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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the
+Sea, by Charles H. L. Johnston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea
+ Their rovings, cruises, escapades, and fierce battling
+ upon the ocean for patriotism and for treasure
+
+Author: Charles H. L. Johnston
+
+Release Date: October 19, 2008 [EBook #26960]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by K Nordquist, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Famous Privateersmen
+ AND ADVENTURERS OF THE SEA
+
+ Their rovings, cruises, escapades, and
+ fierce battling upon the ocean
+ for patriotism and for
+ treasure
+
+
+ By
+
+ CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON
+
+ Author of "Famous Cavalry Leaders," "Famous
+ Indian Chiefs," "Famous Scouts," etc.
+
+
+ Illustrated
+
+
+ [Decoration]
+
+
+ BOSTON
+ THE PAGE COMPANY
+ PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+ FAMOUS LEADERS SERIES
+ BY
+ CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON
+
+ Each one volume, large 12mo, illustrated, $1.50
+
+ [Decoration]
+
+ FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS
+ FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS
+ FAMOUS SCOUTS
+ FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN
+ FAMOUS FRONTIERSMEN
+
+ [Decoration]
+
+ THE PAGE COMPANY
+ 53 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: From "The Army and Navy of the United States."
+ "AGAIN THE CANNON MADE THE SPLINTERS FLY."
+ (_See page 273._)]
+
+
+
+
+ _Copyright, 1911,_
+ BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
+ (INCORPORATED)
+
+
+ _All rights reserved_
+
+
+ First Impression, November, 1911
+ Second Impression, November, 1914
+
+
+ THE COLONIAL PRESS
+ C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+ I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO THE HAPPY MEMORY OF
+
+ George Alfred Henty
+
+ THE MOST STIMULATING AUTHOR OF BOOKS FOR BOYS
+ THAT THE PAST HALF CENTURY HAS PRODUCED,
+ AND A WRITER WHO HAS KEPT ALIVE THE
+ SPIRIT OF MANLY SPORT AND ADVENTURE
+ WHICH HAS MADE THE ANGLO-SAXON
+ PEOPLE A RACE OF WORLD CONQUERORS.
+ MAY THEY NEVER
+ RETROGRADE!
+
+
+
+
+_Thanks are due the Librarian of Congress, and particularly to Mr.
+Roberts of the Department of Prints, for numerous courtesies extended
+to the author during the compilation of this volume._
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+MY DEAR BOYS:--The sea stretches away from the land,--a vast sheet of
+unknown possibilities. Now gray, now blue, now slate colored, whipped
+into a thousand windrows by the storm, churned into a seething mass of
+frothing spume and careening bubbles, it pleases, lulls, then
+terrorizes and dismays. Perpetually intervening as a barrier between
+peoples and their countries, the wild, sobbing ocean rises, falls and
+roars in agony. It is a stoppage to progress and contact between races
+of men and warring nations.
+
+In the breasts of all souls slumbers the fire of adventure. To
+penetrate the unknown, to there find excitement, battle, treasure, so
+that one's future life can be one of ease and indolence--for this men
+have sacrificed the more stable occupations on land in order to push
+recklessly across the death-dealing billows. They have battled with
+the elements; they have suffered dread diseases; they have been
+tormented with thirst; with a torrid sun and with strange weather;
+they have sorrowed and they have sinned in order to gain fame,
+fortune, and renown. On the wide sweep of the ocean, even as on the
+rolling plateau of the once uninhabited prairie, many a harrowing
+tragedy has been enacted. These dramas have often had no
+chronicler,--the battle was fought out in the silence of the watery
+waste, and there has been no tongue to tell of the solitary conflict
+and the unseen strife.
+
+Of sea fighters there have been many: the pirate, the fillibusterer,
+the man-of-warsman, and the privateer. The first was primarily a
+ruffian and, secondarily, a brute, although now and again there were
+pirates who shone by contrast only. The fillibusterer was also engaged
+in lawless fighting on the sea and to this service were attracted the
+more daring and adventurous souls who swarmed about the shipping ports
+in search of employment and pelf. The man-of-warsman was the
+legitimate defender of his country's interests and fought in the open,
+without fear of death or imprisonment from his own people. The
+privateersman--a combination of all three--was the harpy of the
+rolling ocean, a vulture preying upon the merchant marine of the enemy
+to his country, attacking only those weaker than himself, scudding off
+at the advent of men-of-warsmen, and hovering where the guileless
+merchantman passed by. The privateersman was a gentleman adventurer, a
+protected pirate, a social highwayman of the waters. He throve, grew
+lusty, and prospered,--a robber legitimized by the laws of his own
+people.
+
+So these hardy men went out upon the water, sailed forth beneath the
+white spread of new-made canvas, and, midst the creaking of spars, the
+slapping of ropes, the scream of the hawser, the groan of the
+windlass, and the ruck and roar of wave-beaten wood, carved out their
+destinies. They fought. They bled. They conquered and were defeated.
+In the hot struggle and the desperate attack they played their parts
+even as the old Vikings of Norway and the sea rovers of the
+Mediterranean.
+
+Hark to the stories of those wild sea robbers! Listen to the tales of
+the adventurous pillagers of the rolling ocean! And--as your blood is
+red and you, yourself, are fond of adventure--ponder upon these
+histories with satisfaction, for these stalwart seamen
+
+ "Fought and sailed and took a prize
+ Even as it was their right,
+ Drank a glass and kissed a maid
+ Between the volleys of a fight.
+ _Don't_ begrudge their lives of danger,
+ _You_ are better off by far,
+ But, if war again comes,--stranger,
+ Hitch _your_ wagon to their star."
+
+ CHARLES H. L. JOHNSTON.
+
+
+
+
+ The bugle calls to quarters,
+ The roar of guns is clear,
+ Now--ram your charges home, Lads!
+ And cheer, Boys! Cheer!
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ PAGE
+ PREFACE vii
+
+ CARLO ZENO: HERO OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC 1
+
+ SIR FRANCIS DRAKE: ROVER AND SEA RANGER 23
+
+ SIR WALTER RALEIGH: PERSECUTOR OF THE SPANIARDS 53
+
+ JEAN BART: THE SCOURGE OF THE DUTCH 83
+
+ DU GUAY-TROUIN: THE GREAT FRENCH "BLUE" 113
+
+ EDWARD ENGLAND: TERROR OF THE SOUTH SEAS 137
+
+ WOODES ROGERS: THE BRISTOL MARINER 153
+
+ FORTUNATUS WRIGHT: THE MOST HATED PRIVATEERSMAN
+ OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA 173
+
+ GEORGE WALKER: WINNER OF THE GAMEST SEA FIGHT
+ OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL 199
+
+ JOHN PAUL JONES: THE FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN
+ NAVY 239
+
+ CAPTAIN SILAS TALBOT: STAUNCH PRIVATEERSMAN OF
+ NEW ENGLAND 283
+
+ CAPTAIN "JOSH" BARNEY: THE IRREPRESSIBLE YANKEE 299
+
+ ROBERT SURCOUF: THE "SEA HOUND" FROM ST. MALO 319
+
+ LAFITTE: PRIVATEER, PIRATE, AND TERROR OF THE
+ GULF OF MEXICO 341
+
+ RAPHAEL SEMMES: DESPOILER OF AMERICAN COMMERCE 373
+
+ EL CAPITAN 393
+
+ RETROSPECT 397
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+ PAGE
+ "AGAIN THE CANNON MADE THE SPLINTERS FLY"
+ (_See page 273_) _Frontispiece_
+
+ ZENO'S FLEET 18
+
+ SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 28
+
+ DRAKE'S GREATEST VICTORY ON THE SPANISH MAIN 44
+
+ YOUNG RALEIGH AND A COMPANION LISTENING TO TALES OF
+ THE SPANISH MAIN 55
+
+ SIR WALTER RALEIGH 60
+
+ JEAN BART 86
+
+ "JEAN BART LED HIS BOARDERS OVER THE SIDE OF THE
+ DUTCH VESSEL" 108
+
+ COMBAT BETWEEN DU GUAY-TROUIN AND VAN WASSENAER 135
+
+ "'LEFT US ENGAGED WITH BARBAROUS AND INHUMAN ENEMIES'" 146
+
+ "THE BOARDERS WERE REPULSED WITH GREAT SLAUGHTER" 193
+
+ ACTION BETWEEN THE "GLORIOSO" AND THE "KING GEORGE"
+ AND "PRINCE FREDERICK" UNDER GEORGE WALKER 231
+
+ AMERICAN PRIVATEER TAKING POSSESSION OF A PRIZE 239
+
+ "BEGAN TO HULL THE 'DRAKE' BELOW THE WATER-LINE" 261
+
+ "THEY SWARMED INTO THE FORECASTLE AMIDST FIERCE
+ CHEERS" 277
+
+ "TALBOT, HIMSELF, AT THE HEAD OF HIS ENTIRE CREW,
+ CAME LEAPING ACROSS THE SIDE" 289
+
+ AMERICAN PRIVATEER CAPTURING TWO ENGLISH SHIPS 298
+
+ "SURCOUF SCANNED HER CAREFULLY THROUGH HIS GLASS" 336
+
+ RAPHAEL SEMMES 376
+
+ "THE MEN WERE SHOUTING WILDLY, AS EACH PROJECTILE
+ TOOK EFFECT" 386
+
+
+
+
+CARLO ZENO
+
+HERO OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC
+
+(1344-1418)
+
+
+ "Paradise is under the shadow of swords."--MAHOMET.
+
+
+CARLO ZENO
+
+HERO OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC
+
+(1344-1418)
+
+ Zeno, noble Zeno, with your curious canine name,
+ You shall never lack for plaudits in the golden hall of fame,
+ For you fought as well with galleys as you did with burly men,
+ And your deeds of daring seamanship are writ by many a pen.
+ From sodden, gray Chioggia the singing Gondoliers,
+ Repeat in silvery cadence the story of your years,
+ The valor of your comrades and the courage of your foe,
+ When Venice strove with Genoa, full many a year ago.
+
+
+The torches fluttered from the walls of a burial vault in ancient
+Venice. Two shrouded figures leaned over the body of a dead warrior,
+and, as they gazed upon the wax-like features, their eyes were filled
+with tears.
+
+"See," said the taller fellow. "He has indeed led the stalwart life.
+Here are five and thirty wounds upon the body of our most renowned
+compatriot. He was a true hero."
+
+"You speak correctly, O Knight," answered the other. "Carlo Zeno was
+the real warrior without fear and without reproach. He has fared
+badly at the hands of the Republic. But then,--is this not life? Those
+most worthy seem never to receive their just compensation during their
+living hours. It is only when they are dead that a tardy public gives
+them some recognition of the great deeds which they have done, the
+battles which they have fought, and the honor which they have brought
+to their native land. Alas! poor Zeno! He--the true patriot--has had
+but scant and petty praise."
+
+So saying the two noble Venetians covered the prostrate form of the
+dead warrior--for they had lifted the brown robe which enshrouded
+him--and, with slow faltering steps, they left the gloomy chamber of
+death.
+
+Who was this Venetian soldier, who, covered with the marks of battle,
+lay in his last sleep? Who--this hero of war's alarms? This patriotic
+leader of the rough-and-ready rovers of the sea?
+
+It was Carlo Zeno,--a man of the best blood of Venice,--who,
+commanding fighting men and fighting ships, had battled strenuously
+and well for his native country.
+
+The son of Pietro Zeno and Agnese Dandolo, this famous Venetian had
+been well bred to the shock of battle, for his father was for some
+time Governor of Padua, and had won a great struggle against the
+Turks, when the careening galleys of the Venetian Squadron grappled
+blindly with the aggressive men of the Ottoman Empire. There were ten
+children in the family and little Carlo was named after the Emperor
+Charles IV, who sent a retainer to the baptism of the future seaman,
+saying, "I wish the child well. He has a brave and noble father and I
+trust that his future will be auspicious."
+
+Little Carlo was destined for the Church, and, with a Latin eulogium
+in his pocket (which his Venetian school-master had written out for
+him) was sent to the court of the Pope at Avignon. The sweet-faced boy
+was but seven years of age. He knelt before the prelate and his
+retainers, reciting the piece of prose with such precision, grace, and
+charm, that all were moved by his beauty, his memory, his spirit, and
+his liveliness of person.
+
+"You are indeed a noble youth," cried the Pope. "You shall come into
+my household. There you shall receive an education and shall be a
+canon of the cathedral of Patras, with a rich benefice."
+
+But little Carlo did not remain. Although dressed like a mimic priest
+and taught with great care, the hot blood of youth welled in his veins
+and made him long for a life more active and more dangerous. So he
+looked about for adventure so thoroughly that he was soon able to have
+his first narrow escape, and a part in one of those many brawls which
+were to come to him during his career of war and adventure.
+
+Sent by his relations to the University of Padua, he was returning to
+Venice from the country, one day, when a man leaped upon him as he
+walked down a narrow road.
+
+"Who are you?" cried Carlo fearfully.
+
+But the fellow did not answer. Instead,--he struck him suddenly with
+a stout cudgel--knocked him senseless on the turf, took all the
+valuables which he had, and ran silently away into the gloom.
+
+Little Carlo came to his senses after many hours, and, staggering
+forward with weakened steps, reached Mestre, where kind friends
+dressed his wounds.
+
+"I shall catch this assailant," cried he, when he had revived. "He
+shall rue the day that he ever touched the person of Carlo Zeno." And
+forthwith he secured a number of bloodhounds with which to track the
+cowardly ruffian of the highway.
+
+Luck was with the future commander of the galleons and fighting men. He
+ran the scurvy assailant to earth, like a fox. He captured him, bound
+him and handed him over to the justice of Padua,--where--for the
+heinousness of the offense--the man was executed. So ended the first
+conflict in which the renowned Carlo Zeno was engaged,--successfully--as
+did most of his later battles.
+
+Not long afterwards young Zeno returned to his studies at the
+University, but here--as a lover of excitement--he fell into bad
+company. Alas! he took to gambling, and frittered away all of his
+ready money, so that he had to sell his books in order to play. The
+profit from these was soon gone. He was bankrupt at the early age of
+seventeen.
+
+Ashamed to go home, the future sea rover disappeared from Padua and
+joined a fighting band of mercenaries (paid soldiers) who were in the
+employ of a wealthy Italian Prince. He was not heard of for full five
+years. Thus, his relatives gave him up for dead, and, when--one
+day--he suddenly stalked into the house of his parents, his brothers
+and sisters set up a great shout of wonder and amazement. "Hurrah!"
+cried they, "the dead has returned to his own. This is no ghost, for
+he speaks our own native tongue. Carlo Zeno, you shall be given the
+best that we have, for we believed that you had gone to another
+world."
+
+Pleased and overwhelmed with affection, young Carlo stayed for a time
+with his family, and then--thinking that, as he had been trained for
+the priesthood, he had best take charge of his canonry of Patras--he
+went to Greece.
+
+"Hah! my fine fellow," said the Governor, when he first saw him, "I
+hear that you are fond of fighting. It is well. The Turks are very
+troublesome, just now, and they need some stout Venetian blood to hold
+them in check. You must assist us."
+
+"I'll do my best," cried Zeno with spirit, and, he had not been there
+a week before the Ottomans swooped down upon the city, bent upon its
+demolition. The young Venetian sallied forth--with numerous fighting
+men--to meet them, and, in the first clash of arms, received such a
+gaping wound that he was given up for dead. In fact, when carried to
+the city, he was considered to be without life, was stretched upon a
+long settee, was clothed in a white sheet, and prepared for interment.
+But in the early morning he suddenly opened his eyes, gazed
+wonderingly at the white shroud which covered him, and cried, with no
+ill humor,
+
+"Not yet, my friends. Carlo Zeno will disappoint all your fondest
+hopes. Once more I am of the world."
+
+And, so saying, he scrambled to his feet, much to the dismay of the
+sorrowing Venetians, who had been carefully spreading a number of
+flowers upon the prostrate form of the supposedly dead warrior.
+
+But so weak was the youthful hero that he had to be taken to Venice in
+order to recover. When strong again he resumed his studies for the
+ministry and was sent to Patras, a city that was soon threatened by an
+army of twelve thousand Cypriotes and Frenchmen.
+
+"Here, Zeno," cried the Bishop of Patras to the virile young
+stripling. "We have seven hundred riders in our city. With this mere
+handful, you must defend us against our enemies. The odds are fifteen
+to one against you. But you must struggle valiantly to save our
+beautiful capital."
+
+"Aye! Sire!" cried the youthful student of church history. "I shall do
+my best to free your capital from these invaders. May the God of Hosts
+be with us! My men salute you."
+
+So saying the valiant youth led his small and ill drilled company
+against the besiegers, and, so greatly did he harass his adversaries,
+that they abandoned the enterprise, at the end of six months; made
+peace; and retired.
+
+"Hail to Zeno!" cried many of the soldiers. "He is a leader well worth
+our respect. Without him the great city would have surely fallen. Yea!
+Hail to young Zeno."
+
+These words of praise reached the ears of a certain Greek Knight
+named Simon, and so roused his envy, that he audaciously accused Carlo
+of treachery, which was soon told to the hot-headed young warrior. He
+acted as one would well expect of him.
+
+"I challenge you to single combat," cried he. "The duel shall be
+fought in Naples under the eye of Queen Johanna."
+
+In vain Carlo's friends besought him to forgive the loose-tongued
+Simon--his patron, the Bishop, exhausted his eloquence in the endeavor
+to reconcile the two. The hot blood of youth would out. It was fight
+and no compromise. But before the trial, the bold and unyielding
+soldier threw up his position with the Church and married a rich and
+noble lady of Clarenta, whose fortune well supplanted the large income
+which he had forfeited by his resignation.
+
+Now honor called for deeds. Almost immediately he was obliged to leave
+for Naples in order to meet the detractor of his valor, and, to his
+surprise, the Queen spoke lightly of the quarrel. "It is a question of
+law," said she. "An inquiry shall be had. There must be no bloodshed."
+
+An inquiry was therefore in order, and it was a thorough one. "Simon
+is in the wrong," said the fellow acting as clerk for those sitting
+upon the case. "He must pay all the expenses to which Zeno has been
+put, and there shall be no duel."
+
+"My honor has been cleared," cried Zeno. "I must return to Greece."
+There--strange as it might seem--he was at once named Governor of a
+province, though not yet twenty-three. Events were going well with
+him. But his wife died, he was cheated of his dowry by her relations,
+and so he turned once more to Venice,--saddened, older and nearly
+penniless. The wheel of fortune had turned badly for this leader of
+fighting men and future general of white-winged galleons of the sea.
+
+But now there was a really good fight--such a fight as all true
+sailors love--a fight which tested the grit and courage of Zeno to the
+full. It was the first of those heroic deeds of arms which shed
+undying lustre on his name, and marked him as a seaman of the first
+rank,--a captain of true courage, resources and ambition.
+
+The Genoese (or inhabitants of Genoa) and the Venetians, were
+continually at war in these days, and when--in patriotic zeal--Carlo
+Zeno seized the island of Tenedos, the Venetian Senate, fearing lest
+the Genoese would seek to recover the lost possession, sent a fleet of
+fifteen ships to guard it, under one Pietro Mocenigo. There were also
+two other vessels, one commanded by Carlo Zeno himself. The mass of
+galleys floated on to Constantinople, for the Greeks had allied
+themselves with the Genoese, had seized a Venetian man-of-war, which
+had been captured, and had then retired. Three lumbering hulks were
+left to protect the fair isle of Tenedos,--under Zeno, the war-like
+Venetian.
+
+"Aha," said a Genoese seaman. "There are but three galleys left to
+save our isle of Tenedos. We shall soon take it with our superior
+force. Forward, O sailors! We'll have revenge for the attack of the
+wild men from Venice."
+
+"On! on!" cried the Genoese seamen, and without further ado,
+twenty-two galleys careened forward, their white sails bellying in the
+wind, their hawsers groaning, spars creaking, and sailors chattering
+like magpies on a May morning.
+
+Carlo Zeno had only three hundred regular soldiers and a few archers,
+but he occupied the suburbs of the town and waited for the attackers
+to land. This they did in goodly numbers, for the sea was calm and
+motionless, although it was the month of November.
+
+"Men!" cried the intrepid Zeno, "you are few. The enemy are as
+numerous as blades of grass. Do your duty! Fight like Trojans, and, if
+you win, your grateful countrymen will treat you as heroes should be
+respected. Never say die, and let every arrow find an opening in the
+armor of the enemy."
+
+The Genoese came on with shouts of expectancy, but they were met with
+a far warmer reception than they had anticipated. The air was filled
+with flying arrows, as, crouching low behind quickly constructed
+redoubts, the followers of the stout-souled Zeno busily stretched
+their bowstrings, and shot their feathered barbs into the mass of
+crowding seamen. Savage shouts and hoarse cries of anguish, rose from
+both attackers and attacked, while the voice of Zeno, shrilled high
+above the battle's din, crying: "Shoot carefully, my men, do not let
+them defeat us, for the eyes of Venice are upon you." So they
+struggled and bled, until the shadows began to fall, when--realizing
+that they were unable to take the courageous Venetians--the Genoese
+withdrew to their ships.
+
+There was laughter and song around the camp fires of Zeno's little
+band, that night, but their leader spoke critically of the morrow.
+
+"Sleep well, my men," said he, "for I know that our foes are well
+angered at the beating we have given them. Next morn we shall again be
+at war. Let us keep our courage and have as a battle cry, 'Venice! No
+retreat and no quarter!'"
+
+When morning dawned the Genoese were seen to land engines of war, with
+the apparent intention of laying siege to the town. Their preparations
+showed that they meant to attack upon the side farthest from the
+castle, so Carlo Zeno--the quick-witted--placed a number of his men in
+ambush, among a collection of half-ruined and empty houses which stood
+in that quarter. "Stay here, my men," said he, "and when the enemy has
+advanced, charge them with fury. We must win to-day, or we will be
+disgraced."
+
+Meanwhile the rest of the Venetians had retreated inland, and,
+crouching low behind a screen of brush, waited patiently for the
+Genoese to come up. "Be cautious," cried Zeno, "and when the enemy is
+within striking distance, charge with all the fury which you possess."
+
+"Aye! Aye! Good master," cried the stubborn soldiers. "We mark well
+what you tell us."
+
+Not long afterwards the attacking party came in view, and, without
+suspecting what lay in front, advanced with quick gait towards the
+supposedly defenseless town. But suddenly, with a wild yell, the
+followers of Zeno leaped from behind the screening bushes, and dashed
+towards them. At the same instant, the soldiers who had been placed in
+hiding, attacked suddenly from the rear. Arrows poured into the ranks
+of the Genoese, and they fell like wheat before the scythe of the
+reaper. Hoarse shouts, groans, and cries of victory and death, welled
+above the battle's din.
+
+In the midst of this affair Carlo Zeno gave a cry of pain. An arrow
+(poisoned 'tis said) had entered his leg and struck him to the ground.
+But, nothing daunted, he rose to cry shrilly to his men, "On! On!
+Drive them to the ocean." And, so well did his soldiers follow these
+commands, that the Genoese fled in confusion and disorder to their
+ships. The day was won.
+
+As was natural, Zeno paid no attention to his wound, and, when the
+enemy hurried to shore the next day for another attack, they were
+greeted with such a terrific discharge of artillery that they gave up
+their idea of capturing the island and sailed away amidst cries of
+derision from the delighted Venetians.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried they. "Hurrah for Zeno!" But so exhausted was the
+intrepid leader by reason of his wound that he fell into a spasm as if
+about to die. His iron constitution pulled him through, however, and
+soon he and the faithful band returned to Venice, covered with glory,
+and full satisfied with their hard won victory.
+
+The daring Zeno was well deserving of praise, for he had beaten a
+fleet and an army by sheer genius, with three ships and a handful of
+men. To Venice had been preserved the valuable island which guards the
+entrance to the Dardanelles, and to her it was to remain for years,
+although the Genoese tried many times and oft to wrest it from her
+grasp.
+
+Now came another struggle--the war of Chioggia--a struggle in which
+Carlo Zeno played a great and noble part,--a part, in fact, that has
+made his name a byword among the grateful Venetians: a part in which
+he displayed a leadership quite equal to that of a Drake, or a
+Hawkins, and led his fighting galleons with all the courage of a lion.
+Hark, then, to the story of this unfortunate affair! Hark! and let
+your sympathy be stirred for Carlo Zeno, the indefatigable navigator
+of the clumsy shipping of the Italian peninsula!
+
+For years the Republics of Genoa and Venice remained at peace, but,
+for years the merchants of the two countries had endeavored to outwit
+each other in trade; and, thus, when the Genoese seized several
+Venetian ships with rich cargoes, in 1350, and refused to give them
+up, war broke out between the rival Republics. In two engagements at
+sea, the Venetians were defeated; but in a third they were victorious,
+and forever sullied the banner of St. Mark, which flew from their
+Admiral's mast-head, by causing nearly five thousand prisoners of war
+to be drowned. Fired by a desire for immediate revenge upon their foe,
+the Genoese hurried a mighty fleet to sea, and ravaged the Italian
+coast up to the very doors of Venice itself. Several other
+engagements followed, in most of which the Venetians were defeated;
+and then there were twenty years of peace before another conflict.
+
+Finally war broke out afresh. Angry and vindictive, the Genoese bore
+down upon the Venetian coast in numerous lumbering galleys,
+determined--this time--to reach Venice itself, and to sack this rich
+and populous city. With little difficulty they captured Chioggia, a
+seaport, a populous city and the key to the lagoons which led to the
+heart of the capital. They advanced to the very outskirts of Venice,
+and their cries of joyous vindictiveness sounded strangely near to the
+now terrified inhabitants, who, rallying around their old generals and
+city fathers, were determined to fight to the last ditch.
+
+As winter came, the victoriously aggressive Genoese retreated to
+Chioggia, withdrawing their fleet into the safe harbor to await the
+spring; leaving only two or three galleys to cruise before the
+entrance, in case the now angered Venetians should attack. But they
+were to be rudely awakened from their fancied seclusion.
+
+"Lead us on, O Pisani," the Venetians had cried in the broad market
+space of their beloved city. "We must and will drive these invaders
+into their own country. Never have we received before such insults.
+On! On! to Chioggia."
+
+So, silent and vengeful, the Venetian fleet stole out to sea on the
+evening of December twenty-first. There were thirty-four galleys,
+sixty smaller armed vessels, and hundreds of flat-bottomed boats.
+Pisani was in the rear, towing two heavy, old hulks, laden with
+stones, to sink in the entrance of the harbor and bottle up the fleet,
+even as the Americans were to sink the _Merrimac_ in the Harbor of
+Santiago, many years afterwards.
+
+The Genoese were unready. The cruisers, on duty as sentinels, were not
+where they should have been, and so the gallant Pisani scuttled the
+hulks across the harbor entrance and caught the bold marauders like
+rats in a trap. The fleet of the enemy was paralyzed, particularly as
+another river's mouth, some two miles southward, was also blockaded.
+Smiles of satisfaction shone upon the faces of the outraged Venetians.
+
+Carlo Zeno was hurrying up with a strong fleet manned by veteran
+seamen, but the now victorious followers of Pisani wished to return to
+Venice.
+
+"It is the Christmas season," cried many. "We have fought like lions.
+We have shut up our enemy. We have averted the extreme danger. Let us
+return to our wives and our children!"
+
+"You cannot go," said Pisani, sternly. "You are the entire male
+population of Venice. Without you the great expedition will come to
+naught, and all of our toil will have been thrown away. Only be calm.
+Carlo Zeno will soon be here, and we can then take Chioggia!"
+
+Alas! Like Columbus, he saw himself upon the verge of losing the
+result of all his labor for lack of confidence in him upon the part of
+his men. He could not keep them by force, so wearily and anxiously he
+scanned the horizon for signs of an approaching sail.
