. As soon as the intelligence was received, old Mrs. Mason set off for Madeline Hall. She first had a closeted interview with her daughter, and then with Captain Delmar, and as soon as the latter was over, she immediately took her departure, with- out paying her respects to the mistress of the Hall, or exchanging one word with any of the servants ; this conduct gave occasion to more innuendoes — some, indeed, ascribed her conduct
PERCIVAL KEENE» 11
to mortification at her daugliter's having made so imprudent a match, but others exchanged very significant glances.
Three weeks after the marriage Parliament having been prorogued, the admiral of the port considered that he was justified in ordering the frigate out on a cruize. Ben Keene, of course, accompanied his master, and it was not until three months had passed away that the frigate returned into port. As usual, the Honourable Captain Delmar, as soon as he had paid his respects to the admiral, set off to visit his aunt, accompanied by his benedict marine. On Jiis arrival, he found tliat every thing appeared to be in great confusion ; indeed, an event was occurrino; which had astonished the whole house- hold ; tlie butler made a profound bow to the captain ; the footmen forgot their usual smirk when he alighted. Captain Delmar was ushered in solemn silence into the drawing-room, and his aunt, who had notice of his arrival, received him with a stiff, prim air of unwonted frigidity,
12 PERCIVAL KEENE.
with her arms crossed before her on her white muslin apron.
" My dear aunt," said Captain Delmar, as she coldly took his proffered hand, " what is the matter ? "
" The matter is this, nephew," replied the old lady ; " that marriage of your marine and Bella Mason should have taken place six months sooner than it did. This is a wicked world, nephew, and sailors, I'm afraid, are — "
" Marines, you should say — in this instance, my dear aunt," replied Captain Delmar insi- nuatingly. " I must confess that neither sailors nor marines are quite so strict as they ought to be ; however, Ben has married her. Come, my dear aunt, allow me to plead for them ; although I am very much distressed that such an event should take place in your house. I think," added he, after a pause, " I shall give Mr. Keene seven dozen at the gangway, for his pre- sumption, as soon as I return on board."
" That won't mend the matter, nephew," re-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 13
plied Miss Delmar. " I'll turn her out of the house as soon as she can be moved."
" And I'll flog him as soon as I get him on board," rejoined the captain. " I will not have your feelings shocked, and your mind harassed in this way, by any impropriety on the part of lily followers — most infamous — shameful — abo- minable— unpardonable,"" interjected the cap- tain, walking the quarter-deck up and down the room.
The Honourable Miss Delmar continued to talk, and the honourable captain to agree with her in all she said, for an hour at least. When })eople are allowed to give vent to their indig- nation without the smallest opposition, they soon talk it away ; such was the case with the Honour- able Miss Delmar. When it was first announced tliat Iklla Kcene was safely in bed with a fine lx)y, the oflended spinster turned away from the comnumication with horror ; when her own maid ventured to remark that it was a lovely baby, she was ordered to hold her tongue ; she would
14 PERCIVAL KEENE.
not see the suffering mother, and the horrid marine was commanded to stay in the kitchen, lest she should be contaminated by meeting him on the stairs ; but every day softened down her indignation, and before a fortnight was over, the Honourable Miss Delmar had not only seen, but admired the baby ; and at last decided upon paying a visit to the mother, who was now suffi- ciently recovered to undergo a lecture of about two hours' length, in which the honourable spinster commented upon her indecency, indis- cretion, inconsiderateness, incorrectness, inde- corum, incontinence, and indelicacy ; pointing out that her conduct was most inexcusable, most iniquitous, and most infamous. The Ho- nourable Miss Delmar having had such a long innings, then gave it up because she was out of breath. Bella, who waited patiently to make her response, and who was a very clever girl, then declared, with many tears, that she was aware that her conduct was inexcusable, her faults had been involuntary, and her sorrow
PERCIVAL KEENE. 15
was mexpressible ; her zwexperience and her in- fatuation her only apology ; that her infelicity at her mistress"'s displeasure would inevitably increase her sufferings ; assured her that she was not incorrigible, and that if her mistress would only indulge her with forgiveness, as she hoped to i?zherit heaven, she would never incur her anger by committing the same fault again. Sa- tisfied with this assurance, the Honourable Miss Delmar softened down, and not only forgave, but actually took the child into her lap, that Bella might read the Bible which she had pre- sented her with. Reader, the child who had this great honour conferred upon him, who actually laid in the innnaculate lap on the apron of immaculate snowy whiteness of the immacu- late Honourable Miss Delmar, was no other person than the narrator of this history— or, if you please it, the Hero of this Talc.
That my mother had so far smoothed things pretty well must be acknowledged ; but it was to be jiresumed that lier husband might not be
16 PERCIVAL KEENE.
pleased at so unusual an occurrence, and al- ready the sneers and innuendos of the servants' hall were not wanting. It appeared, however, that an interview had taken place between Ben and Captain Delmar shortly after my making my appearance : what occurred did not trans- pire, but this is certain, that upon the marine's return to the kitchen, one of the grooms, who ventured to banter him, received such a sound thrashing from Ben, that it put an end to all further joking. As Ben had taken up the affair so seriously, it was presumed that if there had been anticipation of the hymeneal rites, he was himself the party who had been hasty ; and that now he was married, he was resolved to resent any impertinent remarks upon his con- duct. At all events, the question now became one of less interest, as the scandal was of less importance ; and as Ben had made known his determination to resent any remarks upon the subject, not a word more was said, at all events when he was present.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 17
In due time I was christened, and so com- [ pletely was my mother reinstalled in the good
graces of her mistress, that as Captain Delmar had volunteered to stand my sponsor, the Ho- nourable Miss Delmar gave the necessary female security ; at the particular request of my mother, the captain consented that I should bear his own Christian name, and I was duly registered in the church books as Percival Keene.
IS PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER II.
There is no security in this world. A dissolution of Parliament took place, and on the following election, the Honourable Captain Delmar's constituents, not being exactly pleased at the total indifference which he had shewn to their interests, took upon themselves to elect another member in his stead, who, as Captain Delmar had previously done, promised every thing, and in all probability would follow the honourable captain's example by performing no- thing. The loss of his election was followed up by the loss of his ship, his Majesty's government not considering it necessary that Captain Delmar (now that he had leisure to attend to his pro-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 19
fessional duties) should retain his command. The frigate, therefore, was paid off, and recom- missioned by another captain, who had friends in Parliament.
As Ben Keene belonged to the marine corps, he could not, of course, remain as valet to Cap- tain Delmar, but was ordered, with the rest of the detachment, to the barracks at Chatham ; my mother, althougli she was determined that she would not live at barracics, was not sorry to leave the Hall, where she could not fail to perceive that she was, from her imprudent con- duct, no longer treated with the respect or cordiality to which she had been previously ac- customed. She was most anxious to cjuit a place in which her disgrace was so well known ; and Captain Delmar having given her his advice, whicii coincided with her own ideas, and also a very munificent present to enable her to set uj) house-keeping, took his departure from the Hall. INIy mother returned to her room as the wheels of his carriage rattled over
20 PERCIVAL KEENE.
the gravel of the drive, and many were the bitter tears which she shed over her unconscious boy.
The following day the Honourable Miss Delmar sent for her ; as usual, commenced with a tedious lecture, which, as before, was wound up at parting with a handsome present. The day after, my mother packed up her trunks, and with me in her arms, set off to Chatham, where we arrived safely, and immediately went into furnished lodgings. My mother was a clever, active woman, and the presents which she had at different times received amounted to a considerable sum of money, over which her husband had never ventured to assert any claim.
Indeed, I must do Ben Keene the justice to say that he had the virtue of humility. He felt that his wife was in every way his superior, and that it was only under peculiar circum- stances that he could have aspired to her. He was therefore submisi^ive to her in every
PERCIVAL KEENE. 21
thino", consenting to every proposal that was made by her, and guided by her opinion. When, therefore, on her arrival at Chatham, she pointed out how impossible it would be for one brought up as she had been to associate with the women in the barracks, and that she considered it advisable that siie should set up some business by which she might gain a respectable livelihood, Ben, although he felt that this would be a virtual separation a mensd et thoro, named no objections. Having thus obtained the consent of her husband, who considered her so much his superior as to be infallible, my mother, after much cogitation, resolved that she would embark her capital in a circulating library and stationer's shop ; for she argued that selling paper, pens, and sealing-wax, was a commerce which would secure to her cus- tomers of the better class. Accordingly, she hired a house close to the barracks, with a very good-sized shop below, painting and pajiering it very smartly ; there was much taste in all her
22 PERCIVAL KEENE.
arrangements, and although the expenses of the outlay and the first year's rent had swallowed up a considerable portion of the money she had laid by, it soon proved that she had calculated well, and her shop became a sort of lounge for the officers, who amused themselves with her smartness and vivacity, the more so as she had a talent for repartee, which men like to find in a very pretty woman.
In a short time, my mother became quite the rage, and it was a mystery how so pretty and elegant a person could have become the wife of a private marine. It was, however, ascribed to her having been captivated with the very handsome person and figure of her husband, and having yielded to her feelings in a moment of infatuation. The ladies pa- tronized her circulating library ; the officers and gentlemen purchased her stationery. My mother then added gloves, perfumery, canes, and lastly cigars, to her previous assortment ; and before she had been a year in business,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 23
found that she was making money very fast, and increasing her customers every day. My mother had a great deal of tact; with the other sex she was full of merriment and fond of joking, consequently a great favourite ; towards her own sex her conduct was quite the reverse ; she assumed a respectful, prudish air, blended with a familiarity which was never offensive ; she was therefore ecjually popular with her own sex, and prospered in every sense of the word. Had her husband been the least inclined to have asserted his rights, the position which she had gained was sufficient to her reducing him to a state of subjection. She had raised herself, unaided, far above him ; he saw her continually chatting and laughing with his own officers, to whom he was compelled to make a respectful salute whenever they passed by him ; he could not venture to address her, or even to come into the shop, when his officers were there, or it would have been considered disrespectful to- wards them ; and as he could not sleep out of
24 PERCIVAL KEENE.
barracks, all his intercourse with her was to occasionally slink down by the area, to find something better to eat than he could have in his own mess, or obtain from her an occasional shilling to spend in beer. Ben, the marine, found at last that, some how or another, his wife had slipped out of his hands; that he was nothing more than a pensioner on her bounty, a slave to her wishes, and a fetcher and carrier at her command, and he resigned himself quietly to his fate, as better men have done before.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 25
CHAPTER III.
I THINK that the reader will agree with me that my mother shewed in her conduct great strength of character. She had been compelled to marry a man whom she despised, and to whom she felt herself superior in every respect ; she had done so to save her reputation. That she had Ijeen in error is true, but situation and opportunity had conspiied against her; and when she found out the pride and selfishness of the man to whom she was devoted, and for whom she had sacrificed so much ; when her ears were wounded by proposals from his lips that she should take such a step to avoid thi- scandal arising from their intimacy ; when at
VOL. I, c
26 PERCIVAL KEENE.
the moment that he made such a proposition, and the veil fell down and revealed the heart of man in its selfishness, it is not to be wondered, that, with bitter tears, arising from wounded love, anger, and despair at her hopelesss posi- tion, she consented. After having lost all she valued, what did she care for the future? It was but one sacrifice more to make, one more proof of her devotion and obedience. But there are few women who, like my mother, would have recovered her position to the extent that she did. Had she not shewn such determination; had she consented to have accompanied her husband to the barracks, and have mixed up with the other wives of the men, she would have gradually sunk down to their level : to this she could not consent. Having once freed herself from her thraldom, he immediately sunk down to his level, as she rose up to a position in which, if she could not ensure more than civility and protection, she was at all events secure from insult and ill-treatment.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 27
Such was the state of affairs when I had arrived at the important age of six years, a comic-looking, laughing urchin, petted by the officers, and as full of mischief as a tree full of monkeys. My mother's business had so much increased, that, about a year previous to this date, she had found it necessary to have some one to assist her, and had decided upon sending for her sister Amelia to live with her. It was, however, necessary to obtain her mother's consent. My grandmother had never seen my mother since the interview which she had liad with her at Madeline Hall shortly after her marriage with Ben the marine. Latterly, how- ever, they had corresponded; for my mother, who was too independent to seek her mother when she was merely the wife of a private marine, now that she was in flourishing circumstances had first tendered the olive branch, which had been accepted, as soon as my grandmother found that she was virtually separated from her lius- band. As my grandmother found it rather
c 2
28 PERCIVAL KEENE.
lonely at the isolated house in which she resided, and Amelia declared herself bored to death, it was at last agreed that my grandmother and my aunt Amelia should both come and take up their residence with my mother, and in due time they arrived. Milly, as my aunt was called, was three years younger than my mother, \ery pretty, and as smart as her sister, perhaps a little more demure in her look, but with more mischief in her disposition. My grandmother was a cross, spiteful old woman ; she was very large in her person, but very respectable in her appearance. I need not say that Miss Amelia did not lessen the attraction at the circulating librarv, which after her arrival was even more frequented by the officers than before.
My aunt Milly was very soon as fond of me as I was of mischief; indeed it is not to be won- dered at, for I was a type of the latter. I soon loved her better than my , mother, for she en- couraged me in all my tricks. My mother looked grave and occasionally scolded me ; my
PERCIVAL KEENE. 29
grandmother slapped me hard and rated me continually ; but reproof or correction from the two latter were of no avail, and the former, when she wished to play any trick which she dared not do herself, employed me as her agent ; so that I obtained the whole credit for what were her inventions, and I may safely add, un- derwent the whole blame and punishment ; but that I cared nothing for; her caresses, cakes, and sugar-plums, added to my natural pro- pensity, more than repaid me for the occasional severe rebukes of my mother, and the vindictive blows 1 received from the long fingers of my worthy grandmotlicr. Moreover, the officers took much notice of me, and it must be adnnt- ted, that, although I positively refused to learn my letters, I was a very forward child. My great patron was a Captain Bridgcman, a very thin, elegantly-made man, who was continually performing feats of address and activity ; oc- casionally I would escape with liini and go down to tlie mess, remain at dinner, drink
30 PERCIVAL KEENE.
toasts, and, standing on the mess-table, sing two or three comic songs which he had taught me. I sometimes returned a little merry with the bumpers, which made my mother very angry, my old grandmother to hold up her hands, and look at the ceiling through her spectacles, and my aunt Milly as merry as myself. Before I was eight years old, I had become so noto- rious, tliat any prank played in the town, any trick undiscovered, was invariably laid to my account ; and many were the applications made to my mother for indemnification for broken windows and other damage done, too often, I grant, with good reason, but very often when I had been perfectly innocent of the misdemeanor. At last I was voted a common nuisance, and every one, except my mother and my aunt Milly, declared that it was high time that I went to school.
One evening the whole 'of the family were seated at tea in the back parlour. I was sitting very quietly and demurely in a corner, a sure
PERCIVAL KEENE. 31
sign that I was in mischief, and so indeed I was (for I was putting a little gunpowder into my grandmother's snuft-box, which T had purloined, just that she might " smell powder," as they say at sea, without danger of life or limb), when the old woman addressed my mother —
" Bella, is that boy never going to school ? it will be the ruin of him."
" What will be the ruin of him, mother ?" rejoined my aunt jNIilly ; " going to school ?"
" Hold your nonsense, child : you are as bad as the boy himself," replied granny. " Boys are never ruined by education ; girls sometimes are."
Whether my mother thought that this was an innuendo reflecting upon any portion of her own life, I cannot tell ; but she replied very tartly :
" YouVe none the Avorse for mv education, mother, or vou would not be sitting here."
" Very true, child/"' replied granny ; " but
32 PERCIVAL KEENE.
recollect, neither would you have married a marine — a private marine, Bella, while your sister looks up to the officers. Aye," con- tinued the old woman, leaving off her knitting and looking at her daughter, " and is likely to get one, too, if she plays her cards well — that Lieutenant Flat can't keep out of the shop."" (My granny having at this moment given me an opportunity to replace her snuff-box, I did not fail to profit by it ; and as I perceived her knitting-pin had dropped on the floor, I stuck it into the skirt of her gown behind, so that whenever she looked for it, was certain ever to be behind her.)
" Mr. Flat is of a very respectable family, I hear say,"" continued my grandmother.
" And a great fool," interrupted my mother. " I hope Milly won't listen to him."
" He's an officer," replied my granny, " not a private."
" Well, mother, I prefer my private marine, for I can make him do as I please ; if he's
PERCIVAL KEENE. 33
a private, Fm commanding officer, and intend so to be as long as I live."
" Well, well, Bella, let us say no more on the old score ; but that boy must go to school. Deary me, I have dropped my needle.'"
My grandmother rose, and turned round and round, looking for her needle, which, strange to say, she could not find ; she opened her snuff- box, and took a pinch to clear her optics. " Deary me, why, what's the matter with my snuff? and where can that needle be.^ Child, come and look for the needle ; don't be sticking there in that corner.""
I thought proper to obey the order, and pretended to be very diligent in my search. Catching aunt ]Milly's eye, I pointed to the knitting-needle sticking in the hind skirts of my grandmother's gown, and then was down on my knees again, while my aunt held her handker- chief to her mouth to check her l;ui<ihter.
A minute afterwards, 13cn the marine first tapped gently, and then opened the door and
c 3
34 PERCIVAL KEENE.
came in ; for at that late hour the officers were all at dinner and the shop empty.
" There are three parcels of books for you to take," said my mother ; " but you've plenty of time, so take down the tea-things, and get your tea in the kitchen before you go."
" You haven't got a shilling, Bella, about you ? I want some 'baccy,"" said Ben in his quiet way.
" Yes, here's a shilling, Ben ; but don't drink too much beer," replied my mother.
" Deary me, what can have become of my needle ?" exclaimed my grandmother, turning round.
" Here it is. Ma'am," said Ben, who per- ceived it sticking in her skirt. " That's Perci- val's work, I'll answer for it."
My granny received the needle from Ben, and then turned to me : " You good-for-nothing boy ; so you put the needle there, did you ? pretending to look for it all the Avhile; you shall go to school, Sir, that you shall."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 35
" You said a needle, granny ; I was looking for a needle: you didn't say your knitting-pin ; I could have told you where that was."
" Yes, yes, those who hide can find ; to school you go, or I'll not stay in the house."
Ben took the tea-tray out of the room. He had been well drilled in and out of barracks.
*' I'll go down in the kitchen to father," cried I, for I was tired of sitting still.
" No, you won't, Sir," said my mother, " you naughty boy ; the kitchen is not the place for you, and if ever I hear of you smoking a pipe again" —
" Captain Bridgeman smokes," replied I.
" Yes, Sir, he smokes cigars ; but a child like you must not smoke a pipe."
" And now come here, Sir,"" said my granny, who had the lid of her snuff-box off, and held it open in her hand ; " what have you been doing with my snuff?"
" Why, granny, have I had your snufl'-box the whole day ?"
36 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" How should I know ? — a boy like you, with every finger a fish-hook ; I do believe you have ; I only wish I could find you out. I had fresh snufF this morning."'''
" Perhaps they made a mistake at the shop, mother," said aunt Milly ; " they are very care- less."
" Well, I can't tell; I must have some more; I can't take this."
" Throw it in the fire, granny," said I, " and I'll run with the box and get it full again."
" Well, I suppose it's the best thing I can do," replied the old woman, who went to the grate, and leaning over, poured the snuff out on the live coals. The result was, a loud ex- plosion and a volume of smoke, which burst out of the grate into her face — the pinner and lappets singed, her spectacles lifted from her nose, and her face as black as a sweep's. The old woman screamed, and threw herself back ; in so doing, she fell over the chair upon which she had been sitting, and, somehow or another,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 37
tripped me up, and lay with all her weight upon me. I had been just attempting to make my es- cape during the confusion — for my mother and Milly were equally frightened — when I found myself completely smothered by the weight of my now almost senseless granny, and, as I have before mentioned, she was a very corpulent wo- man. Had I been in any other position, I should not have suffered so much ;' but I had unfortunately fallen flat on my back, and was now lying with my face upwards, pressed upon by the broadest part of the old woman's body ; my nose was flattened, and my breath complete- ly stopped. How long my granny might have remained there groaning I cannot tell ; proba- bly, as I was somewhat a spoiled child before this, it might have ended in her completely finishing mc; but she was roused up from her state of half syncope by a vigorous attack from my teeth, whicli, in tlie agony of suffocation, I used with preternatural force of jaw from one so young. I bit right through every thing she had
38 PERCIVAL KEENE.
on, and as my senses were fast departing, my teeth actually met with my convulsive efforts. My granny, roused by the extreme pain, rolled over on her side, and then it was that my mother and aunt, who supposed that I had made my escape from the room, discovered me lifeless, and black in the face. They ran to me, but I still held on with my teeth, nor could 1 be separated ffom my now screaming relative, until the admission of fresh air and a plentiful sprink- ling of cold water brought me to my senses, when I was laid on the sofa, utterly exhausted. It certainly was a narrow escape, and it may be said, that the "biter was nearly bit." As for my granny, she recovered her fright and her legs, but she did not recover her temper ; she could not sit down without a pillow on the chair for many days, and although little was said to me in consequence of the danger I had incurred, yet there was an evident abhorrence of me on the part of the old woman, a quiet manner about my mother, and a want of her
PERCIVAL KEENE. 39
usual hilariiy on the part of my aunt, which were to me a foreboding of something unplea- sant. A few days brought to light what was the result of various whisperings and consulta- tions. It was on a fine Monday morning, that Ben made his appearance at an unusually early hour ; my cap was put on my head, my cloak over my shoulders; Ben took me by the hand, having a covered basket in the other, and I was led away like a lamb to the butcher. As I went out, tliere was a tear in the eyes of my aunt Milly, a melancholy over the countenance of my mother, and a twinkling expression of satisfaction in my grandmother's eyes, which even her spectacles could not conceal from me : the fact was, my grandmother had triumphed, and I was going to school.
40 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER IV.
As soon as I was clear of the door, I looked up into Ben's face, and said, " Father, where are we going ?""
" Well," replied he, " I'm going to take you to school.""
" School ! What am I going to school for .''" replied I.
" For biting your grandmother, I expect, in the first place, and to get a little learning, and a good deal of flogging, if what they say is true ; I never was at school myself."
" What do you learn, and why are you flogged .''"
" You learn to read, and to write, and to
<
!
PERCIVAL KEENE. 41
count ; I can't do either — more's the pity ; and. you are flogged, because without flogging little boys can't learn any thing."" This was not a very satisfactory explanation. I made no further inquiries, and we continued our way in silence until we arrived at the school door ; there was a terrible buz inside. Ben tapped, the door opened, and a volume of hot air burst forth, all the fresh air having been consumed in repeating the fresh lessons for the day. Ben walked up between the forms, and introduced me to the schoolmaster, whose name was Mr. Thadeus O'Gallaghcr, a poor scholar from Ireland, wiio had set up an establishment at half-a-guinea a quarter for day scholars ; he was reckoned a very severe master, and the children were kept in better order in his school than in any other establishment of the kind in the town ; and I presume that my granny iiad made inquiries to that effect, as there were one or two schools of the same kind much nearer to my mother's house. Ben, who })robably had a
42 PERCIVAL KEENE.
great respect for learning in consequence of his having none himself, gave a military salute to Mr. O'Gallagher, saying, with his hand still to his hat, " A new boy, Sir, come to school."
" Oh, by the powers ! don't I know him ?" cried Mr. O'Gallagher ; " it's the young gen- tleman who bit a hole in his grandmother ; Master Keene, as they call him. Keen teeth, at all events. Lave him with me ; and that's his dinner in the basket, I presume ; lave that too. He'll soon be a good boy, or it will end in a blow-up."
Ben put down the basket, turned on his heel, and left the school-room, and me standing by the throne of my future pedagogue — I say throne, because he had not a desk, as school- masters generally have, but a sort of square dais, about eighteen inches high, on which was placed another oblong superstructure of the same height, serving him for a seat ; both parts were covered with some patched and torn old drugget, and upon subsequent examination
PERCIVAL KEENE. 43
I found them to consist of three old claret cases without covers, which he had probably picked up very cheap ; two of thein turned upside down, so as to form the lower square, and the third placed in the same way, upside down, upon the two lower. Mr. 0''Gallagher sat in great dignity upon the upper one, with his feet on the lower, being thus sufficiently raised upon an eminence to command a view of the whole of his pupils in every part of the school. He was not a tall man, but very square-built, with carroty hair, and very bushy red whiskers ; to me he appeared a most formidable person, especially when he opened his large mouth and displayed his teeth, when I was reminded of the sign of the Red I^ion close to my mother's house. I certainly never had been before so much awed during my short existence as I was with the appearance of my pedagogue, who sat before me somewhat in the fasjiion of a Roman tribune, holding in his hand a short round ruler, as if it were his
44 PERCIVAL KEENE.
truncheon of authority. I had not been a mi- nute in the school before I observed him to raise his arm ; away went the ruler whizzing through the air, until it hit the scull of the lad for whom it was intended at the other end of the school-room. The boy, who had been talking to his neighbour, rubbed his poll, and whined.
" Why don''t you bring back my ruler, you spalpeen ?" said Mr. O'Gallagher. " Be quick, Johnny Target, or it will end in a blow-up."
The boy, who was not a little confused with the blow, sufficiently recovered his senses to obey the order, and whimpering as he came up, returned the ruler to the hands of Mr. O'Gal- lagher.
" That tongue of your's will get you into more trouble than it will business, I expect, Johnny Target ; it's an unruly member, and requires- a constant ruler over it." Johnny Target rubbed his head and said nothing.
" Master Keene," said he, after a short pause,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 45
" did you see what a tundering tump on the head that boy got just now, and do you know what it was for ?"
" No," repHed I.
" AVhere's your manners, you animal ? 'No!' — If you plase, for the future, you must not forget to say, ' No, Sir,' or, ' No, IVIr. O^Gallagher.' D'ye mind me — now say yes — what ?"
" Yes, what !"
" Yes, what ! you little ignoramus; say 'yes, Mr. O'Gallagher,"' and recollect, as the parish clerk says, < this is the last time of asking.' ''
" Yes, Mr. O'Gallagher."
