Read Ebook: The Three Lieutenants by Kingston William Henry Giles Webb Archibald Illustrator

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Ebook has 2566 lines and 188826 words, and 52 pages

"I don't mean to say that he is much of a letter-writer," said Jack; "but at all events he writes as he feels and speaks, in the belief that no eye but mine would read what he had written. His mind is like a glass--it can be seen through at a glance; and he has no idea of concealing a single thought from those he trusts, though he is close enough with the world in general; and I can tell you that he is as true as steel, and as brave and high-spirited as he is kind-hearted and generous."

"A perfect hero of romance," observed Lucy, laughing; "I am really sorry that he is not coming here to enable us to judge of him fairly."

Possibly Lucy thought more about Lieutenant Adair than she chose to acknowledge. She could not, however, help reflecting that her mamma would look upon an Irish half-pay naval lieutenant, with a host of penniless brothers and sisters, in no very favourable light, should he come in the character of a suitor, so that after all it was just as well he could not accept Jack's invitation.

Jack made the most of his time while he remained at Halliburton Hall, winning the good-will of everybody in the neighbourhood. He laughed and talked and danced with the fairer portion in the most impartial manner; young and old, pretty and plain, all came in for a due share of his attentions. His sisters were quite vexed with him for not falling in love with one of three or four of their especial friends. They had a preference for a Julia Giffard; but should Jack fail to lose his heart to Julia, or Julia decline bestowing hers on him, there were at least three others of almost equal attractions and perfections, either of whom they could love as a sister-in-law; and it would be so delightful, while Jack was away, to have some one to whom they might talk about him, and to whom he would write such delightful letters which they, of course, would have the privilege of reading.

Then, some day, when he was a commander or post-captain, he would come home, and marry, and settle down in a pretty little cottage near them, and take to gardening, as many naval officers do, and be so happy. One day they delicately broached the subject to Jack. He burst into a hearty laugh.

"I fall in love with Julia Giffard!" he exclaimed. "My dear girls, what a miserable fate you are suggesting for your friend. Suppose she were to engage herself to me! Away I go for three or four years; back for two months, and off again for a cruise of like duration as the first. In the mean time she meets half-a-dozen more likely fellows than I am, as far as money is concerned at all events, but cannot encourage them on account of her fatal engagement to me; and perhaps, after all, I get knocked on the head and never come home at all, while the best years of her youth have gone by. No, no, girls; young naval officers who intend to follow up their profession have no business to marry; that's my opinion, and I intend to act on it."

Jack's sisters were disappointed, for they saw that he was in earnest, and had sound sense on his side, still they were not inclined to give in.

"Whew! was that running in your head, missie?" cried Jack. "There's no use denying the fact."

What that fact was Jack did not say. Lucy blushed, and said no more about Julia Giffard to her hard-hearted brother. Jack went on as usual, making himself agreeable, to the best of his power, and no one would have suspected who saw them together, that the pretty Julia had been suggested to him as his future wife, least of all the young lady herself. He and every one of the family had soon another matter to engage their attention--Admiral Triton arrived. Tom on seeing him could scarcely conceal his agitation. The crisis of his fate, as he believed, had arrived. The Admiral was diplomatic, however, not knowing how Sir John, or at all events Lady Rogers, would receive his proposal to send off another of their sons as an offering to Neptune. He and Tom had a long talk, first in private. Tom acknowledged that he had serious thoughts of stowing himself away in Jack's chest, not to come out till the ship was well at sea when he could not be landed; or, failing that plan, to run off and enter as a powder-monkey or cabin-boy under a feigned tame. Go he would he had determined, in some way or other, for if not, he should certainly fall into a decline, or at all events pine away till he was fit for nothing. As the Admiral looked at his sturdy figure and rosy cheeks he burst into a fit of laughter.

"I don't fear any such result even should you meet with a refusal, Tom," he observed, wishing to try him a little further.

"Oh, Admiral Triton, you don't think that they would wish to make a parson or a lawyer of me surely?" exclaimed Tom, in a tone of alarm.

"I cannot say honestly that I consider you cut out exactly for either profession, though I have no doubt you would do your duty should you be induced to adopt one or the other," was the answer. "However, I will speak to your father and mother, and if they give me leave I will see what can be done for you at the Admiralty, and should there be a vacancy get you appointed to Jack's ship."