+
+The days went slowly by for the lion-hearted Pisani. Carlo Zeno did
+not come. Day after day the valiant leader fearfully looked for the
+white-winged canvas of a Venetian galleon, but none came to view. On
+the thirtieth day of December his men were very mutinous.
+
+"We will seize the ships and return to-morrow to Venice," cried
+several. "We have had enough of war. Our wives and daughters cry to us
+to return."
+
+Pisani was desperate.
+
+"If Carlo Zeno does not come in forty-eight hours, the fleet may
+return to Lido," said he. "Meanwhile, keep your guns shooting at the
+enemy. We must make these Genoese feel that we shall soon attack in
+force."
+
+But Pisani's heart was leaden. Where, yes, where was Zeno? New Year's
+Day came, and, by his promise, he must let the Venetians go. What did
+this mean for him? It meant the fall of Venice, the end of the
+Republic, the destruction of the population with all that they
+possessed. He--their idol, their leader for ten days--could no longer
+lead, for the Venetians could not bear a little cold and hardship for
+his sake. Sad--yes, sad, indeed--was the face of the stout seaman as
+he gave one last despairing glance at the horizon.
+
+Ha! What was that? A thin, white mark against the distant blue! It
+grew larger and clearer. It was the sail of a galley. Another, and
+another, and another hove in sight,--eighteen in all, and driving
+along swiftly before a heavy wind. But, were they hostile, or
+friendly? That was the question. Was it Zeno, or were these more
+galleons of the Genoese? Then, joy shone in the keen eyes of Pisani,
+for the banner of St. Mark fluttered from the peak of the foremost
+ship, and floated fair upon the morning breeze. Hurrah! It was Carlo
+Zeno, the lion-hearted.
+
+God speed brave Zeno! He had been twice wounded in fights along the
+coast, en route, but nothing could diminish his energy, or dampen his
+ardor. He had laid waste the Genoese coast; he had intercepted convoys
+of grain; he had harassed the enemy's commerce in the East, and he had
+captured a huge vessel of theirs with five hundred thousand pieces of
+gold. Marvellous Zeno! Brave, courageous Venetian sea-dog, you are
+just in the nick of time!
+
+"Thanks be to Heaven that you have come," cried Pisani, tears welling
+to his eyes. "Now we will go in and take Chioggia. It means the end of
+the war for us. Again, I say, thanks be to Heaven."
+
+With renewed hope and confidence the Venetians now pushed the siege.
+Seeing that their fleet could never escape, the Genoese started to dig
+a canal to the open sea, by which the boats could be brought off
+during the night. The work was begun, but Carlo Zeno discovered it in
+time. Volunteers were called for, a force was soon landed, and, under
+the leadership of Zeno, marched to intercept the diggers of this, the
+only means of escape.
+
+"The Venetians are going towards 'Little Chioggia,'" cried many of the
+Genoese. "We must hasten there to stop them."
+
+[Illustration: From an old print.
+ ZENO'S FLEET.]
+
+But Zeno had only made a feint in this direction. Throwing his main
+force in the rear of the Genoese, he soon began to cut them up badly.
+They were seized with a panic. They fled towards the bridge of
+Chioggia, trampling upon each other as they ran, pursued and slashed
+to ribbons by Zeno's men. The bridge broke beneath the weight of the
+fugitives and hundreds were drowned in the canal, while thousands
+perished near the head of this fateful causeway. It was a great and
+signal victory for Zeno; the intrepid sea-dog and campaigner on land.
+
+This was a death blow. That night some of the garrison hastened to
+desert, and, as the siege progressed, the drinking water began to
+fail, the food gave out, and starvation stared the holders of Chioggia
+in the face. On the twenty-fourth of June the city surrendered; and
+four thousand one hundred and seventy Genoese, with two hundred
+Paduans--ghastly and emaciated--more like moving corpses than living
+beings--marched out to lay down their arms. Seventeen galleys, also,
+were handed over to the Venetians: the war-worn relics of the once
+powerful fleet which had menaced Venice itself.
+
+As a feat of generalship, Pisani's blockade of the Genoese fleet is
+rivalled by Sampson's blockade of Cervera's squadron at Santiago in
+1898, and the military operation by which Carlo Zeno tempted the
+garrison of Brondolo into the trap which he had set for them, and
+drove them, like a flock of sheep into Chioggia, by sunset, is surely
+a splendid feat of arms. All honor to this intrepid sea-dog of old
+Venice!
+
+How fickle is Dame Fortune! Jealous of the reputation of this noble
+Venetian, the patricians, whose advice, during the war, he had
+consistently declined to follow; refused to make him a Doge of the
+City. It was thought that the election of the bravest captain of the
+day might be dangerous to the Republic. Instead of doing him honor,
+they imprisoned him; and was he not the noblest patriot of them all?
+
+When over seventy years of age,--the greatest and truest
+Venetian--loaned a small sum of money to the Prince Carrara, once a
+power in Venetian politics. He had saved his country from destruction.
+He had served her with the most perfect integrity. Yet, he reaped the
+reward which fell to the share of nearly every distinguished Venetian;
+he was feared by the government; hated by the nobles whom he had
+out-stripped in honor, and was condemned to prison by men who were not
+worthy to loose the latchet of his shoes. Although he had often paid
+the mercenary soldiers to fight for Venice, in the War of Chioggia,
+from his own pocket, he was sent to jail for loaning money to an
+unfortunate political refugee.
+
+When called before the Council of Ten on the night of the twentieth of
+January, 1406, the warrant for his examination authorized the use of
+torture. But even the Ten hesitated at this.
+
+"He is a brave man," said one. "Pray allow him to go untouched."
+
+The prisoner admitted that he had loaned the money. His explanation
+was both honorable and clear. But the Ten were obdurate that night.
+
+"He shall go to the Pozzi prison for a year," said they. "Besides
+this, he shall suffer the perpetual loss of all offices which he has
+held."
+
+Like a brave man, Carlo Zeno accepted the sentence without a murmur,
+and his sturdy frame did not suffer from the confinement. For twelve
+years longer he lived in perfect health; made a pilgrimage to
+Jerusalem; commanded the troops of the Republic once again; defeated
+the Cypriotes, and died peacefully,--a warrior with a name of
+undiminished lustre, most foully tarnished by his own compatriots. His
+is a reputation of undying glory, that of his judges is that of
+eternal shame. All honor to Carlo Zeno, the valorous Venetian, who
+could fight a ship as well as a squadron of foot soldiers on land!
+_Salve, Venetia!_
+
+
+ "Dip the banner of St. Mark,
+ Dip--and let the lions roar.
+ Zeno's soul has gone above,
+ Bow--a warrior's life is o'er."
+
+
+
+
+HARKEE, BOYS!
+
+
+ Harkee, Boys! I'll tell you of the torrid, Spanish Main,
+ Where the tarpons leap and tumble in the silvery ocean plain,
+ Where the wheeling condors circle; where the long-nosed ant-bears sniff
+ At the food the Jackie "caches" in the Aztec warrior's cliff.
+
+ _Oh! Hurray for the deck of a galleon stout,_
+ _Hurray for the life on the sea,_
+ _Hurray! for the cutlass; the dirk; an' th' pike;_
+ _Wild rovers we will be._
+
+ Harkee, Boys! I'll tell you of the men of Morgan's band,
+ Of Drake and England--rascals--in the palm-tree, tropic land.
+ I'll tell you of bold Hawkins, how he sailed around the Horn.
+ And the Manatees went _chuck! chuck! chuck!_ in the sun-baked,
+ lazy morn.
+
+ _Oh! Hurray for the deck of a galleon stout,_
+ _Hurray for the life on the sea,_
+ _Hurray! for the cutlass; the dirk; an' th' pike;_
+ _Wild rovers we will be._
+
+ Harkee, Boys! You're English, and you come of roving blood,
+ Now, when you're three years older, you must don a sea-man's hood,
+ You must turn your good ship westward,--you must plough towards
+ the land
+ Where the mule-train bells go _tink! tink! tink!_ and the bending
+ cocoas stand.
+
+ _Oh! You will be off on a galleon stout,_
+ _Oh! You will be men of the sea,_
+ _Hurray! for the cutlass; the dirk; an' th' pike;_
+ _Wild rovers you will be._
+
+
+
+
+SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
+
+ROVER AND SEA RANGER
+
+(1540-1596)
+
+
+ "The man who frets at worldly strife
+ Grows sallow, sour, and thin;
+ Give us the lad whose happy life
+ Is one perpetual grin:
+ He, Midas-like, turns all to gold,--
+ He smiles, when others sigh,
+ Enjoys alike the hot and cold,
+ And laughs through wet and dry."
+
+ --DRAKE.
+
+
+SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
+
+ROVER AND SEA RANGER
+
+(1540-1596)
+
+ Sing a song of stout dubloons,
+ Of gold and jingling brass,
+ A song of Spanish galleons,
+ Foul-bottomed as they pass.
+ Of roaring blades and stumbling mules,
+ Of casks of malmsey wine,
+ Of red, rip-roaring ruffians,
+ In a thin, meandering line.
+
+ _They're with Drake, Drake, Drake,_
+ _He can make the sword hilt's shake,_
+ _He's a rattling, battling Captain of the Main._
+ _You can see the Spaniards shiver,_
+ _As he nears their shelt'ring river,_
+ _While his eyelids never quiver_
+ _At the slain._
+
+ So,--
+ Here's to Drake, Drake, Drake,
+ Come--make the welkin shake,
+ And raise your frothing glasses up on high.
+ If you love a man and devil,
+ Who can treat you on the level,
+ Then, clink your goblet's bevel,
+ To Captain Drake.
+
+
+"Take care, boy, you will fall overboard. Take care and do not play
+with your brother near the edge of our good ship, for the water here
+is deep, and I know that you can swim but ill."
+
+The man who spoke was a rough, grizzled sea-dog, clad in an old
+jersey and tarpaulins. He stood upon the deck of an aged, dismantled
+warship, which--anchored in the shallow water near Chatham,
+England,--swung to and fro in the eddying currents. Around him, upon
+the unwashed deck, scampered a swarm of little children, twelve in
+all, and all of them his own.
+
+"Very good, Father," spoke the curly-haired youngster. "I'll mind what
+you tell me. You're wrong, though, when you say that I cannot swim,
+for I can, even to yonder shore. Do you want to see me do it?"
+
+"Nay, nay," chuckled the stout seaman. "You're a boy of courage,
+Francis. That I can well see. But do not try the water. It is cold and
+you will have a cramp and go under. Stick to the quarter-deck." And
+laughing softly to himself, he went below, where a strong smell of
+cooking showed that there was something upon the galley stove to feed
+his hungry crew of youthful Englishmen.
+
+It was surely a strange house to bring up a troop of merry children
+in. The sound of wind and waves was familiar to them at night and they
+grew to be strong and fearless. But is not this the proper way to rear
+a sea-dog?
+
+These little ducklings, descended from a Drake, must have early set
+their hearts upon adventure and a seafaring life. In fact, one of
+them, young Francis, was to be one of the best known seamen of the
+centuries and knighted for his services to the Crown. Reared in a
+ship, he, by nature, loved the sea as only a child of the ocean could
+have done. The brine ran in his blood.
+
+Being the son of a poor man, he was apprenticed to a master of a small
+vessel which used to coast along the shore and carry merchandise to
+France and the Netherlands. He learned his business well. So well,
+indeed, that at the death of the master of the vessel it was
+bequeathed "to Francis Drake, because he was diligent and painstaking
+and pleased the old man, his master, by his industry." But the
+gallant, young sea-dog grew weary of the tiny barque.
+
+"It only creeps along the shore," he said. "I want to get out upon the
+ocean and see the world. I will therefore enlist with my stout
+kinsmen, the Hawkins brothers, rich merchants both, who build and sail
+their own ships."
+
+This he did, and thus began the roving life of Francis Drake:
+dare-devil and scourge of the West Indian waters.
+
+About fifty years before this lusty mariner had been born, America was
+discovered by Christopher Columbus--an Italian sailor in the service
+of Spain--and this powerful country had seized a great part of the new
+found land. There was no love lost between the Spaniards and the men
+from the cold, northern British Isles and thus Francis Drake spent his
+entire career battling with the black-haired, rapacious, and
+avaricious adventurers who flew the banner of King Philip of Arragon.
+Sometimes he was defeated, more often he was successful. Hark, then,
+to the tale of his many desperate encounters upon the wide waters of
+the surging Atlantic.
+
+Drake had said, "I'm going to sea with the Hawkins and view the
+world," and, as John Hawkins was just about to sail for the West
+Indies in six ships, the youthful and eager mariner was given an
+opportunity to command a vessel called the _Judith_. The fleet at
+first had good success. Slaves were captured upon the African coast
+and were sold in the West Indies, though with difficulty, because the
+Spaniards had been forbidden by their king to trade with the English.
+Laden with treasure and spices, the ships were about to start for
+home, when fearful storms beset them. Their beams were badly
+shattered.
+
+"We must seek a haven," cried Hawkins. "Ready about and steer for Vera
+Cruz, the port of the City of Mexico! There we can buy food and repair
+our fleet!"
+
+"'Tis well," cried his men, and, aiming for the sheltering harbor,
+they soon ploughed into the smooth water of the bay. But there was
+consternation among the Spaniards of the town.
+
+"We have treasure here," they whispered to each other. "See, those
+English dogs have come to rob us! We must fight, brothers, and fight
+hard to keep the cruel Islanders away." And they oiled their pistols
+and sharpened their cutlasses upon their grindstones.
+
+[Illustration: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.]
+
+But luck was with the inhabitants of Vera Cruz. Next morning thirteen
+careening galleys swept into the quiet waters of the bay and joy
+shone in the black eyes of the Spaniards.
+
+"It is a Mexican fleet," cried they. "It returns with a new Viceroy or
+Governor, from good King Philip of Spain." And they laughed
+derisively.
+
+But in the breasts of Drake and Hawkins there was doubt and suspicion.
+
+"They are sure to attack us," said Hawkins, moving among his men. "Let
+every fellow be upon his guard."
+
+The Spanish were full of bowings and scrapings. They protested their
+deep friendship for the English and wished to be moored alongside.
+
+"We are very glad to see you, English brothers," said one. "We welcome
+you to the traffic and trade of the far East." So they peacefully
+dropped anchor near the suspicious men of England, still smiling,
+singing, and cheerfully waving a welcome to the none-too-happy
+sailors.
+
+"Avast," cried Francis Drake, "and sleep on your arms, my Hearties,
+for to-morrow there'll be trouble, or else my blood's not British." He
+was but a young man, yet he had guessed correctly.
+
+As the first glimmer of day shone in the dim horizon, a shot awoke the
+stillness of the morn. Another and another followed in rapid
+succession. Then _boom!_ a cannon roared, and a great iron ball buried
+itself in the decking of the _Jesus_; the flagship of gallant Hawkins.
+
+"We're attacked," cried Drake. "Man the decks! Up sails and steer to
+sea! Fight as you never fought before! Strike and strike hard for
+dear old England!"
+
+But his warning almost came too late, for two Spanish galleons ranged
+alongside and swung grappling irons into his rigging in order to close
+with the moving vessel. The Englishmen struck at them with oars and
+hand-spikes, knocking the tentacles of the on-coming octopus aside,
+and, with sails flying and shots rattling, the _Judith_ bore towards
+the open sea.
+
+The fight was now furious. Two of the English ships were sunk and the
+_Jesus_, Hawkins' own boat, was so badly damaged that she lay
+apparently helpless in the trough of the surging ocean.
+
+"Back, my Hearties," cried Drake, "and we'll see what we can do to
+save our gallant captain."
+
+So back they sailed, and, firing their little cannon with rapidity,
+soon held off the Spanish ship which threatened Hawkins himself with
+capture. Some of the English sailors jumped into their boats and rowed
+away, some gave in to the Spaniards, and some fought relentlessly.
+Thus raged the battle until the evening.
+
+As night fell, Drake ordered the _Judith_ to put to sea, Hawkins
+followed, and wandering about in these unknown parts, with little
+water and a scarcity of food, hunger forced the weary sailors to eat
+hides, cats, dogs, mice, rats, parrots and monkeys.
+
+"It was the troublesome voyage," wrote Hawkins, and such, indeed, it
+had proved to be. Some of the sailors asked to be placed on land
+rather than risk shipwreck and starvation in the overcrowded boat.
+Some of them reached England after years of suffering and weary
+journeying to and fro. Some were captured by the Spaniards and were
+put to death as heretics. A few were sent to the galleys as slaves.
+Others, more fortunate, were rowed ashore to serve in monasteries,
+where the monks made kind and gentle masters.
+
+And what of the youthful and danger-loving Drake? Five days before the
+wind-swept _Jesus_ struggled into Plymouth harbor with Hawkins and a
+famine-driven crew, Drake and his own adventurous Englishmen steered
+the little _Judith_ to the rocky headland which hides this sheltering
+refuge from the fury of the sea.
+
+"I am indeed right glad to reach Merrie England again," said he, "for
+we have had a rough and dangerous voyage. The Spaniards are
+treacherous dogs. They betrayed us, and henceforth I, for one, shall
+show them no quarter."
+
+So saying he journeyed to London to see the good Queen Elizabeth.
+
+"It is impossible for me to wage war upon Philip of Spain," said the
+valiant Mistress of England's destinies, when she heard his story of
+loss of kinsmen, friends and goods of great value. "I have a poor
+country. The navy of my fathers has been ruined. I have no proper army
+with which to avenge the treachery of Spain, and I have trouble with
+both France and Scotland. If you would have revenge, take matters into
+your own hands."
+
+"Philip is the mightiest monarch in the world to-day," answered the
+well-bronzed mariner, bowing low. "I am only a humble seafarer
+without either ships or money, but, most gracious Majesty, I am going
+to help myself in my quarrel with the King of Spain. From henceforth
+there will be war to the death between myself and the men of the
+south."
+
+The good Queen smiled, for she truly loved a valiant man.
+
+"May God be with you," said she.
+
+It was not long before the danger-loving mariner was again headed for
+the West Indies and the Spanish Main, with a crew of seventy-three men
+and boys.
+
+"We believe in our leader," said one. "He will take us on to fortune
+and to fame." And this was the sentiment of all, for who does not love
+a voyage after gold and treasure?
+
+Ploughing relentlessly across the deep, the two ships which carried
+these roving blades, reached the palm-clad West Indies in twenty-five
+days. All were cheerful and gay, for before them was danger,
+excitement, battle, and Spanish gold. "Lead on, Captain Drake," cried
+one of the men. "We wish to land at Plymouth with our pockets stuffed
+with Spanish dubloons."
+
+"I'll take you to the seaport of Nombre de Dios," said the bluff sea
+ranger. "There is gold and silver in this spot, and by the hogshead.
+Furthermore," he added chuckling, "most of it will be in the hold of
+our stout ships, the _Pascha_ and the _Swan_, before another moon."
+
+So the sailors were drilled in attack and sword play, while arms were
+distributed, which, up to now, had been kept "very fair and safe in
+good casks." All were in a cheerful mood, for the excitement of
+battle had begun to stir the hot blood in their veins.
+
+Late in the afternoon, the pinnaces (which had been carried on deck)
+were launched, and climbing aboard, the men of Merrie England set sail
+for the Spanish town. They lay under the shore, out of sight, until
+dark. Then they rowed with muffled oars to the shadows of the
+precipitous cliffs which here jutted into the rolling ocean, and
+quietly awaited the dawn.
+
+At three in the morning, while the silvery light of a half moon was
+just reddened with the first flush of dawn, the eager buccaneers
+landed upon the sandy beach. "Hark!" cried a youth, "We are already
+discovered."
+
+As he spoke, the noise of bells, drums, and shouting, came to the
+startled ears of the invaders.
+
+"Twelve men will remain behind to guard the pinnaces," cried Drake.
+"The rest must follow me and fight even to the last ditch. Forward!"
+
+Splitting into two bands, the Englishmen rushed through the narrow
+streets with a wild cheer ringing in the silent air. Drake's
+brother--with a certain John Oxenham and sixteen others--hurried
+around behind the King's treasure-house, and entered the eastern side
+of the market-place; while Drake, himself, marched up the main street
+with bugles blowing, drums rolling, and balls of lighted tow blazing
+from the end of long pikes carried by his stout retainers. The
+townsfolk were terrified with the din and blaze of fire. "An army is
+upon us," cried many. "We must flee for our lives."
+
+In spite of this, a goodly number rallied at the market-place, where
+there was a sharp fight. But nothing could withstand the onset of the
+men from the fog-swept island, and soon the Spaniards fled, leaving
+two behind who had been captured and held.
+
+"You must show us the Governor's house," cried Drake. "All the
+treasure is there."
+
+The two captives obeyed unwillingly, and great was the disappointment
+of the English when they found only bars of silver in the spacious
+mansion.
+
+"On! To the King's treasure-house!" again shouted the bold mariner.
+"There, at least, must be gold and jewels."
+
+In fact the English were furious with disappointment, for, as they
+reached the Governor's mansion (strongly built of lime and stone for
+the safe keeping of treasure) the eager pillagers rushed through the
+wide-open doorway. A candle stood lighted upon the top of the stairs.
+Before the threshold a horse stood champing his bit, as if recently
+saddled for the Governor, himself, while, by the flickering gleam of
+the taper, a huge glittering mass of silver bars was seen piled from
+floor to ceiling. That was all,--no caskets of gold or precious stones
+were to be seen.
+
+"Stand to your weapons, men!" cried Drake. "The town is full of
+people. Move carefully to the King's treasure-house which is near the
+waterside. There are more gold and jewels in that spot than all our
+pinnaces can carry."
+
+As the soldiers hurried where he led, a negro called Diego, rushed
+panting from the direction of the shore.
+
+"Marse Drake! Marse Drake!" he wailed. "De boats am surrounded by de
+Spanish. Dey will sholy be captured if you do not hurry back. Fo' de
+Lohd's sake, Massa, come down to de sho'."
+
+"My brother and John Oxenham will hasten to the shore," cried Drake.
+"Meanwhile, my Hearties, come batter down the doorway to this noble
+mansion. You are at the mouth of the greatest treasure-chest in the
+world."
+
+As the valiant captain spoke these words, he stepped forward to deal a
+blow, himself, at the stout door which shut him from the glittering
+riches. But suddenly he reeled and almost fell. Blood flowed in great
+quantities upon the sand, from a wound in his leg which he had
+received in the furious struggle within the market-place.
+
+"Come, Captain," cried one of his retainers, seizing him in his arms.
+"You must hasten to our pinnaces. What brooks this treasure to us when
+we lose you, for, if you live we can secure gold and silver enough at
+any time, but if you die we can find no more."
+
+"I fear me that I am grievously hurt," sadly spake the Captain. "Give
+me but a drink and then I think that I can reach our boats."
+
+A soldier stooped and bound his scarf about the wounded leg of the now
+weakened leader, and, bearing him aloft, the little band of
+adventurers turned toward the ocean side. They soon embarked, with
+many wounded besides the Captain, though none were slain save one
+trumpeter.
+
+Although the surgeons were kept busy in providing remedies and salves
+for the hurts of the soldiers, their main care was for the bold
+Francis Drake,--leader of this desperate expedition in quest of
+treasure.
+
+"If we lose you," cried a sailor, "we can scarce get home again. But
+while we enjoy your presence and have you in command of us, we can
+recover enough of wealth."
+
+"Before we left the harbor we took, with little trouble, a ship of
+wine for the greater comfort of our company," writes one of the stout
+soldiers in this brave affair. "And though they shot at us from the
+town we carried our prize to the Isle of Victuals. Here we cured our
+wounded men and refreshed ourselves in the goodly gardens which we
+found there abounding with great store of dainty roots and fruit.
+There were also great plenty of poultry and other fowls, no less
+strange and delicate."
+
+Although unsuccessful--as you see--the brave mariners were not
+daunted, and, after the wounded had recovered, a new expedition was
+determined upon, with the purpose of capturing one of the trains of
+mules which carried gold from Vera Cruz to Panama. Drake had been
+joined by numerous Maroons--negroes who had escaped from the Spaniards
+and had turned bandits--and these were quite willing and ready to aid
+him in the pursuit of treasure. But before the English marauders moved
+towards the interior, they attempted to attack Cartagena, the capital
+of the Spanish Main.
+
+Sailing into the harbor in front of this prosperous town, one evening,
+they found that the townsfolk had been well warned of their coming;
+they rang their bells and fired their cannon, while all of the
+soldiers ranged themselves before the ramparts.
+
+"Egad," cried Drake, with strange cheerfulness, in spite of his
+disappointment. "They're far too ready to receive us. We've got to
+withdraw."
+
+So they prowled around the mouth of the harbor, captured two ships,
+outward bound, and roared with laughter as they read a letter, written
+to warn all nearby citizens of "that terrible marauder, pirate, and
+butcher, Captain Drake."
+
+"The Spaniards carry no treasure by land during the rainy months,"
+said one of the natives. "You must wait for five full moons, if you
+wish to catch a mule train."
+
+"All right," said Captain Drake. "We'll fortify a place of
+refuge--explore--and await the propitious moment when we can hope for
+success."
+
+Thus they tarried patiently until they heard from the Maroons (who
+ranged the country up and down) that a large fleet had arrived from
+Spain at Nombre de Dios. This was glad news. Drake smiled as he heard
+it, and prepared immediately to make a land journey to Panama with
+forty-eight followers, carrying provisions, arms, and many pairs of
+shoes, because they were to cross several rivers of stone and gravel.
+
+The way lay between great palm trees and through cool and pleasant
+woods where the sturdy Englishmen were much encouraged when they heard
+that there stood a great tree, not far from where they were, from
+which one could see both the North Sea (Atlantic) from which they were
+journeying, and the South Sea (Pacific) towards which they were going.
+Finally--upon the fourth day--they came to a very steep hill, lying
+east and west like a ridge, and, at this point, Pedro--chief of the
+Maroons--took Drake by the hand, saying,
+
+"Follow me, O Captain, and I will show you two seas at once, for you
+are in the very centre of this country. Behold you stand in the heart
+of this fertile land."
+
+Looking before him, the lion-hearted adventurer saw a high tree in
+which had been cut many steps, so that one could climb to the top.
+Here was a convenient bower large enough for ten or twelve men to seat
+themselves. Then--without further ado--he and the chief Maroon
+clambered into the spreading branches and gazed across the nodding
+palm tops into the dim distance. It was a fair day, and, as the
+Maroons had felled certain trees so that the prospect might be more
+clear, upon the delighted vision of the Englishman burst the vista of
+the blue Atlantic and shimmering Pacific.
+
+"I pray Almighty God in all his goodness," cried out the adventurous
+Drake in loud tones of appreciation, "that I may have life and leave
+to sail but once an English ship in this mighty ocean of the West!"
+
+Then he called up the rest of the voyagers, and told them of his
+prayer and purpose.
+
+"I will follow you by God's grace!" cried John Oxenham, "unless you do
+not wish my company."
+
+Drake smiled good-humoredly, and, with a wave of his arm in the
+direction of the glistening waters, descended to the ground.
+
+"On, my hearties!" cried he, "and we'll soon bag a mule train with its
+panniers filled with gold."
+
+The men started forward, singing an old English ballad. As they walked
+through the high pampas grass, they began to get glimpses of Panama
+and the low-lying ships in the harbor. They kept silence and at length
+hid themselves in a grove near the high road from Panama to Nombre de
+Dios, while a negro was sent into the city as a spy.
+
+In the afternoon the faithful henchman returned.