" Ah ! now you see, there's nothing like comino; to school — you've learnt manners al- ready ; and now, to go back again, as to why Johnny Target had the rap on the head, which brought tears into his eyes? I'll just tell you, it was for talking — you see, the first thing for a boy to learn, is to hold his tongue, and thai shall be your lesson fur the day ; you'll just sit
46 PERCIVAL KEENE.
down there, and if you say one word during the whole time you are in the school, it will end in a blow-up ; that means, on the present occasion, that I'll skin you alive as they do the eels, which, being rather keen work, will just suit your constitution." I had wit enough to feel assured that Mr. CGallagher was not to be trifled with, so I took my seat, and amused myself with listening to the various lessons which the boys came up to say, and the divers punishments inflicted — few escaped. At last, the hour of recreation and dinner arrived, the boys were dismissed, each seized his basket, containing his provisions, or ran home to get his meal with his parents ; I found myself sitting in the school-room tete-a-tete with Mr. O'Gallagher, and feeling very well inclined for my dinner, I cast a wistful eye at my basket, but I said nothing ; Mr. O'Gallagher, who appeared to have been in thought, at last said —
" Mr. Keene, you may now go out of school
PERCIVAL KEENE. 47
and scream till you're hoarse, just to make up for lost time."
" May I take my dinner, Sir ?"" inquired I.
" Is it your dinner you mane ? — to be sure you may; but, first Dl just look into the basket and its contents, for you see, Mr. Keene, there's some victuals that don't ajrree with laming, and if you eat them, you'll not be fit for your work when your play hours are over ; what's easy of digestion will do, but what's bad for little boys' stomachs may get you into a scrape, and then it will end in a blow-up — that is, you'll have a taste of the ferrule or the rod ; two assistants of mine, to whom I've not yet had the pleasure of introducing you — all in good time; if what I've heard of you be true, you and they will ])e better acquainted afore long."
Mr. O'Gallagher then examined the contents of my basket ; my aunt Milly had taken care that I should be well provided — there was a large paper of beef sandwiches, a piece of bread
48 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and cheese, and three or four slices of seed- cake ; Mr. O'Gallagher opened all the pack- ages, and after a pause said —
" Now, Master Keene, d'ye think you would ever guess how I came by all my laming, and what I fed upon when it was pumped into me ? Then I'll tell you ; it was dry bread — with a little bit of cheese, when I could get it, and that wasn't often. Bread and cheese is the food to make a scholar of ye, and mayhap one slice of the cake mayn't much interfere, so take them, and run away to the play-ground as fast as you can ; and, d'ye hear me, Master Keene, recollect your grace before meat, ' For what we have received, the Lord make us truly thankful.' Now, off wid you ; the rest of the contents are confiscated for my sole use, and your particular benefit."
Mr. O'Gallagher grinned as he finished his oration, and he looked so much like a wild beast, that I was glad to be off as fast as I could ; I turned round as I went out of the
PERCIVAL KEENE. 49
door, and perceived that the sandwiches were disappearing with wonderful rapidity; but I caught his eye : it was like that of a tiger's at his meal, and I Avas off at redoubled speed.
VOL. I,
50 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER V.
As soon as I gained the play-ground, which was, in fact, nothing more than a small piece of waste land, to which we had no more claim than any other people, I sat down by a post, and commenced my dinner off what Mr. O'Gallagher had thought proper to leave me ; I was afraid of him, it is true, for his severity to the other boys convinced me that he would have little mercy upon me, if I dared to thwart him ; but indignation soon bejjan to obtain the mastery over my fears, and I began to consider if I could not be even with him for his bare- faced robbery of my dinner; and then I re- flected whether it would not be better to allow
PERCIVAL KEENE. 51
him to take my food, if I found out that by so doing, he treated me well, and I resolved at all events to delay a little ; the hour of play was now over, and a bell summoned us all to school ; I went in with the others and took my seat where Mr. O'Gallagher had before desired me.
As soon as all was silent, my pedagogue beckoned me to him.
"Now, ]\Ir. Keene," said he, "you'll be so good as to lend me your ears, that is, to listen while I talk to you a little bit. D'ye know how many roads there are to lam- ing ? Hold your tongue; I ask you because I know you dont know, and because Fm going to tell you. There are exactly three roads : the lirst is the eye, my jewel, and if a lad has a sharp eye like yours, it's a great deal that will get into his head by that road ; you'll know a thing when you see it again, although you mayn't know your own fatlier, that's a secret only known to your mother ; the second road
D 2
52
PERCIVAL KEENE.
to larning, you spalpeen, is the ear, and if you mind all people say, and hear all you can, you'll gain a great many truths, and just ten times as much more in the shape of lies ; you see the wheat and the chaff will come together, and you must pick the latter out of the former at any seasonable future opportunity. Now we come to the third road to larning, which is quite a different sort of road, because you see, the two first give us little trouble, and we trot along almost whether we will or not ; the third and grand road is the head itself, which requires the eye and the ear to help it, and two other assistants, which we call memory and applica- tion; so you see we have the visual, then the aural, and then the mental roads, three hard words which you don't understand, and which I shan't take the trouble to explain to such an ani- mal as your are, for I never throw away pearls to swine, as the saying is. Now then, Mr. Keene, we must come to another part of our history. As there are three roads to larning, so
PERCIVAL KEENE. 53
there are three manes or implements by whidi boys are stimulated to larn : the first is the ruler, which you saw me shy at the thick scull of Johnny Target, and you see'd what a rap it gave him ; well then the second is the ferrule, a thing you never heard of perhaps, but I'll shew it you ; here it is," continued Mr. O'Galla- gher, producing a sort of flat wooden ladle with a hole in the centre of it ; " the ruler is for the head, as you have seen ; the ferrule is for the hand ; you have seen me use the ruler, now Fll shew you what I do witli tlie ferrule."
" You Tommy Goskin, come here. Sir."
Tommy Goskin put down liis book, and came up to his master with a good deal of doubt in his countenance.
"Tommy Goskin, you didn't say your lesson well to-day."
"Yes I did, Mr. O'GaHagher," repHed Tonnny, "you said I did yourself."
" Well then, Sir, you didiTt say it well yesterday,"" continued Mr. O'Galhighcr.
54 PERCIVAL KEExNE.
" Yes I did, Sir," replied the boy, whim- pering.
" And is it you who dares to contradict me?" cried Mr. O'Gallagher, "at all events you won't say it well to-morrow, so hold out your right hand."
Poor Tommy held it out, and roared lustily at the first blow, wringing his fingers with the smart.
" Now your left hand, Sir ; fair play is a jewel ; always carry the dish even."
Tommy received a blow on his left hand, which was followed up with similar demon- strations of suffering.
" There, Sir, you may go now," said Mr. O'Gallagher, " and mind you don't do it again, or else there'll be a blow-up. And now, Master Keene, we come to the third and last, which is the birch for the tail — here it is — have you ever had a taste ? "
" No, Sir," replied I.
" Well, then, you have that pleasure to
PERCIVAL KEENE. 55
come, and come it will, I don't doubt, if you and I are a few days longer acquainted. Let me see — "
Here Mr, O^Gallagher looked round the school as if to find a culprit, but the boys, aware of what was going on, kept their eyes so attentively to their books, that he could not discover one ; at last he singled out a fat chubby lad.
" Walter Puddock, come here. Sir."
Walter Puddock came accordingly; evidently he gave himself up for lost.
" Walter Puddock, I just have been telling Master Keene that you're the best Latin scholar in the whole school. Now, Sir, dont make me out to be a liar — do me credit, — or, by the blood of the O'Gallaghers, I'll flog ye till you're as thin as a herring. What's the Latin for a cocked hat, as the Roman gen- tlemen wore with their togeys?''
Walter Puddock hesitated a few seconds,
I
56 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and then, without venturing a word of remon- strance, let down his trowsers.
" See now the guilty tief, he knows what's coming : shame upon you, Walter Puddock, to disgrace your preceptor so, and make him tell a lie to young Master Keene. Where's Phil Mooney ? Come along, Sir, and hoist Walter Puddock ; it's no larning that I can drive into you, Phil, but it's sartain sure that by your manes I drive a little into the other boys."
Walter Puddock, as soon as he was on the back of Phil Mooney, received a dozen cuts with the rod, well laid on. He bore it without flinching, although the tears rolled down his cheeks.
"There, Walter Puddock, I told you it would end in a blow-up ; go to your dictionary, you dirty blackguard, and do more credit to your education and superior instruction from a certain person who shall be nameless."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 57
Mr. O'Gallagher laid the rod on one side, and then continued,
" Now, Master Keene, I've just shewn you the three roads to laming, and also the three implements to persuade little boys to lam ; if you don't travel very fast by the three first, why you will be followed up veiy smartly by the three last — a nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse, any day ; and one thing more, you little spalpeen, mind that there's more mustard to the sandwiches to-morrow, or else it will end in a blow-up. Now youVe got the whole theory of the art of tuition. Master Keene; please the pigs, we'll commence with the practice to-morrow.""
My worthy pedagogue did not address me any more during that day ; the school broke up at five, and I made haste home, tliinking over all that had passed in the school-room.
My granny and mother were both anxious to know what had passed ; the first hoped that I had been Hogged, the second that I hail not,
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58 PERCIVAL KEENE.
but I refused to communicate. I assumed a haughty, indifferent air, for I was angry with my mother, and as for my grandmother, I hated her. Aunt Milly, however, when we were alone, did not question me in vain. I told her all that had passed ; she bade me be of good heart, and that I should not be ill-treated if she could help it.
I replied, that if I were ill-treated, I would J
have my revenge somehow or another. I then went down to the barracks, to the rooms of Captain Bridgeman, and told him what had occurred. He advised me to laugh at the ruler, the ferrule, and the rod. He pointed out to me the necessity of my going to school and learn- ing to read and write, at, the same time was very indignant at the conduct of Mr. O'Galla- gher, and told me to resist in every way any injustice or tyranny, and that I should be sure of his support and assistance, provided that I ^
did pay attention to my studies.
Fortified by the advice and protection of my
PERCIVAL KEENE. 59
two great friends, I made up my mind that I would learn as fast as I could, but if treated ill, that I would die a martyr, rather than yield to oppression ; at all events, I would, if possible, play Mr. O'Gallagher a trick for every flogging or punishment I received ; and with this laud- able resolution I was soon fast asleep, too fast even to dream.
60
PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER VI.
When my aunt Milly called me in the morn- ing, that I might be up and have my breakfast in time for school, I felt as if two years had passed over my head during the last twenty- four hours. I had never witnessed tyranny until the day before, and my blood was heated with indignation ; I felt myself capable of any thing and every thing.
My anger was about as great towards my mother and grandmother for having sent me to such a place, as it was against Mr. O'Gallagher. Instead of going up and kissing my mother, I paid no attention to either her or my grand- motlier, much to the mortification of the former
PERCIVAL KEENE. 61
and surprise of the latter, who said, in a very- cross manner, " Where"'s your manners, child ? why don"*! you say good morning ?''
" Because I have not been long enough at sciiool to learn manners, granny."'
" Come and kiss me before you go, my child," said my mother.
" No, mother ; you have sent me to school to be beat, and I never will kiss you again."
" Naughty, good-for-nothing boy," exclaimed my granny ; " what a bad heart you must have."
" No, that he has not," cried my aunt Milly. " Sister should have inquired what sort of a school it was before she sent him."
" I made every inquiry," replied my granny ; " he cant't play tricks there."
" Won't I .?" cried I, " bul I will; and not only there, but here. I'll be even with you all ; yes, I'll be even with you, granny, if I die for it."
62 PERCIVAL KEENE.
a
Why, you audacious wretch, I've a great mind to "
" I dare say you have, but recollect I can bite ; you'd better be quiet, granny, or, as the master says, 'it will end with a blow-up.'"
" Only hear the little wretch," said my granny, lifting up her hands, " I shall see you hanged yet, you ungrateful child."
" I'm not ungrateful," replied I, throwing my arms round Milly's neck, and kissing her with fervour, " I can love those who love
me."
" Then you don't love me ?" said my mother, reproachfully.
*' I did yesterday, but I don't now ; but it's time for me to go, aunt ; is my basket ready ? I don't want father to take me to school, I can do without him, and when I don't choose to go any more, I won't; recollect that, mother:" so saying, I seized my basket and quitted the room. There was a long consultation, I found, after my departure : my mother, when
PERCIVAL KEENE. 63
my aunt had informed her of Mr. O' Gallagher's conduct, wished to remove me instantly ; my grandmother insisted upon it that there was not a word of truth in what I had said, and threatened that if I did not remain at that very school, she would leave Chatham, and take my aunt with her. As my mother could not part with aunt Milly, the consequence was, that my grandmother gained the day.
I arrived in good time, and took my seat near my master. I preferred doing this, as I had a long conversation with Captain Bridge- man, who told me that although Mr. O'Galla- glier had put the ruler down as punishment No. 1 , the ferrule No. 2, and the birch as No. 3, and of course they were considered to be worse as the number rose, that he considered it to be the very contrary, as he had had them all well applied when he was at school ; he ordered me, therefore, never to hold out my hand to the ferrule, l)y which refusal I should, of course, be flogged ; but he assured me that the birch.
64
PERCIVAL KEENE.
especially when it is given often, was a mere notliine;. Now I considered that the surest way to avoid the ruler was to sit close to my master, who could then have no pretence for sending it at my head ; the fact was, I had determined to save the more noble portions of my body and leave Mr. O'Gallagher to do what he pleased with the other : to do him justice, he lost no time.
" Come here, Mr. Keene," said he, " where's your manners ? wliy don't you say good morn- ing to your preceptor ? Can you read at all .'' " "No, Sir."
" D'ye know your letters .'' " " Some of them — I think I do. Sir." " Some of them — I suppose about two out of six-and-twenty. It's particular attention that's been paid to your education, I perceive; you've nothing to unlam anyhow, that's something. Now, Sir, do you think that a classical scholar and a gentleman born like me, is to demane myself by hearing your puzzle at the alphabet ?
>
PERCIVAL KEENE. 65
YouVe quite mistaken, Mr. Keene; you must gain your first elements second-hand ; so where's Timothy Ruddel ? You, Timothy Ruddel, you'll just teach this young Master Keene his whole alphabet, and take care at the same time that you know your own lessons, or it will end in a blow-up ; and you. Master Keene, if you have not larnt your whole alphabet perfect by dinner-time, why you'll have a small taste of No. 2, just as a hint to what's coming next. Go along, you little ignorant blackguard: and you, Timothy Ruddel, look out for a taste of No, 3, if you don't larn him and yourself all at once, and at the same time."
I was very well pleased with this arrange- ment ; I had resolved to learn, and I was doubly stimulated to learn now, to save poor Timothy Ruddel from an unjust punishment.
In the three iiours I was quite perfect, and Timothy Ruddel, who was called up before me, was also able to say his lesson without a blun- der, very much to the disappointment of Mr.
66 PERCIVAL KEENE.
O'Gallagher, who observed, " So you've slipped through my fingers, have you, this time, Master Timothy ? never mind ; I'll have you yet ; and, moreover, there's Master Keene to go through the fiery furnace." Just before dinner-time I was called up : with my memory of many of the letters, and the assistance I had received from Timothy Ruddel, I felt very confident.
« What letter's that. Sir .?" said Mr. O'Galla- gher.
" A, B, C, D, E."
" You little blackguard ; I'll dodge you ; you think to escape, do you .?*'
" V, X, P, O."
Much to Mr. O'Gallagher's surprise, I said them all without one mistake. Instead of com- mendation, I received abuse. " Bv all the powers," exclaimed my pedagogue, " but every thing seems to go wrong to-day ; my hand has been completely idle ; this will never do ; didn't you tell me, Mr. Keene, that you didn't know your letters .''"
<
PERCIVAL KEENE. 67
" I said I knew some of them, Sir."
" If my memory is correct, Mr. Keene, you told me that you knew two out of twenty- six/'
" No, Sir, you said that."
" That's just as much as to tell me, your preceptor, a classical scholar, and a Milesian gentleman to boot, that I lie, for which I intend to have satisfaction, INIr. Keene, I assure you. You're guilty in two counts, as they say at the Old Bailey, where you'll be called up to some of these days, as sure as you stand there : one count is in telling me a lie, in saying you did not know your alphabet, when it's quite clear that you did ; and secondly, in giving me the lie, by stating that I said what you said. You thought to escape me, but youVe mistaken, Mr. Keene; so now, if you please, we will just have a taste of No. 2. Hould out your hand, Mr. Keene ; d'ye hear me, Sir ? hould out your hand." But this I positively refused to do. " You
68 PERCIVAL KEENE.
won't, won't you ? Well, then, we must in- crease the punishment for your contempt of court, and at once commence with No. 3, which I had intended to reserve till to-morrow. Come along, Phil Mooney, there's fresh mate for you to carry, and come out. No. 3, here"'s fresh ground for you to travel over."
Phil Mooney and the birch soon made their appearance ; I was hoisted by the one, and scourged by the other.
The first taste of the birch is any thing but agreeable : I could only compare it to the dropping of molten lead. I tried all I could to prevent crying out, but it was impossible, and at last I roared like a mad bull ; and I was as mad as a bull, and as dangerous. Could I have picked up any weapon at the moment that I was dropped from the shoulders of Phil Mooney, it would have gone hard with Mr. O'Gallagher. My rage was greater than my agony. I stood when I had been landed, my chest heaving, my teeth set fast, and my
i
PERCIVAL KEENE. 69
apparel still in disorder. The school was dis- missed, and I was left alone "with the savage pedagogue, who immediately took up my bas- ket, and began to rummage the contents.
" Make yourself dacent, Mr. Keene, and doift be shocking my modesty, and taking away my appetite. Did you mention the mus- tard, as I desired you ? Upon my faiih, but you're a nice boy, and do justice to the repre- sentations of your grandmother, and when you see her, you may tell her that I did not forget the promise she exacted from me. You forgot all about the mustard, you little blackguard. If Phil Mooney was here I would give you another taste to freshen your memory for to- morrow ; however, to-morrow will do as well, if the mistake's not corrected. Here, take your victuals, and good appetite to you, you little monster of iniquity."
Mr. O'Gallagher tossed me some bread, but this time reserved the cheese for his own catinir. 1 had adjusted my dress, and T therefore left
70 PERCIVAL KEENE.
the school-room. I could not sit down without pain, so I leant against a post : the bread re- mained in my hand untouched ; had it been the greatest delicacy in the world, I could not have tasted a morsel ; I was giddy from excess of feeling, my thoughts were rapidly chasing each other, when I heard a voice close to me ; I looked round ; it was Walter Puddock, who had been flogged the day before.
" Never mind, Keene," said he kindly ; " it hurts at first, but the more you get it the less you care for it ; I don't mind it a bit now ; I cries, because he goes on flogging till you do, and it's no use having more than you can help."
" I didn't deserve it," replied I.
" That's not necessary ; you'll get it, as we all do, whether you deserve it or not."
"Well, I'll try to deserve it in future," replied I, clenching my fist ; " I'll be even with ij
him."
" Why, what can you do ? "
PERCIVAL KEENE. 71
" Wait a little, and you'll see," said I, walk- ing away, for an idea had come into my head which I wished to follow up.
Soon afterwards the bell rang, and we return- ed to the school-room. I was put under the tuition of another boy, and took care to learn my lesson. Whether it was that he was tired with the exercise, for he flogged and ferruled a dozen during that afternoon, or that he thought that my morning dose had been sufficient, I received no more punishment on that day.
72 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER VII
As soon as school was dismissed, I went straight to the rooms of Captain Bridgeman, and told him how I had been treated. As soon as he heard it, he exclaimed, "This is really too bad ; I will go with you, and I will con- sult with your aunt Amelia."
It so happened that aunt Milly was alone in the shop when we arrived, and after a detail of what had passed, she told Captain Bridgeman that my grandmother had put me to that school out of feelings of ill-will, for the tricks I had played, and had threatened that if I were removed, she would leave Chatham, and take her away with her. My mother required
PERCIVAL KEENE. 73,
assistance in the shop, and was afraid to affront my grandmother, who was a very dictatorial, positive old woman, and would certainly keep her resolution, but that rather than I should be treated in such a barbarous manner, she would insist upon my mother taking me away, or would herself leave the place.
" It would never do for you to leave us, Miss Amelia," replied Captain Bridgeman, there are but few attractions in this place, and we cannot spare you ; the whole corps would go into deep mourning."
" I don't want to leave the school," interrupt- ed I ; "I would not leave it till I am revenged, for all the world. Now, I'll tell you what I want to do— and do it I will, if he cuts nic to pieces. He eats my sandwiches, and tells me if there's not more mustard to-morrow, he'll flog me. He shall have jilenty of mustard, but lie ^hall have something else. AVhat can I put into the sandwiches, so as to half kill him ? "
" Not a bad idea, my little Percival,*' said
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74 PERCIVAL KEENE.
Captain Bridgeman, " I'll just ask the doctor how much calomel a man may take without a coroner's inquest being required."
"Yes, that will do nicely," said my aunt; " ril take care he shall have mustard enough not to perceive it."
" Well, ril go to the barracks and be back directly," said Captain Bridgeman.
" And I'm ready for the flogging as soon as the sandwiches are down his throat," replied I laughing, " I don't care a fig for it."
Captain Bridgeman soon returned with forty grains of calomel, which he delivered into aunt Milly's hands. " That is as much as we dare give the strongest man without running great danger ; we'll try the effect of that upon him, and if he don't improve, I think I shall go up to the school myself and threaten him.*"
" As for that," replied aunt Milly, " I'm sure that sister, if she hears what's going on, ^s she cannot take Percival away, will order her husband, Ben, to go up and thrash him."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 75
'* Not a bad idea, Miss Amelia, we'll try that if we find it necessary ; at all events, we'll see who can persecute most."
" Granny has told him to treat me ill," said I, " that's very clear, from what he said ; never mind, I'll make her sorry for it yet."
" Oh Percival ! you must not do any thing to granny," said aunt Milly, looking very archly, " I must not hear any thing of the kind."
The next morning I set off with a full con- viction that I should be flogged before night, and notwithstanding that, as full of joy as if I was going to the fair.
The morning passed as usual ; I said my lesson, but not very well ; I was thinking so much of my anticipated revenge, that I could not pay attention to my teacher, who was, as usual, one of the boys.
"Master Kecne," said Mr. O'Gallaghcr, " we'll let the account stand over till the even- ing, and then I'll give you a receipt in full ;
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I may have one or two lines to add to it before the sun goes down ; you'll not escape me this time, anyhow."
The boys went out at the dinner hour, leav- ing me, as before, to wait for my basket, after the tyrant had helped himself. I stood by him in silence while he was rummaging its con- tents.
" Now, Mr. Keene, 111 see if you have re- membered my particular injunction relative to the mustard."
" T told my aunt to put more mustard. Sir," replied I humbly, " it's she that cuts the sand- wiches.""
'' Well, then, if your aunt has not complied with your request, see if I don^ flay you alive, you little imp of abomination."
The sandwiches were pulled out of the paper and tasted. " Down on your knees, Mr. Keene, and thank all the blessed saints that your aunt has saved you from at lea;st one-half of what I intended to administer to you this blessed after-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 77
noon, for she has doubled the mustard, you tief," said Mr. OXifallagher, speaking with his mouth as full as it could hold. Down went sandwich after sandwich, until they had all disappeared. Oh ! what joy was mine ! I could have tossed up my cap and leapt in the air. Having received the bread and clieese, for he permitted me to have the latter on this occasion, I went out and enjoyed my meal, dehghted with Mr. O'Gallagher's having fallen into the trap I had laid for him.
The bell summoned us in, and all went on as usual for the first two hours, when I thought Mr. O'Gallagher changed countenance and looked very pale. He continued, however, to hear the lessons, until at last I perceived him pass his hand up and down and across his stomach, as if he had had a twinge; a few minutes afterwards, he compressed his thick lips, and then put his hands to his abdomen.
Ah ! he begins to feel it now, thought I ; and sure enough he did ; for tlie pain increased so
78 PERCIVAL KEENE.
rapidly that he lost all patience, and vented his feelings by beating with his ruler, on the head, the whole class of boys standing up before him, till one or two dropped down, stunned with the blows. At last he dropped the ruler, and, pressing both hands to his stomach, he rolled himself backwards and forwards, and then twisted and distorted his leg-s till he could bear the pain no longer ; and he gave vent to a tremendous Irish howl — grinning and grinding his teeth for a few seconds, and then howling again, writhing and twisting in evident agony — while the perspiration ran off his forehead.
" Och ! murder ! I'm poisoned sure. Lord, save my sinful soul ! Oh — oh — oh ! eh — eh — eh ! mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy ! Oh, holy St. Patrick ! I'm kilt entirely :" — and so subdued was he at last by the pain, that he burst out into a flood of tears, crying and roar- ing like a child.
Again the paroxysms came on — " Murder, murder, murder!" shrieked the wretch at the
PERCIVAL KEENE. 79
highest pitch of his voice, so that he was heard at some distance, and some of the neiirhbours came in to inquire what was the matter.
Mr. O'Gallagher was now in a fainting state, and leaning against the table, he could merely say in a low voice, " A doctor — quick — a doc- tor."
The neighbours perceiving how ill he was, led him out of the school-room into liis own apartment, one going for a doctor, antl the others telling the boys they might all go home, a notice of which they gladly availed them- selves.
I need hardly say that I made all the haste I could to communicate the successful result of my trick to Milly and Captain Bridgeman. The medical man who was summoned ffave Mr. O'Gallagher some very active medicine, whicli assisted to rid him of the calomel; of his having taken which, of course the medical man was ignorant. I'he violence of the dose was, how-
80 PERCIVAL KEENE.
ever, so great, and left him in such a state, that Mr. ©""Gallagher could not leave his room for three days, nor resume his seat in the school until a week had elapsed, during which I remained at home plotting still further mis- chief.