Tom thanked the Admiral from the very bottom of his young heart, though he felt a qualm at the thoughts of the sorrow he should cause his mother, even should she consent to part with him her youngest born. It did not, it must be confessed, last very long, and he looked forward anxiously to the result of the Admiral's application on his behalf.

Admiral Triton waited till after dinner, when the party were assembled in the drawing-room to broach the subject. A very short conversation with Sir John showed him that there would be no strong opposition on his part, and he accordingly stumped over to Lady Rogers, by whose side he seated himself on the sofa, sticking out his timber toe and commencing with a warm eulogy on Jack.

"A right gallant fellow is that son of yours. I knew from the first that he would turn out well; has fully equalled my expectations; had the true spirit of a sailor as a boy; we want a succession of such in the service; had I a dozen suits I would send them all to sea, that is to say if they wished to go. Naval men, generally, don't think as I do, perhaps. They fancy that the country doesn't appreciate their services, and, therefore, won't appreciate their sons, and so look out for berths on shore for them; but it's possible, Lady Rogers, that they over-estimate themselves. The case is very different with Jack; he is as modest as a maiden of sixteen, and yet as bold and daring as a lion; a first-rate officer; he's sure to get on; he'll be a commander in three or four years, and be a post-captain not long after. Now, there's your boy, Tom, just such another lad as Jack was--sure to rise in the service; and yet he'd be thrown away in any other profession. If you send him to Oxford or Cambridge he'd expend all his energies in boat-racing, or steeple-chasing and cricket--very good things in their way, but bringing no result; whereas, the same expenditure of energy in the navy would insure him honour and promotion; and depend on it he'll get on just as well as Jack."

"But do you think, Admiral, that Tom really wishes to go to sea?" asked Lady Rogers, in a slightly trembling voice.

"No doubt about it; determined as a young fellow can be, with yours and his father's permission," answered the Admiral; and he gave an account of his conversation with Tom, assuring her ladyship that Sir John had no objection provided she would consent.

Lady Rogers called up Tom, who had been watching her and the Admiral from a distant part of the room, guessing what was going forward. With genuine feeling he threw his arms round his mother's neck, and while, with tears in his eyes, he confessed that he had set his heart on going to sea, he told her how very sorry he felt at wishing to leave her.

"The news does not come upon me unexpectedly, my dear boy," she answered, holding his hand and looking with all a mother's love into his honest face. "I have long suspected that you wished to go to sea; but, as you did not say so positively, I thought, perhaps, that you might change your mind. However, as Admiral Triton assures me that you are cut out for a sailor, and that he can answer for your becoming as good an officer as your brother Jack is said to be, if your father gives his consent, I will not withhold mine."

"Thank you, mother, thank you!" cried Tom, again throwing his arms round her neck, when something seemed to be choking him, and he could say no more.

"He has the right stuff in him, never fear, never fear, Lady Rogers," said the Admiral, nodding his head approvingly behind Tom's back; "he'll do."

Tom got up the next morning, feeling two inches taller, and walked about all day with the full consciousness that he was no longer a schoolboy, but a midshipman in the Royal Navy, with the right to demand due respect from all civilians; indeed the female portion of the establishment, with whom he was a monstrous favourite, were perfectly ready to humour him to his heart's content. He had been the last baby in the family, and it was only a wonder that he had escaped being utterly spoiled. His manners did not escape the notice of the Admiral, who, highly amused, called him to take a turn in the grounds.

"A little advice from an old salt, who has seen no small amount of service, will do you no harm, my boy," he began, after they had walked some way, talking of various matters. "You cannot steer a straight course, either on shore or afloat, without a definite object to guide you. Let yours be Duty. Never mind how disagreeable or how arduous or difficult it may seem, do that which you believe you ought to do, strictly obey the orders you receive, never neglect an opportunity of doing the right thing or of gaining professional knowledge, and never be tempted to do the wrong one. Every officer, remember, and man, too, from the commander-in-chief downwards, is bound to act to the best of his abilities for the good of the service. Whatever you are ordered to do, or however you may be treated by those above you, believe that they are actuated by that principle. If you remember that whatever you may be doomed to bear is for the good of the service, you will be able to endure an immense amount of what you may think hardship without grumbling. You will find a good many persons above you on board ship whom you will be bound to obey--your brother Jack among them. Be as zealous and as ready in obeying him as any one else. Never take offence from superiors or equals; it is the sign of a weak mind. When spoken to or even abused, whether you are in the right or the wrong, don't answer again, and don't be ashamed of expressing regret when anything has gone wrong. Do your best on all occasions--more you cannot do. There, Tom, I have given you a pretty long lecture; log it down in your memory, and act upon it. I repeat--let Duty be your guiding star; do your best for the good of the service, and don't grumble at your superiors or abuse your inferiors. These are golden rules well worth remembering, my boy."