+
+"A certain great man intends to go to Spain by the first ship," he
+said. "He is travelling towards Nombre de Dios this very night with
+his daughter and his family. He has fourteen mules, eight of which are
+laden with gold and one with jewelry. Two other trains of fifty mules
+each--burdened with food and little silver--will also come up this
+night."
+
+The English smiled, and, without more ado, marched to within two miles
+of Vera Cruz, where half of them lay down upon one side of the road,
+and half upon the other. They were screened by the tall grass; so
+well, indeed, that no eye could see them, and in an hour's time, to
+their eager ears came the sound of mule trains passing to and fro near
+Vera Cruz, where trade was lively because of the presence of the
+Spanish fleet. All was propitious for a successful attack.
+
+But misfortune seemed always to follow the bold and adventurous
+Drake. As mischance would have it, one of his men called Robert Pike,
+who had "drunk too much brandy without water," was lying close to the
+roadway by the side of a grinning Maroon, and, when a well-mounted
+cavalier from Vera Cruz rode by--with his page running at his
+stirrup--he rose up to peer at him, even though his companion pulled
+him down in the endeavor to hide his burly form.
+
+"Sacre Nom de Dieu," cried the traveller. "It is a white man! An
+Englishman!" and, putting spurs to his horse, he rode away at a
+furious gallop in order to warn others of the highwayman's position.
+
+The ground was hard and the night was still. As Captain Drake heard
+the gentleman's trot change into a gallop, he uttered a round British
+oath.
+
+"Discovered," he muttered, "but by whose fault I know not. We'll await
+the other trains and mayhap we'll have some booty yet."
+
+The gentleman, in fact, warned the Treasurer, who, fearing that
+Captain Drake had wandered to this hidden thicket, turned his train of
+mules aside and let the others--who were behind him--pass on. Thus, by
+recklessness of one of the company, a rich booty was lost, but--as an
+Englishman has well said, "We thought that God would not let it be
+taken, for likely it was well gotten by that Treasurer."
+
+There was no use repining, for soon a tinkling of bells and tread of
+hoofs came to the eager ears of the adventurers, and, through the long
+pampas grass ambled the other two mule trains--their drivers snapping
+the whips with little thought of the lurking danger. In a moment they
+were between the English and hidden Maroons, who--with a wild
+cheer--dashed upon them, surrounded them, and easily held them in
+their power. Two horse loads of silver was the prize for all this
+trouble and hard travel.
+
+"I never grieve over things past," cried Drake. "We must now march
+home by the shortest route. It is certainly provoking that we lost the
+mule train of gold, particularly as we were betrayed by one of our own
+men. Come, soldiers, turn about and retreat to our good ships."
+
+Half satisfied but cheerful, the soldiers and Maroons turned towards
+the coast, and, as they neared Vera Cruz, the infantrymen of the town
+swarmed outside to attack the hated men of Merrie England, with cries
+of, "Surrender! Surrender!"
+
+Drake looked at them scornfully, replying,
+
+"An Englishman never surrenders!"
+
+At this a volley rang out and one of the intrepid adventurers was "so
+powdered with hail-shot that he could not recover his life, although
+he continued all that day with Drake's men." But stout Francis blew
+his whistle--the signal for attack--and, with a wild cry, the Maroons
+and English rushed for the black-haired and sallow-skinned defenders
+of the town. "Yo Peho! Yo Peho!" wailed the half-crazed natives as
+they leaped high in the air, and encouraged by the presence of the
+English, they broke through the thickets at the town's end and forced
+the enemy to fly, while the now terrified Spanish scurried pell mell
+down the coast. Several of Drake's followers were wounded, and one
+Maroon was run through with a pike, but his courage was so great that
+he revenged his own death ere he died, by slaying a Spaniard who
+opposed him.
+
+At sunrise the land pirates continued their journey, carrying some
+plunder from Vera Cruz. Some of the men fainted with weakness, but two
+Maroons would carry them along until they could again walk, and
+thus--struggling, cursing and singing--the party of weary and
+disappointed marauders neared the place where they had left their
+ship. A messenger was sent forward with a golden toothpick to those
+left behind upon the vessel and a request that the ship be brought
+into the narrow channel of a certain river. It was done, and when at
+last the weary plunderers reached the shore, they gave a mighty cheer
+as they saw the white, bellying sails of their staunch, English
+vessel. Their journey for pelf and jewels had been a failure.
+
+This did not discourage the lion-hearted Drake, who declared, with a
+smile, "We'll yet catch a mule train, boys, and one in which the
+panniers are filled with sufficient gold to sink our good ship. Keep
+your hearts bright and I'll gain you enough of treasure to house you
+in peace and comfort in your old age. Remember--'Fortune favors the
+brave!'" He had spoken with truth.
+
+Not long afterwards a French captain appeared, whose men were only too
+eager for a little journey ashore after golden mule trains and battle.
+So a party was made up of twenty Frenchmen, fifteen Englishmen, and
+some Maroons, who sailed with a frigate and two pinnaces, towards a
+river called Rio Francisco--to the west of Nombre de Dios. They
+landed, struck inland, and were soon near the high road from Panama to
+Nombre de Dios, where mule trains passed daily--some with food and
+merchandise--a few with golden ingots and bars of silver.
+
+In silence they marched along and spent the night about a mile from
+the road, where they could plainly hear the carpenters working on
+their ships--which they did at night because of the fierce, torrid sun
+during the day. Next morning--the first of April, but not an April
+Fool's day by any means--they heard such a number of bells that the
+Maroons began to chuckle and say, "You will have much gold. Yo Peho!
+Yo Peho! This time we will all be rich!"
+
+Suddenly three mule trains came to view, one of fifty long-eared
+beasts of burden; two of seventy each, with every animal carrying
+three hundred pounds weight of silver, amounting to nearly thirty
+tons. The sight seemed almost too good to be true. With a wild shout
+the ambuscaders leaped from their hiding places to rush frantically
+upon the startled drivers. In a few moments the train was in
+possession of Drake and his French and half-negro associates, who
+chuckled and grunted like peccaries.
+
+The leading mules were taken by the heads and all the rest lay down,
+as they always do when stopped. The fifteen soldiers who guarded each
+train were routed, but not before they had wounded the French captain
+most severely and had slain one of the Maroons. Silver bars and gold
+ingots were there aplenty. They were seized and carried off, while,
+what was not transported, was buried in the earthen burrows made by
+the great land crabs under fallen trees, and in the sand and gravel of
+a shallow river.
+
+"And now for home," cried a valorous sea farer, after a party had
+returned with a portion of the buried treasure, which was divided
+equally between the French and the English. Much of that left in the
+sand crab holes had been discovered by the Spaniards--but not all.
+Thirteen bars of silver and a few quoits of gold had rewarded the
+search of the expectant voyageurs.
+
+"Yes," cried all. "Sails aloft for Merrie England!" So, spreading
+canvas, the bold adventurers were soon headed for the foggy and misty
+isle from which they had come. On Sunday, August ninth, 1573--just
+about sermon time--they dropped anchor in the peaceful harbor of
+Plymouth.
+
+"And the news of the Captain's return brought unto his people, did so
+speedily pass over all the church, and fill the minds of the
+congregation with delight and desire to see him, that very few, or
+none, remained with the preacher. All hastened to see the evidence of
+God's love and blessing towards the gracious Queen and country, by the
+fruit of the gallant mariner's labor and success."
+
+"To God alone," spake an humble citizen of Plymouth, "be the Glory."
+
+[Illustration: DRAKE'S GREATEST VICTORY ON THE SPANISH MAIN.
+ (The surrender of Don Anton to Sir Francis Drake, March 1, 1579.)]
+
+And all echoed these pious sentiments, in spite of the fact that
+Drake was a robber, a pirate, and a buccaneer. But was he not their
+own countryman?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The scene now changes. It is a gray day at Plymouth and anxious faces
+peer into the street from the windows of the low, tiled houses. A
+crowd has collected upon the jutting cliffs and all gaze with eager
+eyes towards the ocean. Men speak in hushed and subdued voices, for
+there is trouble in the air.
+
+Among the knots of keen-eyed English there is one small party which
+seems to be as joyous as a lot of school-boys. Five men are playing at
+bowls, and one of them is stout, and well knit, and swarthy visaged
+with long exposure to the elements. He is laughing uproariously, when
+a lean fellow comes running from the very edge of those beetling
+cliffs which jut far out into the gray, green Atlantic.
+
+"Hark'ee, Captain Drake!" he cries. "Ships are in the offing, and many
+of them too! It must be the fleet of Philip of Spain come to ravage
+our beauteous country!"
+
+"Ah, indeed," answers the staunch-figured captain, without looking up.
+"Then let me have one last shot, I pray thee, before I go to meet
+them."
+
+And so saying, he calmly tosses another ball upon the greensward,
+knocks aside the wooden pins, then smiling, turns and strides towards
+the waterside.
+
+Thus Drake--the lion-hearted--goes out to battle with the great Armada
+of Philip of Spain, with a smile upon his lips, and full confidence in
+his ability to defeat the Spaniards at home as well as on the Spanish
+Main. Let us see how he fared?
+
+Smarting with keen anger at Drake and his successful attacks upon his
+western possessions, Philip--the powerful monarch of Spain--determined
+to gather a great fleet together and to invade England with a mighty
+army.
+
+"That rascally pirate has beaten me at Cadiz, at Cartagena, and at
+Lisbon," the irate king had roared, with no show of composure. "Now I
+will sail against him and crush this buccaneer, so that he and his
+kind can never rise again."
+
+A mighty fleet of heavy ships--the Armada--was not ready to sail until
+July, 1588, and the months before this had been well spent by the
+English in preparation for defense, for they knew of the full
+intention of their southern enemy. Shipwrights worked day and night.
+The clamoring dockyards hummed with excitement, while Good Queen Bess
+and her Ministers of State wrote defiant letters to the missives from
+the Spanish crown. The cold blood of the English--always quite
+lukewarm in their misty, moisty isle--had begun to boil with vigor.
+The Britons would fight valiantly.
+
+As the lumbering galleons neared the English coast, a heavy mist which
+hid them, blew away, and the men of England saw the glimmering water
+fairly black with the wooden vultures of old Spain. The Spaniards had
+come ready to fight in the way in which they had won many a brilliant
+victory; with a horde of towering hulks, of double-deckers and
+store-ships manned by slaves and yellow-skinned retainers, who
+despised big guns and loved a close encounter with hand thrusts and
+push of pike. Like a huge, wooden octopus this arrogant fleet of
+Arragon moved its tentacles around the saucy, new-made pinnaces of the
+tight little isle.
+
+"The boats of the English were very nimble and of good steerage,"
+writes a Spaniard, "so that the English did with them as they desired.
+And our ships being very heavy compared with the lightness of those of
+the enemy, it was impossible to come to hand-stroke with them."
+
+This tells the whole story. With a light wind astern--the war ships of
+the English bore down easily upon the heavy-bottomed Spanish galleons
+and fired their guns at the hulls of the enemy.
+
+"Don't waste your balls upon the rigging," cried Drake through a
+trumpet. "Sight low and sink 'em if you can. But keep away from the
+grappling hooks so's not to let 'em get hold of you. If they once
+do--you're lost!"
+
+Now was the sound of splitting of boards, as the solid shot pumped
+great holes in the sides of the high rocking galleons. Dense clouds of
+vapor hung over the struggling combatants--partly from a sea fog which
+the July sun had not thoroughly burned away, and partly from the
+spitting mouths of the cannon. Fire burst from the decks, the roar of
+the guns was intermingled with the shrill wails of the slaves, the
+guttural cries of the seamen, the screams of the wounded and the
+derisive howls of those maddened by battle. The decks were crimson
+with blood; sails split and tore as the chain-shot hummed through the
+rigging, and the sharp twang of the arquebusques was mingled with the
+crash of long-barrelled muskets.
+
+No men can fight like those who are defending their own homes. At
+Gettysburg, the Army of the Potomac--twice beaten in an attack upon
+the South in the enemy's country--struggled as it had never done
+before,--and won. It had nowhere battled as when the foe was pushing
+it back upon its own soil and cities.
+
+So here--no fighters ever bled as did the English when the greedy
+hands of Spain were clutching at their shores. The light ships hung
+near the Spaniards at a distance and did not board until spars were
+down and the great rakish hulls were part helpless. Then--with a wild
+cheer--the little galleons--often two at a time--would grapple with
+the enemy and board--cutlasses swinging, pistols spitting, and
+hand-spikes hewing a way through the struggling, yellow-faced ruffians
+of Philip of Arragon.
+
+While the awful battle raged, fire ships were prepared on shore and
+sent down upon the Spanish fleet, burning fiercely and painting the
+skyline with red. Some of the large vessels had anchored, and, as
+these terrors approached, they slipped their cables in order to
+escape. Confusion beset the ranks of the boastful foe and cheered on
+the British bull-dogs to renewed exertions.
+
+At six in the evening a mighty cry welled from the British boats.
+"They fly! They fly!" sounded above the ruck and roar of battle.
+
+Yes--it was the truth. Beaten and dismayed, the Spanish fleet bore
+away to the North, while the English--in spite of the fact that their
+powder was wet, and nearly all spent--"gave them chase as if they
+lacked nothing, until they had cleared their own coast and some part
+of Scotland of them." The Armada--split, part helpless--drifted away
+from Plymouth, and wild cheers of joy came from the deck of the vessel
+which carried bold Sir Francis Drake. The great battle had been won.
+
+So crippled were many of the Spanish hulks that they were wrecked in
+stormy weather, off the coast of Scotland and Ireland. Not half of
+those who put to sea ever reached Spain again. Many sailors were
+drowned, or perished miserably by the hands of the natives of the
+coast, and some who escaped were put to death by the Queen's orders.
+Fever and sickness broke out in the English ships and the followers of
+bold Drake died by hundreds, "sickening one day and perishing the
+next."
+
+The English vessels, themselves, were in a bad way--they had to be
+disinfected and the men put ashore--where the report of the many
+wrecks and the massacre of Spanish soldiers, eased the anxiety of the
+once terrified inhabitants of the tight little isle, and made it
+certain that the Armada would never return. Drake and his bold seamen
+had saved the people of Merrie England. Again hats off to this pirate
+of the Spanish Main!
+
+Safely settled in Buckland Abbey, knighted, honored, respected--the
+hero of the defense of England--one would think that Drake would have
+remained peacefully at home to die "with his boots on." But not so.
+The spirit of adventure called to him with irresistible force, and
+again he set out for the Spanish Main. He had sailed around the world
+before his grapple with the Armada; he had harassed the Spaniard in an
+expedition to Lisbon; he was the idol of the English. He had done
+enough--you say. Yes, he had done enough--but--like all men who love
+the game of life he wished to have just one more expedition in search
+of gold and adventure, for--by nature he was a gambler, and he was
+throwing the dice with Fate.
+
+So a goodly crew sailed with him again, hoping for another raid upon
+mule trains and cities of treasure. But alas! There was to be a
+different story from the others. All the towns and hamlets of the
+Spanish Main had been warned to "be careful and look well to
+themselves, for that Drake and Hawkins were making ready in England to
+come upon them." And when the English arrived they found stout defense
+and valiant men, nor was a sail seen "worth giving chase unto."
+Hawkins died, many grew ill of fever, and finally Drake, himself,
+succumbed to the malarial atmosphere of Panama. He was to remain where
+gold and adventure had first lured him.
+
+On January the twenty-eighth, 1596, the great captain yielded up his
+spirit "like a Christian, quietly in his cabin." And a league from the
+shore of Porto Rico, the mighty rover of the seas was placed in a
+weighted hammock and tossed into the sobbing ocean. The spume frothed
+above the eddying current, sucked downward by the emaciated form of
+the famous mariner, and a solitary gull shrieked cruelly above the
+bubbles, below which--upon beads of coral and clean sand--rested the
+body of Sir Francis Drake, rover, rogue, and rattling sea ranger. It
+was his last journey.
+
+
+ "Weep for this soul, who, in fathoms of azure,
+ Lies where the wild tarpon breaks through the foam,
+ Where the sea otter mews to its brood in the ripples,
+ As the pelican wings near the palm-forest gloom.
+ Ghosts of the buccaneers flit through the branches,
+ Dusky and dim in the shadows of eve,
+ While shrill screams the parrot,--the lord of Potanches,
+ 'Drake, Captain Drake, you've had your last leave.'"
+
+
+
+
+SEA IRONY
+
+
+ One day I saw a ship upon the sands
+ Careened upon beam ends, her tilted deck
+ Swept clear of rubbish of her long-past wreck;
+ Her colors struck, but not by human hands;
+ Her masts the driftwood of what distant strands!
+ Her frowning ports, where, at the Admiral's beck,
+ Grim-visaged cannon held the foe in check,
+ Gaped for the frolic of the minnow bands.
+ The seaweed banners in her fo'ks'le waved,
+ A turtle basked upon her capstan head;
+ Her cabin's pomp the clownish sculpin braved,
+ And, on her prow, where the lost figure-head
+ Once turned the brine, a name forgot was graved,
+ It was "The Irresistible" I read.
+
+ --HEATON.
+
+
+
+
+SIR WALTER RALEIGH
+
+PERSECUTOR OF THE SPANIARDS
+
+(1552-1618)
+
+
+ "All great men have lived by hope."--JAMES FREEMAN
+ CLARKE.
+
+
+[Illustration: YOUNG RALEIGH AND A COMPANION LISTENING TO TALES OF
+THE SPANISH MAIN.]
+
+
+SIR WALTER RALEIGH
+
+PERSECUTOR OF THE SPANIARDS
+
+(1552-1618)
+
+ "When the sobbing sea is squally,
+ Then,--look out for Walter Raleigh!
+ He's the fellow whom Queen Bess is said to love.
+ He's a reckless, handsome sailor,
+ With a 'Vandyke' like a tailor,
+ He can coo fond words of loving like a dove.
+ Faith! I like this gallant rover,
+ Who has ploughed the wild seas over,
+ Who has passed the grim and wild equator's ring.
+ And I cheer, whene'er I view him,
+ For--my Boy--off Spain I knew him
+ When he trimmed the Spanish cruisers, like a King."
+
+ --_Chant of the Plymouth Dock-Hand._
+
+
+Boys! You have all heard about the _Square Deal_. Well--Here is the
+story of a man who didn't get one.
+
+Walter Raleigh was a brave man; he was an able seafarer; his younger
+manhood was spent in the midst of the most brilliant Royal Court which
+England has known. He proved his courage and military prowess in more
+than one bitterly contested battle-field and naval conflict. His love
+of his own land and his hatred of his enemies was ardent.
+
+He was also a fellow of wit, and, as an author, took rank with the
+great literary lights of the Elizabethan Age. He was an adventurer,
+and, in middle life, as well as in old age, braved the great deep and
+perils of savage lands in the magnificent attempt to make discoveries
+and to settle English colonies in the New World. Chivalrous in actions
+and feeling; of handsome person; graceful manners and courtly address;
+it is no wonder that he had a host of enemies: those fellows who
+couldn't do anything worth while themselves, and wanted to "pull the
+other fellow down." There are plenty of them around, to-day, doing the
+same thing in the same, old way.
+
+As an Englishman he loved England to such an extent, that--upon the
+return from one of his numerous voyages--he dropped upon one knee and
+kissed the sand.
+
+"My men," said he to his followers, "I love this land as nothing else
+on earth!"
+
+The hostility of his rivals subjected him to harsh ill treatment. It
+did not dampen his love for England.
+
+The silly caprices of Queen Elizabeth, who--like most women--was
+swayed, not by her reason, but by her sentiments, made him suffer
+imprisonment. Yet, it did not dampen his love for England.
+
+The terrible and bitter dislike of King James--who succeeded the
+Virgin Queen--finally led to his trial for treason; his execution; and
+his death.
+
+Yet, it did not dampen his love for England.
+
+If England can produce men of such a mold, nowadays, she will continue
+to be a mighty world power.
+
+Do you think that _you_ could be as patriotic as Sir Walter Raleigh?
+Particularly if _you_ were treated as _he_ was treated? Think it over!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+One day, the ancient palace of Greenwich, which stood on the banks of
+the Thames--a few miles below London--presented a lively and brilliant
+scene. Courtiers, arrayed in gorgeous colors and glittering ornaments,
+walked about, chattering gaily,--like a flock of sparrows. Fine, young
+cavaliers were there, attired in rich velvets, sparkling with gems,
+armed with gold-hilted swords. Grave statesmen wandered around,--with
+beards as white as their ruffles. Stately dames, with heavy and gaily
+trimmed trains, peered at the beautiful belles, and said:
+
+"My, isn't she a fright!" or
+
+"Goodness, what _dreadful_ manners the Duchess so-and-so has!"
+
+Just as they do to-day. Times do not change.
+
+Trumpets blared a fan-fa-rade and lines of soldiers gave forth
+inspiriting sounds, with many musical instruments. There was a stir
+and flutter in the crowd; and some one called out:
+
+"She's coming! Hats off to the Queen!"
+
+So all the men took off their hats,--for they were courtiers, and it
+was their business to do so, whenever Her Royal Highness came around.
+Many of them didn't like to do it but if they hadn't done so, some spy
+would have cried out "Treason!" And they would have been hustled off
+to the Tower. You _just bet_ they took off their hats!
+
+Descending the broad flight of steps, with proud and majestic mien,
+the tall and slender figure of Elizabeth--the maiden Queen of
+England--was seen approaching.
+
+She was then in the mature ripeness of middle age, but she still
+preserved not a few remnants of the beauty of her youth. Her form was
+straight and well proportioned. Her large, blue eyes were yet bright
+and expressive; her complexion was still wonderfully fair and smooth.
+Her well arranged hair was luxuriant and was of a light red. A large,
+fan-like collar of richest lace rose from her slender neck, above her
+head behind; and her tresses were combed high from her forehead.
+Jewels blazed from her dress. Her attire was far more splendid than
+that of any of the ladies of her court.
+
+As it happened, a heavy shower had just passed over, and little
+puddles of water stood all around upon the gravelled paths. Bursting
+through the fast-vanishing clouds, the sun cast its rays upon the
+trees still dripping with glittering drops; and upon the smiling
+Queen, who--surrounded by a gay group of courtiers--set forth upon a
+promenade through the park. She chatted affably with all. They tried
+to make themselves as agreeable as possible, for he who was most
+agreeable received the best plums from the Royal Tree. Politics
+haven't changed any since that day.
+
+The Queen walked on, playing with a beautiful, white greyhound, and,
+pretty soon she came to a muddy spot in the path.
+
+"Zounds!" said she (or it may have been something stronger, for
+historians say that she could "swear valiantly"). "Zounds! Now I will
+spoil my pretty shoes!"
+
+"And also your pretty feet," interjected a courtier. He received a
+smile for this compliment and the Queen mentally made a note of
+it,--for future use in the distribution of Court Favors.
+
+She hesitated, looked around aimlessly, and stood still.
+
+At this instant a young noble--six feet tall and elegantly
+attired--stepped forward; and, throwing aside his richly embroidered
+cloak, spread it over the muddy pool.
+
+"Prithee, pass onward!" said he, bowing low.
+
+Elizabeth was delighted.
+
+"Good Walter Raleigh," said she, smiling. "You are truly a gallant
+knight!" And she tripped gaily across the embroidered mantlet. "I will
+reward you right well for this!"
+
+But the courtiers, the Ladies, and the Statesmen glanced with
+undisguised envy at the young gallant who had so readily pleased their
+Mistress; and they scowled at him as Elizabeth kept him at her side
+during the rest of her promenade. "The Beggar's outdone us all!" said
+one. "Down with him!"
+
+But they could not down Sir Walter just then. After awhile they had
+"their innings."
+
+Rough, vain, whimsical Queen Bess was fond of handsome, and especially
+of witty and eloquent young men. She grew more attached to Sir Walter
+Raleigh every day. He rapidly rose in power and influence, and, as a
+poet, became well known. His verses were read in the luxurious halls
+of the palace with exclamations of delight, while the tales of his
+military exploits were eagerly repeated from mouth to mouth; for
+Raleigh had fought valiantly in France and had helped to suppress an
+insurrection in Ireland.
+
+And still the jealous courtiers murmured among themselves.
+
+Raleigh was appointed "Warden of the Stanneries," or mines, in
+Cornwall and Devonshire, from which he derived, each year, a large
+income. He was made Captain of the Queen's Guard. He was created Lord
+Lieutenant of Cornwall and Vice-Admiral of Devon. He received vast
+estates in Ireland and many privileges and licenses, so that he was
+fast becoming a rich man. He was splendid and extravagant in his
+dress. He grew arrogant. He had, in fact, "too much Ego in his
+Cosmos."
+
+So, the jealous courtiers continued to murmur among themselves.
+
+Elizabeth was fickle as well as sentimental. Her fancy passed lightly
+from one gallant to another. For some time Leicester (who had once
+been her sole favorite, and who desired to regain his position) had
+been growing jealous of Raleigh's ascendency; and he had been
+delighted to see that Queen Bess had taken a violent fancy to the
+impetuous Earl of Essex. A quarrel took place between Raleigh and the
+Ruler of England. He was affronted before the whole court and retired
+to his chambers, overwhelmed with grief.
+
+[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEIGH.]
+
+And all the jealous courtiers punched each other beneath the ribs,
+and laughed "Ha! Ha! Ha! What did we tell you?"
+
+It took the "Ego" out of Raleigh's "Cosmos."
+
+But the gallant courtier had a half-brother--Sir Humphrey Gilbert--who
+had just returned from a voyage around the world in the good ship
+_Golden Hind_.
+
+"Let's fit out a small fleet," said he to Raleigh, "and establish an
+English colony in Newfoundland."
+
+"I'm with you," cried Sir Walter. "We'll found another England in far
+distant America! On with it!"
+
+Thus, an expedition of five ships sailed from Plymouth, in the early
+summer of 1583. Sir Humphrey boarded the _Squirrel_, and bade his
+kinsman an affectionate adieu.
+
+"You must remain behind," said he, "and regain our position at court!"
+
+"That I will endeavor to do," answered Raleigh. "Good luck and God
+speed."
+
+The expedition was a failure from the start. Scarcely had the shallops
+gone to sea, than one of them--the _Raleigh_--deserted its companions
+and put back. The rest reached Newfoundland, but the men were lawless
+and insubordinate.
+
+"This is the Deuce of a cold place for a colony," they said. "Home to
+Merrie England!"
+
+Gilbert was forced to yield to their angry demands, and re-embarked.
+
+"Don't sail in that rattle-trap of a _Squirrel_," said his officers to
+him. "She'll founder!"
+
+But Sir Humphrey had that obstinacy which characterized General
+Braddock.
+
+"No: I will not forsake the little company, going homeward," said he.
+"I'll stick to my ship."
+
+He stuck--and--when they hailed him one stormy night, he said:
+
+"Be of good cheer, my friends: we are as near to Heaven by sea as by
+land!"
+
+That night the _Squirrel_ was sailing a little in advance of the other
+ships, and, as those on board the _Golden Hind_ watched the frail
+barque, they saw her lurch, heave, and then sink from view. Thus the
+soul of brave Raleigh's kinsman found a watery grave. He had paid for
+his obstinacy with his life.
+
+Raleigh was overwhelmed with grief when he learned of the death of his
+heroic half-brother.
+
+"I'll yet found my Colony," said he. "And I'll go myself."
+
+This pleased the jealous courtiers more than ever, for they would now
+have him out of the way for all time.
+
+With his ample wealth, the indefatigable adventurer found no
+difficulty in fitting out an expedition, and, in the year after the
+death of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, he sent forth two vessels to explore
+the coast of the Carolinas.
+
+"I'm going to stay at home and face my enemies!" said the gay blade.
+"Again good luck and God Speed!"