Mr. O'Gallaglier resumed his occupations, and I was again sent off to school. When I entered the school-room I found him looking very pale and cadaverous; as soon as he saw me his lips were drawn apart, and he shewed his large white teeth, reminding me of the grin- ning of a hyaena; he did not, however, say any thing to me. My studies were resumed ; I said my lesson perfectly, but was fully pre- pared for punishment. I was, however, agree- ably disappointed ; he did not punish either me or any of the other boys.
I afterwards found out the reason was, that, although necessity compelled him to re-open his school as soon as he could, he was too weak to
PERCIVAL KEENE. 81
undergo the fatigue of following up his favour- ite diversion.
When the dinner hour arrived, and the boys were dismissed, 1 waited patiently to see what he would do with my basket, which stood beside him. " Take your basket and eat your dinner. Master Keene," said he, walking out of the school-room into his own apartments. I could not help saying, " Won't you have the sand- wiches. Sir?"
He turned round and gave me a look so pe- netrating and so diabolical, that I felt sure that he knew to whom he had been indebted for his late severe illness.
From this day forward IVIr. CG. never inter- fered with the contents of my basket, and I had my dinner all to myself. The sliock which had been given to his constitution was so great, that for three or four months he may be said to have crawled to his school-room, and I really began to think that the affair would turn out more serious than was intended ; but gradually
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82 PERCIVAL KEENE.
he regained his strength, and as he recovered his vigour, so did he resume his severity.
But I was a great gainer during the three or four months of quiet which reigned during Mr. 0'Gallao;her''s convalescence. Since I have been grown up I have often thought, and am indeed confirmed in my opinion, that we lose rather than gain by being educated at too early an age. Commence with one child at three years and with another at seven years old, and in ten years, the one whose brain was left fallow even till seven years old, will be quite as far, if not further advanced, than the child whose intellect was prematurely forced at the earlier age ; this is a fact which I have since seen proved in many instances, and it certainly was corroborated in mine.
In six months I could read and write very fairly, and had commenced arithmetic ; true, I was stimulated on by the advice of Captain Bridgeman, the love I bore my aunt Milly, and the hatred which I had for my master, which
PERCIVAL KEENE. 83
made me resolve that I would not deserve punishment on that score.
It was in May that I administered the dose to Mr. O'Gallagher ; in September he was quite well again, and the ruler, the ferrule, and the rod, w^ere triumphantly at work. It is useless to say how often I was punished, for it was every day ; always once, sometimes twice ; I became completely callous to it, nay, laughed at it, but my mind was ever at work upon some mischief, in the way of retaliation.
I put little pancakes of cobblers' wax on Mr. 0'Gallagher''s throne, and he had the pleasure of finding himself stuck fast by the breeches when he rose up to punish. I anointed the handle of the ferrule and rod with bird-lime ; put dead cats under the claret cases, Avhich composed his seat of authority, so that the smell would drive him distracted before he found it out. I drew up, with a squirt, all the ink whicli was in the inkstands fixed in the
84 PERCIVAL KEENE.
writing-desks, so as not to be taken out of the sockets, and made good the deficiency with water, which put him to no little expense.
I once made him almost frantic, by rubbing his handkerchief, which always laid by his side, and with which he was accustomed to wipe his face every five minutes (for he was profuse in his perspiration), with what is called cow-itch : not being aware of what was the cause, he wiped his face more and more, until he was as red as a peony, and the itching became intolerable.
On such occasions he never inquired who was the party, but called me and Phil Mooney. I, on the other hand, never said a word in way of expostulation. I took my flogging, which was as severe as he could give it, as a matter of course, quite satisfied with the exchange.
As Walter Puddock had told me, and, as I have no doubt, the Eton boys will confirm, after a certain quantity of flagellations, the skin becomes so hard as to make the punishment
PERCIVAL KEENE. 85
almost a matter of indifference, and so I found it. So passed the time until the month of November, when I was fully enabled to pay off my worthy pedagogue for all that I was in- debted to him.
86 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER VIII.
The boys had been saving up all their money to purchase fireworks for the celebrated 5th of November — a day on which it was said that certain persons, finding it impossible to reform the Lords and Commons, had deter- mined to get rid of them at once : why they have not been in similar danger every year since the first attempt was made, I know not ; certain it is, that it is the only reform measure that can ever be effectual. Guy Fawkes and his confe- derates, whether Popish or Protestant, from the disregard of human life, certainly proved them- selves the founders of a party still existing, whose motto is, " ^Measures and not Men."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 87
But to proceed : Mr. CGallagher had never before attempted to interfere with the vested rights of urchins on that day ; being, however, in a most particular irascible humour, instead of a whole, he made it known that there would only be a half lioliday, and we were conse- quently all called in for morning lessons, instead of carrying about, as we had intended, the effigy of the only true reformer that ever existed in this country.
This made us all very sulky and discontented in the first place, and our anxiety to get out of school was so great, that the lessons were not very perfect in tiie second. The ferrule and rod were called out and liberally administered ; but what was our horror and dismay when jVIr. O'Gallagher, about an hour before dinner hour, announced to us that all the squibs and crack- ers, with which our pockets Avere crannned, were to be given up immediately ; and that, as we had not said our lessons well, there would
88 PERCIVAL KEENE.
be no half-holiday ; the whole school were in mute despair.
One by one were the boys summoned up to the throne of Mr. O'Gallagher, and their pockets searched by Phil Mooney, who emptied them of their pyrotechnical contents, all of which were deposited on the dais of Mr. O'Gal- lagher's throne, whicli, I have before observed, was composed of two empty claret cases turned upside down, surmounted by another, on which Mr. O'Gallagher sat, all three covered with old green baize.
By the time that the whole school had been rifled, the heap of fireworks was very consider- able, and Mr. O^Gallagher, to prevent any of them being recovered by the boys, lifted up the claret case on which he sat, and which was on the top of the other two, and desired Phil Mooney to put them all underneath it. This was done; Mr. O'Gallagher resumed his seat, and the lessons continued till the dinner hour
PERCIVAL KEENE. 89
arrived, but, alas ! not the half-holiday or the fireworks.
The boys went out ; some mournful, some angry, some sulky, some frightened, a few — a very few — declaiming against such injustice.
I was in a rage — my blood boiled ; at last my invention came to my aid, and, without considering the consequences, I determined how to act.
As it was an hour and a half before school would commence, I hastened home, and having spent all my money, begged aunt INIilly to give me some; she gave me a shilling, and with that I bought as much gunpowder as I could procure, more than a quarter of a pound.
I then returned to the school, looked into the school-room, and found it empty ; I (juickly raised up the claret case, under which the fire- works had been placed, put the powder under it, leaving only sufficient for a very small train, which would not be perceived in the green
90 PERCIVAL KEENE.
baize covering; having so done, I left the school- room immediately, and rejoined my companions. I had a piece of touchwood, as all the boys had, to let off their fireworks with, and this I lighted and left in a corner until the bell should sum- mon us into school.
Oh ! how my heart beat when I heard the sound, so full was I of anxiety lest my project should fail.
Once more we were all assembled. Mr. O'Gal- lagher, surveying, with the smile of a demon, the unhappy and disappointed faces of the boys, was again perched upon his throne, the rod on one side, the ferrule on the other, and the ruler, that dreaded truncheon of command, clenched in his broad fist.
I had the touchwood lighted and concealed in my hand ; gradually I moved downwards, until at last, unperceived by Mr. O'Gallagher, I was behind him, and close to my train of gun- powder. I gave one look to ascertain if he had observed me ; his eye was roving over the school
PERCIVAL KEENE. 91
for some delinquent to throw his ruler at ; fear- ful that he might turn round to me, I no longer hesitated, and the touchwood was applied to the train.
Ignorant as I was of the force of gunpowder, it was with astonishment mingled with horror that I beheld, in a second, the claret case rise up as if it had wings, and Mr. O'Gallagher thrown up to the ceiling enveloped in a cloud of smoke, the crackers and squibs fizzing and banging, while the boys in the school uttered a yell of consternation and fear as they rushed back from the explosion, and afterwards, tumbling over one another, made their escape from the school- room.
The windows had all been blown out with a terrible ■ crash, and the whole school-room was now covered by the smoke. There I stood in silent dismay at the mischief which I had done. The squibs and crackers had not, however, all finished popping before I heard the howling of
02 PERCIVAL KEENE.
Mr. O' Gallagher, who had fallen down upon the centre school-room table.
I was still in the school-room half suffocated, yet not moving away from where I stood, when the neighbours, who had been alarmed by the explosion and the cries of the boys, rushed in, and perceiving only me and Mr. O' Gallagher, who still howled, they caught hold of us both, and bore us out in their arms. It was high time, for the school-room was now on fire, and in a few minutes more the flames burst out of the windows, while volumes of smoke forced through the door and soon afterwards the roof.
The engines were sent for, but before they could arrive or water be procured, the whole tenement was so enveloped in flames that it could not be saved. In an hour, the locale of our misery was reduced to ashes. They had put me on my legs as soon as we got clear of the school-room, to ascertain whether I was hurt, and finding that I was not, they left me.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 93
I never shall forget what my sensations were, when I beheld the flames and volumes of smoke bursting out ; the hurry, and bustle, and confusion outside ; the working of the engines, the troops marched up from the bar- racks, the crowd of people assembled, and the ceaseless mingling of tongues from every quar- ter ; and all this is my doing, thought I — mine — all mine.
I felt delighted that I had no partner or confederate ; I could, at all events, keep my own secret. I did, however, feel some anxiety as to Mv. CGallagher, for, much as I detested him, I certainly had no intention to kill him ; so, after a time, I made inquiries, and found that he was alive, and in no danger, although very much bruised, and somewhat burnt.
No one could explain how the catastrophe occurred, further than that Mr. O'Gallagher had collected all the squibs and crackers from the boys, and that they had exploded somehow or another; most people said that it served him
94 PERCIVAL KEENE.
right. My grandmother shook her head and said, " Yes, yes, gunpowder will go off, but " — and she looked at me — " it requires a match to be put to it." I looked up very innocently, but made no reply.
Mr. 0'Gallagher*'s favourite expression, to wit, " that it would end in a blow-up," proved, as far as his school was concerned, literally true. He had not the means of pro- curing another suitable tenement in Chatham, and as soon as he had recovered from the in- juries he had received, he quitted the town.
It was not until he had left, that I ventured to make known to Captain Bridgeman, and my aunt Milly, the trifling share I had in the transaction ; and they perceiving the pru- dence of keeping my secret, desired me on no account to let it be known to any one else.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 95
CHAPTER IX
As soon as it was ascertained that Mr. O'Gallagher was gone, my grandmother insisted upon my being sent to another school, and on tliis occasion my mother made tlie inquiries herself, and I was despatched to one much nearer home, and being treated well, not only played fewer tricks, but advanced rapidly in my education ; so rapidly indeed, that my grandmother began to think that I was not so bad a boy as I used to be.
As she treated me more kindly, I felt less inclined to teaze her, although the spirit of mischief was as undiminished as ever, and was shewn in various ways.
96 PERCIVAL KEENE.
I may as well here observe, that out of the many admirers of my aunt Milly, there were only two who appeared to be at all constant in their attention. One was Lieutenant Fiat, who was positively smitten, and would have laid his pay and person at her feet, had he received any thing like encouragement ; but my aunt disliked him in the first place, and moreover, had a very strong feeling towards Captain Bridgeman.
Mr. Flat was certainly a very fine-looking soldier, being tall, erect, and well made, but he was at the same time not over-brilliant ; he was, as an officer, the very sort of person my father Ben was as a private.
But tl]£ other party. Captain Bridgeman, did noi^come forward : he appeared to be in doubt, and not at all able to make up his mind.
The fact was, that my mother, being married to a private, made any match with the sister objectionable to the whole corps, as it would be derogatory that one sister should be the wife of
PERCIVAL KEENE. 97
a private and the other of an officer. Ben would have been able to say, " My brother-in- law, the captain of my division," which would never have done; and this Captain Bridgeman felt, and therefore resisted, as well as he could, the inroads which my aunt's beauty and mirth had made into his heart. My aunt was exactly a person to suit Captain Bridgeman as a help- mate, had it not been for this unfortunate alliance of my mother's.
Lieutenant Flat was too stupid and indiffe- rent to the opinion of the other officers, to care any thing about what they thought ; he would have married Milly long before, but my aunt, who had made up her mind to marry an officer, did not yet despair of obtaining the captain ; and although she would not positively dismiss Lieutenant P'lat, she merely kept him as a sort of reserve, to fall back upon when every other chance was gone.
I should like, if I possibly could, to give the reader some idea of my mother's circulating
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library and sort of universal commodity shop : it was a low-windowed building, one story high, but running a long way back, where it was joined to a small parlour, in which we generally sat during the day, as it was convenient in case of company or customers, the little parlour having a glass door, which permitted us to look into the shop.
In the front windows, on one side, were all the varieties of papers, sealing-wax, inkstands, and every kind of stationery, backed by child- ren's books, leather writing cases, prints, cari- catures, and Tonbridge ware. In the other windows were ribbons, caps, gloves, scarfs, needles, and other little articles in demand by ladies, and which they required independent of their milliners.
At the entrance were sticks and canes; on the counter a case of gold and more moderate- priced trinkets. On the shelves of the millinery side were boxes of gloves, ribbons, buttons, &c. On the opposite side, perfumes, cigars, tooth-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 99
brushes, combs, scented soaps, and other requi- sites for the toilet.
About ten feet on each side of the shop was occupied with the above articles ; the re- mainder of the shelves were reserved for the circulating library.
At the back of the shop were some seats round a small table, on which was laid the newspaper of the day, and on each side of the parlour door were hoops, bats, balls, traps, skittles, and a variety of toys for children.
My mother usually attended to the millinery, and my aunt Milly to what might be termed the gentlemen's side of the shop ; the remainder of the goods and circulating library were in the hands of both.
There were few hours of the day in which the chairs at the counter and round the table were not taken possession of by some one or another, either reading the paper or a book, or talking, to pass away the time. In fact, it was a sort of rendezvous, where all who met knew
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each other, and where the idle of our own sex used to repair to get rid of their time. Captain Bridgeman and Mr. Flat were certainly the two most constantly to be found there, although few of the marine officers were a day without paying us a visit.
Such was the locale ; to describe the company will be more difficult, but I will attempt it.
My mother, remarkably nicely dressed, is busy opening a parcel of new books just ar- rived. My aunt Milly behind the counter, on the gentlemen*'s side, pretending to be working upon a piece of muslin about five inches square. Mr. Flat sitting near the table, fallen back in his chair, apparently watching the flies on the ceiling. Captain Bridgeman, a very good- looking man, very slight, but extremely active, is sitting at the counter opposite to where my aunt is standing ; a small black cane, with a silver head to it, in his hand, and his gloves peculiarly clean, and well fitting. He has an eye as sharp as an eagle's, a slight hook
PERCIVAL KEENE. 101
to his nose, thin lips, and very white teeth ; his countenance as full of energy and fire as that of Lieutenant Flat is heavy and un- meaning.
" Miss Amelia, if I may take the liberty,"" said Captain Bridgeman, pointing with his cane to the bit of muslin she is employed upon ; " what are you making ? it"'s too small for any part of a lady's dress."'
" It is quite large enough for a cuff,'' Cap- tain Bridgeman.
*'A cuff; then you are making a cuff, I presume ?"
*' Indeed she is not. Captain Bridgeman," replies my mother ; " it is only to keep herself out of mischief She spoils a bit like that every week. And that's why it is so small. Captain Bridgeman ; it would be a pity to spoil a larger piece."
" I really was not aware that such a mere trifle would keep you out of mischief," said tlic captain.
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" You know," replied aunt Milly, " that idleness is the root of all evil, Captain Bridge- man."
" Flat, do you hear that ?" says Captain Bridgeman.
" What ?" replies Flat.
" That idleness is the root of all evil ; what an evil-disposed person you must be."
" I was thinking," replied Flat.
" I suspect it's only lately youVe taken to that. Who or what were you thinking about .?"
" Well, I believe I was thinking how long it would be before dinner was ready."
" That's very rude, Mr. Flat ; you might have said that you were thinking about me," replied my aunt.
" Well, so I was at first, and then I began to think of dinner-time."
" Don't be offended. Miss Amelia ; Flat pays you a great compliment in dividing his atten- tions ; but I really wish to know why ladies
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will spoil muslin in such a predetermined manner. Will you explain that, Mrs. Keene ?"
" Yes, Captain Bridgeman : a piece of work is very valuable to a woman, especially when she finds herself in company with gentlemen like you. It saves her from looking down, or looking at you, when you are talking nonsense ; it prevents your reading in her eyes what is passing in her mind, or discovering what effect your words may have upon her ; it saves much awkwardness, and very often a blush ; some- times a woman hardly knows which way to look ; sometimes she may look any way but the right. Now, a bit of muslin with a needle is a remedy for all that, for she can look down at her work, and not look up till she thinks it advisable."
" I thank you for your explanation, Madam ; I shall always take it as a great compliment if I see a lady very busy at work when Vm conversing with her."
" But you may flatter yourself, Captain Bridgeman," replied my mother ; " the attention
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to her work may arise from perfect indifference, or from positive annoyance. It saves the trou- ble of making an effort to be polite."
"And pray may I inquire, Miss Amelia, what feeling may cause your particular atten- tion to your work at this present moment ?"
" Perhaps in either case to preserve my self- possession," replied Amelia ; " or perhaps, Captain Bridgeman, I may prefer looking at a piece of muslin to looking at a marine officer."
" That's not very flattering," replied the captain ; " if you spoil the muslin, you're deter- mined not to spoil me."
" The muslin is of little value,"" said Amelia softly; walking to the other side of the shop, and turning over the books.
" Mr. Flat," said my mother, " your sub- scription to the library is out last month ; I presume I can put your name down again ?"
" Well, I don't know ; I never read a book,"" replied Mr. Flat, yawning.
" That's not at all necessary, Mr. Flat,"
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said my mother ; " in most businesses there are sleeping partners; besides, if you don't read, you come here to talk, which is a greater enjoy- ment still, and luxuries must be paid for."
" Well, I'll try another quarter," replied Mr. Flat, and then" —
" And then what ?'"' said my aunt ^lilly, smiling.
"Well, I don't know," says Flat: " is that clock of yours right, Mrs. Keene ? "
" It is, but I am fearful that your thoughts run faster than the clock, Mr. Flat ; you are thinking; of the dress bugle for dinner?"
" No, I was not."
" Then you were thinking of yourself .'^'''
"No, I wasn't, Mrs. Keene," said Flat, rising and walking out of tiie shop.
" rU tell you," said he, turning round, as he went out, " what I was thinking of, Mrs. Keene ; not of myself, I was thinking of my bull pup."
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My mother burst out a-laughing as the Lieutenant disappeared ; " I was not far wrong when I said he was thinking of himself," said she, " for a calfh a sort of hull pup^
At this sally Captain Bridgeman laughed, and danced about the shop; at last he said, *' Poor Flat ! Miss Amelia, he's desperately in love with you."
" That's more than I am with him," said Amelia calmly.
Here two ladies came in.
Captain Bridgeman made a most polite bow : " I trust Mrs. Handbell is quite well, and Miss Handbell, I hardly need ask the question with the charming colour you have ?"
" Captain Bridgeman, you appear to live in this library; I wonder Mrs. Keene don't take you into partnership."
" If I were not honoured with the custom of Mrs. Handbell and other ladies, I fear that my shop would have little attraction
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for gentlemen," replied my mother, with a curtsy.
" Mrs. Keene is quite correct in her surmise, Miss Handbell," said Captain Bridgeman ; " now that I have seen you, I shall not think my morning thrown away."
" If report says true. Captain Bridgeman,"" replied Mrs. Handbell, " you would be ([uite as often here, even if no ladies were to be customers of Mrs. Keene. Mrs. Keene, have you any of that narrow French ribbon left ? "
" I think I have, Madam ; it was off this piece, was it not .^"
" Yes, but I really don't know exactly hoAv much I require ; perhaps you will mea- sure it, and allow me to return what is left ?'"'
" Certainly, Madam ; will you take it with you, or shall I send it ?"
" I wish for it directly ; will you be very long in measuring it, for I ought to be home now .''"
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" Perhaps you'll have the kindness to measure what you take off yourself, Madam,"" replied my mother, " and then you need not wait ?"
" You put confidence in me, I observe, Mrs. Keene," replied Mrs. Handbell ; " well, I will do you justice.""
My mother smiled most graciously, put the piece of ribbon in paper^ and handed it to Mrs. Handbell, who, bowing to Captain Bridgeman, quitted the shop.
" I wonder whether you would trust me in that way ?''"' said Captain Bridgeman to my mother.
" I don"'t think I should ; Amelia says you will help yourself to cigars, and that she is sure you cheat when you count them.""
" Does she really say that.? Well, I did think that if there was any one who would have upheld my character, it would have been Miss Amelia.*"
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"Perhaps, Captain Bridgeman, she is get- ting tired of so doing."
" Or tired of me, Mrs. Keene, which would be worse still. Here comes a fair young lady, — Miss Evans, if I mistake not ; I believe it is a good customer to your library ?'"'
" She reads a great deal, and is therefore only a customer to the library."
" Ladies who are fond of readinjj are seldom fond of working.**'
" Good morning, Miss Evans," said Captain Bridgeman ; " you come for more food for the mind, I presume.''" (Miss Evans gave a bob, and turned to my mother) —
" Have you any thing new, Mrs. Keene? I have brought back the three volumes of Godol- phin."
" Yes, Miss, I have some books down to- day."
While Miss Evans was selecting from the new books, enter Mr. Jones, Mr. Smith, and
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Mr. Claville, of the marine corps, for cigars. Amelia comes out to attend them — they pur- chase a few articles, and are talking very loud, when three more ladies enter the shop, all for books.
It being now about three oVlock, the cus- tomers and loungers come in fast. Captain Bridgeman saunters away in company with his brother officers; other parties enter, who are succeeded by fresh claimants for books or the other articles to be procured in the repository.
This demand continues till about five o'clock, when the library becomes empty ; I come home from school, my father slinks in from barracks, and my mother and sister return to the back parlour, where they find my grandmother, as usual, very busy with her knitting.
Such is a fair sample of what took place at our shop every succeeding day. My mother made few bad debts, and rapidly added to her savings. My aunt Milly still balancing be-
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tween the certainty of Lieutenant Flat, and the chance of Captain Bridgeman, and I dividing my time and talents between learning and contriving mischief.
112 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER X.
About six months after I had blown up the school of Mr. O'Gallagher, the company to which my father Ben belonged was ordered afloat again, and shortly afterwards sailed for the East Indies, in the Redoutable, 74. That my mother was very much pleased at his departure, I do not scruple to assert ; but whether she ever analyzed her feelings, I can- not pretend to say ; I rather think that all she wished was, that the chapter of accidents would prevent Ben's reappearance, as she was ashamed of him as a husband, and felt that he was an obstacle to her sister's advancement.
So one fine day Ben wished us all good bye ;
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my mother was very generous to him, as she could well afford to be. I rather think that Ben himself was not sorry to go, for, stupid as he was, he must have felt what a cypher he had become, being treated, not only by my mother, but by everybody else, even by me, as a sort of upper servant.
It so happened, that about a month after Ben's departure. Captain Delmar had, through the interest of his uncle, Lord De Versely, been appointed to a ship which was lying in the Medway, and he came down to Chatham to join her. He had no idea tliat my mother was there, for he had lost sight of her alto- gether, and had it not been for me, might very probably have left the town witliout having made the discovery.
Among my other amusements, I had a great partiality for a certain bull pup, mentioned by Lieutenant Flat in the former chapter, and which he had made me a present of; the pup was now grown up, and I had taught it many
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tricks ; but the one which afforded me most amusement (of course, at other people's ex- pense) was, that I had made out of oakum a sham pigtail, about a foot and a half long, very strong and thick, with an iron hook at the upper end of it.
The sham tail I could easily hook on to the collar of any one's coat from behind, without them perceiving it, and Bob had been instruct- ed by me, whenever I told him to fetch it (and not before) to jump up at the tail wherever it might be, and hang on to it with all the tenacity of the race.
As it may be supposed, this was a great source of mirth in the barracks ; it was considered a good joke and was much applauded by Captain Bridgeman ; but it was not considered a good joke out of the barracks ; and many an old woman had I already frightened almost out of her senses, by affixing the tail to any portion of the back part of her dress.
It so happened, that one afternoon as I was
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cruising about with Bob at my heels, I per- ceived the newly-arrived Captain Delmar, in all the pomp of pride of full uniform, parading down the street with a little middy at his heels ; and I thought to myself, " Law ! how I should like to hang my tail to his fine coat, if I only dared ;" the impulse had become so strong, that I actually had pulled up my pinafore and dis- engaged the tail ready for any opportunity, but I was afraid that tlie middy would see me.
Captain Delmar had passed close to me, the middy at his heels was passing, and I thought all chance was gone, when, suddenly. Captain Delmar turned short round and addressed the little officer, asking him whether he had brought the order-book with him ? The middy touched his hat, and said "No;" upon which Captain Delmar began to inflict a most serious lecture upon the lad for forgetting what he had for- gotten himself, and I again passed by.
This was an opportunity I could not resist, while the captain and middy were so well em-
116 PERCTVAL KEENE.
ployed giving and receiving, I fixed my oakum tail to the collar of the captain's gold-laced coat, and then walked over to the other side of the street with Bob at my heels.
The middy being duly admonished, Captain Delmar turned round again and resumed his way ; upon which I called Bob, who was quite as ready for the fun as I was, and pointing to the captain, said, " Fetch it, Bob." My com- panion cleared the street in three or four bounds, and in a second afterwards made a spring up the back of Captain Delmar, and seizing the tail, hung by it with his teeth, shaking it with all his might as he hung in the air.
Captain Delmar was, to use a sailor's term, completely taken aback ; indeed he was nearly capsized by the unexpected assault. For a short time he could not discover what it was ; at last, by turning his head over his shoulder and putting his hand behind him, he discovered who his assailant was.
Just at that time, I called out " Mad dog !
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mad dog!" and Captain Delmar hearing those alarming words, became dreadfully frightened ; his cocked hat dropped from his head, and he took to his heels as fast as he could, running down the street, with Bob clinging behind him.