"Thank you very much, Admiral Triton; I will try and not forget them," answered Tom.

"By-the-bye, you'll not find midshipmen of much 'count on board ship," continued the Admiral, with a twinkle in his eye, watching to see how Tom took his remark. "Not only are they inferior in rank to all the commissioned officers, but to the three warrant officers who have risen from before the mast, and even the petty officers and men are inclined to treat them as nurses do the babies under their charge; so you must not be disappointed if you do not meet with the respect you may possibly expect from those whom you may look upon as your inferiors, though they'll obey you readily when you repeat the orders you have received from your superiors."

"I understand, Admiral," said Tom, wincing a little at the remark about the babies, though he laughed as he spoke; "but I suppose, if I set to work to learn my duty and get quickly out of petticoats, I shall be sent away in charge of boats, as Jack used to be, and have opportunities of proving that I am worth something."

"Well said, Tom; it won't be long before you are breeched, depend on that," said the Admiral, laughing and patting him on the back. "Just don't mind asking for information from those able to afford it, and you will soon become a sailor."

The last days at home went rapidly by. Tom enjoyed the satisfaction, shared in by the whole household, of appearing in his new uniform, an old one of Jack's, which exactly fitted him, having been sent to Selby, the Portsmouth tailor, as a pattern. With no little pride also he buckled on a sword to his side, dirks having by that time gone out of fashion. Dreading the Admiral's quizzing glances, he took the opportunity of his absence to exhibit himself, again putting on plain clothes before his return, and only at his mother's request did he venture to resume his uniform at dinner, not again for many a day to appear in mufti.

Admiral Triton insisted on accompanying Jack and Tom to Portsmouth, where he was always glad of an excuse for going. It was a consolation to Lady Rogers to see Tom go off under Jack's wing, as she knew that, as far as one human being can take care of another, Jack would watch over Tom. Jack left Halliburton without having, by word or look, confessed an attachment, even if he felt it, for Julia Giffard, or for any other young lady among his sisters' dear friends. He and Tom were much missed, and certainly Julia Giffard, who came to stay there, took considerable interest in listening to his sisters' accounts of Jack's numerous exploits--so at least these young ladies fancied.

ADMIRAL TRITON AT PORTSMOUTH--THE THREE OLD MESSMATES MEET EACH OTHER, AND THEIR THREE YOUNG RELATIVES BECOME ACQUAINTED--THE DINNER AT THE "GEORGE" WITH ADMIRAL TRITON--ANECDOTES--AN ECCENTRIC COMMANDER--THE FRIGATE AND CORVETTE SAIL FOR THE WEST INDIES--A PHILOSOPHICAL BOATSWAIN--JOLLY TIME WITH FINE WEATHER--A HEAVY GALE--TIMES CHANGE-- MARINES AND MIDSHIPMEN ON THEIR BEAM ENDS--MEN LOST--THE MIDSHIPMEN REGAIN THEIR APPETITES.

"Really, Cherry, you look to me as well filled out and as blooming as ever," answered Jack, surveying the rotund figure and rosy cheeks of his new messmate; "you and I afford proof that hard work seldom does people harm. Idleness is the greatest foe to health of the two. And who is to be third of the frigate?"

"I am very glad of that," said Jack; "Bevan is the style of lad I should wish as a companion for my young brother Tom."

"Your brother, the youngster who came on board with you. I was sure of it; you are as like as two peas," said Mr Cherry. "I hope that he'll imitate you in all respects. It's a satisfaction to have steady youngsters on board who keep out of scrapes and don't give trouble."