+
+They had a fortunate voyage, and, when they returned, the Captains
+told of the beautiful harbors, fine rivers, magnificent forests and
+abundance of game. The Queen was delighted, and at once named the
+fair country for herself, with characteristic egotism. That men might
+know that this fruitful land was explored in the time of the Virgin
+Queen, it was called "Virginia." Raleigh was wild with delight.
+
+And the jealous courtiers looked dejected and sad.
+
+A fleet of seven vessels--with one hundred colonists--was now sent to
+Virginia, under the command of one Grenville, who was eager to become
+suddenly rich: a disease as common now as in those venturous days. No
+sooner had the people landed, than they began to treat the savages
+with such harshness and rapacity--that they had to gain their own
+food, as the natives would have nothing to do with them. Dissensions
+tore the little community into shreds. So they were only too glad to
+return with the gallant old sea-dog, Sir Francis Drake, when he
+happened that way, with a large amount of booty which he had just
+taken from the Spaniards in the southern seas.
+
+Another expedition was sent over by Raleigh; and yet another. They
+were failures. But there was one, single thing which was not a
+failure. This was the discovery of a herb called "Yppowoc," or
+tobacco, the leaves of which--when dried--were smoked by the natives
+in long pipes.
+
+Curious Sir Walter had a jeweller in London make him a silver pipe,
+after the fashion of those used by the native Virginians. In this he
+began to smoke the tobacco, and soon grew to like it very much; so
+much, indeed, that he was scarcely ever without this comforter, when
+enjoying the quiet of his home.
+
+One day he was sitting cosily by his fire with his Long Nine in his
+mouth, and the smoke was curling gracefully over his head. Just as he
+was puffing out a particularly thick cloud, one of his servants
+happened to enter the room with a tankard of ale, for the luncheon
+table.
+
+"Ye Gods!" cried he. "My Master's on fire!"
+
+_Swash!!_
+
+Over Sir Walter's head went the ale, and the frightened lackey dashed
+down the steps.
+
+"H-e-l-p! H-e-l-p!" cried he. "My Master is burning up! H-e-l-p!"
+
+But Sir Walter did not burn up this time. Instead he near split his
+gallant sides with laughing.
+
+Now, Boys, don't smile! 'Tis said that good old Queen Bess tried,
+herself, to smoke a Long Nine. But--hush--"she became so dizzy and ill
+from the effects that she never ventured upon the experiment again!"
+(Keep this quiet! Very quiet! Will you!)
+
+On one occasion she was watching Sir Walter blowing circles of smoke
+over his head, and said to him--
+
+"Zounds! (or something stronger) Sir Walter! You are a witty man; but
+I will wager that you cannot tell me the weight of the smoke which
+comes from your pipe!"
+
+"I can, indeed," was the confident reply of the gallant courtier.
+"Watch me closely!"
+
+At once he took as much tobacco as would fill his pipe and exactly
+weighed it. Having then smoked it up, he--in like manner--weighed the
+ashes.
+
+"Now, Your Majesty," said he, smiling. "The difference between these
+two weights is the weight of the smoke."
+
+And again Queen Bess remarked "Zounds!" (or Eftsoons!). At any rate,
+she paid the wager, for--with all her frailties--she was a Good Loser.
+
+Raleigh, in fact, shortly became reinstated in Royal favor, and, when
+he aided Drake and Hawkins--soon afterwards--in dispersing the
+Invincible Armada, he was again in the good graces of his sovereign.
+
+There was, however, a pretty, young Maid-of-Honor at court, called
+Elizabeth Throgmorton, and no sooner had the bright eyes of Sir Walter
+fallen upon her, than he fell in love. In paying court to this amiable
+lady he was compelled to use great caution and secrecy, for jealous
+Queen Bess watched him narrowly, and with suspicion. In spite of her
+preference for Essex, Elizabeth was quite unwilling that Raleigh--her
+less favored lover--should transfer his affections to another. So, in
+making love to Elizabeth Throgmorton, the gay courtier was compelled
+to use the utmost care.
+
+But Murder (or Love) will out!
+
+It chanced one day, that the Queen discovered what was going on
+between her Maid-of-Honor and the cavalier. Her rage knew no bounds.
+She berated Raleigh before her ladies, and forbade him to come to
+court. She fiercely commanded the Maid-of-Honor to remain a prisoner
+in her room, and, on no account to see Raleigh again. So the venturous
+Knight turned his attention once more to wild roving upon the sea.
+
+Now the jealous courtiers fairly chuckled with glee. "Ha! Ha! Ha!"
+laughed they. "Ho! Ho! Ho! He! He! He!"
+
+But Sir Walter engaged very actively in fitting out some squadrons to
+attack the Spanish ships.
+
+"Egad! I hate a Spaniard!" he said. "They are my country's special
+enemies and I intend to do them all the harm that I can!"
+
+The Queen was glad enough to separate him from his lady love and not
+only consented to his project, but promised to aid him in it. Ere long
+fifteen vessels were anchored in the Thames--all ready to sail--but,
+before he set out, the gallant commander made up his mind that he
+would marry his beloved Maid-of-Honor. It was not difficult to find a
+clergyman who would splice him tighter than he ever spliced a rope
+aboard ship. The deed was done. He set sail. All was going
+propitiously.
+
+"I'll attack the Spanish ships in the harbor of Seville," said
+Raleigh. "Then--off to the Spanish Main and sack the town of Panama."
+He laughed,--but what was that?
+
+Rapidly approaching from the coast of England came a swift pinnace. It
+gained upon the squadron in spite of the fact that all sail was
+hoisted, and, at last came near enough to give Raleigh a signal to
+"Heave to." In a few moments her commander climbed aboard.
+
+"The Queen has changed her mind about your expedition," said he. "She
+has sent me--Sir Martin Frobisher--to tell you to come home."
+
+Raleigh said things which made the air as blue as the sea, but he put
+back--for he could not disobey the Royal command. He was soon at
+court.
+
+The Queen was furious with anger.
+
+"You have disobeyed my commands," said she. "I find you have secretly
+married my Maid-of-Honor. To the Tower with you! To the dungeons of
+the Tower!"
+
+And all the jealous courtiers were so happy that they danced a can-can
+in the ante chamber.
+
+What do you think of this? Thrown into prison because he loved a Maid
+and married her! Nowadays "all the World loves a Lover." In those
+times all the world _might_ have "loved a Lover" except Queen
+Bess,--and a number of courtiers hanging around within easy call:
+_They_ kicked a Lover. And then they all got together and said:
+
+"Fine! Fine! Now we've got him where he ought to be. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho!
+Ho! Ho!"
+
+But women relent; that is one of their chief characteristics. Queen
+Bess softened, grew lukewarm, finally became molten.
+
+"Sir Walter Raleigh can go free," said she.
+
+The gallant courtier returned to his country estate, where--with his
+wife and children he enjoyed the luxuries and comforts of country
+life. And the jealous courtiers began to look strangely sober.
+
+Still the sea called. The sea sang its old song, and, fired with the
+spirit of adventure, Sir Walter decided upon another expedition: this
+time to the coast of Guiana, in South America, where, it was said,
+"billets of gold lay about in heaps, as if they were logs of wood
+marked out to burn." With a large fleet at his command he soon started
+upon this expedition for plunder and for fame. This time no Sir Martin
+Frobisher sailed after him to bring him back to a dungeon in the Tower
+and he was able to reach his destination.
+
+The expedition was a howling success. Whenever and wherever Sir Walter
+could inflict injury on the Spaniards, whom he so bitterly detested,
+he did so with eagerness. A Spanish ship was soon seen, chased,
+and--after a brief, hot fight--surrendered and was boarded.
+
+"Egad!" cried Raleigh. "Here's luck, for the cargo's of fire arms.
+I'll stow them away in my own vessel and let the captive go!"
+
+Proceeding on his voyage, he not long afterwards encountered and
+captured another prize; a Flemish ship sailing homeward with a cargo
+of fine wine. Twenty hogsheads were transferred to the hold of
+Raleigh's ship and the captured craft was allowed to sail on,--empty.
+
+Things continued to go well. The Island of Trinidad (off Venezuela)
+was reached at last. The natives were friendly and told of vast
+deposits of gold far up the river Orinoco. "But would Raleigh not
+please besiege the Spanish town of St. Joseph?" said they, "and rescue
+some of their chiefs whom the Spaniards held prisoners--in chains."
+
+"I always strike a Spaniard when I can," said Raleigh. "On, men, we'll
+sack this proud city!"
+
+St. Joseph speedily fell into his hands. The chiefs were released.
+They were so gratified, that they paddled him far up the river, where
+they found glittering gold, which they tore out of rocks with their
+daggers. The Englishmen were delighted, and, collecting a mass of
+nuggets to show to those at home, they put back to the ships, set
+sail, and were soon in England again.
+
+The people were astonished at this exploit, but the jealous courtiers
+did all they could to deprive Raleigh of the renown which was justly
+his due.
+
+"What this fellow has told is a lie," whispered they into the ears of
+good Queen Bess. "There is no such place as Guiana. Raleigh has been
+down upon the coast of Spain and hidden himself. He has not crossed
+the Atlantic at all."
+
+Which proves that no one can ever do anything adventurous without
+stirring up the hammers of the Envious: the Little Men. Is it not so
+to-day? Look around! You can hear the carping critic at any time that
+you may wish! _Do_ something _big_, sometime. Then put your ear to the
+ground and listen!
+
+But the sea called for the fifth time. A vast English fleet was hurled
+against the Spanish at Cadiz,--a great English fleet, accompanied by
+an army. England was bound to get even with the Spaniards for daring
+to launch the supposedly invincible Armada against them--and Sir
+Walter eagerly sailed for the coast of Spain.
+
+The harbor of Cadiz was seen to be fairly jammed full of stately
+galleons and men-of-war. Arranged in compact rows, close to shore,
+just below the towering and frowning castle of Cadiz; they were
+protected, on either side, by fortresses, whence heavy guns peeped
+forth to defend them. There were nearly sixty large vessels in all,
+four of which were galleons, and twenty of which were galleys:
+well-manned and well-armed with small cannon. There were many more
+ships than in the attacking fleet.
+
+It was the evening of June the 20th, 1596. The British vessels rapidly
+sailed into the harbor, Raleigh leading, in the flagship, the _Water
+Sprite_; behind him the _Mary Rose_, commanded by his cousin, Sir
+George Carew; and the _Rainbow_ under Sir Francis Vere. All were eager
+for the fray, and it was not long before their approach was observed
+by the Spanish fleet. Instantly a huge galleon, the _Saint
+Philip_--the largest in the Spanish Navy--swung out of her position,
+followed by the _Saint Andrew_, second only to her in size.
+
+"They're coming to meet me!" cried Raleigh--joyously.
+
+Instead of that, the galleons sailed for a narrow strait in the
+harbor--followed by the rest of the Spanish fleet--and cast anchor
+just under the stout fortress of Puntal. They arranged themselves in
+close array and awaited the attack of the English.
+
+The English fleet anchored, but at daybreak, the impetuous Raleigh
+bore down upon the formidable mass of hulking galleons. The sun rays
+streamed over the old, Spanish town, gilding the pinnaces and spires
+of the churches, shining brightly upon the flapping pennons of
+Britisher and Don. The white sails flapped, spars creaked and groaned,
+the sailors cheered, and--in a moment--the cannon began to bark, like
+wolf hounds. The fight had begun.
+
+Raleigh was the incarnation of battle. Passing rapidly from point to
+point upon the deck of his vessel, he encouraged and urged on his men,
+exposed himself as freely as the rest; and whenever a man faltered,
+there he appeared to urge the faint heart on with words of inspiration
+and hope.
+
+_Roar! Roar! Roar! Zoom! Zoom! Crash!_
+
+The arquebusses spittled and spat; cannon growled; and iron crashed
+into solid oak planking.
+
+The orders were not to board until the fly-boats (long, flat-bottomed
+vessels with high sterns) came up, which were manned by Dutch allies.
+For three hours the battle raged, but the fly-boats did not arrive.
+The Earl of Essex--the commander of this expedition--now ordered his
+flagship to pass through the advance line of vessels, and make the way
+to the front. Raleigh was chafing with rage because the fly-boats did
+not come, yet, in spite of the danger of being shot, he jumped into a
+light skiff, and was rowed over to the galleon of Essex.
+
+"I'll board the _Saint Philip_," cried he, "if the fly-boats do not
+soon arrive. Even though it be against the orders of the Admiral. For
+it is the same loss to burn, or to sink, and I must soon endure one or
+the other."
+
+"Go ahead!" yelled Essex, over the bow. "I'll second you, upon my
+honor!"
+
+Raleigh hastened with all speed to the deck of the _Water Sprite_,
+where his men were pounding away at the Spanish galleons with all
+their might and main. No sooner had he mounted the poop, than he saw,
+with anger, that two vessels of his own squadron had forced themselves
+into a position in front of his own; for their commanders wanted to
+win first honors in this battle at sea.
+
+Raleigh, himself, wished to have the honor, just like other sea
+captains in later battles. But,--that's another story.
+
+So, the gallant seaman ran the _Water Sprite_ between the two other
+ships and took up his position as leader. Sir Francis Vere of the
+_Rainbow_ was resolved to keep in front as well as Raleigh.
+
+As the _Water Sprite_ passed him he slyly cast a rope to a sailor, who
+tied it to her stern, and his own vessel thus kept abreast of the
+lumbering galley of his chief. "But," writes Sir Walter, "some of my
+company advising me thereof, I caused the rope to be cast off, and so
+Vere fell back in his place, where I guarded him--all but his very
+prow--from the sight of the enemy. I was very sure that none would
+outstart me again for that day."
+
+The guns of the fort appeared to be silent and the big galleons lay
+apparently helpless in the face of the valiant enemy. Raleigh moved
+on, but, as he was about to clutch his splendid prize, it escaped him,
+for the Spaniards--finding that they would be captured--made haste to
+run the _Saint Philip_, and several of her sister ships, aground on
+the sand.
+
+"Blow them up!" came the order.
+
+The Spanish sailors and soldiers came tumbling out of the ships into
+the sea in heaps--"as thick as if coals had been poured out of a sack
+into many pots at once." Then a terrific roar boomed forth. The air
+was filled with flying splinters, canvas, iron, and lead. The portions
+of the galleons were now floating upon the waves and the water was
+alive with the struggling bodies of the Spaniards as they desperately
+endeavored to save themselves.
+
+The spectacle was lamentable. Many drowned themselves. Many, half
+burned, leaped into the water; while others hung by the ropes' ends;
+by the ships' sides; under the sea, even to their lips. "If any man
+had a desire to see Hell, itself," wrote Sir Walter, "it was there
+most lively figured!"
+
+Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
+
+The English sailors were cheering, for victory was theirs, and of all
+the gallant warriors of that day, Raleigh had been the most
+persistently daring and heroic.
+
+"The _Saint Andrew_'s still afloat, good Sire!" cried one of his
+sailors at this moment.
+
+"Then we'll take her!" cried Raleigh.
+
+She was boarded and captured with little difficulty, while yet another
+galleon--the _Saint Matthew_--fell into his hands. These were the only
+vessels of all that proud Spanish fleet which had escaped the flames.
+
+Raleigh, himself, had been severely wounded in the leg, but he refused
+to release the command of his ship. He gave orders that all lives
+should be spared, and although these mandates were rigidly obeyed by
+the English soldiers, the Dutch cruelly slaughtered many of their
+hapless prisoners, for their hatred of the Spaniards was bitter and
+savage.
+
+Cadiz had not yet fallen and Raleigh was determined to go on shore
+with the troops and witness the taking of the town, in spite of his
+wound. A litter was prepared for him--he was lowered into one of the
+boats--rowed ashore, carried upon the shoulders of some of his
+faithful soldiers, and witnessed the furious struggle which now
+ensued. Cadiz fell. Although the lives of the people were spared; the
+castle, fortifications and the greater part of the town itself, were
+burned and demolished. If you go there, to-day, you will still find
+the marks of this great and stirring strife.
+
+There was nothing left but to put the Spanish prisoners aboard the
+galleons, collect the plunder, and set sail for England. When the
+fleet again swung into the little harbor of Plymouth it was received
+by the people with wildest enthusiasm and delight. All England rang
+with the praise of the valor and courage of her heroes, for Spain had
+been stripped of her ability to injure her English rival and England's
+power was supreme upon the sea. Raleigh and his comrades had done
+this,--and the descendants of Raleigh and his comrades have continued
+to uphold the supremacy. Hurrah for Raleigh!
+
+But how about those jealous courtiers? They were still around--Oh,
+yes!--And Raleigh was greeted at court as coldly as when he had
+departed with the fleet. He had been deprived of his office of Captain
+of the Queen's Guard, and even his bravery at Cadiz did not win this
+back for him. Nor did he receive any of the spoil which had been won
+by himself and his comrades. Even Queen Bess was angry because her
+share of the booty taken from Cadiz was not as great as she had hoped
+for.
+
+"What the Generals have got," wrote Sir Walter, "I know least. For my
+own part, I have got a game leg, and am deformed. I have received many
+good words and exceedingly kind and regardful usage; but I have
+possession of naught but poverty and pain."
+
+Not long afterwards the old Queen was persuaded to write Sir Walter to
+come to court, and thus he and his wife, whom Elizabeth had also
+forgiven, appeared daily in the brilliant throng which clustered in
+the halls and corridors of the Royal Palace. He was restored to his
+old office of Captain of the Queen's Guard and rode forth again in all
+the splendor of his uniform, at the side of the sovereign.
+
+The rest of Sir Walter's life can be briefly narrated. With Essex he
+took part in a successful expedition to the Azores, where they
+captured many ships, and with him divided much booty and fame. But
+Essex became too ambitious and started a conspiracy to place himself
+upon the throne of England. It was a failure. He was captured by the
+Queen's soldiers--a part under Sir Walter himself--was tried, and
+executed for High Treason.
+
+Queen Bess soon died and was succeeded by a man who disliked Sir
+Walter from the start. This was James the First of Scotland--a "dour"
+fellow--who charged the valorous knight with treason, for it was
+alleged that he had conspired, with Lord Cobham, to place the
+youthful Arabella Stuart upon the throne. He was tried, convicted, and
+thrown into the Tower, where he lived for twelve long, tedious years.
+Think of it! A fellow of his venturesome and restless spirit forced to
+remain in a dungeon-keep for such a time! Weep for brave Sir Walter!
+This was fine treatment for a patriot!
+
+But the jealous courtiers did not weep. Oh no! _They_ laughed.
+
+When gallant Sir Walter was thrown into the Tower (for he had not
+plotted against the King) he was a hale and stalwart cavalier of
+fifty-two. He was released--after twelve years--when his hair and
+beard were grizzled, his face worn and wrinkled, his body somewhat
+bent, and his features grave and sorrowful. With what tearful joy he
+clasped to his breast his ever faithful wife and his two sons! At
+sixty-four his brave spirit was still unshaken; his ardent and
+restless ambition was as keen as ever.
+
+He went forth with the sentence of death still hanging over his head;
+for King James, although giving a grudging consent to his release, had
+refused to pardon him. And he went forth with the understanding that
+he should lead an expedition to the coast of Guiana in South America;
+there to attack the Spaniards and gain plunder, gold, and jewels. If
+successful he was to go free. If non-successful, he was to suffer
+punishment--perhaps death!
+
+The expedition was a failure. The Spaniards and natives were well
+aware of his coming, for 'tis said that King James, himself, sent them
+news of the expedition.
+
+"If I go home it's off with my head," said Sir Walter. "But I'll risk
+it."
+
+Don't you think if you had been Sir Walter, instead of sailing to
+England where you knew that a headsman's axe awaited you, you would
+have coasted by the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and dropped off
+quietly where is the home of the canvas-back and the terrapin! Just
+stepped into one of the jolly-boats and peacefully drifted ashore on a
+dark night?
+
+I think that you would have been strongly inclined to do so,--but
+_you_ are not Sir Walter Raleigh. _He_ was a lion-hearted adventurer.
+
+Opportunity after opportunity came to him to escape to the shores of
+France. He let them go by, but, when he found that his enemies
+demanded his trial for treason, he thought it high time to get away.
+He learned that a French envoy had arranged to get him to France and
+had a barque for this purpose. A certain Captain King had found a
+small boat commanded by one of Sir Walter's old boatmen, which lay at
+Tilbury awaiting his orders. It was arranged by Raleigh's guard--one
+Stukeley--that he should be rowed to the little lugger on the evening
+of Sunday, August the 9th, 1618. The latter was sent up the Thames
+river to Gravesend.
+
+At the hour designated, Raleigh, Captain King, Stukeley and his son
+Hart, with a page, jumped into two small wherries in order to row to
+the lugger. They had just shoved off, when keen Sir Walter saw another
+boat push out from the bank and follow them.
+
+"How's this?" said he to Stukeley.
+
+But silent Stukeley did not answer.
+
+The boat rowed fast, but the pursuing craft moved with equal speed.
+The tide was singing and gurgling in a mad flow, and it became
+doubtful whether the wherries could reach Gravesend under the
+protection of darkness, for day was breaking, and the whirling water
+made progress very slow.
+
+At last--seeing that they could not get away--the shallops were forced
+to turn about and retrace their passage. The pursuing boat swung,
+also--like a shadow of the first. Sir Walter's heart beat
+tumultuously.
+
+When the fugitives reached Greenwich--Stukeley stood up and appeared
+in his true colors. Laying a hand upon the shoulder of faithful
+Captain King, he cried--
+
+"I arrest you in the name of our Monarch, James First!"
+
+Raleigh looked around in anger and dismay.
+
+"Stukeley," he said with heat, "you are a trait'rous cur. These
+actions will not turn out to your credit!"
+
+But the knave laughed derisively,--so derisively that the common
+people dubbed him "Sir Judas Stukeley." And it well suited him. Didn't
+it?
+
+The boatmen rowed directly to the Tower and the boat which had pursued
+the wherries--which contained a courtier named Herbert (to whom
+Stukeley had betrayed the projected escape)--followed them close. The
+soldiers in her (for they had been well hidden) escorted the dejected
+Sir Walter to the grim walls of the dungeon.
+
+There was now no hope for that gallant adventurer: the man had
+brought honor and renown to England. He was tried for Treason:
+condemned: executed.
+
+As he stood waiting for the axe to fall, he said:
+
+"I have many sins for which to beseech God's pardon. For a long time
+my course was a course of vanity. I have been a seafaring man, a
+soldier, and a courtier; and, in the temptations of the least of these
+there is enough to overthrow a good mind and a good man. I die in the
+faith professed by the Church of England. I hope to be saved, and to
+have my sins washed away by the precious blood and merits of our
+Saviour, Jesus Christ."
+
+A quick shudder ran through the multitude when Sir Walter had ceased
+to live, and many groaned aloud at the horrible sight. One stout
+yeoman cried out angrily, "We have not had such another head to be cut
+off."
+
+The crowd separated slowly, muttering and crying out against the
+enemies of the valiant man; while his friends, who were present,
+parted with tears coursing down their cheeks.
+
+And the jealous courtiers said: "Magnificent!" It was now their turn
+to shout. And they did it, too.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+So, you see, Sir Walter Raleigh's patriotism was paid for by death.
+The trouble with him was, he was too much of a man.
+
+_Nowadays_--when a soldier or sailor does something for England--they
+give him a Hip! Hip! Hurray!
+
+He is appreciated. He is presented with titles, honors, and a warm
+reception.
+
+_Then_, when a man did something for England, those in power gave him
+the cold shoulder; the icy stare.
+
+That's the reason why England's sons will do something for her now. If
+she had kept treating them as she did Sir Walter Raleigh she wouldn't
+have many of them around when it came to a fight. _And, some day,
+she'll need them all!_
+
+So when a fellow does something really great, don't greet him with
+frozen silence. _Cheer! He needs it! Besides,--it won't hurt you!_
+
+_Give a tiger and three times three!_
+
+
+THE VANISHED SAILORS
+
+ Say, sailors, what's happened to young Bill Jones?
+ Jones of Yarmouth; the bright-cheeked boy?
+ Jones who could handle a boat like a man,
+ Jones, who would grapple a smack like a toy?
+
+ "_Fell o'er the sea-end with Raleigh. Ahoy!_"
+
+ Well, sea-dogs, where's Thompson of Yarmouthport dock?
+ The chap who could outwit old Hawkins, they say,
+ The man with th' knowledge of charts and of reefs,
+ There wasn't his equal from Prawle to Torquay.
+
+ "_Fell o'er the sea-end with Raleigh, to-day!_"
+
+ Where's Rixey of Hampton; Smith of Rexhill?
+ Who'd coasted and traded from London to Ryde,
+ Huggins and Muggins, all seamen of worth,
+ Who could jibe and could sail, sir, when combers were wide?
+
+ "_Fell o'er the sea-end with Raleigh. Last tide!_"
+
+ Well, seamen, when that day shall come near,
+ When the salt sea is moved from its bed,
+ Some will there be, who can give us the news,
+ Of all that brave band, whom Adventure has led
+ To
+
+ "_Fall o'er the sea-end with Raleigh, 'tis said!_"
+
+
+
+
+ "Such is the man,
+ Whom neither shape nor danger can dismay,
+ Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
+ Who, not content that worth stands fast,
+ Looks forward, persevering to the last,
+ From good to better, daily self-surpassed."
+
+ --_Ballads of the Day._
+
+
+
+
+JEAN BART
+
+THE SCOURGE OF THE DUTCH
+
+(1650-1702)
+
+
+ As long as selfishness remains a Human
+ Passion,--Warfare will continue.
+
+
+JEAN BART
+
+THE SCOURGE OF THE DUTCH
+
+(1650-1702)
+
+ "'What means that canvas, Skipper? It's bearing down to port,
+ And it drives a blackish barquentine, with every topsail taut,
+ There're guns upon her poop deck. There're cannon near her bow,
+ And the bugler's bloomin' clarion, it shrills a how-de-row?'
+ The skipper took a peep at her, his face turned ashen pale,
+ His jaw began to tremble, and his knees began to fail,
+ As the flag of France swung to the breeze and fluttered without check,
+ 'Jean Bart!' he gurgled weakly, and fainted on the deck."
+
+ --_Rhymes of The Dutch Channel Fleet._--1676.
+
+
+The good ship _Cochon Gras_ boiled along off the coast of Normandy
+under a full spread of canvas, for the breeze was light, and was from
+the southward. A boy of sixteen stood at the helm. He was well bronzed
+by exposure to the elements; was sturdy and strong. His dark hair
+waved luxuriantly about a face in which keenness and shrewdness were
+easily to be seen. His name was Jean Bart and he had been born at
+Dunkirk in France.
+
+The Captain of the _Cochon Gras_ strode about upon the deck below. He
+was in an evil mood and his voice showed his ill feeling.
+
+"Put the helm over!" he shouted to the steersman. "Don't you see that
+your sails aren't half full! Boy, will you never learn!"
+
+Jean Bart obeyed.
+
+"Very good, my Captain!" said he. "Very good, my Monsieur Valbue."
+
+And, at this, the captain scowled, for he was in a beastly temper.
+
+"I am glad that you act quickly," said he. "You know nothing. By
+acting quickly you will learn a thing or two. _Tiens!_ Be speedy! Be
+very quick! Be like the Bishop of Oleron!"
+
+He smiled and lurched against the rail.
+
+"Ah, this good prelate was a true seaman," said he. "He knew the tides
+like a mackerel. He knew as much as I do, myself, and that is saying a
+good deal."
+
+Jean Bart chuckled at the vanity of Monsieur Valbue.
+
+"The good Bishop was standing on the rocks upon a stormy evening,"
+continued the captain, "when he saw some fisher boats making for the
+harbor. One of them was bearing too close to the shore. One of them
+was going to go upon the rocks. One of them was steered by a poor
+fellow who knew neither the reefs nor the shoals. 'Voila!' cried the
+good bishop. 'Voila! I will save this dull-witted sailor.' And,
+forthwith, what do you think that he did,--?"