The first oj^en door he perceived was that of my mother's library ; he burst in, nearly u}> setting Captain Bridgeman, who was seated at the counter, talking to aunt Milly, crying out " Help ! help !" As he turned round, his sword became entangled between his legs, tripped him up, and he fell on the floor. This unhooked the tail, and Bob galloped out of the shop, bearing his prize to mc, who, with the little middy, re- mained in the street convulsed with laughter, liob delivered up the tail, which I again con- cealed under my pinafore, and then, with a demure face, ventured to walk towards my mo- ther"'s house, and, going in at the back door, put Master Bob in the wash-house out of the way ; the little middy, who had picked up the cap-
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tain"'s hat, giving me a wink as I passed him, as much as to say, I won't inform against you.
In the meantime Captain Delmar had been assisted to his legs by Captain Bridgeman, who well knew who had played the trick, and who, as well as aunt Milly, had great difficulty in controlling his mirth.
" Merciful heaven I what was it .'* Was the animal mad.'' Has it bitten me.'*" exclaimed Cap- tain Delmar, falling back in his chair, in which he had been seated by Captain Bridgeman.
" I really do not know," replied Captain Bridgeman ; " but you are not hurt, Sir, appa- rently, nor indeed is your coat torn."
" What dog — whose dog; can it be .'' — it must be shot immediately — I shall give orders — I shall report the case to the admiral. May I ask for a glass of water ? Oh, Mr. Dott ! youVe there. Sir ; how came you to allow that dog to fasten himself on my back in that way .''"
" If you please," said the middy, presenting his cocked hat to the captain, " I did draw my
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dirk to kill him, but you ran away so fast that I couldn't catch you." •
" Very well, Sir, you may go down to the boat and wait for orders,"" replied the captain.
At this moment my mother, who had been dressing herself, made her first appearance, coming out of the back parlour with a glass of water, which aunt Milly had gone in for. Perceiving a gold-laced captain, she advanced all smiles and curtsies, until she looked in his face, and then she gave a scream, and dropped the tumbler on the floor, much to the surprise of Captain Bridgeman, and also of aunt Milly, who, not having been at the Hall, was not acquainted with the person of Captain Delmar.
Just at this moment in came I, looking as demure as if, as the saying is, " butter would not melt in my mouth,"''' and certainly as much astonished as the rest at my mother's embar- rassment ; but she soon recovered herself, and asked Captain Delmar if he would condescend to repose himself a little in the back parlour.
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When my mother let the tumbler fall, the captain had looked her full in the face and recognized her, and, in a low voice, said, " Ex- cessively strange, — so very unexpected !" He then rose up from the chair and followed my mother into the back room.
" Who can it be?" said aunt Milly to Captain Bridgeman, in a low tone.
" I suppose it must be the new captain ap- pointed to the Calliope. I read his name in the papers, the Honourable Captain Delmar.*"
" It must be him,"" replied Milly ; " for my sister was brought up by his aunt, Mrs. Del- mar ; no wonder she was surprised at meeting him so suddenly. Percival, you naughty boy," continued Milly, shaking her finger at me, " it was all your doing."
" Oh, aunt Milly ! you should have seen him run," replied I, layghing at the thought.
" I'd recommend you not to play with post captains," said Captain Bridgeman, " or you may get worse than you give. Mercy on
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us!" exclaimed he, looking at me full in the face.
" What's the matter ?" said aunt Milly.
Captain Bridgeman leant over the counter, and I heard him whisper, " Did you ever see such a likeness as between the lad and Captain Delmar ?"
Milly blushed a little, nodded her head, and smiled, as she turned away. Captain Bridge- man appeared to be afterwards in a brown study : he tapped his boot with his cane, and did not speak.
About a quarter of an hour passed, during which Captain Delmar remained with my mother in the parlour, when she opened the door, and beckoned me to com(> in. I did so ; not without some degree of anxiety, for I was afraid that I had been discovered ; but this doubt was soon removed ; Captain Delmar did me the honcmr to shake hands with me, and then patted my head, saying, he hoped I was a good boy, whicli, being compelled to be my
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own trumpeter, I very modestly declared that I was. My mother, who was standing up behind, lifted up her eyes at my barefaced assertion. Captain Delmar then shook hands with my mother, intimating his intention of paying her another visit very soon, and again patting me on the head, quitted the parlour, and went away through the sliop.
As soon as Captain Delmar was gone, my motlier turned round, and said, " You naughty, mischievous boy, to play such pranks. I'll have that dog killed, without you promise me never to do so asain."
" Do what again, mother ?"
" None of your pretended innocence with me. I've been told of the pigtail that Bob pulls at. That's all very well at the barracks with the marines. Sir, but do you know who it is that you have been playing that trick to ?''''
" No, mother, I don't. Who is he.?"
" Who is he, you undutiful child ? why, he's — he's the Honourable Captain Delmar."
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" Well, what of that ?" replied I. " He's a naval captain, aint he ?""
" Yes ; but he's the nephew of the lady who brought me up and educated me. It was he that made the match between me and your father : so if it had not been for him, child, you never would have been born."
" Oh! that's it," replied I. " Well, mother, if it had not been for me, he'd never have come into the shop, and found you."
" But, my child, we must be serious ; you must be very respectful to Captain Delmar, and play no tricks with him ; for you may see him very often, and, perhaps, he will take a fancy to you ; and if he does, he may do you a great deal of good, and bring you forward in tlie world ; so promise me."
" Well, mother, I'll promise you I'll leave iiim alone if you wish it. Law, mother, you should have seen how the middy laughed at him ; it was real fun to make a gallant captain run in the way he did."
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124 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" Go along, you mischievous animal, and recollect your promise to me," said my mother, as she went into the shop, where she found that Captain Bridgeman, to whom she intended to explain how it was that she had dropped the tumbler of water, had gone away.
There was a great deal of consultation be- tween my grandmother and my mother on that evening ; my aunt and I were sent out to take a walk, that we might not overhear what passed, and when we returned we found them still in close conversation.
FERCIVAL KEENE. 125
CHAPTER XI.
The Honourable Captain Delmar was now a frequent visitor to my mother, and a good customer to the library. He did, however, generally contrive that his visits should be paid late in the afternoon, just after the marine officers had retired to dress for dinner ; for he was a very haughty personage, and did not think it proper for any officers of an inferior grade to come " between the wind and his nobility."
I cannot say that I was ])artial to him ; indeed, his pomposity, as I considered it, was to me a source of ridicule and dislike. He took more notice of me than he did of anybody else;
126 PERCIVAL KEENE.
but he appeared to consider that his condescend- ing patronage was all that was necessary ; whereas, had he occasionally given me a half- crown I should have cherished better feelings towards him : not that I wanted money, for my mother supplied me very liberally, consider- ing my age ; but although you may coax and flatter a girl into loving you, you cannot a boy, who requires more substantial proofs of your good- will.
There were a great many remarks not very flattering to my mother, made behind her back, as to her former intimacy with Captain Del- mar; for, somehow or another, there always is somebody who knows something, wherever doubts or surmises arise, and so it was in this case ; but if people indulged in ill-natured re- marks when she was not there, they did not in her presence ; on the contrary, the friendship of so great a man as the Honourable Captain Delmar appeared rather to make my mother a person of more consequence.
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She was continually pointing out to me the propriety of securing the good-will of this great personage, and the more she did so, the more I felt inclined to do the reverse ; indeed, I should have broke out into open mutiny, if it had not been for Captain Bridgeman, who sided with my mother, and when I went to him to propose playing another trick upon the noble captain, not only refused to aid me, but told me, if I ever thought of such a thing, he would never allow me to come to his rooms again.
" Why, what good can he do to me ?" in- quired I.
" He may advance you properly in life — who knows ? — he may put you on the quarter- deck, and get you promoted in the service.""
" What, make a middy of me ?"
" Yes, and from a midsliipman you may rise to be a post captain, or admiral, a much greater rank tiian I shall ever obtain," said Captain Bridgeman ; " so take my advice, and do as
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your mother wishes ; be very civil and respect- ful to Captain Delmar, and he may be as good as a father to you,"
" That's not saying much," replied I, think- ing of my father Ben, " I'd rather have two mothers than two fathers." And here the con- versation ended.
I had contracted a great alliance with Mr. Dott, the midshipman, who followed Captain Delmar about, just as Bob used to follow me, and generally remained in the shop, or outside with me, when his captain called upon my mo- ther. He was a little wag, as full of mischief as myself, and even his awe of his captain, which, as a youngster in the service, was excessive, would not prevent him from occasionally break- ing out. My mother took great notice of him, and when he could obtain leave (which indeed she often asked for him), invited him to come to our house, when he became my companion during his stay ; we would sally out together, and vie with each other in producing confusion
PERCIVAL KEENE. 129
and mirth, at other people's expense ; we be- came the abhorrence of every old fruit woman and beggar in the vicinity.
Captain Delmar heard occasionally of my pranks, and looked very majestic and severe ; but as I was not a middy, I cared little for his frowns. At last, an opportunity offered, which I could not resist ; and, not daring to make known my scheme either to Captain Bridgeman or aunt Milly, I confided it to Tommy Dott, the little middy, who, regardless of the conse- quences, joined me in it heart and soul.
The theatre had been opened at Chatham,, and had met with indifferent success. I went there once with my aunt Milly, and twice with Mr. Dott ; I therefore knew my locale well. It appeared that one of the female performers, whose benefit was shortly to take place, was very anxious to obtain the patronage of Captain Delmar, and, with the usual tact of women, had applied to my mother in the most obse-
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J 30 PERCIVAL KEENE.
quious manner, requesting her to espouse her cause with the gallant captain.
My mother, pleased with the idea of be- coming as it were a patroness under the rose, did so effectually exert her influence over the captain, that in a day or two afterwards play- bills were posted all over the town, announcing tliat the play of The Stranger-, with the farce of Raising the Wind, would be performed on Friday evening, for the benefit of Miss Morti- mer, under the patronage of the Honourable Captain Delmar, and the officers of his Ma- jesty's ship Calliope. Of course the grateful young lady sent my mother some tickets of admission, and two of them I reserved for Tommy Dott and myself.
Captain Delmar had made a large party of ladies, and of course all the officers of the ship attended ; the house was as full as it could hold. My mother and aunt was there in a retired part of the boxes ; Tommy Dott and I
PERCIVAL KEENE. 131
entered the theatre with them, and afterwards had gone up to what is, at the theatres at sea- ports, usually denominated the slips, that is, the sides of the theatre on the same range as the gallery. Tliere was Captain Delmar, with all his ladies and all his officers, occupying nearly the whole of the side of the dress circle below us, we having taken our position above him, so that we might not be observed.
The performance commenced. Miss Morti- mer, as Mrs. Hallei\ was very effective ; and in the last scene was compelling the eyes of the company to water, when we thought we would produce a still greater effect.
We had purchased a pound of the finest Scotch snuff", Avhich we had enclosed in two pasteboard cases, similar in form to those of squibs, only about six times the size, and iiolding half a pound of snuff" each. Our object was in doing this, that by jerking it all out with a heave, wc might at once throw it rigiit into the centre of the theatre above, so that in
132 PERCIVAL KEENE.
its descent it might be fairly distributed among all parties.
There was no one in the slips with us, except midshipmen and a description of people who would consider it a good joke, and never would peach if they perceived we were the culprits.
At a signal between us, just as Mrs, Haller was giving a paper to her husband, did we give our shower of snuff to the audience, jerking it right across the theatre. In a few minutes, the effect was prodigious ; Captain Delmar's party being right beneath us, probably re- ceived a greater share, for they commenced sneezing fast, then the boxes on the other side, the pit followed, and at last Mr. and Mrs. Haller and the Stranger were taken with such a fit of sneezing that they could no longer talk to each other.
The children were brought out to their pa- rents to effect their reconciliation, but they did nothing but sneeze, poor things ; and at last the uproar was tremendous, and the curtain was
PERCIVAL KEENE. 133
dropped, not to loud plaudits, but to loud sneezings from every part of the theatre.
Never was there any thing so ludicrous : the manager sent officers up to discover the of- fenders, but no one could tell who had played the trick ; he then came before the curtain to make a speech upon the occasion, but having sneezed seven or eight times, he was obliged to retire with his handkerchief to his nose; and the audience, finding it impossible to check the titillation of the olfactory nerves, abandoned the theatre as fast as they could, leaving the farce of Raising the Wind to be performed to empty benches.
I hardly need say, that as soon as we had thrown the snuff, Mr. Dott and I had gone down and taken our places very demurely in the box by the side of my mother, and appeared just as astonished, and indeed added as much as possible to the company of sneezers.
Captain Delmar was very furious at this want
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of respect of certain parties unknown, and had we been discovered, whatever might have been my fate, it would have gone hard with Tommy Dott ; but we kept our own counsel, and escaped.
That I was suspected by aunt Milly and Captain Bridgeman is certain, and my aunt taxed me with it, but I would not confess ; my mother also had her suspicions, but as Captain Delmar had none, that was of no consequence.
The success of this trick was a great tempta- tion to try another or two upon the noble captain. He was, however, saved by the simple fact of H. M. ship Calliope being reported manned and ready for sea; orders were sent down for his going round to Portsmouth to await the commands of the Lords Commis- sioners of the Admiralty, and Captain Delmar came to pay his farewell visit.
The report from the schoolmaster had been very favourable, and Captain Delmar then
PERCIVAL KEENK. 135
asked me, for the first time, if I would like to be a sailor. As Captain Bridgeman had advised me not to reject any good offer on the part of the honourable captain, I answered in the affirmative ; whereupon the captain replied, that if I paid attention to my learning, in a year''s time he would take me with him on board of his frio;ate.
He then patted my head, forgot to give me half-a-crown ; and shaking hands with my mo- ther and aunt, quitted the house, followed by Tommy Dott, who, as he went away, turned and laughed his adieu.
I have not mentioned my grandmother lately. The fact is, that when Captain Delmar made his appearance, for some cause or another, which I could not comprehend, she declared her intention of going away and paying a visit to her old acquaintances at the Hall. She did so. As I afterwards found out from what I over- heard, she had a very great aversion to the noble captain ; but the cause of iier aversion
136 PERCIVAL KEENE.
was never communicated to me. Soon after the sailing of the Calliope, she again made her appearance, took her old seat in the easy chair, and resumed her eternal knitting as before.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 137
CHAPTER XII.
Another year of my existence passed rapidly away ; I was nearly thirteen years old, a sturdy bold boy, well fitted for the naval profession, which I now considered decided upon, and began to be impatient to leave school, and wondered that we heard nothing of Captain Delmar, when news was received from another quarter.
One morning, Captain Bridgeman came much earlier than usual, and with a very giMve face put on especially for tlie occasion. I had not set off for school, and ran up to iiim ; but he checked me, and said, " I must see your mother
138 PERCIVAL KEENE.
directly, I have very important news for lier."
I went in to tell my mother, who requested Captain Bridgeman to come into the parlour, and not being aware of the nature of the com- munication, ordered aunt Milly and me into the shop; we waited for some minutes, and then Captain Bridgeman made his appearance!
" What is the matter ?" said Milly.
" Read this newspaper," said he ; " there is a despatch from India, it will tell you all about it, and you can shew it to your sister, when she is more composed."
Curious to know what the matter could be, I quitted the shop, and went into the parlour, where I saw my mother with her face buried in the sofa pillow, and apparently in great distress.
" What's the matter, mother ?" said I.
" Oh ! my child, my child ! " rephed my mother, wringing her hands, " you are an orphan, and I am a lonely widow."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 139
" How's that ?" said I.
" How's that ?" said my grandmother, " why, are you such a fool as not to understand that your father is dead ?"
" Father's dead, is he ?" replied I, " I'll go and tell aunt Milly ;" and away I went out of the parlour to Milly, whom I found reading the newspaper.
"Aunt,'" said I, "father's dead, only to think ! I wonder how he died !"
" He was killed in action, dear," said my aunt ; " look here, here is the account, and the list of killed and wounded. D'ye see your father's name — Benjamin Keene, mai'ine ?"
"Let me read all about it, aunt Milly," replied I, taking the paper from her ; and I was soon very busy with the account of the action.
My readers must not suppose that I had no feeling, because I shewed none at my father's death ; if they call to mind the iuunble position in which I had always seen my father, who dared not even intrude upon the presence
140 PERCIVAL KEENE.
of those with whom my mother and I were on familiar terms, and that he was ordered about just like a servant by my mother, who set me no example of fear or love for him ; they will easily imagine that I felt less for his death than I should have for that of Captain Bridge- man, or many others with whom I was on intimate terms.
What did puzzle me was, that my mother should shew so much feeling on the occasion. I did not know the world then, and that de- cency required a certain display of grief. Aunt Milly appeared to be very unconcerned about it, although, occasionally, she was in deep thought. I put down the paper as soon as I had read the despatch, and said to her, " Well, I suppose I must go to school now, aunt .'*"
" Oh no, dear," replied she, " you can't go to school for a few days now, it wouldn't be proper ; you must remain at home and wait till you have put on mourning."
" Vm glad of that, at all events,'' replied I ;
PERCIVAL KEENE. 141
" I wonder where Captain Delmar is, and why he don't send for me; I begin to hate school."
" I dare say it won't be long before you hear from him, dear," replied my aunt ; " stay here and mind the shop, while I go in to your mother."
If the truth was told, I am afraid that the death of Ben was a source of congratula- tion to all parties who were then in the parlour. As for me, I was very glad to have a few days' holiday, being perfectly indifferent as to whether he was dead or alive.
When I went in I found them in consulta- tion as to the mourning : my mother did not, in the first place, wish to make any parade about a husband of whom she was ashamed ; in the second, she did not like widow's weeds, and the unbecoming cap. So it was decided, as Ben had been dead six mcmths, and if they had known it before, they would have been in mourning for him all that time, that
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half-mourning was all that was requisite for them ; and that, as for me, there was no reason for my going into mourning at all.
Three days after the intelligence, my mother re-appeared in the shop ; the reason why she did not appear before was, that her dress was not ready ; she looked very pretty indeed in half- mourning, so did my aunt Milly; and the attentions of the marine corps, especially Cap- tain Bridgeman and Lieutenant Flat, were more unremitting than ever.
It appeared, that as the death of Ben had removed the great difficulty to my aunt's being married to an officer, my grandmother had resolved to ascertain the intentions of Captain Bridgeman, and if she found that he cried off, to persuade Milly to consent to become Mrs. Flat. Whether she consulted my mother or my aunt on this occasion, I cannot posi- tively say, but I rather think not.
My mother and my aunt were walking out one evening, when Captain Bridgeman came
!
PERCIVAL KEENE. 143
in, and my grandmother, who remained in the shop whenever my mother and Milly went out together, which was very seldom, requested him to walk into the back parlour, desiring me to remain in the shop, and let her know if she was wanted.
Now when they went into the parlour, the door was left ajar, and as I remained at the back part of the shop, I could not help over- hearing every word which was said ; for my grandmother being very deaf, as most deaf people do, talked quite as loud as Captain Bridgeman was compelled to do, to make her hear him.
" I wish. Captain Bridgeman, as a friend, to ask your advice relative to my daughter Amelia," said the old lady. " Please to take a chair."
" If there is any opinion that I can offer on the subject. Madam, I shall be most happy to give it," replied the captain, sitting down as requested.
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" You see my daughter Amelia has been well brought up, and carefully educated, as was indeed my daughter Arabella, through the kindness of my old patron, Mrs. Delmar, the aunt of the Honourable Captain Delmar, whom you have often met here, and who is heir to the title of de Versely ; that is to say, his eldest brother has no children. I have been nearly fifty years in the family as a confidential, Captain Bridgeman ; the old lord was very fond of my husband, who was his steward, but he died, poor man, a long while ago; I'm sure it would have broken his heart if in his life-time my daughter Arabella had made the foolish match which she did with a private marine ; however, what's done can't be helped, as the saying is — that's all over now.""
"It was certainly a great pity that Mrs. Keene should have been so foolish," replied Captain Bridgeman, " but, as you say, that is all over now."
" Yes ; God's will be done, Captain Bridge-
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man ; now you see, Sir, that this marriage of
Bella's has done no good to the prospects of her
sister Amelia, who, nevertheless, is a good and
pretty girl, though I say it, who am her mother;
and, moreover, she will bring a pretty penny
to her husband, whoever he may be ; for you
see, Captain Bridgeman, my husband was not
idle during the time that he was in the family
of the Delmars, and as her sister is so well to
do, why little Amelia will come into a greater
share than she otherwise would — that is, if she
marries well, and according to the wishes of
her mother,"
At this interesting part of the conversation Captain Bridgeman leant more earnestly to- wards m}' grandmother.
"A pretty penny, Madam, you said ; I never heard the expression before ; what may a pretty penny mean ?"
" It means, first and last, .£'4,000, Captain Bridgeman ; part down, and the other when I die."
VOL. I. H
146 PEKCIVAL KEENE.
a
Indeed," replied Captain Bridgeman ; " I certainly never thought that Miss Amelia would ever have any fortune ; indeed, she's too pretty and accomplished to require any."
" Now, Sir," continued my grandmother, " the point on which I wish to consult you is this : you know that Lieutenant Flat is very often here, and for a long while has been very attentive to my daughter ; he has, I believe, almost as much as proposed — that is, in his sort of way, but my daughter does not seem to care for him. Now, Captain Bridgeman, Mr. Flat may not be very clever, but I believe him to be a very worthy young man ; still one must be cautious, and what I wish to know before I interfere and persuade my daughter to marry him, is, whether you think that Mr. Flat is of a disposition which would make the marriage state a happy one ; for you see. Captain Bridgeman, love before marriage is very apt to fly away, but love that comes after marriage will last out vour life."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 147
"Well, Madam," replied the captain, " I will be candid with you ; I do not think that a cle- ver girl like Miss Amelia is likely to be happy as the wife of my good friend Mr. Flat ; still there is nothing against his character, Madam, I believe him harmless — very harmless.""
" He's a very fine-looking young man, Cap- tain Bridgeman."
" Yes ; nothing to be found fault with in his appearance.*"
" Very good-natured."
" Yes ; he's not very quick in temper, or any thing else ; he's what we call a slow coach."
" I hear he's a very correct officer, Captain Bridgeman."
" Yes ; I am not aware that he has ever been under an arrest."
" Well, we cannot expect every thing in this world ; he is handsome, good-tempered, and a good officer ; I cannot see why Amelia does npt like him, particularly as her affections are not otherwise engaged. I am satisfied with the
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answer you have given, Captain Bridgeman, and now I shall point out to AmeHa that I expect she will make up her mind to accept Mr. Flat."
Here Captain Bridgeman hesitated.
" Indeed, Madam, if her affections are not otherwise engaged — I say — are not engaged. Madam, I do not think she could do better. Would you like me to sound Miss Amelia on the subject.-^"
" Really, Captain Bridgeman, it is very kind of you ; you may perhaps persuade her to listen to your friend Mr. Flat."
" I will, at all events, ascertain her real sen- timents, Madam," said the captain, rising; " and, if you please, I will say farewell for the present."
As my grandmother anticipated, the scale, v.hich had been so long balanced by Captain Bridgeman, was weighed down in favour of marriage by the death of my father Ben and the unexpected fortune of ^£'4,000.
PERCI VAL KEEXE. 149
The next day the captain proposed and was accepted, and six weeks from that date my aunt Milly became his wife.
The wedding was very gay : some people did sneer at the match, but where was there ever a match without a sneer ? There are always and everywhere people to be found who will envy the happiness of otliers. Some talked about the private marine ; this attack was met with the .£'4,000 (or rather ^£"8,000 per annmn, for rumour, as usual, had doubled the sum); others talked of the shop as infra dig. ; tlie set-off against which was, the education and beauty of the bride. One or two subs' wives declared that they would not visit Mrs. Bridgeman ; but when the colonel and his lady called to congra- tulate the new-married couple, and invited a large party in their own house to meet them, then the subs' wives left their cards as soon as they could.
In a few weeks all was right again : my
150 PERCIVAL KEENE.
mother would not give up her shop — it was too lucrative ; but she was on more intimate terms with her customers, and when people found that, although her sister was a captain''s lady, my mother had too much sense to be ashamed of her position, why they liked her the better. Indeed, as she was still very handsome, one or two of the marine officers, now that she was a widow, paid her very assiduous court; but my mother had no intention of entering again into the holy state — she preferred state in quo. She had no one to care for but me, and for me she continued her shop and library, although I believe she could have retired upon a comfortable independ- ence, had she chosen so to do.
My mother, whatever she might have been when a girl, was now a strong-minded, clever woman. It must have been a painful thing for her to have made up her mind to allow me to go to sea ; I was her only child, her only care ; I believe she loved me dearly, although she was
PERCIVAL KEENE. lol
not SO lavish of her caresses as my aunt Milly ; but she perceived that it would be for my advantage that I should ensure the patronage and protection of Captain Delmar, and she sacrificed self to my interest.
152 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER XIII.
About a month after my aunt's marriage a letter was received from Captain Delmar, who had arrived at Spithead, requesting my mother to send me to Portsmouth as soon as she could, and not go to the trouble or expense of fitting me out, as he would take that upon himself.
This was but short notice to give a fond mother, but there was no help for it ; she re- turned an answer, that in three days from the date of the letter I should be there.
I was immediately summoned from school, that she might see as much of me as possible before I went; and although she did not at-
PEllCIVAL KEEXE. 153
tempt to detain me, T perceived very often the tears run down her cheeks.
My grandmother thought proper to make me very long speeches every three or four hours, the substance of which may be comprehended in very few words — to wit, that I had been a very bad boy, and that I was little lietter noAv ; that I had been spoiled by over-indulgence, and that it was lucky my aunt Milly was not so much with me ; that on board of a man-of-war I dare not play tricks, and that I would find it very different from being at home with mv mother; that Captain Delmar was a very great man, and that I must be very respectful to him; that some day I should thank her very much for her being so kind to me ; that she hoped I would behave well, and that if I did not, slu- hoped I would get a good beating.