Tom--who had already made himself known to Harry Bevan--was called aft, and introduced by Jack to Mr Cherry, and felt very happy and proud as he looked along the deck of the fine frigate to which he belonged. It was no dream; there he was in reality, walking about and talking to Bevan and other fellows dressed like himself in midshipmen's uniforms; and then he went into the berth, and took his seat among the others at dinner. It was just as Jack had described it; not very large, but, till the rest of the mess had joined, with just sufficient elbow-room. They had plenty of good things, for the caterer, old Higson, was something of an epicure; and Tom tasted grog for the first time, which he thought very nasty stuff, though he did not say so, as he knew that sailors liked it; and besides it would not be polite to express his opinion to Higson, who had evidently no objection to its taste. Altogether Tom was convinced that midshipmen, as he had always supposed, must lead very jolly lives. That very night, too, he was to sleep in a hammock, which he thought would be rare fun. He and his new messmates soon returned on deck, when the men who had been at dinner came tumbling up from below, and set to swaying up yards and hoisting in stores, the boatswain sounding his shrill pipe amidst the hubbub of noises--the officers, from Mr Cherry downwards, shouting at the top of their voices, and the men bawling and rushing in gangs here and there at headlong speed, hauling away at ropes till Tom felt more bewildered than he had ever before been in his life, and narrowly escaped being knocked over several times in spite of the efforts he made to keep out of the way. However, his experiences were only those of midshipmen in general when they first join a ship.

Tom had been advised by Jack to learn all about the masts and rigging as soon as possible, and he accordingly set to work without delay, asking questions of every one whom he for a moment saw standing quiet, and was likely to answer him. Harry Bevan told him a good deal, as did the other midshipmen, no one showing a disposition to humbug him, possibly on Jack's account, who would have found them out if they had. Before night Tom began to fancy that he really knew something about a ship, though it might be some time before he could consider himself a thorough sailor.

"I say, Dick, if that bean't Jack Rogers, say I never broke biscuit!" exclaimed one of the men, pointing ahead with out-stretched arm.

The next day Jack went on shore for the same purpose, accompanied by Tom, with the intention of calling on Admiral Triton before returning on board. They had just passed through the Dockyard gates when Jack saw approaching from the left, accompanied by a young midshipman, a lieutenant, whom it did not take him many seconds to recognise as his old messmate, Alick Murray. They did not exactly rush into each other's arms as Frenchmen or Spaniards would have done, but they shook hands with honest warmth, and Jack exclaimed, "I thought you were in Scotland. Where have you sprung from, Alick?"

"We do things as smart as lightning aboard our frigate, I can tell you," continued Tom. "Our first lieutenant is a very good fellow, and our second is my brother Jack, and there are not many like him. I've been twice up to the main truck, and ever so often into the mizen-top, and we've a capital mess, and shall be a jolly set when all hands join. Are you going to belong to us?"

"Oh, that's the small craft fitting out ahead of us. She's a fine little ship of her class though, so my brother Jack says, and so I may congratulate you, but of course she's not to be compared to our frigate. I say, you must come and pay us a visit on board, and I'll put you up to all sorts of things."

Archy expressed himself much obliged, but cautiously refrained from accepting the invitation till he knew what his cousin Alick might say on the subject.

Meantime Jack and Alick Murray were talking eagerly together.

"And where are you bound for?" asked Jack.

"That is capital news," cried Jack. "It will be curious if we keep together as lieutenants as much as we did as midshipmen, and go through as many more adventures as we have already fallen in with. I only wish that by some wonderful chance Paddy Adair could be with us."

"And that same wonderful chance has brought him here," exclaimed a voice from behind, and while a hand was placed on the shoulders of each, on looking round they caught sight of the merry countenance of Paddy himself, now smiling into the face of one, now into that of the other.

"And I don't think anything next to being made commander-in-chief right off could have given me greater satisfaction," said Jack, who seldom indulged in anything so nearly approaching a sentimental speech.

Murray said something of the same sort.

While the three old school-fellows were carrying on an animated conversation, a third midshipman had joined Tom and Archy.

"Will ye be after telling me, if ye plase, who are those two leetenants my Uncle Terence is talking to?" he said, as he stepped up to them and made them a polite bow with his cap. Archy returned it, but Tom, who had discovered that it was not the fashion for midshipmen to bow to each other, only laughed, and asked as he pointed with his chin at the three lieutenants--

"Do you mean that merry-looking fellow between those two?"

"That same sure," was the answer.

Tom explained who they were, adding, "And who are you, and what ship do you belong to?"

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