+
+A small knot of seamen had, by this time, collected around the
+talkative captain. They all shook their heads.
+
+[Illustration: JEAN BART.]
+
+"Fools," cried Captain Valbue. "Fools! Why, he strode into the sea, of
+course. Being a pure man of God and a member of the true church, he
+walked upon the surface of the water. The boat coming in was manned by
+Huguenots, by unbelievers, mark you! By fellows who had neither the
+sense nor the grace to be members of the true church. _They_ could not
+walk upon the water. Oh! No! But the good Bishop _he_ walked as easily
+as a stormy petrel, for he was a man of God. And, as he reached the
+boat he made the sign of the cross, saying, 'Beware of the rocks which
+you sail down upon! Bear off to the left! When you see the red buoy,
+bear to the right, and then come home by keeping your bow pointed for
+the spire of the big church!' And they did so. They were saved by the
+good Bishop, whom I know well. As for me. I would have let the foolish
+Huguenots get their just deserts. It would have been one heretic less
+and good riddance."
+
+At this one of the seamen was plainly angered.
+
+"Piff!" said he. "Piff!" That was all. But Monsieur Valbue had noticed
+it and Monsieur Valbue grew angry in a moment. Seizing a half-empty
+cider mug, from which he had been drinking, he hurled it at the head
+of the fellow who had made the remark.
+
+"You dog of a Huguenot!" he roared.
+
+The seaman dodged, and the cider mug spun into the planks of a jolly
+boat. Then he stepped forward and said,
+
+"Captain Valbue, the Laws of Oleron, under which we sail, say that you
+cannot and must not strike a seaman with any missile. I, Lanoix, will
+strike back if you hit me."
+
+But Monsieur Valbue was like a bubbling tea-pot. Seizing a
+hand-spike, he shot it out at the man who knew the law.
+
+"The Laws of Oleron allow me just one blow," blubbered Captain Valbue.
+"Just as the laws of England allow each dog one bite."
+
+As luck would have it, he missed his shot.
+
+Lanoix leaped over the iron rail which separated the forecastle from
+the after part of the vessel. Then he turned around.
+
+"Follow me here, you coward!" he shouted to the captain, "and I will
+have the right to crack you through the middle. Consult the Laws of
+Oleron under which we sail and see if they do not back me up!"
+
+"The laws be blowed!" yelled Monsieur Valbue, now beside himself with
+rage. And, leaping across the rail he struck the Huguenot two sturdy
+blows in the face.
+
+Jean Bart, meanwhile, steered the ship: looked on; and said nothing.
+
+R-i-i-p! There was a flash, a blow, and a cry of pain. A large, keen
+knife was clenched in the strong right hand of Lanoix, and the captain
+was running red, with a deep gash in his shoulder.
+
+"Down with the Mutineer! Down with the dog!" came from the throats of
+the members of the crew who had clustered about the two enraged men,
+smiling at the little affair.
+
+With a rush they were upon the Huguenot; had forced him to the deck;
+and wrested the knife from his hand. But, before it was wrenched from
+his fist, the blade had pierced the body of a seaman and had felled
+him to the boarding.
+
+"Bring up the Laws of Oleron," cried Captain Valbue, when the Huguenot
+had been secured. "Bring up the Laws of Oleron from my cabin, and let
+us see whether or no I was right, when I struck this prating Lanoix!"
+
+The cabin-boy dove below and was soon again upon the deck.
+
+"The law shall be read," cried the captain. "Out with it!"
+
+Now, aboard the vessel was one Antoine Sauret--a good, old
+boatswain--a friend of the father of Jean Bart, and a courageous man.
+
+"The law shows you to be in the wrong," said he.
+
+"Yes," cried Jean Bart from the wheel, which he had not left. "You
+were, and are, in the wrong." Monsieur Valbue glowered at them.
+
+"I am the law," said he. "Is this not my vessel?"
+
+"But the right is on his side," interrupted the good Antoine Sauret.
+
+"You wait and see what I do to this cur of a Huguenot," snarled
+Captain Valbue. "And no more talk from either you or Jean Bart. Hear!
+Six out of eight of the crew agree that this Lanoix has wounded me and
+has slain one of his ship-mates--without proper provocation--I will
+now fix him."
+
+And this he did in the most approved manner.
+
+Lashing his victim's arm to a sharp sword tied to the windlass, he
+knocked the unfortunate Lanoix upon the deck with a hand-spike. Then,
+tying him--still alive--to the dead sailor whom the Huguenot had
+killed when the crew rushed upon him,--he cried out:
+
+"Throw 'em both to the fishes!"
+
+They were seized.
+
+"One! Two! Three! Heave Away!" sounded from the throats of the
+Frenchmen.
+
+Lanoix and the dead sailor spun out above the blue water. A splash. A
+gurgle of white foam, and the Atlantic closed above them.
+
+Seamen--you witness--were brutes, in these merry days of privateering.
+But hear the sequel of the gruesome story!
+
+Jean Bart and the good boatswain Sauret had, from that moment, no high
+opinion of the Laws of Oleron. So, when the vessel touched at Calais,
+upon the coast of France, they walked up to the captain, saying:
+
+"Sir. We wish to leave you! We cannot sail any longer beneath your
+orders."
+
+The brutal Valbue scowled.
+
+"Go!" said he. "And good riddance."
+
+But when the circumstances of the death of the two men were reported
+to the authorities, the captain was tried.
+
+"The Law of Oleron," said the Judge to him, "acquits you, for the
+Huguenot sailor was in the wrong to draw his knife, when you struck
+him only with your fists. But it is a bad law and must be changed."
+
+Here he turned to young Jean Bart and the good Sauret.
+
+"As for you two," said he, "I most highly commend you for protesting
+against the brutality of this captain. Would that all the sailors of
+France were as good as both of you. If they were, there would be less
+trouble aboard ship. Again I commend you!"
+
+So--feeling very happy, indeed--young Jean Bart went out into the
+street. Though only sixteen he had been right in his attempt to save
+the life of poor Lanoix. Good for young Bart! Hats off to the sailor
+lad of sixteen who was more merciful than the cruel Law of Oleron! And
+this brutal set of rules was soon changed to the Maritime Code of
+France, which gave seamen some right to defend themselves against the
+attacks of rough and overbearing captains. Thus Jean Bart had started
+the ball rolling in the right direction. Again hats off to the
+doughty, young Frenchman!
+
+Not long after this event the Dutch fell out with the English and
+began a smart little war. Jean Bart hastened to the scene of action,
+enrolled in the Dutch cause, and fought with them for five full years.
+Then the Dutch began to make war upon the French (in 1672), but this
+was too much for the patriotic sentiments of the youthful volunteer.
+
+"Ah!" said he. "When my own people are attacked, I must hasten to
+their assistance. The Dutch have paid me well 'tis true, but now I
+scorn their gold. Vive la France!"
+
+So saying, he returned to Dunkirk, speedily found employment, and went
+to sea again--not in a man-of-war, but in a privateer. He was now
+four-and-twenty; was wiry, tough, and well used to battling both with
+men and with the elements. The boat he sailed in mounted only two guns
+and had a crew of thirty-six. She was named after a famous personage
+of Biblical history: _King David_, and she conducted herself as
+skilfully as did that ancient monarch, for was not Jean Bart at the
+helm?
+
+Cruising out upon the treacherous waters of the North Sea, it was not
+long before a vessel was sighted that was of such small tonnage that
+Bart was not afraid to give chase. He slapped on all canvas, put his
+helm hard over, and steered for the dancing bit of canvas. The _King
+David_ was a swift sailer, and soon the bow-gun spoke from the deck of
+the French privateer, sending a challenging shot whistling close to
+the stern of the stranger, who flew the flag of the States General
+(the Dutch Republic) with which the French were now at war.
+
+The stranger did not relish the challenge, and came to in a hurry,
+while her flag fluttered weakly to the deck.
+
+"She's ours!" cried Jean Bart, gleefully. "And without a fight. Hurray
+for the life of a privateer!"
+
+Quickly ranging alongside, the stranger was seen to be a valuable
+prize, laden with tea, spices, and cotton. She was manned by a small
+crew and sent to port.
+
+"Now off for other luck!" cried Jean Bart.
+
+Luck was with him, too. In four months cruising in the English
+Channel, near the Belgian coast, he captured six prizes; all without
+any fighting. The Dutch trading vessels of those days must have been
+without guns and poorly manned, for it should have been easy to stand
+off a crew of but thirty-six, with only two cannon aboard. Jean
+Bart--you may be sure--was well satisfied. He was now rich, quite
+famous, and keen for further adventure.
+
+So well did the owners of the privateer _King David_ think of him,
+that they now put him in charge of a larger vessel named _La Royale_,
+carrying about eighty men and ten guns.
+
+"Go out and win!" cried the chief owner of this privateer. "Jean Bart,
+you are followed by the best blood of France. Your men are all from
+Dunkirk!"
+
+And Jean Bart smiled.
+
+"Watch me!" said he.
+
+Cruising near the coast of Holland in company with a small French
+gun-boat, he fell in with a man-of-war--the _Esperance_--carrying
+twelve guns and about one hundred and twenty men.
+
+"Now we'll have a real fight!" cried the youthful French commander as
+he cleared decks for action. "Men, see to it that your swords are
+sharpened for there may be some boarding!"
+
+Then he signalled to the little French gun-boat to follow him and give
+battle. This ally carried about a hundred men and six cannon.
+
+"Poof! Poof!"
+
+The heavy guns of the Dutchman were the first to speak and they barked
+away like fat Newfoundland watch-dogs.
+
+"Poof! Poof! B-o-o-m!"
+
+Jean Bart reserved his fire until within about seventy-five yards and
+then he gave the command,
+
+"Fire away! Aim low! And try to hull her!"
+
+A sheet of flame sprang from the ten guns of _La Royale_ and a
+splitting of boards and crackling of splinters showed that the iron
+missiles had punctured the stout sides of the _Esperance_.
+
+"Pop! Pop! Crash!"
+
+The other French vessel now threw her lead into the stern of the
+defender of the flag of the States General and her mizzen-mast was
+seen to rock like an unfastened May pole.
+
+"Whow!"
+
+The _Esperance_ was not slow in answering back and her twelve guns
+spat like leopards in the brush. She filled away and bore towards the
+land, but the French gun-boat saw this move and checkmated it.
+
+Sailing across her bow, the Frenchman raked her fore and aft, while
+the rub-a-dub-dub of Jean Bart's guns went drumming against her
+starboard side. Crash! Crash! Crash! Her boards were split, her
+mizzen-mast was swaying, and her rigging was near cut in two. Men were
+falling fast and two of her guns had blown up and were rendered
+useless.
+
+"Surrender!" came a sharp hail from the lusty throat of Jean Bart,
+and, as he spoke, a perfect hail of grape came from his French ally,
+now creeping up to port for a chance to grapple and board.
+
+"What can I do?" sighed the stout, Dutch commander, turning to one of
+his lieutenants. "Boy, haul down our flag!"
+
+So down came the emblem of the States General amidst ringing cheers
+from the throats of the followers of Jean Bart. They had won a notable
+victory.
+
+When the _Esperance_ was towed and half-sailed into Dunkirk harbor,
+old Antoine Sauret was there.
+
+"Ah, my friends," said he, "I always told you that my boy, Jean Bart,
+would make a great name for himself. Three times three for the great
+privateer of Dunkirk!"
+
+And all the bystanders joined in right willingly.
+
+Not long after this event, our hero's ship was lying in the harbor of
+Bergen in Sweden. The captain of an English vessel met him on shore,
+and, after having a chat with him, remarked:
+
+"I hear that you have quite a reputation for fighting your ship. I,
+too, am a sea warrior and would like to have a little affair with you.
+My own vessel is of about the same tonnage as yours, so that we could
+meet upon even terms. Will you join me?"
+
+"I would be delighted," answered the war-like Jean Bart. "If you wait
+two days I will be ready for you and will fight you three miles off
+the coast. Meanwhile I must lie here and take on some stores which are
+much needed by both men and guns."
+
+The Englishman smiled.
+
+"You are a man after my own heart," said he. "Good-by until we meet in
+battle."
+
+Three days after this, Jean Bart sent a boy to the English vessel with
+a note for the captain. It ran:
+
+ "I am ready to fight you to-morrow. Meet me three miles
+ beyond the breakwater and may the best man win. Until
+ then--good luck.
+
+ "Yours for battle,
+
+ "JEAN BART."
+
+The boy came back bearing a return missive from the Englishman, who
+wrote:
+
+ "MONSIEUR BART: I am delighted to learn that you want to
+ fight me, and will do so. You are indeed a brave man.
+ But--before we go for each other's throats--pray let us
+ breakfast together. Will you therefore take your morning
+ meal with me, to-morrow, in my own cabin, aboard my
+ ship? I shall expect you.
+
+ "Yours to count on,
+
+ "MIDDLETON."
+
+"I do not want to accept, but I will," mused Captain Bart. "These
+English fellows are far too polite."
+
+So, next morning, he was rowed to the British vessel and was soon
+breakfasting with his red-faced opponent.
+
+After the meal the Frenchman lighted his pipe, took a few puffs, and
+said:
+
+"Monsieur, I have greatly enjoyed this peaceful repast. But it is now
+time for me to go and sharpen my boarding-pike. I must bid you adieu."
+
+The Englishman smiled.
+
+"No," said he. "You cannot go. You are my prisoner!"
+
+Jean Bart still smoked.
+
+"You are too quick!" he answered, slowly. "There you are wrong. I am
+not your prisoner, for I see a barrel of gunpowder on the deck, and,
+if you do not release me immediately, I will blow up your ship!"
+
+The Englishman turned pale.
+
+"Watch me!" cried Jean Bart.
+
+Leaping from his seat, he rushed to the deck, lighted a match from his
+pipe, and held it directly over the mouth of a barrel of gunpowder,
+from which someone had pried the head.
+
+"Lay on! You cowards!" he yelled. "Lay on, and we'll all go to the
+Land of the Hereafter together."
+
+His cry was heard upon his own vessel, which--with sails up--lay
+waiting for him.
+
+In a moment her bow was turned towards the British ship which was
+still at anchor, with sails unhoisted. In a moment she dropped down
+alongside--and--in less time than it takes to tell--the Frenchmen had
+brought her upon the port quarter, and were swarming across the deck
+to rescue their bold captain.
+
+Taken by surprise, the English put up a plucky fight, but they were no
+match for the infuriated men of Dunkirk. They were soon overpowered.
+The captain was taken prisoner, and the vessel was considered a
+legitimate prize of war, because of the trick which Middleton had
+attempted to play upon Jean Bart. When--in a few days--the prize was
+sailed into Dunkirk harbor--the Englishman well wished that he had not
+attempted to capture the most able privateersman of all France.
+
+The fame of this exploit spread over the land, and gave rise to a
+ditty, which ran:
+
+ "If you want to catch Jean Bart, sir,
+ A slippery, slimy chap,
+ Don't bait him with gunpowder,
+ For he's sure to miss the trap.
+ You must splice him down with chains, sir;
+ You must nail him to the deck.
+ Put a belt around his middle,
+ And a collar 'round his neck.
+ Even then you cannot hold him,
+ For he's certain to get through,
+ While his sailors sing a song, sir,
+ With a
+ Cock-
+ a-
+ doodle-
+ doo!"
+
+In July, 1675, Jean Bart was married, but he did not remain long on
+shore. Three weeks after this auspicious event he once more put to sea
+and captured a number of Dutch fishing boats, which he allowed the
+captains to ransom for large sums of money.
+
+This was a very convenient arrangement, for it saved him the trouble
+of putting part of his own crew on board and sending the boats to
+port. But the owners of _La Royale_, upon which he sailed, did not
+care for his methods of procedure.
+
+"You cannot do this in future!" said they. "And you must forfeit half
+of what you took to us!"
+
+Jean Bart obeyed, but he was very angry. It is even said that he
+uttered "a round seaman's oath."
+
+So successful was he, in fact, that he was given a much larger vessel
+in 1676. This was a frigate--the _Palme_--with twenty-four guns and a
+crew of one hundred and fifty men. Sailing into the North Sea with two
+small French gun-boats, he soon fell in with three Dutch privateers
+and eight armed whaling vessels. He attacked, and the battle raged for
+three long, bloody hours.
+
+When the smoke and the fumes of sulphur burned away, Bart had boarded
+the largest privateer, while his two consorts had taken the eight
+whalers. The other Dutch privateers found it too hot for their liking
+and scudded for the coast, firing their stern-guns derisively as they
+disappeared. It was a great victory, and again the French coast rung
+with salvos for Jean Bart, while the old sea-dogs shrugged their
+shoulders, saying:
+
+"Ah! Ha! Did we not tell you that Dunkirk bred men of bone and marrow.
+Ah! Ha!"
+
+But Jean Bart was not happy.
+
+"Would that I could meet a foe of my own force," he used to say.
+"Either a man-of-war or a privateer, I don't care which. I want to try
+it on with one of my own size and strength."
+
+His wish was soon to be gratified.
+
+On September 7th, 1676, he was pointing the _Palme_ towards the
+Belgian coast-line, when he sighted a number of sail on the starboard
+quarter. He headed for them; scanned the white dots through a glass,
+and saw that this was a fishing fleet of small, unarmed luggers. But
+a big, hulking Dutch frigate hovered in their rear, and thirty-two
+guns pointed their brown muzzles menacingly from her open port-holes.
+She was the _Neptune_ and she lazed along like a huge whale:
+omnipotent and self-satisfied.
+
+"Ah ha!" cried the delighted Jean Bart. "Now I have met an enemy that
+is worthy of my steel. Up with the flag and sail into yonder Dutchman.
+We have but twenty-four guns to her thirty-two, but are we to be awed
+by this show of force? Be ready, my boys, to have the stiffest fight
+in your careers!"
+
+The Dutchman was equally well pleased when he saw who was coming for
+him.
+
+"Here is Jean Bart, the pirate and privateer," he cried. "For three
+years I've been hoping to have a fight with him and now my chance has
+come at last. I am fortunate, for I can pay him back for all the
+damage that he has done to Dutch commerce. Shoot low, my hearties, and
+do not fail to hull our enemy. Let your war-cry be: 'Down with Jean
+Bart and his pirate crew!'"
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted his men.
+
+And an answering
+
+"Hurray!" came from the _Palme_. These opponents were as eager to get
+at each other as two prize-fighters of modern days.
+
+_Crash!_ roared a broadside from the Dutch frigate as her flag went
+aloft, and splash, splash, splash, went her shells around the sides of
+the privateer.
+
+"Sail in close!" yelled Jean Bart. "Hug her to leeward for awhile,
+then cross her bows, rake her, get her wind, and board."
+
+"Hurray!" shouted the men of Dunkirk, and a rattle, rattle, roar came
+from the port guns of the _Palme_.
+
+Around and around swung the sea gladiators and the little fishing
+boats luffed and tittered on the waves like inquisitive sparrows.
+
+"Bart cannot win!" said several of their skippers. "For he's
+outweighted and outnumbered!"
+
+But Bart was fighting like John Paul Jones.
+
+Around and around went the two opponents, guns growling, men cheering,
+sails slapping and ripping with the chain and solid shot. Again and
+again Jean Bart endeavored to get a favorable position for boarding
+and again and again he was forced to tack away by the quick manoeuvres
+of the Dutchman.
+
+"Fire into her rigging!" he now thundered. "Cripple those topsails and
+I can bring my boat alongside."
+
+"_Crash! Crash! Crash!_"
+
+Volley after volley puffed from the side of the rolling _Palme_.
+Volley after volley poured its lead and iron into the swaying rigging
+of the Dutchman, and, with a great roaring, ripping, and smashing, the
+mizzen topmast came toppling over the lee rail.
+
+A lusty cheer sounded from the deck of the _Palme_.
+
+"She's ours!" cried Jean Bart, smiling.
+
+Instantly he spun over the wheel, luffed, and brought his boat upon
+the starboard quarter of the Dutchman, who was now part helpless. It
+took but a moment to run alongside, and, in a moment more, the
+_Palme_ was lashed to the _Neptune_ in a deadly embrace. Smoke rolled
+from the sides of both contestants and the roar of the guns drowned
+the shrill cries of the wounded. The Dutchmen were now desperate and
+their guns were spitting fire in rapid, successive volleys; but many
+of them were silenced, as the great, brown side of the _Palme_ rubbed
+its planking against the splintered railing of the shattered
+_Neptune_.
+
+As the vessels were securely bound together, Jean Bart seized a
+boarding-pike, a brace of pistols, and, giving the helm to a sailor,
+leaped into the waist of his ship.
+
+"Board! Board!" he shouted.
+
+A wild yelp greeted these welcome sounds. As he vaulted over the rail
+of his own ship to the deck of the stranger, a motley crew of
+half-wild sea-savages swarmed behind him. They had cutlasses and
+boarding-pikes, and their faces were blackened with powder. Their eyes
+were reddened with sulphurous fumes and their clothes torn with
+splintered planking. They rolled over the gunwales like a huge wave of
+irresistible fire: pistols spitting, pikes gleaming, cutlasses
+glistening in the rays of the sun.
+
+The captain of the _Neptune_ lay near his own wheel, grievously
+wounded.
+
+"Lay on, men!" he shouted. "Don't let this French privateer beat us.
+We will be disgraced."
+
+But his sailors were no match for the onrush of these fiends from
+Dunkirk. They fell back like foam before a sea squall.
+
+"Then down with our flag," cried the captain of the Dutchman. "But,
+ye gods, how it hurts me to give the order."
+
+A sailor seized the halyards and pulled the ensign to the deck, and,
+as it fell upon the reddened planking, a wild, frenzied cheer came
+from the French privateers.
+
+"Jean Bart, forever! France forever! Jean Bart forever!" they cried.
+
+"Up with the French flag!" yelled Jean Bart, laughing like a boy. "Up
+with the white lilies of France."
+
+And, as a spare ensign ran aloft, the little fishing luggers scudded
+for the shore.
+
+"After them, men!" cried Captain Bart. "Our work is not yet over. We
+must have the lambs as well as the old wolf."
+
+So, sail was soon clapped on the _Palme_, she headed for the fleeing
+boats, and, with a few well directed shots, hove them to. Then they
+were told to follow behind and head for France, which they did--but,
+oh! how it did hurt!
+
+It was a proud moment for Jean Bart, and his eyes danced with pleasure
+when he sailed into Dunkirk with the captured _Neptune_ and the fleet
+of fishing boats.
+
+"Voila!" cried the townspeople. "Jean Bart is a true hero. Voila! He
+shall have the freedom of the city. Voila!"
+
+The fame of this gallant exploit soon spread abroad and the king
+showed some desire to see this courageous privateersman.
+
+"I would have him at court," said he to his minister Colbert. "For I
+would reward him."
+
+When news of this was brought to the privateersman he was naturally
+delighted, and, travelling to Versailles, was ushered into the
+presence of his Majesty.
+
+"Here is a gold chain for you," said the king. "I trust that you will
+keep it in recognition of my appreciation of your gallant conduct. I
+would be glad, indeed, to have you in the Royal Service. Would you not
+take a commission?"
+
+"You overwhelm me," answered the valiant sea-fighter, blushing.
+"I--I--I--am quite disconcerted. But--if it would please your Majesty,
+I believe that I would prefer to remain a simple privateer. It is a
+free life and it suits my roving nature."
+
+The king chuckled.
+
+"So be it," said he. "But my good sir, keep yourself in readiness for
+a commission. I may need you in the Royal Marine!"
+
+"Very good, Sire!" said Jean Bart, and, bowing low, he withdrew.
+
+But he did not get away without an adventure,--quite as exciting as
+any he had had aboard the rocking decks of one of his privateer ships.
+
+The fame of Jean Bart had stirred up a number of enemies, for, when a
+man is successful in life, are there not always a hundred unsuccessful
+fellows who stand about and scoff?
+
+Among these were a few followers of the sea who had determined to
+make way with this too fortunate privateer. One--Jules Blanc by
+name--even decided upon murder, if Jean Bart would not agree to leave
+the privateering business to himself and his companions.
+
+As the sailor from Dunkirk left the presence of the king he was
+accosted by one of his old acquaintances.
+
+"Ha, Jean Bart," said he. "Come with me to the Inn. Have a glass with
+me, my boy, for I see that the king has richly rewarded you. You
+deserve it, for you have done well, and you must be tired from your
+journey. Come, let us dine together?"
+
+Suspecting nothing, the gallant privateer followed his companion quite
+willingly, and, when he arrived at the Inn, was not surprised to find
+several other seamen from Dunkirk and the neighboring seaports of
+France. They greeted him warmly.
+
+"To your health!" cried they, raising their glasses of wine. "To the
+health of the bravest privateer in all of France."
+
+Jean Bart was delighted. He smiled like a child, seated himself at
+their table, and began to drink with these jovial men of the sea.
+
+As he sat there, suddenly a paper was mysteriously shoved into his
+hand. He did not see from whence it came, and, as he scanned its
+contents, his face grew strangely pale.
+
+"Beware of these fellows," he read. "They mean to kill you if you do
+not do what they wish. Beware!"
+
+Jean Bart soon regained his composure.
+
+"Come! Let us go to the dining-room up-stairs," said the friend who
+had first accosted him. "Come, my boys! We will there have far more
+quiet!"
+
+All moved for the door.
+
+Jean Bart moved, also, but before he went up-stairs, he loosened his
+sword-belt and cocked two pistols which he carried at his waist. He
+was not surprised when he saw them lock the stout door as they entered
+the room upon the second floor.
+
+When they were all seated Jules Blanc arose. His face well exhibited
+his dislike for the successful privateersman, Jean Bart.
+
+"Now, my friend," said he, facing the man from Dunkirk, "we have you
+here with a purpose. We wish you to know that we are determined that
+you shall no longer go to sea and spoil our own business for us. You
+have had enough success. We want you to withdraw and give some one
+else a chance."
+
+Jean Bart smiled.
+
+"We think that you should retire for we want some pickings for
+ourselves."
+
+"And if I refuse?" queried Jean Bart.
+
+Jules Blanc placed his hand instantly upon his sword-hilt.
+
+"Then--there will be trouble!"
+
+"Poof!" said Jean Bart.
+
+As he spoke, all drew their rapiers.
+
+"Again Poof!" said Jean Bart.
+
+As he spoke, a thrust came from his right. He parried it, leaped upon
+a chair, and stood there smiling.
+
+Crack! There was the sound of a pistol and a bullet whizzed by his
+ear.
+
+Then there was a sudden and awful _Crash!_ The room was filled with
+dust.
+
+When the startled sea-dogs looked about them Jean Bart no longer stood
+upon the table. He had disappeared through the window. And broken
+glass with splintered fastenings was all that remained of the once
+perfect glazing.
+
+"He has gone," said Jules Blanc. "Fellow seamen, we are outdone."
+
+But Jean Bart was a quarter of a mile away, laughing softly to
+himself, as he sped along the highway which led to quiet Dunkirk.
+
+Things went well with him, also, for his employers--appreciating his
+past services--now gave him command of a larger ship than the _Palme_:
+the _Dauphin_, with thirty guns and two hundred eager and adventurous
+sailors from the northern coast of France.
+
+Sailing forth from Dunkirk harbor, on June 18th, 1678, Jean Bart
+eagerly scanned the horizon with his glass. With him were two smaller
+privateers, so that he felt well able to cope with any adversary from
+Holland. His keen glance was soon to be rewarded, for when but two
+days from port he spied a sail upon the starboard bow. It was a Dutch
+frigate--the _Sherdam_--of forty guns and manned by many stout dogs of
+the sea. Her captain--Andre Ranc--was a keen fighter and a man of
+well-tried courage.