Such was the burden of her song, till at last I got very tired of it, and on the third evening I broke away from her, saying, " Law, granny, how you do twaddle !" upon whicli she called
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154 PERCIVAL KEENE.
me a good-for-nothing young blackguard, and felt positively sure that I should be hanged. The consequence was, that granny and I did not part good friends, and I sincerely hoped that when I had come back again, I should not find her above ground.
The next morning I bade farewell to my dear aunt Milly and Captain Bridgeman, re- ceived a very ungracious salute from granny, who appeared to think, as she kissed me, that her lips were touching something poisonous, and set off with my mother in the coach to Ports- mouth.
We arrived safe at Portsmouth, and my mother immediately took lodgings on the Com- mon Hard at Portsea. The next day, having dressed herself with great care, with a very thick veil on her bonnet, my mother walked with me to the George Hotel, where Captain Delmar had taken up his quarters.
On my mother sending up her card, we were immediately ushered up-stairs, and on entering
PERCIVAL KEENE. 155
the room, found the Honourable Captain Del- mar sitting down in full uniform, his sword and hat and numerous papers lying on the table before him. On one side of the table stood a lieutenant, hat in hand ; on the other, the captain's clerk, with papers for him to sign. My friend Tommy Dott was standing at the window, chasing a blue-bottle fly, for want of something better to do ; and the steward was waiting for orders behind the captain's chair.
My mother, who had pulled down her veil, so that her face was not visible, made a slight curtsy to Captain Delmar, who rose up and advanced to receive her very graciously, request- ing that she would be seated for a minute or two, till he had time to speak to her.
I have thought since, that my honourable captain had a mind to impress upon my mother the state and dignity of a captain in his Majesty's service, when in commission. He took no notice whatever of me. Tommy Dott
156 PERCIVAL KEENE.
gave me a wink of his eye from the window, and I returned the compliment by putting my tongue into my cheek ; but the other parties were too much occupied with the captain to perceive our friendly recognition. Captain Delraar continued to give various orders, and after a time the officers attending were dis- missed.
As soon as we were alone, my mother was addressed in, I thought, rather a pompous way, and very much in contrast with his previous politeness before others. Cciptain Delmar in- formed her that he should take me immediately under his protection, pay all my expenses, and, , if I behaved well, advance me in the service.
At this announcement, my mother expressed a great deal of gratitude, and shedding a few tears, said, that the boy would in future look up to him as a parent. To this speech Captain Delmar made no reply ; but, changing the conversation, told her that he expected to sail in about three or four days, and that no
PEKCIVAL KEENE. 157
time must be lost in fitting me out ; tliat, all things considered, he thought it advisable that she should return at once to Chatham and leave the boy with him, as she could not know what was requisite for me, and would therefore be of no use.
At the idea of parting with me, my mother cried bitterly. Captain Delniar did then rise off his chair, and taking my mother by the hand, speak to her a few words of consolation. ]My mother removed her handkerchief from her eyes and sighed deeply, saying to Captain Uelmar, with an appealing look, "' Oh ! Captain Delmar, remember that for you I have indeed made great sacrifices ; do not forget them when you look at that boy, who is very dear to me."
*•' I will do him justice," replied the captain, somewhat affected, " but I must insist upon inviolable secrecy on your part ; you must promise me that, under any circumstances — "
" I have obeyed you for thirteen years," replied my mother ; " I am not likely to forget
158 PERCIVAL KEENE.
my promise now ; it is hard to part with him, but I leave him in the hands of — "
" You forget the boy is there," interrupted Captain Delmar ; " take him away now ; to- morrow morning I will send my coxswain for him, and you must go back to Chatham."
" God bless you. Sir," replied my mother, weeping, as Captain Delmar shook her hand, and then we left the room. As we were walking back to our lodging I inquired of my mother — " What's the secret between you and Captain Delmar, mother?""
" The secret, child ! Oh, something which took place at the time I was living with his aunt, and which he does not wish to have known ; so ask me no more questions about it."
After our return, my mother gave me a great deal of advice. She told me that, as I had lost my father Ben, I must now look upon Captain Delmar as a father to me; that Ben had been a faithful servant to the captain, and
PERCIVAL KEENE. 159
that she had been the same to IMrs. Delmar, his aunt ; and that was the reason why Captain Dehnar was interested about me, and had pro- mised to do so much for me; begging me to treat him with great respect, and never venture to play him any tricks, or otherwise he would be highly offended, and send me home again ; and then I should never rise to be an officer in his Majesty's service.
I cannot say the advice received the attention it deserved, for I felt more inclined to play tricks to my honourable captain than any person I ever met with ; however, I appeared to consent, and, in return, begged my mother to take care of my dog Bob, which she pro- mised to do.
My motlier cried a great deal during the night; the next morning she gave me five guineas as pocket-money, recommending me to be careful of it, and tellin<>; me I must look to Captain Delmar for my future supply. She
160 PERCIVAL KEENE.
tied up the little linen I had brought with me in a handkerchief, and shortly after the coxswain knocked at the door, and came up- stairs to claim me for his Majesty's service.
" I'm come for the youngster, if you please, Marm," said the coxswain, a fine, tall sea- man, remarkably clean and neat in his dress.
My mother put her arms round me, and burst into tears.
" I beg your pardon, Marm," said the coxswain, after standing silent about a minute, '' but could not you do the piping after the youngster's gone.'* If I stay here long I shall be blowed up by the skipper, as sure as my name's Bob Cross."
" I will detain you but a few seconds longer," replied my mother ; " I may never see him again."
" Well, that's a fact ; my poor mother never did me," replied the coxswain.
This observation did not raise my mother's
PERCIVAL KEENE. 161
spirits. Another pause ensued, during which I was bedewed with her tears, when the coxswain approached again —
" I ax your pardon, Marm ; but if you know any thing of Captain Dehnar, you must know he's not a man to be played with, and you would not wish to get me into trouble. It's a hard thing to part with a child, I'm told ; but it wouldn't help me if I said any thing about your tears. If the captain were to go to the boat, and find me not there, heM just say, ' What were my orders, Sir ?' and after that, you know, ]Marm, there is not a word for me to say."
" Take him, then, my good man,'"' replied my mother, pressing me convulsively to her heart — " take him. Heaven bless you, my dear child."
" Thanky, IVIarm ; that's kind of you,"' replied the coxswain. " Come, my little fellow, we'll soon make a man of you."
I once more pressed my lips to my poor
162 PERCIVAL KEENE.
mother''s, and she resigned me to the coxswain, at the same time taking some silver off the table and putting it into his hand.
" Thanky, Marm ; that's kinder still, to think of another when you're in distress yourself; I shan't forget it. I'll look after the lad a bit for you, as sure as my name 's Bob Cross."
My mother sank down on the sofa, with her handkerchief to her eyes.
Bob Cross caught up the bundle, and led mc away. I was very melancholy, for I loved my mother, and could not bear to see her so distressed, and for some time we walked on without speaking.
The coxswain first broke the silence : — " What's your name, my little Trojan ?" said he.
" Percival Keene."
"Well, I'm blessed if I didn't think that you were one of the Delmar breed, by the cut of your jib ; howsomever, it's a wise child that knows its own father."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 163
" Father 's dead," replied I.
" Dead I AVell, fathers do die sometimes ; you must get on how you can without one. I don't think fathers are of much use, for, you see, mothers take care of you till you're old enough to go to sea. My father did nothing for me, except to help mother to lick me, when I was obstropolous.'"
The reader, from what he has already been informed about Ben the marine, may easily conceive that I was very much of Bob Cross's opinion.
" I suppose you don't know anybody on board — do you.''"
"Yes, !• know Tommy Dott — I knew him when the ship was at Chatliam."
" Oh ! IVlr. Tommy Dott ; I dare say you're just like him, for you look full of mischief. He's a very nice young man for a small party, as the saying is; there's more devil in his little carcase than in two women's, and that's
164 PERCIVAL KEENE.
not a trifle; you'll hunt in couples, I dare say, and get well flogged at the same gun, if you don't take care. Now, here we are, and I must report my arrival with you under convoy."
Bob Cross sent a waiter for the captain's steward, who went up to Captain Delmar. I was ordered to go up-stairs, and again found myself in the presence of the noble captain, and a very stout elderly man, with a flaxen wig.
" This is the lad," said Captain Delmar, when I came into the room and walked up to him ; " you know exactly what he requires ; oblige me by seeing him properly fitted out, and the bill sent in to me."
" Your orders shall be strictly obeyed, Captain Delmar," said the old gentleman, with a profound bow.
" You had better not order too many things, as he is growing fast ; it will be easy to make
PERCIVAL KEENE. 165
good any deficiencies as they may be re- quired."
" Your orders shall be most strictly obeyed, Captain Delmar," replied the old gentleman, with another bow.
" I hardly know what to do with him for to-day and to-morrow, until his uniforms are made," continued the captain : " I suppose he must go on board."
" If you have no objection, Captain Del- mar," said the old gentleman, with another low bow, '•' I am sure that Mrs. Culpepper will be most proud to take charge of any protege of yours; we have a spare bed, and the young gentleman can remain with us until he is ready to embark in the uniform of his rank."
"Be it so, Mr. Culpepper; let your wife take care of him until all is comjiletc, and his chest is ready. You'll oblige me by arranging about his mess."
" Your wishes shall be most strictly attended
166 PERCIVAL KEENE.
to, Captain Delmar," replied Mr. Culpepper, with another profound inclination, which made me feel very much inclined to laugh.
" If you have no further orders. Captain Delmar, I will now take the young gentleman with me.*"
" Nothing more, Mr. Culpepper — good morning," replied Captain Delmar, who nei- ther said how d'ye do to me, when I came in, or good bye, when I went away in company with Mr. Culpepper. I had yet to learn what a thing of no consequence was a " sucking Nelson."
I followed Mr. Culpepper down-stairs, who desired me to remain with the coxswain, who was standing under the archway, while he spoke to the captain's steward.
"Well," said Bob Cross, "what's the ticket, yovmgster — are you to go aboard with me.?"
" No," said I ; " I am to stay on shore with
PERCIVAL KEENE. 167
that old chap, who does nothing but bob his head up and down. Who is he ?""
" That's our nipcheese."
" Nipcheese ! "
" Yes ; nipcheese means purser of the ship — you'll find all that out by-and-by ; you've got lots to larn, and by way of a hint, make him your friend if you can, for he earwigs the captain in fine style.
Perceiving that I did not understand him, Bob Cross continued : " I mean, that our captain 's very fond of the officers paying him great respect, and he likes all that bowing and scraping ; he don't like officers or men to touch their hats, but to take them riffht off their heads, when they speak to him. You see, he's a sprig of nobility, as they call it, and what's more, he's also a post captain, and thinks no small beer of himself, so don't for- get what I say — here comes the purser.""
]Mr. Culpepper now came out, and taking
168 PERCIVAL KEENE.
my hand, led me away to his own house, which was at Southsea. He did not speak a word during the walk, but appeared to be in deep cogitation : at last we arrived at his door.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 169
CHAPTER XIV.
Why is it that I detain the reader with Mr. Culpepper and his family ? I don't know, but I certainly have an incHnation to linger over every little detail of events which occurred upon my first plunging into the sea of life, just as naked boys on the New River side stand shivering a while before tliey can make up their minds to dash into the unnatural element ; for men are not ducks, although they do shew some affinity to geese by their ventur- ing upon the treacherous fluid.
The door was opened, and I found myself in the presence of Mrs. Culpepper, and her daughter, the heiress, as I afterwards discovered,
VOL. I. I
170 PERCIVAL KEENE.
to all Mr. Culpepper's savings, which were asserted to be something considerable after thirty years' employment as purser of various vessels belonging to his Majesty.
Mrs. Culpepper was in person enormous — she looked like a feather-bed standing on end ; her cheeks were as large as a dinner plate, eyes almost as imperceptible as a mole's, nose just visible, mouth like a round O. It was said that she was once a great Devonshire beauty. Time, who has been denominated Edax rey'um, certainly had as yet left her untouched, reserving her for a bonne bouche on some future occasion.
She sat in a very large arm-chair — indeed, no common-sized chair could have received her capacious person. She did not get up when I entered ; indeed, as I discovered, she made but two attempts to stand during the twenty- four hours; one was to come out of her bed- room, which was on the same floor as the parlour, and the other to go in again.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 171
Miss Culpepper was somewhat of her mother's build. She might have been twenty years old, and was, for a girl of her age, exuberantly fat ; yet, as her skin and complexion were not coarse, many thought her handsome ; but she promised to be as large as her motlier, and certainly was not at all suited for a wife to a subaltern of a marching rej^iment.
"Who have we here?" said Mrs. Culjjcpper to her husband, in a sort of low croak ; for she was so smothered with fat that she could not get her voice out.
" Well, I hardly know," replied the gentle- man, wiping his forehead; "but I've my own opinion."
" Mercy on me, how very like !" exclaimed Miss Culpepper, looking at me, and then at her father. " Would not vou like to ";o into the garden, little boy .?" continued she ; " there, througli the passage, out of the door, you can't miss it."
As this was almost a command, I did not
I 2
172 PERCIVAL KEENE.
refuse to go; but as soon as I was in the garden, which was a small patch of ground behind the house, as the window to the parlour was open, and my curiosity was excited by their evidently wishing to say something which they did not wish me to hear, I stopped under the window and listened.
" The very picture of him," continued the young lady.
" Yes, yes, very like indeed," croaked the old one.
" All I know is," said Mr. Culpepper, " Captain Delmar has desired me to fit him out, and that he pays all the expenses."
" Well, that's another proof," said the young lady ; " he wouldn't pay for other people's child ren.''"'
" He was brought down here by a very respectable-looking, I may say interesting, and rather pretty woman, I should think about thirty."
" Then she must have been handsome when
PERCIVAL KEENE. 173
this boy was born," replied the young lady : " I consider that another proof. Where is she ? "
" Went away this morning by the day-coach, leaving the boy with the captain, who sent his coxswain for him."
" There*'s mystery about that," rejoined the dau<rhter, " and therefore I consider it another proof."
" Yes," said Mr. Culpepper, " and a strong one too. Captain Delmar is so high and mighty, that he would not have it thought tliat he could ever condescend to have an intrigue with one beneath him in rank and station, and he has sent her away on that account, depend upon it."
" Just so ; and if that boy is not a son of Captain Delmar, I^n not a woman."
" I am of that opinion," replied the father, " and therefore I offered to take charge of him, as the captain did not know what to do with him till his imiform was ready."
" Well," replied Miss Culpepper, " FU soon
174 PERCIVAL KEENE.
find out more. I'll pump every thing that he knows out of him, before he leaves us ; I know how to put that and that together/'
" Yes," croaked the fat mother ; " Medea knows how to put that and that together, as well as any one."
"You must be very civil and very kind to him," said Mr. Culpepper; "for, depend upon it, the very circumstance of the captain's being compelled to keep the boy at a distance will make him feel more fond of him."
"I've no patience with the men in that re- spect," observed the young lady : " how no- bility can so demean themselves, I can't think ; no wonder they are ashamed of what they have done, and will not acknowledge their own off- spring."
" No, indeed," croaked the old lady.
" If a woman has the misfortune to yield to her inclinations, they don't let her off so easily," exclaimed Miss Medea.
" No, indeed," croaked the mamma again.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 175
" jVIeu make the laws and break them.
'?
continued Miss Culpepper. " Mere brute strength, even in the most civilized society. If all women had only the spirit that I have, there would be a little alteration, and more justice."
" I can't pretend to argue with you, Medea," replied Mr. Culpepper; " I take the world as I find it, and make the best of it. I must g-o now, my steward is waiting for me at the vic- tualling office. Just brush my hat a little, Medea, the wind has raised the nap, and then I'll be ofF."
I walked very softly from the window : a new light had burst upon me. Young as I was, I also could put that and that together. I called to mind the conduct of my mother to- wards her husband Ben ; the dislike of my grandmother to Captain Delmar ; the occasional conversations I had overheard ; the question of my mother, checked before it was finished — " If I knew who it was that I had been playing the
176 PERCIVAL KEENE.
trick to;" the visits my mother received from Captain Delraar, who was so haughty and dis- tant to everybody ; his promise to provide for me, and my mother's injunctions to me to be obedient, and look up to him as a father, and the remarks of the coxswain. Bob Cross, " If I were not of the Delmar breed :" all this, added to what I had just overheard, satisfied me that they were not wrong in their conjectures, and that I really was the son of the honourable captain.
INIy mother had gone ; I would have given worlds to have gained this information before, that I might have questioned her, and obtained the truth from her; but that was now impossi- ble, and I felt convinced that Avriting was of no use. I recollected the convei'sation between her and the captain, in which she promised to keep the secret, and the answer she gave me when I questioned her; nothing, then, but my tears and entreaties could have any effect, and those I knew were powerful over her ; neither would it
PERCIVAL KEENE. 177
be of any use to ask aunt Milly, for she would not tell her sister's secrets, so I resolved to say nothing about it for the present ; and I did not forget that Mr. Culpepper had said that Cap- tain Delmar would be annoyed if it was sup- posed that I was his son ; I resolved, therefore, that I would not let him imagine that I knew any thing about it, or had any idea of it.
I remained more than an hour in deep thought, and it was strange what a tunudt there was in my young heart at this discovery. I hardly comprehended the nature of my posi- tion, yet I felt pleased on the whole ; I felt as if I were of more importance ; nay, that I was more capable of thinking and acting than I was twenty-four hours before.
My reveries were, however, disturbed by Miss Medea, who came to tlie back-door, and asked me if I was not tired of walking, and if I would not like to come in.
" Are you not hungry, Master Keene ? Would you like to have a nice piece of cake and
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178 PERCIVAL KEENE.
a glass of currant wine before dinner? We shall not dine till three o'clock."
" If you please," replied I ; for I would not refuse the bribe, although I had a perfect knowledge why it was offered.
Miss Medea brought the cake and wine. As soon as I had dispatched them, which did not take very long, she commenced her pumping, as I had anticipated, and which I was deter- mined to thwart, merely out of opposition.
" You were sorry to leave your mamma, weren't you. Master Keene ?"
" Yes ; very sorry. Miss."
" Where's your papa, dearest ? He's a very pretty boy, mamma, ain't he?" continued the young lady, putting her fingers through my chestnut curls.
" Yes ; handsome boy," croaked the old lady.
" Papa 's dead."
" Dead ! I thought so," observed Miss Me- dea, winking at her mother.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 179
" Did you ever see your papa, dearest ?"
" Oh, yes ; he went to sea about eighteen months ago, and he was killed in action."
After this caine on a series of questions and cross-questions ; I replied to her so as to make it appear that Ben was my father, and nobody else, although I had then a very different opinion. The fact was, I was determined that I would not be pumped, and I puzzled them. for I stated that my aunt Milly was married to Captain Bridgeman, of the marines ; and not till then did Miss Medea ask me what my fa- ther was. JMy reply was, that he had also been in the marines, and they consequently put him down as a marine officer, as well as Captain Bridgeman.
This added so much to the respectability of my family, that they were quite mystified, and found that it was not quite so easy to put that and that together as they had thought.
As soon as they were tired of questioning,
180 PERCIVAL KEENE.
they asked me if I would not like to take another turn in the garden, to which I con- sented ; and, placing myself under the window as before, I heard Miss Medea say to her mother —
" Father 's always finding out some mare's nest or another; and because there is some likeness to the captain, he has, in his great wit, made an important discovery. It's quite evi- dent that he's wrong, as he generally is. It's not very likely that Captain Delmar should have had an intrigue with the wife of a marine officer, and her sister married also into the corps. The widow has brought him down herself, it is true, but that proves nothing ; who else was to bring him down, if it was not his mother .? and the very circumstance of her going away so soon proves that she felt it improper that she should remain ; and, in my opinion, that she is a modest, interesting young woman, in whom Captain Delmar has
PERCIVAL KEjENE. 181
taken an interest. I wish father would not come here with his nonsensical ideas, telling us to make much of the boy."
" Very true, IVIedea," replied the mother ; " you might have saved that cake and wine."
Thinks I to myself, you have not pumped me, and I never felt more delighted than at having outwitted them. I thought it, how- ever, prudent to walk away from the window.
Shortly afterwards, Mr. Culpepper returned, accompanied by one of the numerous Ports- mouth fitting-out tailors. I was summoned ; the tailor presented a list of what he declared to be absolutely necessary for the outfit of a gentle- man.
Mr. Cidpepper struck out two-thirds of the articles, and desired the remainder to be ready on the Friday morning, it being then AVednes- day. The tailor promised faithfully, and !Mr. Culpepper also promised most faithfully, that if the articles were not ready they would be left on his hands.
182 PERCIVAL KEENE.
As soon as the tailor had gone, Miss Medea asked me if I would not like to take another run in the garden. I knew that she wished to speak to her father, and therefore had a pleasure in disappointing her. I therefore replied, that I had been there nearly the whole day, and did not wish to go out any more.
" Never mind whether you wish it or not ; I wish you to go," replied Miss Medea, tartly.
" Medea, how can you be so rude.'""' cried Mr. Culpepper ; " surely Mr. Keene may do as he pleases. I'm surprised at you, Medea."
" And Fm surprised at you, papa, finding out a mystery when there is none," replied Miss Medea, very cross. " All you said this morning, and all your surmises, have turned out to be all moonshine. Yes, you may look, papa ; I tell you — all moonshine."
" Why, Medea, what nonsense you are talk- ing,"" replied Mr. Culpepper.
*' Medea ""s right," croaked Mrs. Culpepper ; " all moonshine."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 183
" So you need not be so very particular, papa, I can tell you,"" rejoined Miss Medea, who then whispered in her father's ear, loud enough for me to hear, " No such thing ; nothing but a regular marine.""
" Pooh, nonsense/' replied the purser, in a low voice ; " the boy has been taught to say it — he's too clever for you, Medea."
At this very true remark of her father's. Miss Medea swelled into a towering passion, her whole face, neck, and shoidders — for she wore a low gown in the morning — turning to a fiery scarlet. I never saw such a fury as she ap- peared to be. She rushed by me so roughly, that I was thrown back a couple of paces, and then she bounced out of the room.
" Medea knows how to put that and that to- gether, Mr. Culpcp})er," croaked out Mrs. Cul- pepper.
" IVIedea 's wise in her own conceit, and you're a regular old fool," rejoined Mr Culpepper
184 PERCIVAL KEENE.
with asperity ; " one too knowing, and the other not half knowing enough. Master Keene, 1 hope you are hungry, for we have a very nice dinner. Do you like ducks and green pea:s ?"
" Yes, Sir, very much," replied I.
" Were you born at Chatham, Master Keene ?"
" No, Sir, I was born at the Hall, near Southampton. My mother was brought up by old Mrs. Delmar, the captain's aunt."
I gave this intelligence on purpose ; as I knew it would puzzle Miss Medea, who had just returned from the kitchen.
Mr. Culpepper nodded his head triumphantly to his daughter and wife, who both appeared dumb-founded at this new light thrown upon the affair.
Miss Medea paused a moment, and then said to me,
" I wish to ask you one question, Master Keene."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 185
" I will not answer any more of your ques- tions, Miss," replied I. " You have been ques- tioning me cill the morning, and just now, you were so rude as nearly to push me down. If you want to know any thing more, ask Captain Delmar ; or, if you wish it, I will ask Captain Delmar whether I am to answer you, and if he says I am, I will, but not without."
This was a decided blow on my part ; mother and Medea both looked frightened, and Mr. Culpepper was more alarmed than either of the females. It proved to them that I knew what they were inquiring for, which was to them also proof that I also knew who I was ; and further, my reference to Captain Delmar satisfied them that I felt sure of his support, and they knew that he would be very much irritated if I told him on what score they had been pumping me.
" You are very right. Master Keene," said Mr. Culpej)per, turning very red, " to refuse
186 PERCIVAL KEENE.
to answer any questions you don't like ; and, Medea, Fm surprised at your behaviour ; I in- sist upon it you do not annoy Master Keene with any more of your impertinent curiosity.""
*' No, no," croaked the old lady ; " hold your tongue, Medea, hold your tongue.""
Miss Medea, who looked as if she could tear my eyes out if she dared, swallowed down her rage as well as she could. She was mortified at finding she had made a mistake, annoyed at my answering her so boldly, and frightened at her father"'s anger ; for the old gentleman was very apt to vent it in the argumentum ad fosminam, and box her ears soundly.
Fortunately dinner was served just at this moment, and this gave a turn to the conversa- tion, and also to their thoughts. Mr. Cul- pepper was all attention, and Miss Medea gradually recovering her temper, also became affable and condescending.
The evening passed away very agreeably ;
PERCIVAL KEENE. 187
but I went to Led early, as I wished to be left to my own reflections, and it was not till day- light that I could compose my troubled mind so as to fall asleep.
188 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER XV.
Although the aversion which I had taken to the whole Culpepper family was so great, that I could have done any thing to annoy them, my mind was now so fully occupied with the infor- mation which I had collected, relative to my supposed birth and parentage, that I could not think of mischief.
I walked on the common or in the little garden during the whole of the following day, plunged in deep thought, and at night, when I went to bed, I remained awake till the dawn. During these last two days I had thought and reflected more than I had perhaps done from the hour of my birth.
TERCIVAL KEENE. 189
That I was better off than I should have been if I had been the son of a private in the marines, I felt convinced ; but still I had a feel- ing that I was in a position in which I might be subjected to much insult, and that unless I was acknowledged by my aristocratic parent, my connection with his family would be of no use to me ; — and Captain Delmar, how was I to be- have to him ? I did not like him much, that was certain, nor did this new liijht which had burst forth make me feel any more love for him than I did before. Still my mother's words at Chatham wrung in my ears, " Do you know who it is that you have been ?" &c. I felt sure that he was my father, and I felt a sort of duty towards him ; perhaps an increase of respect.
These were anxious thoughts for a boy not fourteen ; and the Culpeppers remarked, that I had not only looked very pale, but had actually grown thin in the face during my short stay.
As I was very quiet and reserved after the first day, they were very glad wjien my clothes
190 PERCIVAL KEENE.
were brought home, and I was reported ready to embark : so was I, for I wanted to go on board and see my friend Tommy Dott, with whom I intended, if the subject was brought up, to con- sult as to my proceedings, or perhaps I thought it would be better to consult Bob Cross, the captain''s coxswain ; I was not sure that I should not advise with them both.
I had made up my mind how to behave to my mother. I knew that she would never acknow- ledge the truth, after what had passed between the captain and her when I was present ; but I was resolved that I would let her know that I was in the secret ; and I thought that the reply to me would be a guide as to the correctness of the fact, which, with all the hastiness of boy-
«
hood, I considered as incontrovertible, although I had not the least positive proof.
The day that I was to go on board, I re- quested Miss Culpepper to give me a sheet of paper, that I might write to my mother ; she supplied me very readily, saying, " You had
PERCIVAL KEENE. 191
better let me see if you make any mistakes in your spelling before your letter goes ; your mamma will be so pleased if you write your letter properly." She then went down into the kitchen to give some orders.
As I had not the slightest intention that she should read what I wrote, and resolved to have it in the post before she came up again, I was very concise in my epistle, which was as follows : —
" Dear Motheu :
" I have found it all out — I am the son of Captain Delmar, and every one here knows what you have kept a secret from me. I go on board to-day.
" Yours truly,
« P. Kekne."
This was very short, and, it must be admitted, direct to the point ; I could not perhaps have written one which was so calculated to ffive my mother uneasiness.
As soon as it was finished, I folded it up,
192 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and lighted a taper to seal it. Old Mrs. Cul- pepper, who was in the room, croaked out, " No, no ; you must shew it to Medea." But I paid no attention to her, and having sealed my letter, put on my hat, and walked out to the post-office ; I dropped it into the box, and on returning, found Mr. Culpepper coming home, accompanied by Bob Cross, the captain's cox- swain, and two of the boat's crew.
As I presumed, they were sent for me ; I joined them immediately, and was kindly greeted by Bob Cross, who said —
" Well, Mr. Keene, are you all ready for shipping ? WeVe come for your traps."
" All ready," replied I, " and very glad to go, for I'm tired of staying on shore doing nothing."
We were very soon at the house ; the sea- men carried away my chest and bedding, while Bob Cross remained a little while, that I might pay my farewell to the ladies.
The ceremony was not attended with much
PERCIVAL KEENE. 193
regret on either side. Miss Culpepper could not help asking me why I did not shew her my letter, and I replied, that tliere were secrets in it, which answer did not at all add to her good temper ; our adieus were, therefore, any thing but affectionate, and before the men with my effects were a liundred yards in advance, Bob Cross and I were at their heels.
" Well, Master Keene," said Bob, as we wended our way across Southsea Common, " how do you like the purser's ladies .?"
" Not at all," replied I : " tliey liave done nothing but try to pump me the whole time I have been there; but they did not make much of it."
" Women will be curious. Master Keene — pray what did they try to pump about .?'"'
I hardly knew how to reply, and I hesitated.
I felt a strong inclination towards Bob Cross,
and I had before reflected whether I should not
make him my confidant ; still I was undecided,
VOL. I. K
194 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and made no reply, when Bob Cross answered for me : —
" Look ye, child — for although you're going on the quarter-deck, and I am before the mast, you are a child compared to me — I can tell you what they tried to pump about, as well as you can tell me, if you choose. According to my thinking, there's no lad on board the frigate that will require good advice as you will ; and I tell you candidly, you will have your cards to play. Bob Cross is no fool, and can see as far through a fog as most chaps ; I like you for yourself as far as I see of you, and I have not forgotten your mother's kindness to me, when she had her own misery to occupy her thoughts ; not that I wanted the money — it wasn't the money, but the way and circvunstances under which it was given. I told her I'd look after you a bit — a bit means a great deal with me — and so I will, if you choose that I shall ; if not, I shall touch my hat to you as my officer,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 195
which won't help you much. So, now you have to settle, my lad, whether you will have me as your friend, or not."
The appeal quite decided me. " Bob Cross," replied I, " I do wish to make you my friend ; I thought of it before, but I did not know whether to go to you or to Tommy Dott."
" Tommy Dott ! Well, Master Keene, that's not very flattering, to put me in one scale, and Tonnuy Dott in the other ; I'm not sur- prised at its weighing down in my favour. If you wish to get into mischief, you can't apply to a better hand than Tommy Dott ; but Tommy Dott is not half so fit to advise you, as you are, I expect, to advise him ; so make him your playmate and companion, if you please, but as to his advice, it's not worth asking. However, as you have given me the preference, I will now tell you tliat the Cul- pepper people have been trying to find out who is your father. Ain't I right.''"
" Yes, you ai-e," replied I.
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196 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" Well, then, this is no time to talk about such things ; we shall be down to the boat in another minute, so we'll say no more at present ; only recollect, when you are on board, if they talk about appointing a man to take charge of your hammock, say that Bob Cross, the captain's coxswain, is, you understand, to be the person ; say that, and no more. I will tell you why by-and-by, when we have time to talk together ; and if any of your messmates say any thing to you on the same point which the Culpeppers have been working at, make no reply, and hold yourself very stiff. Now, here we are at the sally port, so there's an end to our palaver for the present."
My chest and bedding were already in the boat, and as soon as Cross and I had stepped in, he ordered the bowman to shove off ; in half an hour we arrived alongside the frigate, which laid at Spithead, bright with new paint, and with her pennant proudly flying to the breeze.
" You'd better follow me. Sir, and mind
{
■4
li
PERCIVAL KEENE. 197
you touch your hat when the officers speak to you," said Bob Cross, ascending the accommo- dation ladder ; I did so, and found myself on the quarter-deck, in the presence of the first lieutenant and several of the officers.
** AVell, Cross," said the first lieutenant.
" I've brought a young gentleman on board to join the ship. Captain Delmar has, I believe, given his orders about him."
" Mr. Keene, I presume ?''"' said the first lieutenant, eyeing me from head to foot.
" Yes, Sir," replied I, touching my hat.
" How long have you been at Portsmouth .?"
" Three days. Sir ; I have been staying at Mr. Culpepper's."
" AVell, did you fall in love with Miss Culpepper ?''
« No, Sir," replied I ; " I hate her."
At this answer the first lieutenant and the officers near him burst out a-laujihinir.
" Well, youngster, you must dine with us
198 PERCIVAL KEENE.
in the gun-room to-day ; and where's Mr. Dott ?"
" Here, Sir," said Tommy Dott, coming from the other side of the quarter-deck.
" Mr. Dott, take this young gentleman down below, and shew him the midshipmen's birth. Let me see, who is to take care of his hammock ?''"'
" I believe that Bob Cross is to take care of it, Sir," said I.
" The captain's coxswain — humph ! Well, that's settled at all events ; very good — we shall have the pleasure of your company to dinner, Mr. Keene. Why, Mr. Dott and you look as if you knew each other."
^' Don't we, Tommy ?"" said I to the midship- man, grinning.
" I suspect that there is a pair of you," said the first lieutenant, turning aft and walking away ; after which Tommy and I went down the companion ladder as fast as we could, and
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in a few seconds afterwards were sitting together on the same chest, in most intimate conversation.
My extreme resemblance to our honourable captain was not unobserved by the officers who were on the quarter-deck at the time of my making my appearance ; and, as I afterwards heard from Bob Cross, he was sent for by the surgeon, on some pretence or another, to obtain any information relative to me. What were Bob Cross's reasons for answerinsr as he did I could not at that time comprehend, but he explained them to me afterwards.
" Who brought him down, Cross.?" said the surgeon carelessly.
" His own mother. Sir ; he has no father, Sir, I hear."
" Did you see her ^ What sort of a person was she ?"
" Well, Sir," replied Bob Cross, " I've seen many ladies of quality, but such a real lady I don't think I ever set my eyes upon before ;
200 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and such a beauty — Vd marry to-morrow if I could take in tow a craft like her."
" How did they come down to Portsmouth ?" " Why, Sir, she came down to Portsmoutli in a coach and four; but she walked to the George Hotel, as if she was nobody."
This was not a fib on the part of the cox- swain, for we came down by the Portsmouth coach; it did, however, deceive the surgeon, as was intended.
" Did you see any thing of her, Cross .''" " Not when she was with the captain. Sir, but at her own lodgings I did ; such a generous lady I never met with."
A few more questions were put, all of which were replied to in much the same strain by the coxswain, so as to make out my mother to be a very important and mysterious personage. It is true that Tommy Dott could have contra- dicted all this ; but, in the first place, it was not very likely that there would be any communi- cation upon the point between him and the
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officers ; and in the next, I cautioned him to say nothing about what he knew, which, as he was strongly attached to me, he strictly com- plied with ; so Bob Cross completely mystified the surgeon, who, of course, made his report to his messmates.
Mr. Culpepper's report certainly differed somewhat from that of Bob Cross. There was my statement of my aunt being married to a marine officer — but it was my statement ; there was also my statement of my mother residing with Captain Delmar's aunt : altogether, there was doubt and mystery ; and it ended in my mother being supposed to be a much greater person than she really was — every thing tend- ing to prove her a lady of rank being willingly received, and all counter statements looked upon as apocryphal and false.
But, whoever iny mother iniglit be, on one point every one agreed, which was, that I was the son of the Honourable Captain Delmar, and on this point I was etpially con-
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vinced myself. I waited with some anxiety for my mother's reply to my letter, which arrived two days after I had joined the frigate. It was as follows : —
" My beau Percival :
" You little know the pain and astonishment which I felt upon the receipt of your very unkind and insulting letter ; surely you could not have reflected at the time you wrote it, but must have penned it in a moment of irritation arising from some ungenerous remark which has been made in your hearing.
" Alas ! my dear child, you will find, now that you have commenced your career in life, that there are too many whose only pleasure is to inflict pain upon their fellow-creatures. I only can imagine that some remark has been made in your presence, arising from there being a similarity of features between you and the Ho- nourable Captain Delmar ; that there is so, has been before observed by others. Indeed, your uncle and aunt Bridgeman were both struck
PERCIVAL KEENE. 203
with the resemblance, when Captain Delmar ar- rived at Chatham ; but this proves nothing, my dear child ; people are very often alike, who have never seen each other, or heard each other mentioned till they have by accident been thrown together so as to be compared.
" It may certainly be, as your father was in the service of Captain Delmar, and constantly attended upon him, and indeed I may add as I was occasionally seeing him, that the impres- sion of his countenance might be constantly in our memory, and — but you don't understand such questions, and therefore I will say no more, except that you will inmiediately dismiss from your thoughts any such idea.
" You forget, my dearest boy, that you are insulting me by supposing any such thing, and that your mother"'s honour is called in question ; I am sure you never thought of that when you wrote those hasty and inconsiderate lines. I must add, my dear boy, that knowing Captain Delmar, and how proud and sensitive he is, if it
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PERCIVAL KEENE.
should ever come to his knowledge that you had suspected or asserted what you have, his favour and protection would be lost to you for ever : at present he is doing a kind and chari- table action in bringing; forward the son of a faithful servant ; but if he imagined for a mo- ment that you were considered related to him, he would cast you off for ever, and all your prospects in life would be ruined.
" Even allowing it possible that you were what you so madly stated yourself in your letter to be, I am convinced he would do so. If such a report came to his ears, he would immediately disavow you, and leave you to find your own way in the world.
" You see, therefore, my dear boy, how in- jurious to you in every way such a ridiculous surmise must prove, and I trust that, not only for your own sake, but for your mother's cha- racter, you will, so far from giving credence, indignantly disavow what must be a source of mischief and annoyance to all parties.
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" Captain Bridgeman desires me to say, that he is of my opinion, so is your aunt Milly ; as for your grandmother, of course, I dare not shew her your letter. Write to me, my dear boy, and tell me how this unfortunate mistake happened, and believe me to be your affec- tionate mother,
" Arabella Keene."
I read this letter over ten times l)efore I came to any conclusion; at last I said to myself, there is not in any one part of it any positive denial of the fact, and I resolved some future day, when I had had some conversation with Bob Cross, to shew it to him and ask his opinion.
206 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER XVI.
The next morning, at daylight, the blue Peter was hoisted at the foremast, and the gun fired as a signal for sailing; all was bustle — hoist- ing in, clearing boats of stock, and clearing the ship of women and strangers.
At ten o'clock, Captain Delmar made his appearance, the hands were piped up anchor, and in half an hour we were standing out for St. Helen''s. Before night it blew very fresh, and we went rolling down the Channel before an easterly wind. I went to my hammock very sick, and did not recover for several days, during which, nobody asked for me, or any questions
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about me, except Bob Cross and Tommy Dott.
As soon as I was well enough, I made my appearance on deck, and was ordered by the first lieutenant to do my duty under the signal midshipman ; this was day duty, and not very irksome. I learnt the flags and how to use a spy-glass.
We were charged with despatches for the fleet then off Cadiz, and on the tenth day we fell in with it, remained a week in company, and then were ordered to Gibraltar and IVIalta. From Malta we went home again with des- patches, having been out three months.
During this short and pleasant run, I cer- tainly did not learn much of my profession, but I did learn a little of the ways of the world. First, as to Captain Delmar, his coniUict to me was any thing but satisfactory ; he never inquired for me during the time that I was unwell, and took no notice of me on niy re- appearance.
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The officers and young gentlemen, as mid- shipmen are called, were asked to dine in the cabin in rotation, and I did in consequence dine two or three times in the cabin ; but it appeared to me as if the captain purposely took no notice of me, although he generally did say a word or two to the others ; moreover, as the signal mids were up in the morning watch, he would oc- casionally send to invite one of the others to breakfast with him, but he never paid me that compliment.
This annoyed me, and I spoke of it to Bob Cross, with whom I had had some long con- versations. I had told him all I knew relative to myself, what my suspicions were, and I had shewn him my mother's reply. His opinion on the subject may be given in what follows : —
" You see. Master Keene, you are in an awk- ward position : the captain is a very proud man, and too proud to acknowledge that you are any way related to him. It's my opinion, from what you have told me, and from other reasons, par-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 209
ticularly from your likeness to the captain, that your suspicions are correct ; but what then ? Your mother is sworn to secrecy — that's clear; and the captain won't own you — that"'s also very clear. I had some talk with the captain's steward on the subject, when I was taking a glass of grog with him the other night in his berth. It was he that brought up the subject, not me, and he said, that the captain not asking you to breakfast, and avoiding you as it were, was another proof that you belonged to him ; and the wishing to hide the secret only makes him behave as he does. You have a difficult game to play, Master Keene; but you are a clever lad, and you ask advice — mind you follow it, or it's little use asking it. You must always be very respectful to Captain Delmar, and keep yourself at as great a distance from him as he does from you."
"That I'm sure I will," replied I, "for I dislike him very much."
" No, you must not do that, but you must
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bend to circumstances ; by-and-by things will go on better ; but mind, you keep on good terms with the officers, and never be saucy, or they may say to you what may not be pleasant ; recollect this, and things will go on better, as I said before. If Captain Delmar protects you with his interest, you will be a captain over the heads of many who are now your superiors on board of this frigate. One thing be careful of, which is, to keep your own counsel, and don't be persuaded in a moment of confidence to trust any thing to Tommy Dott, or any other mid- shipman ; and if any one hints at what you suppose, deny it immediately ; nay, if necessary, fight for it — that will be the way to please the captain, for you will be of his side then, and not against him."
That this advice of Bob Cross was the best that could be given to one in my position there could not be a doubt; and that I did resolve to follow it, is most certain. I generally passed away a portion of my leisure hours in Bob's
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company, and became warmly attached to him ; and certainly my time was not thrown away, for I learnt a great deal from him.
One evening, as I was leaning against one of the guns on the main deck, waiting for Cross to come out of the cabin, I was amused with the following conversation between a boat- swain's mate and a fore-top man. I shall give it verbatim. They were talking of one that was dead, and after the boatswain's mate had said, " Well, he's in heaven, poor fellow ;" after a pause, the fore-top man said :
" I wonder. Bill, whether I shall ever go to heaven ?''"'
" Why not .?" replied the boatswain's mate.
" Why, the parson says it's good works; now I certainly have been a pretty many times in action, and I have killed plenty of Frenchmen in my time."
" Well, that's sufficient, I should think ; I hold my hopes upon just the same claims. I've
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cut down fifty Frenchmen in my life, and if that ain't good works, I don't know what is.*"
" I suppose Nelson's in heaven ?"
" Of couise; if so be he wishes to be there, I should like to know who would keep him out, if he was determined on it ; no, no ; depend upon it, he walked slap in."
On our return to Portsmouth, the captain went up to the Admiralty with the despatches, the frigate remaining at Spithead ready to sail at a moment's notice.
I was now quite accustomed to the ship and officers ; the conviction I had of my peculiar position, together with the advice of Bob Cross, had very much subdued my spirit ; perhaps the respect created by discipline, and the example of others, which produced in me a degree of awe of the captain and the lieutenants, assisted a little — certain it is, that I had gained the good- will of my messmates, and had not been in any scrape during the whole cruize.
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The first lieutenant was a stern, but not un- kind man ; he would blow you up, as we termed it, when he scolded, for half an hour without ceasino;. I never knew a man with such a flow of words ; but if permitted to go on without interruption, he was content, without proceed- ing to further punishment. Any want of re- spect, however, was peculiarly offensive to him, and any attempt to excuse yourself was imme- diately cut short with, " No reply, Sir."
The second day after our return to Spithead, I was sent on shore in the cutter to bring off a youngster who was to join the ship ; he had never been to sea before ; his name was Green, and he was as green as a gooseberry. I took a dislike to liim the moment that I saw him, because he had a hooked nose and very small ferrety eyes. As we were pulling on l)oard, he asked me a great many questions of all kinds, particularly alxnit the captain and officers, and to amuse myself and the boat's crew, who were
214 PERCIVAL KEENE.
on the full titter, I exercised my peculiar genius for invention.
At last, after I had given a character of the first lieutenant, which made him appear a sort of marine ogre, he asked how it was I got on with him : " O, very well," replied I ; " but I'm a freemason, and so is he ; and he's never severe with a brother mason."
*' But how did he know you were a mason V
" I made the sign to him the very first time that he began to scold me, and he left off almost immediately ; that is, when I made the second sign ; he did not when I made the first."
" I should like to know these signs. Won't you tell them to me .-'"
" Tell them to you ! oh no, that won't do," replied I. "I don't know you. Here we are on board, — in bow, — rowed of all men. Now, Mr. Green, III shew you the way up."
Mr. Green was presented and ushered into
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the service much in the same way as I was; but he had not forgotten what I said to him, relative to the first lieutenant ; and it so hap- pened that, on the third day, he witnessed a jobation, delivered by the first lieutenant to one of the midshipmen, who, venturinfr to reply, was ordered to the mast-head for the remainder of the day, added to wliich, a few minutes afterwards, the first lieutenant ordered two men to be put both legs in irons. Mr. Green trem- bled as he saw the men led away by the master- at-arms, and he came to me —
" I do wish, Keene, you would tell me those signs," said he ; " can't you be persuaded to part with them ? I'll give you any thing that I have whicli you may like.""
" Well," said I, " I should like to have that long spy-glass of yours; for it's a very good one, and as signal midshipman, will be useful
to me."
" rU give it you, with all my heart," replied he, " if you will tell me the signs."
216 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" Well, then, come down below, give me the glass, and I will tell them to you."
Mr, Green and I went down to the berth, and I received the spy-glass as a present, in due form. I then led him to my chest in the steer- age, and in a low, confidential tone, told him as follows : —
" You see. Green, you must be very particu- lar about making those signs, for if you make a mistake you will be worse off than if you never made them at all ; for the first lieutenant will suppose that you are trying to persuade him that you are a mason, when you are not. Now, observe, youjuust not attempt to make the first sign until he has scolded you well ; then, at any pause, you must make it ; thus, you see, you must put your thumb to the tip of your nose, and extend your hand straight out from it, with all the fingers separated as wide as you can. Now, do it as I did it. Stop — wait a little, till that marine passes. Yes, that is it. Well, that is considered the first proof of your
PERCIVAL KEENE. 217
being a mason, but it requires a second. The first lieutenant will, I tell you frankly, be, or rather pretend to be, in a terrible rage, and will continue to rail at you ; you must, therefore, wait a little till he pauses, and then, you ob- serve, put up your thumb to your nose, with the fingers of your hand spread out as before, and then add to it your other hand by joining your other thumb to the little finger of the hand already up, and stretch your other hand and fingers out like the first. Then you will see the effects of the second sign. Do you think you can recollect all this ? for, as I said before, you must make no mistake."
Green put his hands up as I told him, and after three or four essays declared himself per- fect, and I left him.
It was about three days afterwards that IVIr. Green upset a kid of dirty water upon the lower deck, which had been dry holystoned, and the mate of the lower deck, when the first lieutenant went his round, reported the circum-
VOL. I, L
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PERCIVAL KEENE.
stance to exculpate himself. Mr. Green was consequently summoned on the quarter-deck, and the first lieutenant, who was very angry, commenced, as usual, a volley of abuse on the unfortunate youngster.
Green, recollecting my instructions, waited till the first lieutenant had paused, and then made the first freemason sign, looking up very boldly at the first lieutenant, who actually drew back with astonishment at this contemp- tuous conduct, hitherto unwitnessed on board of a man-of-war.
" What ! Sir," cried the first lieutenant. " Why, Sir, are you mad .'' — ^you, just come into the service, treating me in this manner ! I can tell you. Sir, that you will not be three days longer in the service — no. Sir, not three days ; for either you leave the service or I do. Of all the impudence, of all the insolence, of all the contempt, I have heard of, this beats all — and from such a little animal as you. Consider yourself as under an arrest, Sir, till the cap-
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tain comes on board, and your conduct is reported : go down below, Sir, immediately."
The lieutenant paused, and now Green gave him sign the second, as a reply, thinking that they would then come to a right understanding ; but, to his astonishment, the first lieutenant was more furious than ever, and calling the Serjeant of marines, ordered him to take Mr. Green down, and put him in irons, imder the half-deck.
Poor Green was handed down, all astonish- ment at the want of success of his mason''s signs. I, who stood abaft, was delighted at the success of my joke, while the first lieu- tenant walked hastily up and down the deck, as much astonished as enraged at such insultinjj and insolent conduct from a lad who had not been a week in the service.
After a time the first lieutenant went down below, when IJob Cross, who was on deck, and who had perceived my delight at the
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scene, which was to him and all others so inexplicable, came up to me and said :
" Master Keene, I'am sure, by your looks, you know something about this. That foolish lad never had dared do so, if he knew what it was he had done. Now, don't look so demure, but tell me how it is."
I walked aft with Bob Cross, and confided my secret to him ; he laughed heartily, and said :
" Well, Tommy Dott did say that you were up to any thing, and so I think you are ; but you see this is a very serious affair for poor Green, and, like the fable of the frogs, what is sport to you is death to others. The poor lad will be turned out of the service, and lose his chance of being a post captain ; so you must allow me to explain the matter so that it gets to the ears of the first lieutenant as soon as possible."
" Well," replied I, " do as you like, Bob ; if
PERCIVAL KEENE. 221
any one 's to be turned out of the service for such nonsense, it ouglit to be me, and not Green, poor snob."
"No fear of your being turned out; the first lieutenant won't like you the worse, and the other officers will like you better, especially as I shall say that it is by your wish that I ex- plain all to get Mr. Green out of the scrape. I'll to the surgeon and tell him ; but, Master Keene, don't you call such matters nonsense^ or you'll find yourself mistaken one of these days. I never saw such disrespect on a quarter-deck in all my life — worse than mutiny a thousand times." Here Bob Cross burst out into a fit of laughter, as he recalled Green's extended fin- gers to his memory, and then he turned away and went down below to speak to the surgeon.
As soon as Cross had ([uitted the deck, I could not restrain my curiosity as to the situation of my friend Green ; I therefore went down the ladder to the half-deck, and there,
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on the starboard side between the guns, I perceived the poor fellow, with his legs in irons, his hands firmly clasped together, look- ing so woeftd and woe-begone, every now and then raising his eyes up to the beams of the upper deck, as if he would appeal to heaven, that I scarcely could refrain from laughing. I went up to him and said :
" Why, Green, how is all this ? — what has happened ?''
" Happened ?" said the poor fellow ; " hap- pened ? see what has happened ; here I am."
" Did you make the freemason's signs .?" re- plied I.
" Didn't I ? Yes— I did ; Oh, what will be- come of me .?"
" You could not have made them right ; you must have forgotten them."
" I'm sure I made them as you told me; I'm quite sure of that."
" Then perhaps I did not recollect them
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exactly myself : however, be of good heart ; I will have the whole matter explained to the first lieutenant.""
" Pray do ; only get me out of this. I don't want the glass back."
" I'll have it done directly," replied I.
As I went away, Bob Cross came up, and said I was wanted by tlie first lieutenant in the gun-room. " Don't be afraid," said he ; *' they've been laughing at it already, and the first lieutenant is in a capital humour ; still he'll serve you out well ; you must expect that."
" Shall I make him the sign, Cross?" replied I, laughing.
"No, no; you've gone far enough, and too far already ; mind what I say to you."
I went down into the gun-room, when a tit- tering ceased as the sentry opened the door, and I walked in.
" Did you want me, Sir .'" said I to the first
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lieutenant, touching my hat, and looking very demure.
" So, Mr. Keene, I understand it was you who have been practising upon Mr. Green, and teaching him insult and disrespect to his supe- rior officers on the quarter-deck. Well, Sir .?""
I made no reply, but appeared very penitent.
" Because a boy has just come to sea, and is ignorant of his profession, it appears to be a custom, which I shall take care shall not be followed up, to play him all manner of tricks and tell him all manner of falsehoods. Now, Sir, what have you to say for yourself.''""
"Mr. Green and I have both just come to sea, Sir, and the midshipmen all play us so many tricks," replied I, humbly, " that I hardly know whether what I do is right or wrong."
" But, Sir, it was you who played this trick to Mr. Green."
" Yes, Sir ; I told him so for fun, but I didn't think he was such a fool as to believe me.
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I only said that you were a freemason, and that freemasons were kind to each other, and that you gave one another signs to know one another by ; I heard you say you were a freemason, Sir, when I dined in the gun-room."