+
+"Bear off to leeward!" signalled Jean Bart to his privateer
+companion. "Then we will get the stranger between us, fasten to her,
+and board her from either side."
+
+The flag of the French privateer dipped back an answering, "All
+right!" and, as she was nearest to the Dutchman, she attacked at once.
+
+"_Poom! Poom!_" went the Dutch cannon, like the beating of a churn in
+that land of canals and cheese-making. And _piff! piff!_ answered the
+little howitzers of the privateer.
+
+But Jean Bart meant to have a quick fight, so he bore down to
+starboard, wore ship, and ran so close to the enemy, that his
+grappling irons soon held her fast. In a moment more his own vessel
+was hauled alongside.
+
+Meanwhile the smaller French privateer had spanked over to larboard;
+had run up upon the opposite side of the lumbering Dutchman; and had
+also gripped her. A wild, nerve-wracking cheer went up, as--sword in
+hand--Jean Bart led his boarders over the side of the Dutch vessel.
+
+Ranc was badly wounded but he led his men to a counter assault with
+courage born of desperation. Cutlasses crashed together,
+boarding-pikes smashed and hacked, and pistols growled and spattered
+in one discordant roar. Back went the Dutch sailors fighting savagely
+and bluntly with all the stubbornness of their natures, then back they
+pushed the followers of Jean Bart, while Ranc called to them:
+
+"Drive these French curs into the sea!"
+
+[Illustration: "JEAN BART LED HIS BOARDERS OVER THE SIDE OF THE DUTCH
+VESSEL."]
+
+But now the other privateer had made fast, and her men came clambering
+over the rail, with cutlass, dirk, and pistols.
+
+"We're outnumbered," Ranc shouted, his face showing extreme suffering.
+"Haul down the flag! Had Jean Bart been here alone I could have
+trounced him well."
+
+Thus reluctantly and sadly the flag of the _Sherdam_ came down. But
+the French had paid well for their victory.
+
+Jean Bart was badly wounded in the leg; his face was burned by the
+discharge of a gun, which went off--almost in his eyes--just as he
+leaped on board the _Sherdam_. Six of his men were killed and
+thirty-one were wounded, while the little privateer that had fastened
+to the other flank of the huge _Sherdam_, was a total wreck. So well,
+indeed, had the Dutch fighters plied their cannon as she approached,
+that she was shattered almost beyond repair. With great difficulty she
+was finally towed to shore.
+
+Of course all France again rang with the fame of Jean Bart, while the
+crafty sea-dogs who had endeavored to capture the slippery
+privateersman were furious with envious rage. But Jean Bart hummed a
+little tune to himself, which ran,
+
+ "You'll have to get up early if you want to catch Jean Bart,
+ You'll have to get up early, and have a goodly start,
+ For the early bird can catch the worm, if the worm is fast asleep,
+ But not if it's a privateer, who can through a window leap."
+
+This invincible corsair was also not idle, for in two weeks' time he
+was again at sea in the _Mars_ of thirty-two guns, and a fast sailer.
+Eagerly looking for prizes, he cruised far up the coast of Holland and
+was keenly hunting for either merchantman or frigate, when a small
+vessel neared him, upon which was flying a white flag.
+
+"A truce!" cried Jean Bart. "The war must be over."
+
+When the little boat drew nearer, a fat Dutchman called out something
+which sounded like, "Amsterdam yam Goslam!" which meant, "Peace has
+been declared," in Dutch.
+
+So Jean Bart sailed back into the sheltering harbor of Dunkirk with
+tears of sorrow in his eyes, for he loved his exciting life.
+
+"Helas!" said he. "It is all over!"
+
+Thus, indeed, ended the career of Jean Bart as a privateer captain. In
+January, 1679, he was given the commission of lieutenant in the French
+navy, but, although he accepted, he was never happy in this service.
+From captain to lieutenant was a decided come down, and besides this,
+the aristocratic officers of the Crown made life very unpleasant for
+one who had entered their ranks from privateering.
+
+"Bah!" said they. "He is only a commoner!" And they would turn up
+their titled noses.
+
+But--mark you this!
+
+Several hundred years have passed since those days, and Jean Bart's
+name is still remembered. Who remembers the names of any of these
+titled nobles who held commissions from his Majesty, the King of
+France?
+
+I do not think that any of you do. Certainly I do not.
+
+Therefore, there is a little lesson to be learned, and it is this:
+
+Never sneer at the fellow who accomplishes things, if he be of humble
+birth. _His_ name may go down to history. _Yours_ probably will not.
+
+So, the next time that you are tempted to do this, think it over. If
+you do, you will not say, "Pish,--the Commoner!" But you will say,
+
+"Well done! The Hero!"
+
+So, good-by, Jean Bart, and may France produce your like again, if she
+can!
+
+
+
+
+ "Keep these legends, gray with age,
+ Saved from the crumbling wrecks of yore,
+ When cheerful conquerors moored their barques
+ Along the Saxon shore."
+
+ --THOMPSON.
+
+
+
+
+DU GUAY-TROUIN
+
+THE GREAT FRENCH "BLUE"
+
+(1673-1736)
+
+
+ "Self trust is the essence of Heroism."--PLUTARCH.
+
+
+DU GUAY-TROUIN
+
+THE GREAT FRENCH "BLUE"
+
+(1673-1736)
+
+ "He's only a scurvy Democrat, his blood is hardly blue,
+ Oh, Sacre Nom de Dieu! Sapristi! Eet is true!
+ Yet, he fights like the Maid of Orleans, with dirk and halberd,
+ too,
+ Oh, Sacre Nom de Dieu! Sapristi! Eet is true!
+ Then--what'll you think, good gentlemen, you men of the kingly
+ pack,
+ Ye sons of Armand the Terrible, ye whelps of Catouriac,
+ Shall _he_ gain the royal purple? Shall _he_ sit in the ranks
+ with us?
+ Shall _he_ quaff of our golden vintage, shall _he_ ride in the
+ royal bus?
+ Nay! Nay! For that would be te-r-r-ible! Nay! Nay! _That ill-born
+ cuss?_
+ Par donc! but that is unbearable! 'Twould result in a shameful
+ fuss!
+ Pray, let him remain a Democrat--The cream of the fleet for us."
+
+ --_Song of the French Royal Marine._--1695.
+
+
+"You _must_ be a churchman, Renee," said the good Luc Trouin, turning
+to his little son. "I have always had a great ambition to have a child
+of mine in the church, and I feel that you are in every way qualified
+for the position of a prelate."
+
+But little Renee hung his head.
+
+"Look up, boy," continued the amiable Frenchman. "I know that you are
+not now pleased with the idea, but--later on--after you have had more
+experience, I feel sure that you can thank Heaven that your good
+father started you in the right and proper direction."
+
+Still, little Renee hung his head.
+
+"Tut! Tut!" continued the old man. "You will leave, to-morrow, for the
+college at Rheims, and, after you have been there but a short time, I
+feel sure that you will like it. Tut! Tut!"
+
+But still little Renee hung his head.
+
+Again came the amiable "Tut! Tut!" and the chuckling Luc Trouin
+wandered off into the garden to see how well the potatoes were
+growing.
+
+But little Renee still hung his head.
+
+And--in spite of the fact that little Renee went to the Divinity
+school at Rheims, he continued to hang his head. He hung his head for
+three years. Then, news was brought to him, one day, that the good Luc
+Trouin was dead, and, instead of holding his handkerchief to his eyes
+to wipe away the tears, as one would expect of him, little Renee burst
+into loud laughter.
+
+"At last," cried he, "I can get away from the church and go to sea. At
+last my freedom has come!"
+
+And it was not many hours before little Renee was scudding away from
+the school of Divinity, like a clipper-ship under a full spread of
+canvas, before a rousing sou'west breeze.
+
+For at least two hundred years before the birth of bad, little Renee,
+the Trouin family had been well known and prosperous in the Breton
+seaport of St. Malo. For many years a Trouin had been consul at
+Malaga, Spain; and other members of the house had held excellent
+positions with the King, so little Renee had no reason to be ashamed
+of his forebears, in spite of the fact that his people were of the
+"bourgeoisie:" ship-owners, traders, smugglers, privateers, and
+merchants. And, as they were of the "bourgeoisie," they were somewhat
+looked down upon by the proud and haughty aristocrats who fawned about
+the weak and dissipated King.
+
+Little Renee was the son of Luc Trouin and Marguerite Boscher but he
+was called Du Guay-Trouin, in later years, and the reason for this is
+plain. For--in accordance with the custom of the time--he was sent to
+be nursed by a foster mother who resided in the little village of Le
+Gue. So he was called Trouin du Gue; which shortly became Du
+Guay-Trouin.
+
+"I've come home, mother," shouted little Renee, when he had plodded
+his weary way which lay between his temporary prison and the house of
+his parents. "I've come home, mother, and I'm going to sea!"
+
+But his mother did not take any too kindly to this bold and valiant
+idea.
+
+"You must study law," said she, with great firmness. And--in spite of
+the fact that little Renee begged and pleaded--he was forced to give
+up his idea of seafaring life for the dry drudgery and routine of a
+clerk at law. He was now about sixteen years of age.
+
+"The law is dry and my spirits are high," youthful Renee is said to
+have carolled as he spent his first few hours at a lecture, "and
+whatever may be I'm going to sea."
+
+At any rate, he soon got into trouble and engaged in three duels in
+his sixteenth year, in one of which his assailant gave him a serious
+wound. This was too much for even his stern mother to bear, so,
+summoning a family council, she gave forth the following opinion:
+
+"Renee has failed as a student of Divinity. Renee has failed as a
+student of law. Renee has entirely too high spirits. Renee shall,
+therefore, be placed in one of the family ships and sent to sea."
+
+And to this decree Renee is said to have cried: "At last! Hurray!" for
+he longed for action.
+
+In a very short time little Renee had a taste of that war and
+adventure which he craved, for a historian writes that:
+
+"During the first three months of this cruise his courage was tried by
+a violent tempest, an imminent shipwreck, the boarding of an English
+ship, and the threatened destruction of his own vessel by fire. The
+following year, still as a volunteer, he displayed the greatest
+personal courage and won much fame in an engagement which his ship had
+with five merchant vessels."
+
+"Ah ha," said little Renee, "this is indeed life. I am having a good
+time."
+
+So well did those higher in command feel towards the youthful sailor,
+that, at the age of eighteen, he was actually put in charge of the
+ship _Danycan_ of fourteen guns,--for France was at war with England,
+Holland, and Spain, and to him who could strike a quick and well-aimed
+blow there were "nice pickings" to be had. And the reckless young
+sea-dog found some "nice pickings" in Ireland, for, he landed an armed
+party upon the coast of County Clare, where he pillaged a village,
+burned two ships at anchor, and escaped to his own vessel with
+considerable booty and family heirlooms of the peasants, who said,
+"Och, Begorra! We'll be afther that wild bhoy before many suns, and
+spank him for his unseemly whork."
+
+But the French cried "Voila! Here, indeed, is a brave young
+Bourgeois," and promptly raised him to the command of the _Coetquen_
+of eighteen guns, in which he soon went cruising, accompanied by a
+sister-ship, the _St. Aaron_.
+
+Prowling around the English channel, the skulking sea-hounds soon came
+across two small English men-of-war with five valuable merchantmen
+under their sheltering wings.
+
+"All ready for the attack!" shouted Du Guay-Trouin. "We'll make
+mince-meat of those foreign hulks, in spite of the fact that they are
+protected by two men-of-war."
+
+And, crowding on all sail, his own vessel and the _St. Aaron_ quickly
+bore down upon the Englishmen, who, seeing them approach, hove-to for
+action.
+
+The engagement was short. After a few broadsides had been delivered,
+the English struck, the prizes were taken over, and all started for
+the coast of France. But suddenly a cry went up,
+
+"Sail ho! Sail ho! off the starboard bow!"
+
+"Ta Donc," cried the surprised Du Guay-Trouin. "It is a big
+man-of-warsman and a Britisher too. We must give up our prizes, I
+fear. Clap on all canvas and we'll hie us to shore."
+
+So all sail was hoisted, and, steering for the shoals and rocks off
+Lundy Island--where he knew that the heavy Englishman could not
+follow--Du Guay-Trouin soon outdistanced and outwitted the
+_Centurion_: a line-of-battle ship and a formidable opponent. The rich
+prizes had to be left behind.
+
+Honorable appointments crowded upon the daring, young sea-dog, after
+this affair, and we find him successively in command of the _Profond_,
+of thirty-two guns; the _Hercule_, of twenty-eight guns, and the
+_Diligente_ of thirty-six guns and two hundred and fifty sailors,
+which was a King's ship borrowed for privateering and run on
+shares,--the monarch to have a certain part of the winnings.
+
+Like partners in business the _Diligente_ and _Hercule_ now went
+cruising, and it was not long before the two harpies swooped down upon
+their prey in the shape of two Dutch East Indiamen, armed with
+twenty-five guns each, and manned by rotund-bodied Dutchmen. There was
+rich treasure aboard, and, with eagerness and zeal, the Frenchmen
+slapped on all canvas in pursuit.
+
+Now was a hot chase. Mile after mile was passed, and slowly but surely
+the Frenchmen gained upon the lumbering foe. Then suddenly,--
+
+_Crash!_
+
+A ball screamed above the head of Du Guay-Trouin, and a Dutchman
+hove-to for battle.
+
+"Crawl in close," cried the valiant Frenchman, "and don't let go a
+broadside until you can hit 'em below the water line. Try to scuttle
+the Dutch lumber merchant!"
+
+His men obeyed him willingly and soon there was a muffled roar as the
+first broadside spoke in the still air. Another and another followed,
+and the Dutchman trembled like an aspen leaf.
+
+"Hah," shouted the enthusiastic Renee, "up goes the white flag!"
+
+Sure enough, the vessel struck, and aboard of her was the Dutch
+commodore. But the _Hercule_ was beaten off by the second Dutchman,
+and, as the privateers boarded the captured vessel, the East Indiaman
+showed a clean pair of heels, under a cloud of bellying canvas.
+
+Du Guay-Trouin was delighted. "On we go, Boys," he cried, "for we'll
+sail these waters until we strike another prize." And this is what
+soon happened.
+
+On May the 12th, the _Diligente_ was cruising alone, when, suddenly
+six white dots appeared upon the horizon, and six British
+ships-of-the-line were soon closing in upon the venturous French
+navigator and his crew.
+
+"Ye Gods," cried the doughty Frenchman, "we're in for it now, but we
+will give them a lively bout even though we'll get the worst of it."
+
+And here is how he has described the battle:
+
+"One of the English ships named _Adventure_ first overtook me, and we
+maintained a running fight for nearly four hours, before any other of
+their ships could come up....
+
+"At length my two topmasts were shot away; on which the _Adventure_
+ranged up alongside me, a short pistol-shot off, and hauled up her
+courses. Seeing her so near, it occurred to me to run foul of her and
+board her with my whole crew. Forthwith I ordered such of the officers
+as were near to send the people on deck, got ready the grapnels, and
+put the helm over.
+
+"We were just on the point of hooking on to her, when unfortunately,
+one of my Lieutenants, looking out through a port and seeing the two
+ships so close together, took it into his head that there was some
+mistake, as he could not think that--under the circumstances--I had
+any intention of boarding; and so, of himself, ordered the helm to be
+reversed.
+
+"I had no idea of what had been done, and was impatiently waiting for
+the two ships to clash together, ready to throw myself on board the
+enemy; but seeing that my ship did not obey her helm, I ran to the
+wheel, and found it had been changed without my order.
+
+"I had it again jammed hard on; but perceived, with the keenest
+vexation, that the captain of the _Adventure_, having guessed by the
+expression of my face what I had meant to do, had let fall his
+courses, and was sheering off. We had been so near that my bowsprit
+had broken his taffrail; but the mistake of my Lieutenant made me lose
+the opportunity of one of the most surprising adventures ever heard
+tell of.
+
+"In the determination I was in to perish or to capture this ship,
+which was much the fastest sailor of the squadron, it was more than
+probable that I should have succeeded, and should thus have taken back
+to France a much stronger ship than that which I abandoned. And, not
+to speak of the credit which would have attached to the execution of
+such a plan, it is quite certain that--being dismasted--there was
+absolutely no other way for me to escape from forces so superior."
+
+But closer--always closer--crowded the British war-dogs, and the
+valorous French seamen became panic stricken. "We are outnumbered and
+outfought," cried many, and, deserting their guns, they fled below to
+the holds, in spite of the vigorous protests of Du Guay-Trouin.
+
+"I was busy trying to put a stop to the panic," says he. "I had cut
+down one and pistolled another, when, to crown my misfortune, fire
+broke out in the gun-room. The fear of being blown up made it
+necessary for me to go below; but, having got the fire put out, I had
+a tub full of grenades brought me, and began throwing them down into
+the hold.
+
+"By this means I compelled the deserters to come up and to man some of
+the lower deck guns; but, when I went up on the poop, I found, to my
+astonishment and vexation, that some cowardly rascal had taken
+advantage of my absence to haul down the colors.
+
+"I ordered them to be hoisted again; but my officers represented that
+to do so would be simply giving up the remnant of my ship's company to
+be butchered by the English, who would give no quarter if the flag
+were hoisted again, after being struck for so long, and that further
+resistance was hopeless as the ship was dismasted."
+
+"Never give in, for"--cried Du Guay-Trouin, whose democratic blood was
+now up, but he did not finish the sentence as a spent shot then
+knocked him senseless. And--as he fell--the white flag went aloft, for
+his officers had not his fighting spirit.
+
+"Ah ha," laughed the English jack-tars. "We've got the French rascal
+at last, and we'll hold him too."
+
+So little Renee was imprisoned in a nice, dark dungeon,--the kind
+which the English used to put their poor debtors in. But--like a true
+man of courage--little Renee escaped, took to a smuggler's skiff, and
+made off to the coast of France, where he arrived on the 18th of June,
+1694, and was received right boisterously by the Trouin family.
+
+"My son," spoke his aged mother, "you were indeed not intended for the
+law, for lawlessness seems to be your particular fancy."
+
+So the delighted Trouins put him in charge of a splendid privateersman
+mounting forty-eight guns, sailing under the simple name of
+_Francois_, and, as she forged valiantly into the English channel, her
+skipper chanted an old French song, which ran,--
+
+ "Sons of St. Malo, hark to my lay,
+ With a Heave! Ho! Blow the man down.
+ For we'll capture a lugger ere close of the day,
+ With a Heave! Ho! Blow the man down.
+
+ "She's filled with gold nuggets, her crew is asleep,
+ Then board her, and take her, for dead men are cheap,
+ We'll spike them and pike them, like so many sheep.
+ With a Heave! Ho! Blow the man down."
+
+It was not long before a sail was sighted, and, on the 12th day of
+January, 1695, the stout, little _Francois_ overhauled a solitary
+timber ship, loaded with huge trees, bound to England from the good
+town of Boston in New England. She was an easy capture, and, Du
+Guay-Trouin smiled with joy when her skipper said:
+
+"Three other lumber ships are in the offing. But they are under convoy
+of the frigate _Nonsuch_ with forty-eight guns, and the _Falcon_ with
+thirty-eight cannon. Look out my bold sea-dog, there'll be trouble."
+
+But the French mariner laughed.
+
+"It's just what I'm searching for," said he, and forthwith he swung
+the stout _Francois_ in wide circles, with look-outs at every
+mast-head.
+
+"Sail ho!" shouted the watch, next morn, and there, off the port bow,
+were the three merchantmen strung out in a line, with the two
+protecting gun-boats to windward.
+
+Like a greyhound the _Francois_ swept down upon them, and with the
+audacity of despair, the privateersman of St. Malo ranged alongside of
+the _Falcon_ and opened fire. The engagement was short. In an hour's
+time the guns of the Englishman were silent and a white pennon
+fluttered from the mizzen-mast.
+
+The _Nonsuch_, meanwhile, had been ranging to windward in a vain
+endeavor to bring her guns to bear upon the Frenchman without
+crippling her own mate, and--as the _Francois_ drifted away from the
+lurching _Falcon_--she bore down to within twenty yards, luffed, and
+spanked a rakish broadside into the privateer.
+
+"Board her!" shouted Du Guay-Trouin. "Board her!" and, bringing the
+wheel close around, he swung the bow of the _Francois_ into the side
+of the Englishman. But, as the sailors scampered to the bulwarks with
+cutlass and with dirk, a sheet of flame burst from the port-holes of
+the drifting _Nonsuch_. She was afire.
+
+"Luff! Luff!" cried the keen-eyed French mariner, and the _Francois_
+drew away as the red flames curled upward with a cruel hiss.
+
+With a swift turn the helm again spun over, under the quick hand of Du
+Guay-Trouin, and the _Francois_ was jibed about in order to run under
+the port bow of the Englishman.
+
+"Hold, Captain!" cried a French Lieutenant. "We, ourselves, are
+afire!"
+
+As he spoke--a direful cloud of vapor rolled from the starboard
+quarter.
+
+"Alack!" answered the now furious Renee. "This puts an end to the
+fighting of this day, and we'd soon have had the second Britisher. All
+hands below and bucket out this fire!"
+
+So, as night fell upon the rolling ocean, the _Falcon_ lay drifting
+helplessly, while the _Nonsuch_ and the _Francois_ were burning like
+two beacons upon a jutting headland.
+
+As day broke, the _Francois_ filled away (for the fire had been
+extinguished after an hour's toil) and ranged within striking distance
+of the _Nonsuch_. A broadside belched from her starboard guns and an
+answering roar came back from the cannon of the Englishman. The fore
+and main masts of the _Nonsuch_ trembled for a moment--then tottered
+and fell--while the gallant Captain, struck in the chest by a flying
+piece of shell, fell dying upon the deck. Du Guay-Trouin again
+attempted to board, at this moment, but the third mast was shaking and
+he was forced to sheer off lest the tangle of yards and rigging should
+fall and crush his vessel. He hung within hailing distance of the
+crippled sea-warrior, and, seeing that his antagonist was now
+helpless, cried out through his trumpet:
+
+"Run up the white flag, or I'll give you a broadside that will sink
+you."
+
+No answering hail came from the deck of the battered _Nonsuch_, but
+the piece of a torn, white shirt was soon fluttering from the tangled
+rigging of the foremast. Thus the gallant Renee had defeated two
+warships of equal strength, and had captured vessels with a rich and
+valuable cargo. Now, don't you think that this fellow was a doughty
+sea rover? And, although the English made many excuses, the fact still
+remains that a single privateer had conquered double her own force in
+a fair and open fight upon the high seas.
+
+The sturdy _Francois_ could just barely drift into St. Malo--so badly
+crippled was she--but the rest came safely to port, in spite of a
+hard gale which blew down the masts of two of the lumber boats. And
+doughty Renee refitted the _Nonsuch_, transferred his flag to her,
+called her the _Sans-Pareil_, and flung his flag defiantly from her
+mast-head in spite of the fact that she was "made in England." All
+France was agog over his exploit.
+
+Now, know you, that doughty Renee was a "Blue;" a "Blue" being a man
+of the people (the bourgeoisie) who were not of aristocratic birth.
+And, as the French Royal Marine was the most exclusive body of
+officers in the world, birth and station being necessary for
+admittance therein, the titled office-holders threw up their hands
+when Du Guay-Trouin's name was mentioned for a place of command,
+saying,--
+
+"Why, he's only a beastly Democrat. Pooh! Bah! We do not care to have
+such a fellow among us." And they shrugged their shoulders.
+
+The officers of the French Royal Marine wore red breeches, and, if by
+chance a democrat were given a commission, he had to appear in blue
+small-clothes throughout his entire career. Very few of the "Blues"
+ever came to be an Admiral, for the odds were too great against them.
+
+But Renee had done so bravely and well that a sword was sent him by
+the King, who wrote,--
+
+"Should you wish a commission in the Royal Navy, good sir, it shall be
+yours."
+
+And to this, Du Guay-Trouin replied,--
+
+"I feel that I can do better where I am, Most Gracious Majesty. I
+will remain a Privateer." For Du Guay-Trouin wished to accumulate
+riches, as his forebears had done.
+
+So, cruising down the coast of Ireland, he fell in with three East
+Indiamen, whom he captured with ease, and, piloting them to St. Malo,
+declared a dividend of two thousand pounds ($10,000) a share, to the
+stockholders in his staunch vessel. And the value of the shares was
+but one hundred pounds ($500) each. Would not the men of Wall Street
+love such a fellow in these piping times of peace?
+
+A month later we find him cruising in the Bay of Biscay, where--in the
+dead of night--he ran into a great English fleet, roving about for just
+such vessels as the _Sans-Pareil_ and eager for a broadside at the
+French privateer. But young Renee--for he was now twenty-three--had not
+lost his nerve. "There was no time," he wrote, "for hesitation. I had
+two valuable prizes with me and ordered them to hoist Dutch colors and
+to run away to leeward, saluting me with seven guns each as they went.
+
+"Trusting to the goodness and soundness of the _Sans-Pareil_ I stood
+towards the fleet, as boldly and as peaceably as if I had really been
+one of their number, rejoining them after having spoken the Dutchmen.
+Two capital ships and a thirty-six gun frigate had at first left the
+fleet to overhaul me; but, on seeing what I was doing, the ships
+returned to their stations; the frigate--impelled by her unlucky
+fate--persisted in endeavoring to speak the two prizes, and I saw that
+she was rapidly coming up with them.
+
+"I had by this time joined the fleet, tranquil enough in appearance,
+though inwardly I was fuming at the prospect of my two prizes being
+taken by the frigate; and, as I perceived that my ship sailed much
+better than those of the enemy who were near me, I kept away little by
+little, at the same time forereaching on them. Suddenly, bearing up, I
+ran down to place myself between the prizes and the frigate.
+
+"I should have liked to lay aboard of her and carry her in sight of
+the whole fleet; but her captain, being suspicious, would not let me
+get within musket-shot of him, and sent his boat to help me. But, when
+the boat was half way, her people made out that we were French, and
+turned to go back; on which, seeing that we were discovered, I hoisted
+my white flag and poured my broadside into the frigate.
+
+"She answered with hers; but, not being able to sustain my fire, she
+hauled her wind, and with a signal of distress flying, stood to meet
+the captain's ship, which hastily ran down towards us. As they stopped
+to render her assistance, and to pick up her boat, I was able to
+rejoin my prizes, and, without misadventure, to take them to Port
+Louis."
+
+Again France rang with acclaim for the hero of this bold exploit, and
+again the King offered a commission to the gallant sea-dog. But Du
+Guay-Trouin shook his head.
+
+"Perhaps I will become an officer in the Royal Marine later on," said
+he. "But not now. I am too happy and successful as a Privateer."
+
+He was quite right, for in March, 1697, was his greatest exploit.
+
+While busily scanning the horizon for sail in the _St. Jacques des
+Victoires_, upon the thirteenth day of that auspicious month, he saw
+upon the horizon, a cluster of vessels. They drew near and proved to
+be the Dutch East India fleet convoyed by two fifty-gun ships and a
+thirty-gun sloop-of-war. With him was the _Sans-Pareil_ of forty-eight
+guns, and the little sloop-of-war _Lenore_, mounting fourteen. The
+hostile squadron was formidable, and Du Guay-Trouin hesitated to
+attack.
+
+In command of the Dutch vessels was Baron van Wassenaer, one of a
+family of famous sea-fighters from Holland, and he manoeuvred his
+ships with consummate skill; always interposing his own vessel between
+the French privateer and his fleet of merchantmen.
+
+"Ah-ha," cried gallant Renee, at this moment. "Here come some of my
+own boys."