" Well, Sir, I did say so ; but that is no reason for your teaching him to be impudent."
" He asked me for the signs. Sir, and I didn't know them exactly ; so I gave him the signs that ]\Ir. Dott and I always make between us."
" Mr. Dott and you — a pretty pair, as I said before. IVe a great mind to put you in Mr. Green''s place ; at all events, I shall report your conduct when the captain comes from London. There, Sir, you may go."
I put on a penitent face as I went out, wiping my eyes with the back of my hands. After I went out, I waited a few seconds at the gun-room door, and then the officers, suj^posing that I was out of hearing, gave vent to their mirth, the first lieutenant laughing the loudest.
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Cross is right, thought I, as I went up the ladder ; a minute afterwards, Mr. Green was set free, and, after a severe reprimand, was allowed to return to his duty.
" You are well out of that trick, my hearty," said Bob Cross ; " the first lieutenant Avon'^t say a word to the captain, never fear ; but don't try it again."
But an event occurred a few hours after- wards which might have been, attended with more serious conseqviences. The ship was, during the day, surrounded by shore boats of all descriptions, containing Jews, sailors' wives, and many other parties, who wished to have admittance on board. It was almost dusk, the tide was running strong flood, and the wind was very fresh, so that there was a good deal of sea. All the boats had been ordered to keep off by the first lieutenant, but they still lingered, in hope of getting on board.
I was looking over the stern, and perceived that the boat belonging to the bumboat woman,
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who was on board of the ship, was lying with her painter fast to the stern ladder ; the water- man was in her, as well as one of the sailors' wives, who had left her own wherry in hopes of getting on board when the waterman went alongside to take in tlie articles not sold, when the bumboat woman left the ship, which would be in a few minutes, as it was nearly gun-fire for sunset. The waterman, who thought it time to haul alongside, and wished to communicate with his employer on board, was climbing up by the stern ladder.
" That's against orders, you know," cried I to the man.
" Yes, Sir ; but it is so rough, that the boat would be swamped if it were to remain along- side long, and I hope you won't order me down again ; there's some nice cakes in the boat, Sir, just under tlie stern sheets, if you would like to have them, antl tliink it Avorth while to go down for them."
This was a bribe, and I replied, " No, I
228 PERCIVAL KEENE,
don't want your cakes, but you may come up;'
The man thanked me, and walked forward as soon as he had gained the deck. On second thoughts, I determined that I would have the cakes ; so I descended by the stern ladder, and desiring the woman who was left in the boat to haul upon the rope, contrived to get into the boat.
" What is it you want, my dear.''" said the woman.
" I come for some of those cakes under the stern sheets, '"* replied I.
"Well, I'll soon rummage them out," said she, " and I hope you will let me slip on board when the boat is alongside. Mind, Sir, how you step, you'll smash all the pipes. Give me your hand. Fm an old sailor."
" I should not think so," replied I, looking at her. I could hardly make out her face, but her form was small, and, if an old sailor, she certainly was a very young woman.
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We had a good many articles to remove before we could get at the cakes, which were under the ste^n sheets; and the boat rocked and tossed so violently with the sea which was running, that we were both on our knees for some little while before we obtained the basket : when we did, to our surprise, we found tliat the boat's painter, somehow or another, had loosened, and that during our search we had drifted nearly one hundred yards from the ship.
"Mercy on me! — why, we are adrift," exclaimed the woman. " What shall we do ? It's no use haihng, they'll never hear us ; look well round for any boat you may see."
" It is getting so dark that we shall not see far," replied I, not much liking our posi- tion. " Where shall we ffo to.?"
« Go to!— clean out to St. Helen's, if the boat does not fill before we get there ; and further than that too, if I mistake not, with this gale of
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wind. We may as well say our prayers, young- ster, I can tell you.""
" Can't we make sail upon her ?''"' replied I. " Can't we try and pull on shore somewhere ? Had we not better do that, and say our prayers afterwards .''"
" Well said, my little bantam," replied the woman: "you would have made a good officer if you had been spared ; but the fact is, boy, that we can do nothing with the oars in this heavy sea ; and as for the sail, how can you and I step the mast, rolling and tossing about in this way ? If the mast were stepped, and the sail set, I think I could manage to steer, if the weather was smoother, but not in this bubble and this gale; it requires older hands than either you or I."
" Well, then, what must we do ? "
" AVhy, we must sit still and trust to our luck, bale out the boat, and keep her from swamping as long as we can, and between
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times we may cry, or we may pray, or we may eat the cakes and red herrings, or the soft bread and other articles in the boat.""
" Let's bale the boat out first," said I, " for she's half full of water ; then we'll have some- thing to eat, for I feel liungry and cold already, and then we may as well say our prayers."
" Well, and I tell you what — we'll have something to drink, too, for I have a drop for Jem — if I could have got on board. I promised it to him, poor fellow, but it's no use keeping it now, for I expect we'll both be in Davy's locker before morning."
The woman took out, from where it was secreted in her dress, a bladder containing spirits ; she opened the mouth of it, and poured out a portion into one of the milk-cans ; having drank herself, she handed it to me, but not feeling inclined, and being averse to spirits, I rejected it. " Not just now," said I ; " by-and- by, perhaps."
During the time of this conversation we were
232 PERCIVAL KEENE.
swept by a strong tide and strong wind right out of the anchorage at Spithead : the sea was very high, and dashed into the boat, so that I was continually baling to keep it free; the night was as dark as pitch ; we could see nothing except the lights of the vessels, which we had left far away from us, and they were now but as little twinkles as we rose upon the waves. The wind roared, and there was every appearance of a heavy gale.
" Little hopes of our weathering this storm," said the woman; " we shall soon be swamped if we do not put her before the wind. FIl see if I cannot find the lines."
She did so after a time, and by means of the rudder put the boat before the wind ; the boat then took in much less water, but ran at a swift rate through the heavy sea.
" There, we shall do better now; out to sea we go, that's clear," said the woman, " and before daylight we shall be in the Channel, if we do not fill and go down ; and then, the Lord
PERCIVAL KEENE. 233
have mercy upon us, that's all i Won't you take a drop ?■" continued she, pouring out some spirits into the can.
As I felt very cold, I did not this time refuse. I drank a small quantity of the spirits; the woman took off the remainder, which, with what she had previously drank, began to have an effect upon her.
" That's right, my little Trojan," said she, and she commenced singing. " A long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether ; in spite of wind and weather, boys, in spite of wind and weather. Poor Jem," continued she, '' he'll be disappointed ; he made sure of being glorious to-night, and I made sure to sleep by his side — now he'll be quite sober— ,and I'll bo food for fishes ; it's a cold bed that I shall turn into before morning, that's certain. Hand me the cakes, boy, if you can fumble them out ; the more we fdl ourselves, the less room for salt water. Well, then, wind and waves are great bullies ; they fly slap back in a fright when
234 PERCIV^AL KEENE.
they bang against a great ship ; but when they get hold of a little boat like this, how they leap and topple in, as if they made sure of us [here a wave dashed into the boat]. Yes, that's your sort. Come along, swamp a little boat, you washy cowards, it's only a woman and a boy. Poor Jem, he'll miss me something, but he'll miss the liquor more ; who cares ? Let's have another drop."
" Give me the lines, then," said I, as 1 per- ceived she was letting them go, " or we shall be broadside to the waves again."
I took the rudder lines from her, and steered the boat, while she again resorted to the bladder of spirits.
" Take another sjp/' said she, after she had filled the milk-can ; "it won't harm you."
I thought the same, for I was wet through, and the wind, as it howled, pierced me to the bones; I took a small quantity, as before, and then continued to keep the boat before the wind. The sea was increasing very much,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 235
and, although no sailor, I felt fully convinced that the boat could not live much lonorer.
In the meantime the woman was becominor intoxicated very fast. I knew the consequence of this, and requested her to bale out the boat ; she did so, and sung a mouinful sort of song as she baled, but the howling of the wind prevented me from distinguishing the words.
I cannot well analyze my feelings at this time — they were confused ; but this I know, self-preservation and hope were the most pre- dominant. I thought of my mother, of my aunt, of Captain liridgeman. Captain Dclmar, and Bob Cross ; but my thoughts were as rapid as the gale which bore us along, and I was too much employed in steering, the boat, and pre- venting the seas from filling it, to have a moment to collect my ideas.
Again the woman ajjplicd to the bladder of spirits, and offered some to me ; I refused. I had had enough, and by this time she had had too much, and after an attempt to bale
236 PERCIVAL KEENE.
she dropped down in the stern sheets, smashing pipes and every thing beneath her ; and spoke no more.
We had now been more than four hours adrift, the wind was as strong as ever, and I thought the sea much higher ; but I kept the boat steady before the wind, and by degrees, as I became more accustomed to steer, she did not take in so much water ; still the boat appeared to be sinking deeper down, and after a time I considered it necessary to bale her out. I did so with my hat, for I found it was half full of water; and then I execrated the woman for having intoxicated herself, so as to be useless in such an emergency.
I succeeded in clearing the boat of a major portion of the water, which was no easy task, as the boat, having remained broadside to the wind, had taken in the sea continually as I baled it out. I then once more resumed the helm, and put the boat before the wind, and thus did I continue for two hours more, when
PERCIVAL KEENE. 237
the rain came down in torrents and the storm was wilder than ever ; but a Portsmouth wherry is one of the best boats ever built, and so it proved in this instance. Still I was now in a situa- tion most trying for a lad between fourteen and fifteen ; my teeth chattered with the cold, and I was drenched through and through ; the dark- ness was opaque, and I could see nothing but the white foam of the waves, which curled and broke close to the gunnel of the boat.
At one moment I despaired, and looked for immediate death ; but my buoyant spirit raised me up again, and I hoped. It would be daylight in a few hours, and oh ! how I looked and longed for daylight. I knew I must keep the boat before the wind ; I did so, but the seas were worse than ever ; they now continually broke into the boat, for tiic tide had turned, which iiad increased the swell.
Again I left the helm and baled out ; I was cold and faint, and I felt recovered with the exertion ; 1 also tried to rouse tlie woman, but
238 PERCIVAL KEENE.
it was useless. I felt for her bladder of liquor, and found it in her bosom, more than half empty. I drank more freely, and my spirits and my courage revived. After that, I ate, and steered the boat, awaiting the coming day- light.
It came at last slowly — so slowly ; but it did come, and I felt almost happy. There is such a horror in darkness when added to danger, I felt as if I could have worshipped the sun as it rose slowly and with a watery appearance above the horizon. I looked around me ; there was something like land astern of us, such as I had seen pointed out as land by Bob Cross, when off the coast of Portugal ; and so it was — it was the Isle of Wight; for the wind had changed when the rain came down, and I had altered the course of the boat, so that for the last four hours I had been steering for the coast of France.
But although I was cold and shivering, and worn out with watching, and tired with holding
PERCIVAL KEENE. 239
the lines by which the wherry was steered, I felt almost happy at the return of day. I looked down upon my companion in the boat ; she lay sound asleep, with her head upon the basket of tobacco-pipes, her bonnet wet and dripping, with its faded ribbons hanging in the water, which washed to and fro at the bottom of the boat, as it rolled and rocked to the motion of the waves; her hair had fallen over her face, so as almost to conceal her features; I thought that she had died during the night, so silent and so breath- less did she lie. The waves were not so rough now as they had been, for the flood tide had again made ; and as the beams of the morning sun glanced on the water, the same billows which appeared so dreadful in the darkness ap- peared to dance merrily.
I felt hungry ; I took up a red herring from one of the baskets, and tore it to pieces with my teeth. I looked around me in every cpiartcr to see if there was any vessel in sight, but there was nothing to be seen but now and then a
240 PERCIVAL KEENE.
screaming sea-gull. I tried to rouse my com- panion by kicking her with my foot ; T did not succeed in waking her up, but she turned round on her back, and her hair falling from her face, discovered the features of a young and pretty person, apparently not more than nineteen or twenty years old ; her figure was slight and well formed.
Young as I was, I thought it a pity that such a nice-looking person — for she still was so, although in a state of disorder and very dirty — should be so debased by intoxication ; and as I looked at the bladder, still half full of spirits, I seized it with an intention to throw it over- board, when I paused at the recollection that it had probably saved my life during the night, and might yet be required.
I did not like to alter the course of the boat, although I perceived that we were running fast from the land ; for although the sea had gone down considerably, there was still too much for the boat to be put broadside to it. I cannot
PERCIVAL KEENE. 241
say that I was unhappy ; I found my situation so very much improved to what it was during the darkness of the night. The sun shone bright, and I felt its warmth. I had no idea of being lost — death did not enter my thoughts. There was plenty to eat, and some vessel would certainly pick us up. Nevertheless, I said my prayers more devoutly tlian I usually did.
About noon, as near as I could guess, the tide changed again, and as the wind had lulled very much, there was little or no swell. I thought that, now that the motion was not so great, we might possibly ship the foremast and make some little sail upon the boat ; and I tried again more earnestly to rouse up my com- panion ; after a few not very polite attempts, I succeeded in ascertaining that she was alive.
" Be quiet, Jim," said she, with her eyes still closed ; "it's not five bells yet."
Another kick or two, and she turned herseli" round and stared wildly,
VOL. I. M
i-
242 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" Jim," said she, rubbing her eyes, and tiien she looked about her, and at once she appeared to remember what had passed ; she shrieked, and covered her face up with her hands
" I thought it was a dream, and was going to tell Jim all about it, at breakfast," said she, sorrowfully, " but it's all true — true as gospel. What will become of me? We are lost, lost, lost."
" We are not lost, but we should have been lost this night if I had been drunk as you have been," replied I ; " IVe had work enough to keep the boat above water, I can tell you."
" That's truth," replied she, rising up and taking a seat upon the thwart of the boat. " God forgive me, poor wretch that I am ; what will Jim think, and what will he say when he sees my best bonnet in such a pickle ?''"'
" Are you quite sure that you'll ever see Jim again, or that you'll ever want your best bonnet ?" replied I.
" That's true. If one's body is to be tossed
PERCIVAL KEENE. 243
about by green waves, it's little matter whether there''s a bonnet or shawl on. Where are we, do you know ?" '
" I can just see the land out there," replie'd I, pointing astern ; " the sea is smooth ; I think we could ship the foremast, and get sail upon her.""
The young woman stood up in the boat.
''Yes,"" said she, "I'm pretty steady; I think .we could. Last night in the dark and the tossing sea I could do nothing, but now I can. What a blessing is daylight to cowards like me — I am only afraid in the dark. Wc must put some sail upon the boat, or nobody will see us. What did you do with the bladder of liquor ?''"'
" Threw it overboard," replied I.
" Had you courage to do that — and watching through the night so wet and cold. Well, you did riglit — I could not have done it. Oh ! that liquor — that liquor ; I wish there wasn't such a thing in the world, but it"'s too late now. When I first married James Pearson,
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244 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and the garland was hung to the main-stay of the frigate, nobody could persuade me to touch it, not even James himself, whom I loved so much. Instead of quarrelling with me for not drinking it as he used to do, he now quarrels with me for drinking the most. If you'll come forward, Sir, and help me, we'll soon get up the foremast. This is it, you see, with the jib passed round it. Jim often says that I'd make a capital sailor, if I'd only enter in man's clothes ; but, as I tell him, I should be up at the gangway, for not being sober, before I'd been on board a week."
We contrived to ship the mast, and set the jib and foresail. As soon as the sheets were hauled aft, my companion took the steering lines, saying, " I know how to manage her well enough, now it's daylight and I'm quitl^o- ber. You must be very tired, Sir ; so sit down on the thwart, or lie down if you please, and take a nap; all's safe enough now — see, we lie up well for the land ;" and such was the case,
f:
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for she had brought the boat to the wind, and we skimmed over the waves at the rate of three or four miles an hour. I had no incli- nation to sleep; I baled the boat out tlioroughly, and put the baskets and boxes into some kind of order. I then sat down on the thwarts, first lookin(]j roimd for a vessel in sisrht ; but seeing none, I entered into conversation with my compaion.
" What is your name ?'' said I.
" Peggy Pearson ; I have my marriage lines to shew : they can throAv nothing in my face, except that I'm fond of liquor, God forgive me."
" And what makes you so fond of it now, since you say that when you were married you did not care for it ?"
j^ You may wx^ll say that : it all came of sipjiing. James would have me on his knee, and would insist on my taking a sip; and to ))lease him 1 did, although it made iin' ahiiost sick at first, and then after a while I did not mintl it ;
246 PERCIVAL KEENE.
and then, you see, when I was waiting at the sally-port with the other women, the wind blowing fresh and the spray wetting us, as we stood on the shingle with our arms wrapped up in our aprons, looking out for a boat from the ship, to come on shore, they would have a quartern, and made me take a drop ; and so it went on. Then James made me bring him liquor on board, and I drank some with him ; but what finished me was, that I heard some- thins; about James when he was at Plymouth, which made me jealous, and then for the first time I got tipsy. After that it was all over with me ; but, as I said before, it began with sipping — worse luck, but it's done now. Tell me what has passed during the night. Has the weather been very bad ? "
I told her what had occurred, and how I had kicked her to wake her up.
" Well, I deserved more than kicking, and you're a fine, brave fellow ; and if we get on
PERCIVAL KEENE. 247
board of the Calliope again — and I trust to God we shall — I'll take care to blow the trum- pet for you as you deserve."
" I don't want any one to blow the trumpet for me,"" replied I.
" Don't you be proud ; a good word from me may be of use to you, and it's what you de- serve. The ship''s company will think highly of you, I can tell you. A good name is of no small value — a captain has found out that before now; you're only a lad, but you're a regular trump, and the seamen shall all know it, and the officers too."
" We must get on board the ship first," replied I, " and we are a long way from it just now."
" We're all right, and I have no fear. If we don't see a vessel, we shall fetch the land somewhere before to-morrow morning, and it don't look as if there would be any more bad weather. I wonder if they have sent any thing- out to look after us ?'*
248 PERCIVAL KEENE.
" What's that ? " said I, pointing astern, " it"'s a sail of some kind."
" Yes," said Peggy, " so it is ; it's a square- rigged vessel coming up the Channel — we had better get on the otlier tack and steer for her."
We wore the boat round and, ran in the di- rection of the vessel ; in three hours we were close to her ; I hailed her as she came down upon us, but no one appeared to hear us or see us, for she had lower studding sails set, and there was no one forward. We hailed again, and the vessel was now within twenty yards, and we were right across her bows ; a man came forward and cried out, " Starboard your helm," but not in sufficient time to pre- vent the vessel from striking the wherry, and to stave her quartei' in ; we dropped along- side as the wherry filled with water, and we were hauled in by the seamen over the gun- wale, just as she turned over and floated away astern.
I
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" Touch and go, my lad," said one of the sea- men who had hauled me on board.
" Why don't you keep a better look-out ?" said Peggy Pearson, shaking her petticoats, which were wet up to the knees. " Paint eyes in the bows of your brig, if you ]iaven"t any your- self. Now you^'e lost a boatful of red herrings, eggs, and soft tommy — no bad things after a long cruize ; we meant to have paid our pas- sage with them — now you must take us for no- thing."
The master of the vessel, who v/as on deck, observed that I was in the uniform of an officer. He asked me how it was we were found in sucli a situation .'* I narrated what had passed in few words. He said that he was from Cadi/ bound to London, and that he would put us on shore at any place uj) tlie river I would like, but tliat he could not lose the chance of the fair wind to land me anywhere else.
I was too thankful to be landed anywliere; and tellin'; him that I should be verv fflad if he
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250 PERCIVAL KEENE.
could put me on shore at Sheerness, which was the nearest place to Chatham, I asked leave to turn into one of the cabin bed-places, and was soon fast asleep.
I may as well here observe, that I had been seen by the sentry abaft to go down by the stern ladder into the boat, and when the water- man came back shortly afterwards to haul his boat up, and perceived that it had gone adrift, there was much alarm on my account. It was too dark to send a boat after us that night, but the next morning the case was reported to the admiral of the port, who directed a cutter to get under weish and look for us.
The cutter had kept close in shore for the first day, and it was on the morning after I was picked up by the brig, that, in standing more out, she had fallen in with the wherry, bottom up. This satisfied them that we had perished in the rough night, and it was so reported to the port admiral and to Captain Delmar, who had just come down from London.
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I slept soundly till the next morning, when I found that the wind had fallen and that it was nearly calm. Peggy Pearson was on deck ; she had washed herself and smoothed out with an iron the ribbons of her bon- net, and was really a very handsome young woman.
" Mr. Keene," said she, " I didn't know your name before you told it to the skipper here; youVe in a pretty scrape. I don't know what Jim Pearson will say when you go back, run- ning away with his wife as you have done. Don't you think I had better go back first, and smooth things over ?""
"Oh ! you laugh now," replied I ; "but you didn't laugh the night we went adrift/"'
" Because it was no laughing matter. I owe my life to you, and if I had been adrift by my- self, I should never have put my foot on shore again. Do you know," said she to me. very solemnly, " Tve made a vow — yes, a vow to Heaven, that I'll leave off drinking ; and I only
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liope I may have strength given me to keep
it." •'■
" Can you keep it ?" said I.
" I think I can ; for when I reflect that I might have gone to my account in that state, I t
really feel a horror of liquor. If James would only give it up, I'm sure I could. I swear that I never will bring him any more on board — that's settled. He may scold me, he may beat me (I don't think he would do that, for he never has yet) ; but let him do what he pleases, I never will; and if he keeps sober because he hasn't the means of getting tipsy, I am sure that I shall keep my vow. You don't know how I hate myself; and although I'm merry, its only to prevent my sitting down and crying like a child at my folly and wickedness in yielding to temptation."
" I little thought to hear this from you. When I was with you in the boat, I thought you a very different person."
" A woman who drinks, Mr, Keene, is lost
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to every thing. I've often thought of it, after I\e become sober again. Five years ago I was the best girl in the school. I was the monitor, and wore a medal for jjood conduct. I thought that I should be so happy with James ; I loved him so, and do so still. I knew that he was fond of liquor, but I never thought that he would make me drink. I thought then that I sliould cure him, and with the help of God I will now ; not only him, but myself too."
And I will here state that Peggy Pearson, whose only fault was the passion she had imbibed for drinking, did keep her vow ; the difficulty of which, few can understand who have not been intemperate themselves ; and she not only continued sober herself, but, by de- grees, broke her husband of his similar projien- sity to licjuor.
It was not till the evening of the fourth day that we arrived at the Nore. 1 had i'l in my pocket at the time that I went adrift, which
254 PERCIVAL KEENE.
was more than sufficient, even if I had not intended to go and see my mother. A wherry came alongside, and Peggy Pearson and I stepped into it, after I had thanked the captain, and given a sovereign to the seamen to drink my health.
As soon as we landed at Sheerness I gave another of my sovereigns to Peggy, and left her to find her way back to Portsmouth, while I walked up to Chatham to my mother's house.
It was past eight o'clock and quite dark when I arrived ; the shop was closed, and the shutters up at the front door; so I went round to the back to obtain admittance. The door was not fast, and I walked into the little parlour without meeting with anybody. I heard some- body up-stairs, and I thought I heard sobbing ; it then struck me that my supposed loss might have been communicated to my mother. There was a light on the parlour table, and I per- ceived an open letter lying near to it I looked at it : it was the handwriting of Captain Del-
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mar. The candle required snuffing ; I raised the letter to the light that I might read it, and read as follows : —
" My dear Arabella :
" You must prepare yourself for very melan- choly tidings, and it is most painful to me to be compelled to be the party who communicates them. A dreadful accident has occurred, and indeed I feel most sincerely for you. On the night of the 10th, Percival was in a boat which broke adrift from the ship in a gale of wind ; it was dark, and the fact not known until too late to render any assistance.
" The next day a cutter was despatched by the admiral to look for the boat, which nuist have been driven out to sea ; there was a woman in the boat as well as our poor boy. Alas! I regret to say that the boat was found bottom up, and there is no doubt hut that our dear child has perished.
" You will beheve me when I say that I deeply
256 PERCIVAL KEENE.
lament his loss ; not only on your account, but because I had become most partial to him for his many good qualities, and often have I regretted that his peculiar position prevented me from shewing him, openly, that regard which, as his father, I really felt for him.
" I know that I can say nothing that will alleviate your sufferings, and yet I fain would, for you have been so true, and anxious to please me in every point since our first acquaintance and intimacy, that there is nothing that you do not deserve at my hands.
" Comfort yourself, dear Arabella, as well as you can, with the reflection that it has been the will of Heaven, to whose decrees we must submit with resignation, I am deeply suffering my- self; for, had he lived, I swear to you that 1 intended to do much more for him than ever I had promised you. He would have made a good and gallant sailor, had it pleased Heaven to spare him, and you would have been proud of him ; but it has been decided otherwise, and
I
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we must bow in obedience to His will. God bless you, and support you in your afflictions, and believe me still,
" Yoursj most sincerely and faithfully,
"Peiicival Delmar."
Then it is so, thought I ; here I have it under his own hand. I immediately folded up the letter, and put it into my bosom. You and I never part, that is certain, murmured I. I had almost lost my breath from emotion, and I sat down to recover myself. After a minute or two, I pulled the letter out, and read it over again. And he is my father, and he loves me, but dare not shew it, and he intended to do more for me than even he had promised my mother.
I folded up the letter, kissed it fervently, and replaced it in my bosom. " Now," thought I, " what .shall 1 do i This letter will be required of me by my mother, but never shall she get it ; not tears, nor threats, nor entreaties shall ever induce me to part with it. AVhat shall I do.'*
258 PERCIVAL KEENE.
Nobody has seen me — nobody knows that I have been here. I will go directly and join my ship ; yes, that will be my best plan."
I was so occupied with my own reverie, that I did not perceive a footstep on the stairs, until the party was so far down that I could not retreat. I thought to hide myself. I knew by the list shoes that it must be my grandmother. A moment of reflection. I blew out the light on the table, and put myself in an attitude : one arm raised aloft, the other extended from my body, and with my mouth wide open and my eyes fixed, I awaited her approach. She came in — saw me — uttered a fearful shriek, and fell senseless on the floor ; the candle in her hand was extinguished in the fall : I stepped over her body, and darting out into the back-yard, gained the door, and was in the street in a minute.