+
+And--sure enough--from the direction of France, and boiling along
+under full canvas, rolled two privateersmen of St. Malo. Cheer after
+cheer went up from the deck of the _St. Jacques des Victoires_, as
+they pounded through the spray, for this made the contending parties
+about equal, although the Dutch boats were larger, heavier, and they
+had more guns aboard.
+
+The Dutchmen now formed in line. In front was the flagship--the
+_Delft_--with her fifty guns glowering ominously from the port-holes;
+second was the thirty-gun frigate; and third, the other war-hound of
+fifty guns: the _Hondslaardjiik_. Through a trumpet Du Guay-Trouin
+shrilled his orders.
+
+"The _Sans-Pareil_ will attack the _Hondslaardjiik_," cried he. "The
+two privateers will hammer the frigate, while I and the _St. Jacques
+des Victoires_ will attend to the _Delft_. The _Lenore_ will sail in
+among the convoy. Fight, and fight to win!"
+
+A fine breeze rippled the waves. The two squadrons were soon at each
+others' throats, and there upon the sobbing ocean a sea-fight took
+place which was one of the most stubborn of the ages.
+
+As the Frenchmen closed in upon the Dutch, the _Hondslaardjiik_
+suddenly left the line and crashed a broadside into the _St. Jacques
+des Victoires_. It staggered her, but she kept on, and--heading
+straight for her lumbering antagonist--ran her down. A splitting of
+timber, a crunch of boards, a growl of musketry, and, with a wild
+cheer, the Frenchmen leaped upon the deck of the Dutch warship; Du
+Guay-Trouin in the lead, a cutlass in his right hand, a spitting
+pistol in the left.
+
+_Crash! Crackle! Crash!_ An irregular fire of muskets and pistols
+sputtered at the on-coming boarders. But they were not to be stopped.
+With fierce, vindictive cheers the privateers of St. Malo hewed a
+passage of blood across the decking, driving the Dutchmen below,
+felling them upon the deck in windrows, and seizing the commander
+himself by the coat collar, after his cutlass had been knocked from
+his stalwart hand. The Dutchman was soon a prize, and her proud ensign
+came fluttering to the decking.
+
+But things were not going so well in other quarters. Disaster had
+attended the dash of the _Sans-Pareil_ upon the _Delft_. An exploding
+shell had set her afire and she lay derelict with a cloud of drifting
+smoke above, when suddenly, _Crash!_
+
+A terrible explosion shook the staunch, little vessel, her sides
+belched outward, and a number of sailors came shooting through the
+air, for a dozen loose cartridge boxes had been caught by the roaring
+flames. Helplessly she lolled in the sweep of the gray, lurching
+billows.
+
+"Hah!" shouted Van Wassenaer, as he saw his work. "Now for the saucy
+Du Guay-Trouin," and, twisting the helm of the _Sans-Pareil_, he soon
+neared the _St. Jacques des Victoires_, which was hanging to the
+_Delft_ like a leech, firing broadside after broadside with clock-like
+precision, her sea-dogs cheering as the spars crackled, the rigging
+tore; and splinters ricochetted from her sides.
+
+"Ready about!" cried Renee, wiping the sweat from his brow, "and board
+the _Hondslaardjiik_. Now for Van Wassenaer and let us show the
+Dutchman how a privateer from St. Malo can battle."
+
+So, luffing around in the steady breeze, the privateersman rolled
+ominously towards the lolling _Delft_. A crash, a sputter of pistols,
+a crushing of timber, and grappling hooks had pinioned the two
+war-dogs in a sinister embrace. And--with a wild yell--the Frenchmen
+plunged upon the reddened decking of the flagship of the courageous
+Van Wassenaer, who cried, "Never give in, Lads! What will they think
+of this in Holland!"
+
+There was a different reception than when the privateers rushed the
+_Hondslaardjiik_. The Dutch fought like wildcats. Three times the
+cheering, bleeding Frenchmen stormed the planking, and three times
+they were hurled back upon the slippery deck of their own ship;
+maddened, cursing, furious at their inability to take the foreigner.
+"The conflict was very bloody both by the very heavy fire on both
+sides, of guns, muskets, and grenades," says Du Guay-Trouin, "and by
+the splendid courage of the Baron Van Wassenaer, who received me with
+astonishing boldness."
+
+"Bear away," ordered the courageous Dutchman, at this juncture. "We
+must have time to recover and refit our ship."
+
+And--suiting the action to his words--the badly battered _Delft_
+filled, and crept well to leeward.
+
+Meanwhile the two privateers of St. Malo had captured the frigate as
+she lay helpless; a white flag beckoning for a prize crew.
+
+"The _Faluere_ will attack the _Delft_," shouted Du Guay-Trouin,
+running near the largest of these; a ship of thirty-eight guns. "I
+must have time to breathe and to refit."
+
+But stubborn Van Wassenaer was ready for his new antagonist. He
+received the privateer with such a furious fire that she turned tail
+and fled to leeward; her captain bleeding upon the poop, her crew
+cursing the blood which ran in the veins of the valorous Hollander.
+
+[Illustration: COMBAT BETWEEN DU GUAY-TROUIN AND VAN WASSENAER.]
+
+Du Guay-Trouin had now recovered his breath. Again the bellying canvas
+of the _St. Jacques des Victoires_ bore her down upon the _Delft_, and
+again the two war-dogs wrapped in deadly embrace. Hear the invincible
+Frenchman's own account of the final assault:
+
+"With head down," he writes, "I rushed against the redoubtable Baron,
+resolved to conquer or to perish. The last action was so sharp and so
+bloody that every one of the Dutch officers was killed or wounded.
+Wassenaer, himself, received four dangerous wounds and fell on his
+quarterdeck, where he was seized by my own brave fellows, his sword
+still in his hand.
+
+"The _Faluere_ had her share in the engagement, running alongside of
+me, and sending me forty men on board for reinforcement. More than
+half of my own crew perished in this action. I lost in it one of my
+cousins, first Lieutenant of my own ship, and two other kinsmen on
+board the _Sans-Pareil_, with many other officers killed or wounded.
+It was an awful butchery."
+
+But at last he had won, and the victorious pennon of the Privateer
+fluttered triumphant over the battered hulks which barely floated upon
+the spar-strewn water.
+
+"The horrors of the night," he writes, "the dead and dying below, the
+ship scarcely floating, the swelling waves threatening each moment to
+engulf her, the wild howling of the storm, and the iron-bound coast
+of Bretagne to leeward, were all together such as to try severely the
+courage of the few remaining officers and men.
+
+"At daybreak, however, the wind went down; we found ourselves near the
+Breton coast; and, upon our firing guns and making signals of
+distress, a number of boats came to our assistance. In this manner was
+the _St. Jacques_ taken into Port Louis, followed in the course of the
+day by the three Dutch ships-of-war, twelve of the merchant ships, the
+_Lenore_, and the two St. Malo privateers. The _Sans-Pareil_ did not
+get in till the next day, after having been twenty times upon the
+point of perishing by fire and tempest."
+
+Thus ended the great fight of Renee Du Guay-Trouin, whose blood, you
+see, was quite as blue as his breeches.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"Again," wrote His Majesty the King, "do I offer you a commission in
+the Royal Navy, Du Guay-Trouin. Will you accept? This time it is a
+Captaincy."
+
+"I do," replied little Renee,--quite simply--and, at the next dinner
+of the officers of the Royal Marines, they sang a chorus, which ran:
+
+ "Oh, yes, he's only a Democrat, his blood is hardly blue,
+ Oh, Sacre Nom de Dieu! Sapristi! Eet is true!
+ But he's a jolly tar dog, with dirk and pistol, too,
+ He fights like William the Conqueror, he fights!
+ Egad! that's true!
+ A health to Renee the terrible; soldier and sailor too."
+
+
+
+
+EDWARD ENGLAND
+
+TERROR OF THE SOUTH SEAS
+
+(1690?-_about_ 1725)
+
+
+ "A Privateer's not a Buccaneer, but they're pretty chummy friends,
+ One flies a reg'lar ensign, there's nothing that offends.
+ One sails 'neath Letters Legal, t'other 'neath Cross-Bones,
+ But, both will sink you, Sailor, or my name's not Davy Jones."
+
+ --_Old Ballad._
+
+
+EDWARD ENGLAND
+
+TERROR OF THE SOUTH SEAS
+
+(1690?-_about_ 1725)
+
+ "If England wuz but wind an' paint,
+ How we'd hate him.
+ But he ain't."
+
+ --_Log of the Royal James._
+
+
+"Hit him with a bottle, he deserves it, th' brute!"
+
+The man who spoke was a thick-set sailor of some forty-five summers,
+with a swarthy skin, a brownish mat of hair, a hard visage, and a cut
+across one eye. He stood upon the deck of a good-sized brig, which was
+drowsily lolling along the coast of Africa.
+
+"Yes, he treated us like dogs aboard th' _Cuttlefish_. Here, give me a
+shot at 'im."
+
+Thus cried another sailor--a toughish customer also--and, as his voice
+rang out, a dozen more came running to the spot.
+
+Cringing before the evil gaze of the seamen stood the Captain of a
+Bristol merchantman--the _Cadogan_--which lay a boat's length away,
+upon the glassy surface of a rocking sea.
+
+Again rang out the harsh tones of him who had first spoken.
+
+"Ah, Captain Skinner, it is you, eh? You are the very person I wished
+to see. I am much in your debt, and I shall pay you in your own coin."
+
+The poor Captain trembled in every joint, and said, with a curious
+chattering of his teeth,
+
+"Yes, Edward England, you've got me now. But go easy like, will yer? I
+always was a friend o' yourn."
+
+"Yer didn't look like a friend on th' old _Jamaica_, when you refused
+to pay me my wages," interrupted the first speaker. "Yer didn't remove
+me to 'er cursed man-o'-warsman, did yer? Yer didn't see that I got
+th' cat-o'-nine-tails on my back, did yer? Now, Mr. Skinner, it's my
+chance ter get even. Tie him ter th' windlass, boys, and we'll fix th'
+feller's hash."
+
+With a jeering laugh the sailors seized the frightened man, roped him
+tightly to the desired prop, and, procuring a lot of glass bottles,
+pelted him with them until their arms were tired.
+
+"You wuz a good master to me, Captain Skinner," cried one. "Now you're
+gettin' a dose of your own medicine. Overboard with him, Boys."
+
+And, suiting the action to the words, he seized him by the collar. The
+ropes were unwound. The poor wretch was dragged to the rail, and, as
+his body spun out into the oily sea, a shot ended the life of poor
+Thomas Skinner of the _Cadogan_ from Bristol. Captain Edward England
+and his men had had a sweet and sure revenge.
+
+Where this reckless mariner was born, it is difficult to ascertain.
+We know that he started life honestly enough, for he was mate of a
+sloop that sailed from Jamaica, about the year 1715, and was taken by
+a pirate called Captain Winter. The youthful sailor soon took up the
+careless ways of his captors, and it was not many years before he
+became Captain of his own vessel: a sloop flying the black flag with a
+skull and cross-bones.
+
+Off the east coast of Africa he soon took a ship called the _Pearl_,
+for which he exchanged his own sloop, fitting the new vessel up for
+piratical service, after rechristening her the _Royal James_. Cruising
+about in this staunch craft, he captured several ships of different
+sizes and flying the flags of many nations. He was rich and
+prosperous.
+
+"Captain," said one of his reckless followers, at this time,
+"man-o'-warsmen are gettin' too thick in these parts for an honest
+sailor. Let's get across th' pond to th' Brazilian coast."
+
+"You're quite right," answered England. "We've got to look for other
+pickings. After we provision-up, we'll sail towards th' setting sun.
+That's a fresh field and we can have it to ourselves."
+
+So all made ready for a trans-Atlantic voyage.
+
+But Captain England was in error when he said that he was sailing for
+fields which had never before been touched. Two other piratical
+vessels: the _Revenge_ and the _Flying King_, had been cruising off
+the coast of Brazil, just before his advent. Fighting in partnership,
+they had taken two Portuguese schooners, and were making off with
+them, when a Portuguese man-o'-warsman came booming along under full
+canvas. She was an unwelcome guest.
+
+Setting all sail the two pirates had attempted to get away and the
+_Revenge_ succeeded in doing so. Two days later a typhoon struck her
+and she was soon swinging bottom upwards, with the kittiwakes
+shrieking over her barnacled keel.
+
+But the revengeful man-o'-warsman ploughed relentlessly after the
+_Flying King_, which could not fly quite fast enough, this time,
+and--in despair--was run, bows on, upon the shore, where the crew
+scrambled to the sand in a desperate endeavor to get away. The sailors
+from the man-o'-warsman were speedy; they shot twelve of the
+buccaneers, took the rest prisoners (there were seventy in all) and
+hanged thirty-eight to the yard-arm. News of this came to Captain
+England when he neared the tropic coast of Brazil.
+
+"It's all in a life-time," said he. "If I'm captured, of course I'll
+swing. But, meanwhile, I hope to have a good life."
+
+Not many days afterwards he heard the welcome sound of:
+
+"Sail ho! Off the port bow!"
+
+And raising the glass to his eye discovered two fat,
+prosperous-looking merchant ships, slipping quietly along like an old
+maid fresh from market.
+
+"Slap on all sail and give chase!" was bellowed out in stentorian
+tones, and the _Royal James_ was soon fairly boiling along with every
+stitch aloft, which she could carry.
+
+As she neared the merchantmen, the names came plainly to view: the
+_Peterborough_ of Bristol, and the _Victory_ of Liverpool, but a shot
+screamed across the bowsprit of the latter and victory was turned into
+defeat. A white flag was fluttering at her mainmast in a moment, for
+the Captain had no stomach for a fight.
+
+"Egad, it's a pirate," said the good seaman in despair, as the black
+flag with the skull and cross-bones fluttered from the rigging of his
+capturer. "I thought she was a privateersman under Letters of Marque.
+It's all up with us."
+
+As the boat-load of boarders came bobbing alongside he cried out,
+
+"Mercy! Have mercy upon the souls of these poor wretches who sail with
+me."
+
+The pirates guffawed, helped themselves to everything of value, and
+took the merchantmen with them to the coast of Brazil, where the crew
+were allowed to escape to the shore. The _Peterborough_ was
+re-christened the _Victory_ and was manned by half of England's crew,
+while the other vessel was burned at night; the pirates dancing on the
+beach to the light of the flames and singing the weird songs of the
+sea.
+
+Now there was a scene of wild revel upon the Brazilian coast; but the
+natives grew angry at the conduct of these rough men of the ocean.
+
+"Ugh!" spoke a chief, "we must drive them away, else they will burn
+our own villages as they did their houses upon the water."
+
+One peaceful evening the followers of Captain England were hard beset
+by fully a thousand black-skinned warriors from the Brazilian jungle.
+
+There was a fierce battle. The negroes were pressed back upon their
+principal town and were driven through it on the run, for their arrows
+and spears were not as effective as the guns and pistols of the
+English, Dutch, Spaniards and Portuguese, who had adopted a piratical
+career. Their thatched huts were set on fire, and, satisfied with the
+day's work, the pirates retired to their ships, where a vote was cast
+where was to be their next venture. It fell to the East Indies and the
+Island of Madagascar. So they set sail, singing an old ballad which
+ran,
+
+ "Heave the lead and splice th' topsail,
+ Tie her down, and let her fill,
+ We're agoin' to Madagascar,
+ Where th' little tom-tits trill,
+
+ "Bill an' coo, an' sing so sweetly,
+ In th' dronin' hours of noon,
+ That you want to die there, neatly,
+ Just drop off into 'er swoon."
+
+The voyage across was a good one and the pirates captured two East
+Indiamen and a Dutchman, bound to Bombay. These they exchanged for one
+of their own vessels, and then set out for Madagascar Island, where
+several of their hands were set ashore with tents and ammunition, to
+kill such beasts and venison as the place afforded.
+
+Then they sailed for the Isle of Juanna,--not a great distance from
+Madagascar,--and here had as keen a little engagement as ever
+employed a piratical crew. Hear the story of this fight in the words
+of Captain Mackra, an English sea-captain who happened at that time to
+be in the harbor.
+
+ "BOMBAY, November 16th, 1720.
+
+ "We arrived on the 25th of July last, in company with
+ the _Greenwich_, at Juanna, an island not far from
+ Madagascar. Putting in there to refresh our men, we
+ found fourteen pirates who came in their canoes from the
+ Mayotta (island) where the pirate ship to which they
+ belonged, the _Indian Queen_--two hundred and fifty
+ tons, twenty-eight guns, commanded by Captain Oliver de
+ la Bouche, bound from the Guinea coast to the East
+ Indies--had been bulged (run ashore) and lost. They said
+ they left the Captain and forty men building a new
+ vessel, to proceed upon their wicked designs.
+
+ "Captain Kirby and I concluding that it might be of
+ great service to the East India Company to destroy such
+ a nest of rogues, were ready to sail for this purpose on
+ the 17th of August, about eight o'clock in the morning,
+ when we discovered two pirates standing into the Bay of
+ Juanna, one of thirty-four and the other of thirty-six
+ guns.
+
+ "I immediately went on board the _Greenwich_ where they
+ seemed very diligent in preparation for an engagement,
+ and I left Captain Kirby with mutual understanding of
+ standing by each other. I then unmoored, got under sail,
+ and brought two boats ahead to row me close to the
+ _Greenwich_; but he being open to a breeze, made the
+ best of his way from me; which an Ostender in our
+ company of twenty-two guns, seeing, did the same, though
+ the Captain had promised heartily to engage with us,
+ and, I believe would have been as good as his word, if
+ Captain Kirby had kept his.
+
+ "About half an hour after twelve, I called several times
+ to the _Greenwich_ to bear down to our assistance, and
+ fired a shot at him, but to no purpose; for, though we
+ did not doubt but he would join us, because, when he got
+ about a league from us he brought his ship to and looked
+ on; yet both he and the Ostender basely deserted us, and
+ left us engaged with barbarous and inhuman enemies, with
+ their black and bloody flags hanging over us, without
+ the least appearance of ever escaping, but to be cut to
+ pieces.
+
+ "But God in his good providence, determined otherwise;
+ for, notwithstanding their superiority, we engaged them
+ both about three hours, during which time the biggest of
+ them received some shot betwixt wind and water, which
+ made her keep a little off, to stop her leaks. The other
+ endeavored all she could to board us, by rowing with her
+ oars, being within half a ship's length of us about an
+ hour; but, by good fortune, we shot all her oars to
+ pieces, which prevented them from getting in close, and
+ consequently saved our lives.
+
+[Illustration: "'LEFT US ENGAGED WITH BARBAROUS AND INHUMAN ENEMIES.'"]
+
+ "About four o'clock most of the officers and men posted
+ on the quarter-deck being killed and wounded, the
+ largest ship made up to us with diligence, after giving
+ us a broadside. There now being no hopes of Captain
+ Kirby's coming to our assistance, we endeavored to run
+ ashore; and though we drew four feet of water more than
+ the pirate, it pleased God that he stuck fast on a
+ higher ground than happily we fell in with; so was
+ disappointed a second time from boarding us.
+
+ "Here we had a more violent engagement than before. All
+ of my officers and most of my men behaved with
+ unexpected courage; and, as we had a considerable
+ advantage by having a chance to hurl a broadside into
+ his bow, we did him great damage. Had Captain Kirby come
+ in then, I believe we should have taken both the
+ vessels, for we had one of them, sure.
+
+ "The other pirate (who was still firing at us) seeing
+ the _Greenwich_ did not offer to assist us, supplied his
+ consort with three boats full of fresh men. About five
+ in the evening the _Greenwich_ stood clear away to sea,
+ leaving us struggling hard for life, in the very jaws of
+ death; which the other pirate that was afloat, seeing,
+ got a hawser out, and began to haul under our stern.
+
+ "By this time many of my men were being killed and
+ wounded, and no hopes left us of escaping being all
+ murdered by enraged barbarous conquerors, I ordered all
+ that could to get into the long-boat, under the cover of
+ the smoke from our guns; so that, with what some did in
+ boats, and others by swimming, most of us that were able
+ got ashore by seven o'clock.
+
+ "When the pirates came aboard, they cut three of our
+ wounded men to pieces. I, with some of my people, made
+ what haste I could to Kings-town, twenty-five miles from
+ us; where I arrived next day, almost dead with the
+ fatigue and loss of blood, having been sorely wounded in
+ the head by a musket-ball.
+
+ "At this town I heard that the pirates had offered ten
+ thousand dollars to the country people to bring me in,
+ which many of them would have accepted, only they knew
+ that the king and all his chief people were in my
+ interest. Meanwhile I caused a report to be circulated
+ that I was dead of my wounds, which much abated their
+ fury.
+
+ "We had, in all, thirteen killed and twenty-four
+ wounded; and we were told that we destroyed about
+ ninety, or a hundred, of the pirates. I am persuaded
+ that, had our consort the _Greenwich_ done her duty, we
+ could have destroyed both of them, and got two hundred
+ thousand pounds ($1,000,000.00) for our owners and
+ ourselves."
+
+What say you to this fight? And to think that our own good friend
+Captain Mackra just missed being a millionaire! Weep for the gallant
+sea warrior!
+
+At any rate he got safely away, for, at length going aboard one of the
+piratical vessels,--under a flag of truce--he discovered that several
+of the wild sea-robbers knew him; some of them--even--had sailed with
+him in earlier years.
+
+"I found this to be of great advantage," he writes. "For,
+notwithstanding their promise not to harm me, some of them would have
+cut me to pieces, had it not been for their chief, Captain Edward
+England, and some others whom I knew."
+
+And he used his powers of persuasion to such effect that: "They made
+me a present of the shattered ship--which was Dutch built--called the
+_Fancy_, her burden being about three hundred tons.
+
+"With jury-masts, and such other old sails as they left me, I set sail
+on September 8th, with forty-three of my ship's crew, including two
+passengers and twelve soldiers. After a passage of forty-eight days I
+arrived at Bombay on the 26th of October, almost naked and starved,
+having been reduced to a pint of water a day, and almost in despair of
+ever seeing land, by reason of the calms we met with between the coast
+of Arabia and Malabar."
+
+The gallant writer of this interesting description was certainly in
+imminent danger of his life, when he trusted himself upon the pirate
+ship, and unquestionably nothing could have justified such a hazardous
+step but the desperate circumstances in which he was placed. The honor
+and influence of Captain England, however, protected him and his men
+from the wrath of the crew, who would willingly have wreaked their
+vengeance upon those who had dealt them such heavy blows in the recent
+fight.
+
+But the generosity of Captain England toward the unfortunate Mackra
+proved to be calamitous to himself.
+
+"You are no true pirate," cried one of his crew. "For a buccaneer
+never allows his foes to get away."
+
+"No! No!" shouted others. "This fighting Mackra will soon come
+against us with a strong force. You did wrong in letting him escape."
+
+"To the yard-arm with the traitor!" sounded from the throat of many a
+ruffianly seaman.
+
+Thus grew the feeling of mutiny--and the result of these murmurs of
+discontent--was that Captain England was put ashore by the cruel
+villains; and, with three others was marooned upon the island of
+Mauritius. Had they not been destitute of every necessity they might
+have been able to live in comfort, for the island abounds in deer,
+hogs, and other animals. Dissatisfied, however, with this solitary
+situation, Captain England and his three men exerted their industry
+and ingenuity, built a small boat, and sailed to Madagascar, where
+they lived upon the generosity of some more fortunate piratical
+companions.
+
+But can a pirate remain happy when not pirating?
+
+"Away with this life," cried Captain England. "I pine for more
+treasure and for battle. Let's out and to sea!"
+
+"Good! Good!" said his mates. "Let's ship aboard another vessel and
+get away from here."
+
+So, they again took to the ocean, but what became of Edward England is
+not known.
+
+Some say that he was killed in a brawl; some that he was again
+marooned and was adopted by a savage tribe; some that he perished in a
+fight upon the Indian Ocean. At any rate that rough and valiant soul
+is lost to history, and--somewhere--in the vast solitude of the
+Southern Hemisphere, lie the bleaching bones of him who had flaunted
+the skull-and-cross-bones upon the wide highway of the gleaming
+wastes of salty brine. His was a rough and careless life. Do not
+emulate the career of Edward England!
+
+
+ Near the straits of Madagascar; near the sobbing oceans' roar,
+ A ghostly shape glides nightly, by the beady, kelp-strewn shore.--
+ As the Cubic monkeys chatter; as the Bulbul lizards hiss,
+ Comes a clear and quiet murmur, like a Zulu lover's kiss.
+ The flying-fishes scatter; the chattering magpies scream,
+ The topaz hummers dart and dip; their jewelled feathers gleam.
+ The mud-grimed hippos bellow; the dove-eyed elands bleat,
+ When the clank of steel disturbs them, and the beat of sandalled feet.
+ The pirate crew is out to-night, no rest is for their souls,
+ The blood of martyrs moves them; they charge a million tolls.
+ On! On! Their souls must hasten. On! On! Their shapes must go,
+ While the limpid rushes quiver, and the beast-lapped waters glow.
+ No rest for Captain England. No rest, for King or pawn,
+ On! On! Their feet must wander. On! On! Forever on!
+
+
+
+
+SONG OF THE PIRATE
+
+
+ "To the mast nail our flag! it is dark as the grave,
+ Or the death which it bears while it sweeps o'er the wave;
+ Let our decks clear for action, our guns be prepared;
+ Be the boarding-axe sharpened, the scimetar bared:
+ Set the canisters ready, and then bring to me,
+ For the last of my duties, the powder-room key.
+ It shall never be lowered, the black flag we bear,
+ If the sea be denied us, we sweep through the air.
+ Unshared have we left our last victory's prey;
+ It is mine to divide it, and yours to obey:
+ There are shawls that might suit a Sultana's white neck,
+ And pearls that are fair as the arms they will deck;
+ There are flasks which, unseal them, the air will disclose
+ Diametta's fair summers, the home of the rose.
+ I claim not a portion: I ask but as mine--
+ But to drink to our victory--one cup of red wine.
+ Some fight, 'tis for riches--some fight, 'tis for fame:
+ The first I despise, and the last is a name.
+ I fight 'tis for vengeance! I love to see flow,
+ At the stroke of my sabre, the life of my foe.
+ I strike for the memory of long-vanished years;
+ I only shed blood where another sheds tears,
+ I come, as the lightning comes red from above,
+ O'er the race that I loathe, to the battle I love."
+
+
+
+
+WOODES ROGERS
+
+THE BRISTOL MARINER
+
+(?-1736)
+
+
+ "If you want to win a lass, or a sea fight; don't
+ cajole. Sail in!"--_Old Proverb._
+
+
+WOODES ROGERS
+
+THE BRISTOL MARINER
+
+(?-1736)
+
+ For he can fight a Spaniard, like a Tipperary cat,
+ For he can sack a city, like a _blawsted_, rangy rat;
+ Woodes Rogers was a Gentleman, from Bristol-town he sailed,
+ An' his crew came from th' prisons, an' were
+ Bailed,
+ Bailed,
+ Bailed.
+
+
+"Yes, you can have the _Duke_ and the _Duchess_. They are both staunch
+craft and we expect to get a good return for our investment in them."
+
+The fellow who spoke--a stout-bodied Quaker--looked quizzically at a
+bronzed sea-captain, who, cap in hand, stood before him. By his side
+were seated a number of merchants, fat, sleek, contented-looking. They
+were giving instructions to Captain Woodes Rogers: their
+privateersman, who was about to make a voyage of adventure in their
+behalf.
+
+"My good friends," said the mariner, "I shall do my very best for you
+all. The French and Spaniards have been having it all their own way in
+the South seas. It is about time that the English had a share in the
+rich spoils of that treasure highway. I shall work my hardest for
+you."
+
+The merchants, ship-owners and Quakers nodded.