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CHAPTER XVII.
I WAS soon in the high road, and clear of the town of Chatham. As my object was that it should not be supposed that I had been there, I made all the haste I could to increase my dis- tance ; I therefore walked on in the direction of Gravesend, where I arrived about ten o'clock. A return chaise offered to take me to Greenwich for a few shillings, and before morning dawned I had gained the metropolis.
I lost no time in inquiring when the coaches started for Portsmouth, and found that I was in plenty of time, as one set off at nine o'clock.
Much as I wished to see Lonilon, my curio- sity o-ave way to \vhat I considered the ncces-
260 PERCIVAL KEENE.
sity of my immediate return to the frigate. At seven o'clock in the evening I arrived at Ports- mouth; I hastened down, jumped into a wherry, and was on board of the frigate again by eight.
It may be imagined that my sudden and un- expected appearance caused no little surprise. Indeed the first lieutenant considered it right to send the gig on shore at that late hour, to apprise the captain of my return, and Bob Cross had just time to give me a wring of the hand before he j umped into the boat, and went away to make the report.
I gave a history of my adventures to the officers, leaving them, however, to suppose that I had never been to Chatham, but had gone up to London in the merchant vessel.
Pearson, the boatswain's mate, came to make inquiries about his wife; and soon after Bob Cross came on board with the captain's orders, that I should go on shore to him in the gig on the following morning.
I wished very much to consult Bob Cross
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previous to my seeing the captain. I told him so, and he agreed to meet me on the gangway about ten o'clock, as by that time the officers would be ahiiost all in bed, and there would be less chance of interruption.
It was a fine, clear night, and as soon as we found ourselves alone, I narrated to him, in a low voice, all that had taken place, and gave him the contents of the letter which I had taken possession of. I then asked him what he thouo;ht I ought to do, now tliat I was certain of being the son of the captain.
" Why, Master Keene, you have done it very cleverly, that's the truth ; and that letter, which is as good as a certificate from Captain Delmar, must be taken great care of; I hardly know where it ought to be put, but I think the best thing will be for me to sew it in a seal-skin pouch that I have, and then you can wear it round your neck, and next your skin ; for, as you say, you and tliat must never part company. lUjt, INIaster Keene, you xww'tX.
262 PERCIVAL KEENE.
be silent as death about it. You have told me, and I hope I may be trusted, but trust nobody else. As to saying or hinting any thing to the captain, you mustn't think of it ; you must go on as before, as if you knew nothing, for if he thought you had the letter in your possession, he would forget you were his son, and perhaps hate you. He never would have been induced to acknowledge you under his own hand as his son, had he not thought that you were dead and gone, as everybody else did ; so behave just as respectful and distant as before. It's only in some great emergency that that letter will do you any good, and you must reserve it in case of need. If your mother is suspicious, why, you must blind her. Your granny will swear that it was your ghost ; your mother may think otherwise, but cannot prove it; she dare not tell the captain that she suspects you have the letter, and it will all blow over after a cruize or two."
I agreed to follow the advice of Bob Cross,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 263
as I saw it was gooci, and we parted for the night.
The next morning I went on shore to the captain, who received me very stiffly, with, " Mr. Keene, you have had a narrow escape. How did you get back .'*"
I replied, that the vessel which picked me up was bound to London, and that I had taken the coach down.
" Well, I never had an idea that we should have seen you again, and I have written to your mother, acquainting her with your loss."
" Have you. Sir ?" replied I : "it will make her very unhappy."
" Of course it will ; but I shall write by this post, stating that you have been so fortu- nately preserved.""
" Thanky, Sir,"" replied I : " have you any further orders, Sir .'* "
"No, Mr. Keene; you may go on board, and return to your duty."
264 PERCIVAL KEENE.
I made my bow, and quitted the room ; went down below, and found Bob Cross waiting for me.
" Well," said he, as we walked away.
" Stiff as ever," replied I : " told me to go on board, and 'tend to my duty."
"Well, I knew it would be so," replied Bob : " it's hard to say what stuflP them great nobs are made of. Never mind that; you've your own game to play, and your own secret to keep."
"His secret," replied I, biting my lips, " to keep or to tell, as may happen."
" Don't let your vexation get the better of you, Master Keene ; you've the best of it, if you only keep your temper ; let him play his cards, and you play yours. As you know his cards, and he don't know yours, you must win the game in the end — that is, if you are commonly prudent."
" You are right. Cross," replied T ; " but you forget that I am but a boy."
I*-"
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" You are but a boy, Master Keene, but you've no fooPs head on your shoulders.''
" I hope not,*" replied I ; " but hert' we are at the boat."
"Yes; and, as I live, here's Peggy Pearson. Well, Peggy, how did you like your cruize with Master Keene ? "
"If ever I go on another, I hope he will be my companion. Master Keene, will you allow me to go on board with you, to see my husband ?"
" Oh yes, Peggy," replied Cross ; "the lirst lieutenant would not refuse you after what has happened, nor Captain Delmar either, stiff as he is; for although he never shews it, he don't want feeling. Jim will be glad to see you, Peggy ; you haven't an idea how he took on, when he heard of your loss. He borrowed a pocket-handkerchief from the cor- poral of marines."
" I suspect he'd rather borrow a bottle of I'um from the purser," ivplied Peggy.
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" Recollect, Peggy," said I, " holding up my finger."
"Mr. Keene, I do recollect; I pledge you my word, that I have not tasted a drop of spirits since we parted — and that with a sove- reign in my pocket."
" Well, only keep to it — that's all."
" 1 will indeed, Mr. Keene ; and what's more, I shall love you as long as I live."
We pulled on board in the gig, and Peggy was soon in the arms of her husband. As Pear- son embraced her at the gangway — for he could not help it — the first lieutenant very kindly said, " Pearson, I shan't want you on deck till after dinner ; you may go below with your wife."
" Now, may God bless you, for a cross-look- ing, kind-hearted gentleman," said Peggy to the first lieutenant.
Peggy was as good as her word to me ; she gave such an account of my courage and presence of mind, of her fears, and at last of
I
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her getting tipsy — of my remaining at the hehii and managinor the boat all nifjht bv
myself, that I obtained great reputation among the ship's company, and it was all reported to the officers, and worked its way until it came from the first lieutenant to the captain, and from the captain to the port admiral. This is certain, that Peggy Pearson did do nie a good service, for I was no longer looked upon as a mere youngster who had just come to sea, and who had not been tried.
" Well, Sir," said Bob Cross, a day or two afterwards, " it seems, by Peggy Pearson's report, that you're not frightened at a trifle."
" Peg Pearson's report won't do me much good."
" You ought to know better, Master Keene, than to say that ; a mouse may help a lion, as the fable says."
" Where did you learn all your fables. Cross.?"
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268 PERCIVAL KEENE.
"I'll tell you ; there's a nice little girl that used to sit on my knee and read her fables to me, and I listened to her, because I loved her."
" And does she do so now ?"
" Oh no, she's too big for that — she'd blush up to the temples ; but never mind the girl or the fables. I told you that Peggy had reported your conduct, as we say in the service. Now do you know, that this very day I heard the first lieutenant speaking of it to the captain, and you've no idea how proud the captain looked, although he pretended to care nothing about it; I watched him, and he looked as much as to say, ' that's my boy,' ""
" Well, if that pleases him, I'll make him prouder yet of me, if I have the opportunity," replied I.
" That you will. Master Keene, if I'm any judge of fizonomy ; and that's the way to go to a parent's heart : make him feel proud of you."
PERCIVAL KEENE. 269
I did not forget this ; as the reader will eventually discover.
I had written to my mother, giving her a long account of my adventures, but not saying a word of my having been at Chatham. I made her suppose, as I did the captain, that I had been carried up to London. My letter reached her the day after the one announcing my safety, written to her by Captain Delmar.
She answered me by return of post, thanking Heaven for my preservation, and stating how- great had been her anguish and misery at my supposed loss. In the latter part of the letter was this paragraph : —
" Strange to say, on the night of the 15th, when I was on my bed in tears, having but just received the news of your loss, your grand- mother went down-stairs, and declares that she saw you or your ghost in the little back par- lour. At all events, I found her insensible on the floor, so that she must have seen some- thinir. She might have been frightened at no-
270 PERCIVAL KEENE.
thing ; and yet I know not what to think, for there are circumstances which almost make me believe that somebody was in the house. I presume you can prove an ' alibi.** ""
That my mother had been suspicious, per- haps more than suspicious, from the disappear- ance of the letter, I was convinced. When I replied to her, I said : — " My alibi is easily proved by applying to the master and seamen of the vessel on board of which I was. Old granny must have been frightened at her own shadow : the idea of my coming to your house, and having left it without seeing you, is rather too absurd ; granny must have invented the story, because she hates me, and thought to make you do the same.*"
Whatever my mother may have thought, she did not again mention the subject. I had, however, a few days afterwards, a letter from my aunt Milly, in which she laughingly told the same story of granny swearing that she had seen me or my ghost. " At first we thought
PERCIVAL KEENE. 271
it was your ghost, but since a letter from Cap- tain Del mar to your mother has been missing, it is now imagined that you have been here, and have taken possession of it. You will tell me, my dearest Percival, I'm sure, if you did play this trick to granny, or not ; you know you may trust me with any of your tricks."
But I was not in this instance to be wheedled by my aunt. I wrote in return, saying how much I was amazed at my grandmother telling such fibs, and proved to her most satisfacto- rily, that T was in London at the time they supposed I might have been at Chatham.
That my aunt had been requested by my mother to try to find out the trutli, I was well convinced ; but I felt my secret of too much importance to trust either of them, and from that time the subject was never mentioned ; and I believe it was at last surmised that the letter might have been destroyed accidentally or purposely by tlie maid servant, nnd that my grandmother had hwn frightened at nothing
272 PERCIVAL KEENE.
at all — an opinion more supported, as the maid, who had taken advantage of my mother's retiring to her room, and had been out gossip- ing, declared that she had not left the premises three minutes, and not a soul could have come in. Moreover, it was so unlikely that I could have been in Chatham without being recog- nized by somebody.
My grandmother shook her head, and said nothing during all this canvassing of the ques- tion ; but my aunt Milly declared that I never would have been at Chatham without coming to see her. And it was her opinion that the servant girl had read the letter when left on the table, and had taken it out to shew to her asso- ciates ; and somebody who wished to have a hold upon my mother by the possession of the letter had retained it.
I think my mother came to that opinion at last, and it was the source of much uneasiness to her. She dared not say a word to Captain Delmar, and every day expected to have an
PERCIVAL KEENE. 273
offer made of returning the letter, upon a cer- tain sum being paid down. But the offer was never made, as the letter had been sewed up by Bob Cross in the piece of seal-skin, and was worn round my neck with a ribbon, with as much care as if it had been a su])])osed bit of the wood of the true cross, possessed by some old female Catholic devotee. •
But long before all these discussions were over, H. M. ship Calliope had been ordered to sail, and was steering down the Channel before a smart breeze.
K a
274 PERCIVAL KEENE.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Although I have so much to say as to oblige me to pass over without notice the ma- jority of my companions, I think I ought to dedicate one chapter to a more particular de- scription of those with whom I was now princi- pally in contact on board of the Calliope.
I have already spoken much of the Honour- able Captain Delmar, but I must describe him more particularly. When young, he must have been a very handsome man ; even now, al- though nearly fifty years of age, and his hair and whiskers a little mixed with grey, he was a fine-looking personage, of florid complexion, large blue eyes, nose and mouth very perfect :
PERCIVAL KEENE. 275
in height he was full six feet ; and he walked so erect, that he looked even taller.
There was precision, I may say dignity, in all his motions. If he turned to you, it was slowly and deliberately; there was nothing like rapi- dity in his movement. On the most trifling occasions, he wrapped himself up in etiquette with all the consequence of a Spanish Hidalgo ; and shewed in almost every action and every word that he never forgot his superiority of birth.
Xo one, except myself, perhaps, would ever have thought of taking a liberty with him ; for although there was a pomposity about him, at the .same time it was the pomposity of a high- bred gentleman, who respected himself, and ex- pected every one to do the same.
That sometimes a little mirth was occa- sioned by his extreme precision, is true ; but it was whispered, not Ijoldlv indulged in. As to his qualities as an oflicer and seaman, I shall only say, that they were considered as more
276 PERCIVAL KEENE.
than respectable. Long habit of command had given him a fair knowledge of the duties in the first instance, and he never condescended (in- deed it would have been contrary to his charac- ter) to let the officers or seamen know whether he did or did not know any thing about the second.
As to his moral character, I can only say, that it was very difficult to ascertain it. That he would never do that which was in the slight- est degree derogatory to the character of a gen- tleman, was most certain : but he was so wrapped up in exclusiveness, that it was almost impossi- ble to estimate his feelings. Occasionally, I may say very rarely, he might express them ; but if he did, it was but for a moment, and he was again reserved as before.
That he was selfish, is true ; but who is not ? and those in high rank are still more so than others, not so much by nature, but because their self is encouraged by those around them. You could easily offend his pride ; but he was above being flattered in a gross way. I really
PERCIVAL KEENE. 277
believe that the person in the ship for whom he had the least respect was the obsequious Mr. Culpepper. Such was the Honourable Captain Del mar,
Mr. Hippesley, the first lieutenant, was a broad-shouldered, ungainly-looking personage. He had more the appearance of a master in the service than a first heutenant. He was a thorough seaman ; and really, for a first lieu- tenant, a very good-natured man. All that was requisite, was to allow his momentary anger to have free escape by the safety-valve of his mouth ; if you did not, an explosion was sure to be the result.
He was, as we use the term at sea, a regular ship husband — that is to say, he seldom put his foot on shore; and if he did, he always appeared anxious to get on board again. He was on good terms, but not familiar, with Ins messmates, and very respectful to the captain. There was no other officer in the service who would have suited Captain Dclmar so well as
278 PERCIVAL KEENE.
Mr. Hippesley, who, although he might occa- sionally grumble at not being promoted, ap- peared on the whole to be very indifferent about the matter.
The men were partial to him, as they always are to one who, whatever may be his pecu- liarities, is consistent. Nothing is more un- pleasant to men than to sail under a person whom, to use their own expression, "they never know where to find.*"
The second and third lieutenants, Mr. Per- cival and Mr. Weymiss, were young men of good family, and were admitted to a very slight degree of familiarity with Captain Delmar : they were of gentlemanly manners, both good seamen, and kind to their inferiors.
Mr. Culpepper, the purser, was my abomi- nation— a nasty, earwigging, flattering, bow- ing old rogue. The master, Mr. Smith, was a very quiet man, plain and unoffending, but perfectly master of, and always attentive to, his duty.
I
PERCIVAL KEENE. 279
The marine officer, Mr. Tusk, was a nonen- tity put into a red jacket. The surgeon was a tall, and very finicking sort of gentleman as to dress ; but well-informed, friendly in disposi- tion, and perfectly acquainted with his profes- sion.
My messmates were most of them yoimg men of good birth, witli the exception of Tommy Dott, who was the son of a warrant ofliccr, and Mr. Green, whose father was a boot-maker in London. I shall not, however, waste my read- er's time upon them ; they will appear when required. I shall therefore now proceed with my narrative.
It is usually the custom for the midshipmen to take up provisions and spirits beyond their allowance, and pay the purser an extra sum for the same; but this Mr. Culpepper would not permit — indeed, he was the most stingy and disagreeable old fellow that I ever met with in the service. We never had dinner or iiron enough, or even lights sufficient for our wants.
280 PERCIVAL KEENE.
We complained to the first lieutenant, but he was not inclined to assist us ; he said we had our allowance, and 'twas all we could demand ; that too much grog was bad for us, and as for candles, they only made us sit up late when we ought to be in bed : he was, moreover, very strict about the lights being put out. This, however, was the occasion of war to the knife between the midshipmen and Mr. Culpepper.
But it was of no avail ; he would seldom trust his own steward or the mate of the main- deck ; whenever he could, he superintended the serving out of all provisions and mixing of the o-roff : no wonder that he was said to be a rich man. The only party to whom he was civil was Mr. Hippesley, the first lieutenant, and the captain ; both of whom had the power of annoy- ing him, and reducing his profits.
To the captain he was all humility ; every expense that he required was, with his prof- fered bow, cheerfully submitted to ; but he gained on the whole by this apparent liberality,
PERCIVAL KEENE. 281
as the captain was rather inclined to protect him in all other points of service, except those connected with his own comforts and luxuries ; and many a good job did Mr. Culpepper get done for him, by humbly requesting and ob- sequiously bowing.
We had been at sea for about a week, and were running down towards the island of Ma- deira, which we expected to reach the next morning. Our destination was a secret, as our captain sailed with sealed orders, to be opened when off that island.
The weather was very fine and warm, and the wind had fallen, when at sundown high land was reported from the mast-head, at about forty miles distant. I was, as on the former cruize, signal midshipman, and did day duty — that is, I went down with the sun, and kept no night watch.
I had been cogitating how I could })lay sonu' trick to INIr. Culpepper : the midshipmen had often proposed tliat we should do so, l)ut 1 liad
282 PERCIVAL KEENE.
made up my mind that whenever I did, I would make no confidant. Tommy Dott often sug- .gested an idea, but I invariably refused, as a secret is only a secret when it is known to one person ; for that reason I never consulted Bob Cross, because I knew that he would have per- suaded me not to do so ; but after any thing was happily executed, I then used to confide in him.
I observed before that Mr. Culpepper wore a flaxen wig, and I felt sure, from his penurious- ness, that he was not likely to have more than one on board ; I therefore fixed upon his wig as the object of my vengeance, and having made up my mind on the night that we made the island of Madeira, I determined to put my pro- ject in execution.
For convenience, the first lieutenant had a small ladder which went down through the skylight of the gun room, so that they could descend direct, instead of going round by the after-hatchway and entering by the gun-room doors, where the sentry was placed.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 283
I went to my hammock, and slept till the middle watch was called ; I tlien got up and dressed myself without being perceived.
As soon as the lieutenant of the middle watch had been called by the mate, who lighted his candle and left him to dress himself, I came up by the after-ladder, and, watching an opportunity when the sentry at the captain's cabin door iiad walked forward, I softly de- scended by the skylight ladder into the gun- room.
The light in the cabin of the lieutenant, wiio was dressing, was quite sufficient, and the heat of the weather was so great, that all the officers slept with their cabin doors fastened back, for ventilation ; I had, therefore, no difficulty in putting my hand on the purser's wig, with which I escaped unjierceived, and immediately turned in again to my hammock, to consider what I should do with my j)ri/e.
Should I tin-ow it overboard ; shoidd I stuff it down the pump well, or slip it into the ship's
284 PERCIVAL KEENE.
coppers, that it might reappear when the pea-soup was baled out for dinner ; or should I put it into the manger forward, where the pigs were ?
In the meantime, while I was considering the matter, the midshipman of the first watch came down, and turned in, and all was again quiet, except an occasional nasal melody from some heavy sleeper.
At last, quite undecided, I peeped through the clues of my hammock, to see what the sentry at the gun room door was about, and found that he had sat down on a chest, and was fast asleep. I knew immediately that the man was in my power, and I did not fear him ; and then it was that the idea came into my head, that I would singe the purser''s wig. I went softly to the sentry's light, took it from the hook, and went down with it into the cock- pit, as being the best place for carrying on my operations. The wig was very greasy, and every curl, as I held it in the candle, flared up, and
PERCIVAL KEENE. 285
burned beautifully to within a quarter of an inch of the caul.
It was soon clone, and I replaced the sentry's light ; and finding that the gun-room door was a-jar, I went in softly, and replaced the wig where I had taken it from, repassed the sentry, who was still fast asleep, and regained my hammock, intending to undress myself in it ; but I had quite forgotten one thing (I was soon reminded of it) — I heard the voice of the officer of the watcii, calling out to the sentry at the cabin door —
" Sentry, what's that smell of burning ? "
" I don't know, Sir," replied the sentry. " I was just thinking of going forward for the ship's corporal."
The smell, which had gradually ascended from the co(;kpit, now spread from deck to deck, and became stronger anti stronger. The ffun-room door scntrv jumped ui) at tlie voice of tlie lieutenant, and called out lliat tlure was a very strong smell in the cockpit. The
286 PERCIVAL KEENE,
lieutenant and mate of the watch came down, and it was immediately supposed that the spirit-room had caught fire, for the smell was really very powerful.
The first lieutenant, who had wakened up at the voices, was out in a minute ; he put his head over the cockpit, and ordering the officer of the watch to call the drummer, and beat to quarters, ran up to inform the captain.
The drummer was out in a moment, and seizing his drum, which hung up by the main- mast, i-an up in his shirt, and beat the tattoo.
The whole ship's company rose up at the sound, which they knew was the signal for some- thing important, and the beat of the drum was followed up by the shrill piping of the boat- swain's mates at each hatchway.
At that moment, some frightened man belong- ing to the watch cried out that the ship was on fire ; and the lower decks were immediately a scene of bustle and confusion.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 287
Perhaps there is nothing more iiwful than the alarm of fire at sea : the feeling that there is no escape ; tlie only choice being, by wliich clement, fire or water, you choose to perish. But if it is awful in daylight, how much more so is it to be summoned up to await such peril when you have been sleeping in fancied security.
The captain had hurried on his clothes and stood on the quarter-deck. He was apparently calm and collected ; but, us usual, the first lieutenant carried on the duty, and well he did it.
"Where's the gunner.? Mr. Hutt, bring up the keys from my cabin, and have all ready for clearing the magazines if required. Firemen, get your buckets to bear; carpenters, rig the pumps. Silence there, fore and aft.""
But the confusion became very great, and there evidently was a ])anic. The captain then interposed, calling oat to the boatswain anil his mates to send every man aft on the (|uartc'r- deck.
288 PERCIVAL KEENE.
This order was obeyed ; the men came throng- ing like a flock of sheep, liuddhng together and breathless.
"Silence there, my men," cried Captain Delmar,— " silence, I say ; is this the conduct of men-of-war's-men ? Every man of you sit down on deck — pass the word there for every man to sit down.""
The order was mechanically obeyed, and as soon as the ship's company were all seated, the captain said, " I tell you what, my lads, I'm ashamed of you ; the way to put out a fire is to be cool and calm, obeying orders and keeping silence. Now collect yourselves, all of you ; for until you are all quiet and cool, you will sit where you are."
After a pause of a few seconds, " Now, my men, are you more steady .^ — recollect, be cool and keep silence. Carpenters, are the pumps rigged ?"
" Yes, Sir," replied the carpenter.
" Now, firemen, go for your buckets ; let no-
PERCIVAL KEENE. 289
body else move. Silence— not a word; three foremast guns main-deck, to your quarters. Silence and quiet, if you please. Now, are you all steady .'' — then, go to your quarters, my men, and wait for orders."
It was astonishing how collected the ship's company became by the judicious conduct of the captain, who now continued to command. When the men had gone down to their sta- tions, he directed the two junior lieutenants to go and examine where the fire was, and to be careful not to lift the hatches if they discovered that it was in the spirit-room.
I had been on the quarter-deck some time, and being aware of the cause, of course was not at all alarmed; and I had exerted myself very assiduously in keeping the men cool and quiet, shoving the men down who were unwilling to sit down on the deck, and even using them very roughly ; sliewing a great deal more sang-froid than any other of the
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290 PERCIVAL KEENE.
officers, which of course was not to be won- dered at.
Mr. Culpepper, who was most terribly alarmed, had come up on deck, and stood trembling close to the side of the captain and first lieutenant; he had pulled on his wig without discovering that it had been burnt, and as I passed him, the burnt smell was very strong indeed ; so thought the captain and the first lieutenant, who were waiting the return of the officers.
" I smell the fire very strong just now," said the captain to the first lieutenant.
" Yes, Sir, every now and then it is very strong," replied the first lieutenant.
The purser's wig was just between them, no wonder that they smelt it. After tw6 or three minutes the officers came up, and reported that they could discover no fire, and that there was very little smell of fire down below.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 291
" And yet I smell it now," said Captain Delmar.
" So do I, Sir," said the second lieutenant ; " and it really smells stronger on deck than it does down below."
" It's very odd ; let them continue the search."
The search was continued ; the lirst lieu- tenant now going down, and after a time they said that the strongest smell was from the purser's cabin.
" Mr. Culpepper, they say the smell is in your cabin," said Captain Delmar; " go down, if you please; they may want to open your lockers."
Mr. Culpepper, who still trembled like ;m aspen, went down the ladder, and I followed him ; but in descending the second ladder iiis foot slipped, and he fell down the hatchwav to the lower deck.
I hastened down after him ; lie was stunned, and I thought this a good opportunity to pull
0 2
292 PERCIVAL KEENE.
off his wig, which I did very dexterously, and concealed it. He was taken into the gun-room, and the surgeon called, while I walked up on deck, and quietly dropped the wig overboard at the gangway.
My reason for doing this was, that having no idea that my trick would have created so much confusion, and have turned up the officers and men as it did, I thought that the purser's wig would, the next morning, account for the smell of fire, and an investigation take place, which, although it might not lead to discovery, would certainly lead to suspicion ; so the wig was now floating away, and with the wig went away all evidence.
After a search of nearly half an hour, nothing was discovered ; the drummer was ordered to beat the retreat, and all was quiet again.
I went to bed quite satisfied with the events of the night, and slept the sleep of innocence — at least I slept just as soundly.
PERCIVAL KEENE. 293
This mysterious affair ever remained a mys- tery : the only loss was the purser's wig ; but that was nothing, as Mr. Culpepper acknow- ledged that he did not know himself what he was about, and, for all he knew to the contrary, he might have thrown it overboard.
My conduct on this occasion again o-aincd me great credit. It had been remarked by the captain and officers, and I rose in estimation. How I might have behaved had I really sup- posed that the ship was on fire, is quite another affair — I presume not quite so fearlessly. As it was, I was resolved to take all the credit given to me, and for that reason it was not till a long while afterwards that I hinted the secret even to Bob Cross.
END OF VOL. I.
PririteU by J. L. Cox & Sons, 75, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's-Inn Fields.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
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