+
+"May Providence guide your course aright," said they. And--as Captain
+Woodes Rogers went off to inspect his privateersmen--all indulged in a
+glass of Madeira to pledge "good luck and good health" to the staunch
+seaman from Bristol.
+
+It was not many weeks before the _Duke_ (of three hundred and twenty
+tons) with thirty guns and one hundred and seventeen men, and the
+_Duchess_ (of two hundred and sixty tons) with twenty-six guns and one
+hundred and eight men, sailed from King Road for Cork, in Ireland.
+
+"Egad!" cried Captain Rogers, as they passed out to sea. "Our rigging
+is slack. Our decks are lumbered up. Our stores are badly stowed. Our
+crew is so very mixed that I must stop in Ireland to get more able
+sea-dogs. Was ever captain in a worse fix?"
+
+His Lieutenants grinned, for they saw that things were in a sorry
+mess, indeed.
+
+"Most of us have embraced this trip around the world in order to
+retrieve our fortunes," continued the captain. "Did you ever see a
+harder crew than this? There are tinkers, tailors, haymakers,
+peddlers, fiddlers, a negro and ten boys. None know how to use the
+cutlass and they haven't got any sea-legs. Well, well; I'll make the
+best of it, but it's hard goin', I assure you."
+
+And still the Lieutenants grinned.
+
+They grinned still more when they had lain a few days at Cork, for the
+crew were continually marrying, although they expected to sail
+immediately. However, as the two privateers got under way on
+September 1st,--with the _Hastings_, a man-of-war--the majority of the
+crew drank a health to their spouses; waved their hands to them over
+the rail; and "parted unconcerned." Truly, a sailor has a lass in
+every port.
+
+Not many days after their out-going, a sail was sighted and all speed
+was made to capture her. The Swedish colors fluttered from her
+mast-head, and she hove to at the first gun. Rogers boarded.
+
+"No contraband goods are here," said he, after looking into the hold.
+"We must let her off."
+
+Then--turning to her captain--he said,
+
+"You can go. I am not a pirate--but a privateer--sailing under Letters
+of Marque. I only seize goods that are contraband."
+
+Bobbing and courtesying on the waves, the little Swede soon drifted
+from view.
+
+But the crew grew mutinous,--for had they not come out for plunder?
+The boatswain even called Rogers a traitor.
+
+"Seize the fellow and flog him," cried the sturdy captain. "Put ten of
+these talkative hounds in irons. We'll do the talking on this boat,
+and the sailors must do theirs in the fo'castle."
+
+This was done immediately.
+
+Next day a seaman came aft, with near half the ship's company in his
+rear, and cried:
+
+"I demand the boatswain out of his irons, Captain Rogers. He's done
+nothing to deserve such a severe punishment."
+
+"Speak with me privately, on the quarter-deck," said the bluff
+commander. "I cannot discuss this matter with you in such a crowd."
+And he moved aft.
+
+The grumbler followed, but, no sooner was he alone with stout Woodes,
+than the captain sprang upon him with the agility of a leopard. He was
+thrown to the ground, held, and bound by two officers. Then he was
+stripped and whipped until the blood ran.
+
+"This method," writes the doughty Woodes, "I deemed best for breaking
+any unlawful friendship among the mutinous crew. It allayed the
+tumult, so that they began to submit quietly and those in irons begged
+my pardon, and promised amendment."
+
+Thus the captain had won the first round with the mutineers.
+
+Now, know you, that the War of the Spanish Succession was then in
+progress; a war in which one party was endeavoring to put the Archduke
+Charles of Austria upon the Spanish throne; another to place Philip,
+grandson of Louis XIV of France, in the chair of the rulers. And
+when--a few days later--the two privateers captured a small Spanish
+vessel, they found that their possession of it was disputed, when they
+sailed into the Canaries.
+
+"It has been agreed between Queen Anne of England and the Kings of
+Spain and France," said the Vice-Consul of that place--an
+Englishman--"that all vessels trading to the Canary Isles shall be
+exempt from interference by men-o'-war, or privateers. The prize must
+be released. If you do not do so, we will keep your agent, Mr.
+Vanbrugh, who has come ashore, and will throw him into irons."
+
+But the Vice-Consul had reckoned without his host.
+
+"We are apprehensive that you are obliged to give us this advice in
+order to gratify the Spaniards," wrote Captain Rogers. "If you do not
+allow my agent to come on board my ship, you may expect a visit from
+my guns at eight o'clock to-morrow morn."
+
+To this there was no reply.
+
+Next day the two English privateers stood in close to shore, and, just
+as the shot was rammed home, a boat put off, in the stern of which sat
+Mr. Vanbrugh with a present of wine, grapes, hogs and jelly. The prize
+which had been captured was sent back to Bristol with a picked crew.
+
+The two sea-rovers bore towards the South--soon crossed the Tropic of
+Cancer--and there had appropriate ceremonies for the occasion. The
+tinkers, peddlers, fiddlers, and tailors who made up the crew, were
+each and all hoisted overboard by a rope. A stick was placed between
+their legs and they were ducked again and again in the brine.
+
+"If any man wants to get off," spoke Captain Rogers, "he can do so by
+paying me a half-a-sovereign ($2.50) which must be expended on an
+entertainment for the rest of the company when England shall be
+reached. Every man that is ducked is paid in proportion to the number
+of times that he goes under."
+
+Several accepted this offer. At which a sailor cried out:
+
+"Duck me twelve times, Captain. I want to have a regular orgy when I
+get back home."
+
+And the sailors did it, laughing uproariously.
+
+Sailing to the Cape Verde Islands, the _Duke_ and the _Duchess_
+anchored in the harbor of St. Vincent, where one of the crew, who was
+a good linguist (Joseph Alexander) was sent in a boat to the Governor,
+at San Antonio, in order to negotiate for supplies. He seemed to
+prefer Cape Verde to privateering.
+
+"On October 6th," writes the gallant Rogers, "our boat went to San
+Antonio to get our linguist, according to appointment. No news of
+him."
+
+"On October 6th, our boat returned with nothing but limes and tobacco.
+No news of our linguist."
+
+"On October 7th, no news of our linguist."
+
+"On the 8th, boat sent ashore, but no news of our linguist."
+
+"On the 9th, as the trade-winds are blowing fresh, concluded to leave
+our good Alexander to practice his linguistic and other
+accomplishments ashore. Adieu to our linguist."
+
+Thus disappeared the sleek and crafty Joseph.
+
+There was still trouble from insubordination, for Mr. Page--second
+mate of the _Duchess_--refused to accompany Mr. Cook (second in
+command on the _Duke_). Whereupon the hot-tempered Captain Cook--being
+the superior officer on board--struck him, and several blows were
+interchanged.
+
+At last Page was forced into the boat and brought to the _Duke_, where
+he was ordered to the forecastle in the bilboes (leg irons sliding
+upon a long, iron bar). But he jumped overboard--despising the chance
+of being gobbled up by a shark--and started to swim to his own ship.
+He was brought back, flogged, and put in irons; and he evidently
+found a week of this kind of thing sufficient; for he submitted
+himself humbly to future orders.
+
+Thus Woodes Rogers had already learned that the life of a privateer
+commander was not a happy one.
+
+Steering southwest, a large French ship was seen and chased, but she
+got away from the two consorts with surprising ease. On March 6th,
+when off the coast of Peru, a sail was sighted.
+
+"Let the _Duchess_ bear down on her port and the _Duke_ to starboard,"
+cried Captain Rogers. "Heave a solid shot across her bow, and, if she
+refuses to capitulate, let her have your broadsides."
+
+Dipping, tossing, rolling; the two privateers swooped down upon their
+prey, like hawks. She flew the yellow flag of Spain--and--as the first
+ball of lead cut across her bowsprit, it fluttered to the deck. Up
+went a white shirt, tied to a rat-line, and the crew from the _Duke_
+was soon in charge, and steering her for Lobas: a harbor on the coast.
+
+"She's a tight little barque," said Rogers, when he had landed. "I'll
+make her into a privateer."
+
+So she was hauled up, cleaned, launched, and christened the
+_Beginning_; with a spare topmast from the _Duke_ as a mast, and an
+odd mizzen-topsail altered for a sail. Four swivel-guns were mounted
+upon her deck, and, as she pounded out of the bay, loud cheers greeted
+her from the decks of the _Duchess_, which was loafing outside,
+watching for a merchantman to capture and pillage.
+
+Next morn two sails were sighted, and both _Duke_ and _Duchess_
+hastened to make another haul. As they neared them, one was seen to be
+a stout cruiser from Lima; the other a French-built barque from
+Panama; richly laden, it was thought.
+
+"Broadsides for both," ordered Woodes Rogers. "Broadsides and good
+treatment when the white flag flutters aloft."
+
+As the _Duchess_ chased the Lima boat, the _Duke_ neared the Frenchman
+and spanked a shot at her from a bow-gun. The sea ran high and she did
+not wish to get too close and board, because it would be easier to
+send her men in pinnaces.
+
+"They're afraid!" cried the Captain of the _Duke_. "We can take 'em
+with no exertion." But he was like many an Englishman: despised his
+foe only to find him a valiant one.
+
+Piling into four boats, the men from the _Duke_, fully armed, rowed
+swiftly towards the rolling Frenchman. They approached to within
+twenty yards. Then
+
+_Crash! Crash! Rattle! Crash!_
+
+A sheet of flame burst from her sides; muskets and pistols spoke;
+cannon spat grape and cannister; the Englishmen were frightfully cut
+up.
+
+"On! On!" shouted young John Rogers--a brother of Woodes--as he waved
+his cutlass aloft to enliven the sailors. But it was his last cry. A
+bullet struck him in the forehead, and he fell into the sea without a
+murmur.
+
+_Crash! Crash!_
+
+Again roared out a volley. Oars were splintered. One boat was pierced
+below the water line. She sank, and her men floundered about upon the
+surface of the oily sea.
+
+"Bear off, and rescue our comrades!" cried the leaders of this futile
+attack, and, as the French barque drifted away, the remaining boats
+busied themselves with the swimming sailors. The assault had been a
+complete failure.
+
+"Curses upon the Frenchman!" cried Captain Rogers when he saw the
+saucy fighter drawing off. "We'll go after her to-morrow, and catch
+her, or my blood's not English. What say you, men?"
+
+"Yes. After her and board her amid-ships!" cried all. "Run our own
+vessel alongside."
+
+"And that I will do," answered Rogers, watching the lumbering
+merchantman through his glass. "She's entirely too well armed for a
+trader."
+
+When morning dawned, the Frenchman was still ploughing along the coast
+in the light breeze, with all sail set. But there was not wind enough
+to force her ahead of her pursuer. The _Duchess_ now returned from her
+chase of the Lima boat, and, joining her _Duke_, bore in upon the able
+fighter from the open sea.
+
+"Egad! We'll have her yet," shouted Captain Rogers, rubbing his hands.
+
+"She luffs!" cried a lieutenant. "She's coming to!"
+
+Sure enough the Frenchman saw that resistance now was useless. She
+staggered into the wind, and a white flag beckoned for a prize-crew to
+come and take her.
+
+"And," writes Captain Rogers, "I found that a Bishop who had been
+aboard of her, had been put ashore, which gave me much grief. For I
+always love to catch fat prelates, as they give up a stout sum as
+their ransom. In truth they are nice pickings."
+
+Things were going well with the wild rovers from Bristol. Plunder
+there was aplenty and the holds of the _Duke_ and the _Duchess_ bulged
+with treasure. Yet Woodes Rogers was not satisfied.
+
+"On! On to Guayaquil!" cried he. "We'll capture this wealthy city;
+demand a great ransom; and sail to England, richer than the Spanish
+conquerors of the Incas."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted his staunch followers. "On! On! to Guayaquil!"
+
+So--steering for the coast of Ecuador--the privateers drew near this
+rich Spanish-American town. A gulf lay before their eyes in which was
+a small island; with a little, white-housed village (called Puna) on
+its Eastern shore.
+
+"Take the place!" cried Rogers, as the two ships forged into the
+sleepy shallows, and rounded to before the peaceful habitation.
+
+With a cheer, the sailors piled into the boats, rowed ashore,
+and--with cutlass and dirk in hand--pressed through the narrow
+streets. Shots rang out from a few of the thatched houses; two seamen
+fell to the ground with mortal wounds; but, cheering wildly, the
+privateers rushed through the narrow highway; pressed into the
+court-house; and seized upon the Lieutenant-Governor of the town of
+Guayaquil, as he was attempting to hide behind an old clothes-press.
+
+"Let no man get away in order to warn the large town of our
+approach!" shouted Captain Rogers. "Catch all who dash for the canoes
+upon the beach!"
+
+"Crush the bloomin' canoes!" yelled Cook, as he saw some of the
+natives running towards them on the sandy shore. "Crush the canoes
+before the devils can get there!"
+
+"All right!" answered several of his men, as they ran for the clusters
+of boats. "We'll put holes in them!"
+
+As they hurried forward, several of the natives were ahead. Two jumped
+into the bark boats and paddled furiously for Guayaquil. The _zip_,
+_zip_ of bullets nipped the water around them, but,--with desperate
+sweeps--they dug their blades into the sea and got safely off. As a
+result, the city was all ready and prepared for the invaders.
+
+"Ho! Ho!" laughed Rogers, as he thumbed the papers of the
+Lieutenant-Governor. "What is this?"
+
+"A warning to the townsfolk of Guayaquil," said one of his men, as he
+peered over his shoulder.
+
+Rogers chuckled.
+
+"Beware, all you people"--he read--"of a squadron from the faraway
+isles of Great Britain which is coming shortly upon you. There will be
+full ten great ships, heavily manned and well armed for attack. The
+arch rogue, William Dampier, will be in control,--he who has plundered
+Puna before. Be on your guard, citizens! Be prepared! Arm yourselves!"
+
+"Hah! Hah!" laughed the free-booting captain. "They think I'm
+Dampier. That's good. But we'll have a tough time with them, for they
+know that we mean to assault their pretty little town."
+
+His followers looked solemn.
+
+"Let's attack, right away," cried several, "before the Spaniards have
+time to prepare for our charge!"
+
+Rogers, however, would not hear of it.
+
+"We must rest. Equip ourselves. Place cannon in the bows of our boats,
+and then we will be ready."
+
+His men murmured, but they knew that when Rogers had made up his mind
+upon a thing, there was no use in endeavoring to dissuade him. So they
+collected what plunder was to be had and awaited his further orders.
+
+Two days later all was ready for the advance. It was near
+midnight--upon April 22nd,--when the command was passed around:
+
+"Muffle your oars and take the town!"
+
+With one hundred and ten men in the jolly boats, the privateers neared
+the sleepy, little seaport. Not a sound broke the silence, save the
+drip, drip of the sweeps, yet, as they approached the white-washed
+walls of the lower town,--a bonfire was touched off upon the shore.
+
+"'Tis well," whispered a stout sailor. "Now we can see to shoot!"
+
+As he said this, many lights appeared in the houses of Guayaquil. The
+townspeople were wide awake.
+
+"What means this, sirrah?" thundered Rogers at a native guide, who was
+piloting him to the shore.
+
+The fellow had a ready answer.
+
+"'Tis the celebration of All Saints Day," he answered smiling. "The
+people here are good Christians."
+
+"They know that we are coming," growled the English captain, for, as
+the native spoke, a Spaniard upon the shore was heard to shout:
+
+"Puna has been captured! The enemy is advancing! Arm! Arm!"
+
+Bells clanged from the steeples of the little churches. Muskets and
+guns went off. Black masses could be seen surging into the streets.
+Cannon roared, and a screeching shot spun ahead of the on-coming
+boats.
+
+"'Tis nothing," said Rogers. "The alarm has only just been given.
+Preparations are not complete and we can rush them, easily."
+
+But Captain Cook had his own opinion upon the affair.
+
+"The Buccaneers," said he, "never attack any large place after it is
+alarmed. My advice is to keep away."
+
+"Don't go in," cried several. "Wait and rush them when they are not so
+well prepared."
+
+Even the men seemed disinclined to advance.
+
+Thus cautious counsel prevailed: the boats dropped down-stream
+again--about three miles below the town--and were joined by two small
+barques. They were prizes which had been recently captured. Here the
+flotilla lay while the cries in the city grew inaudible,--for the
+inhabitants saw that the attack had been avoided.
+
+When flood-tide came, Captain Rogers once more ordered an advance upon
+the town.
+
+"No! No!" argued Dover. "They are too well prepared. Night will cloak
+our movements, so we should then go on. I, myself, advise the sending
+of a trumpeter with a flag of truce. He shall propose that we make
+some trades with the people of this place."
+
+"Your measure is half-hearted," said Rogers, with heat. "You are a
+craven knave. Let's rush the town like Englishmen and heroes!"
+
+Again cautious counsel prevailed. Two prisoners--a Lieutenant from
+Puna, and the Captain of the Frenchman of recent capture--were sent to
+parley with the Spaniards.
+
+"The English are afraid!" whispered the inhabitants. "Let us keep them
+off with braggadocio, and mayhap reinforcements will come to us."
+
+So they bickered and delayed.
+
+"These dogs would palaver forever," said Captain Rogers, when
+negotiations had proceeded for full two days without result. "I, for
+one, am for attacking the city right now!"
+
+"Yes! On! On!" cried his men.
+
+Even the cautious Dover was ready to advance; so, landing upon the
+beach, the one hundred and ten ran towards the town with a wild,
+exultant whoop!
+
+_Zip! Zip!_ came the bullets from the nearer houses, as the privateers
+advanced.
+
+_Boom! Boom!_ sounded the guns from the _Duchess_ and the _Duke_,
+which had edged up near the wharves and anchored. Shells shrieked and
+burst; guns roared; and, with a hoarse cheer, the English beat down
+two lines of Spaniards who opposed them.
+
+Back, back, they crushed the defenders of Guayaquil to the
+market-place in the centre of the town, where four cannon were drawn
+up behind a barricade which was flanked by cavalry.
+
+_Crash! Crash!_ they roared at the on-coming privateers, and many a
+man went down before the exploding grape and cannister. But the blood
+of the English was now up.
+
+"Take the guns!" shouted Woodes Rogers. "Scale the barricade and spike
+the pieces!"
+
+With a mighty roar the jack-tars ran for the engines of death; leaping
+over the wall of the defenses; bayonetting the gunners; turning the
+spitting war-engines upon the cavalry, which, in confusion and dismay,
+was driven down a crooked lane. It was the last stand. The English
+standard soon waved from the flag-pole of the House of Justice.
+
+"And now," cried Captain Rogers, gleefully, "I'll meet the worthy
+_Padres_ and treat with them for a ransom. We'll make them pay full
+well to get back the neat little town of Guayaquil."
+
+Crestfallen and abashed, the city fathers were soon brought before the
+privateer.
+
+"Senor," said they, "your men can fight like devils. Senor, you are
+the first man to have taken our town, and many a Buccaneer has
+endeavored to do so!"
+
+Captain Rogers smiled.
+
+"Tut! Tut!" said he. "The English can always battle. But--Fathers--you
+must pay me well for this affair. I demand thirty thousand pieces of
+eight ($35,000 or about L6,750) as ransom for your fair city. I will
+give you two days in which to collect it."
+
+The worthy _Padres_ hung their heads.
+
+"You English," said they, "are cruel extortioners."
+
+Yet--in two day's time--the British marched to their boats with colors
+flying, bugles blowing, and drums beating a rollicking tattoo. Captain
+Rogers brought up the rear with a few men. He had secured the ransom
+and fairly smiled with exuberant joy. "Our sailors," says he, "kept
+continually dropping their pistols, cutlasses, and pole-axes; which
+shows they had grown careless and very weak--weary of being
+soldiers--and it was high time that we should be gone from hence to
+the shores of Merrie England."
+
+Thus, on April 28th, when the _Duke_ and the _Duchess_ weighed anchor
+and stood out to sea: guns roared: trumpets blew: the men cheered.
+
+"And so," writes the gallant Rogers, "we took leave of the Spaniards
+very cheerfully, but not half so well pleased as we should have been
+if we had taken 'em by surprise; for I was well assured from all
+hands, that at least we should then have got about two hundred
+thousand pieces of eight in money (L45,000 or $225,000); and in
+jewels, diamonds, and wrought and unwrought gold and silver."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The owners of the two privateers: the _Duke_ and the _Duchess_, sat in
+solemn meeting at the good town of Bristol. It was the month of
+October, 1711.
+
+The fat Quakers were smiling, for Captain Rogers had brought them
+back equally fat moneys.
+
+The rugged merchants laughed, for the venture had been a howling
+success.
+
+"And you were wounded?" said a stockholder, turning to the bronzed
+sea-rover who stood before them, giving account and reckoning of his
+journey to the Spanish Main.
+
+"A scratch," replied the stout sea-dog, smiling. "When we tackled a
+Manila ship on the way home from Guayaquil, I got a ball through the
+jaw, and a splinter in the left foot. It laid me up for full three
+weeks, but, gentlemen, a cat and Woodes Rogers both have nine lives."
+
+And even the sober Quaker fathers laughed at this sally.
+
+"You have done well," they said. "We will reward you with money and a
+good berth. How would you care to be Governor of the Bahamas?"
+
+"Fine!" said Woodes Rogers, chuckling.
+
+And that is the way the old sea-barnacle spent his declining years,
+dying at the tropic isle on July 16th, 1732. Hail to this Prince of
+Privateers!
+
+
+
+
+TWILIGHT AT SEA
+
+
+ The twilight hours like birds flew by,
+ As lightly and as free;
+ Ten thousand stars were in the sky,
+ Ten thousand on the sea;
+ For every wave with dimpled face,
+ That leaped up in the air,
+ Had caught a star in its embrace,
+ And held it trembling there.
+
+
+
+
+FORTUNATUS WRIGHT
+
+THE MOST HATED PRIVATEERSMAN OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA
+
+(1715-1765)
+
+
+ "It was a high counsel which I once heard given to a
+ young person: 'Always do what you are afraid to
+ do.'"--EMERSON.
+
+
+FORTUNATUS WRIGHT
+
+THE MOST HATED PRIVATEERSMAN OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA
+
+(1715-1765)
+
+ "'_Be sure you're right, then go ahead!_' was coined by Andrew Jackson,
+ Who was a fighter, tough as nails, and loved to lay the whacks on,
+ He followed out this sage advice, in spite of opposition,
+ While everybody winked and said,--'_A Fellow with a Mission!_'
+ In other days, in other climes, there lived a seaman daring,
+ Who loved a fight, as well as he,--was just as good at swearing;
+ His name was Wright, and thus in spite of all his foemen said,
+ Old _Fortune_ Wright, was surely right, whene'er he went ahead!"
+
+ --_Chants of the Eastern Clipper Ships._--1846.
+
+
+In the year 1744 war was declared between England and France. French
+privateers harried the coast of her rival, caught her merchantmen
+whenever they ventured away from stout men-o'-warsmen, and chased them
+in the blue, shimmering waters of the Mediterranean. It seemed as if
+there were never gun-boats enough to protect the British shipping, and
+thus many of the English merchants grew choleric and angry.
+
+Englishmen carried on quite a trade with Italy, Greece, and the
+countries of Asia Minor, and at Leghorn--upon the Italian coast--they
+had numerous trading shops and docks for their own vessels. They began
+to suffer, not only great annoyance, but also great loss, from the
+depredations of the French privateers which swarmed about the harbor
+mouth and scurried into every corner of the ragged coast-line. Their
+trade was hampered, their ships compelled to remain in port, or--if
+they ventured out--they were inevitably captured. The situation was
+unbearable.
+
+"My! My!" said one of the red-faced merchants. "My! My! We must have a
+remedy for this. My! My! We must have our own privateers!"
+
+"Well spoken," cried another. "And I know the very man to help us out.
+He is living here, now, and his name is Fortunatus Wright. Gentlemen!
+I tell you he is a true sea-dog! He is the fellow to cripple these
+saucy, French bushwhackers of the sea."
+
+"Hear! Hear!" cried others.
+
+And thus Mr. Fortunatus Wright was sought for, and was asked:
+
+"Will you take charge of a privateer for the British merchants of
+Leghorn? Will you chase these rascally Frenchmen? Will you cripple
+their operations? Will you chastise these sea-robbers?"
+
+To this Mr. Fortunatus Wright, being a true seaman with the love of
+the salt water tugging at his heart strings, is said to have remarked,
+
+"Whoop-ee!"
+
+Which being interpreted means:
+
+"Gentlemen, I'm dee-lighted!"
+
+As luck would have it, there was a vessel lying in the harbor which
+was directly available. She was a brigantine called the _Fame_, and,
+although we know little about her tonnage and the number of stout
+sea-dogs whom she could carry, it is apparent that Fortunatus Wright
+considered her most admirably suited for his venture. At any rate he
+soon boarded her, swore in a crew of stalwart seamen, and saw that
+plenty of gunpowder, cutlasses, boarding-pikes and muskets were
+aboard.
+
+It was September, 1746, and, before the close of the month of
+December, the _Fame_ had captured eighteen prizes, one of which was a
+hulking, French privateer with twenty guns and one hundred and fifty
+men, especially fitted out to put an end to the career of the vessel
+of Fortunatus Wright. They had met off the port of Messina and had had
+a roaring, little scrimmage, but--seeing that matters were going ill
+with him--the French captain had cried:
+
+"Run for the shore! Run our ship aground! We will fix her so that this
+English hound cannot make a prize of us!"
+
+"Voila! Voila!" his men had shouted. "Oui! We will f-e-e-x th-e-es
+Eengleesh chien! Oui! Au revoir, Monsieur Wright!"
+
+So saying, the privateer had been run upon the sandy beach, bows on,
+where her crew took to the brush, yelling derisively at the _Fame_ as
+she came up within hail,--sails snug down so as to move cautiously.
+
+The Frenchmen had counted without their host.
+
+"We'll float her, my hearties!" cried Wright. "All hands ashore in
+the small boats. Tie hawsers to her stern and pull her off!"
+
+This they did, while the French captain, far back in the brush, saw it
+and fairly boiled with disappointment and rage.
+
+"Zees Wright," he blustered. "One cannot outweet heem."
+
+So the privateer was towed into the harbor of Leghorn, where all the
+English merchants cried:
+
+"Good! Good! Now we have a true man to fight our battles! Huzzah for
+Fortunatus Wright!"
+
+The French were furious, while at the island of Malta (where were
+numerous French, Spanish, Austrian and English traders) the feeling
+grew intense. Here the Austrians sided with the English and several
+duels were fought by angry officers, as crafty Fortunatus Wright
+continued to send in his prizes.
+
+Finally the French merchants forwarded a missive to Marseilles, in
+France, which ran:
+
+"Can the French be further humiliated by this corsair--this
+robber--Fortunatus Wright? Let our people fit out a privateer
+sufficiently large to cope with him, and let her defeat and cripple
+this fellow. Make haste, for he is doing much damage!"
+
+An answer came back.
+
+"Before a month is gone, Monsieur Wright will no more harass your
+privateers. What we have determined to do, we shall do!"
+
+Word of this was brought to Captain Fortunatus Wright and he only
+smiled broadly. "There'll be another ship to bring into Malta, care
+of F. Wright, Esq.," said he. "And it will be labelled Collect on
+Delivery."
+
+Not three weeks later the French vessel came jauntily into the harbor
+of Malta. The captain was a man of considerable repute as a seaman and
+fighter, and he was warmly received by the French. They invited him to
+many dinners.
+
+"Voila!" said they. "Here is the fellow to do the tr-e-e-k. Tenez!
+There will soon be one b-e-eg mince pie we-eth Captain Wright eenside.
+Ha! Ha!"
+
+It is never well to count your chickens before they hatch or to pat a
+man upon the back before he has won a victory.
+
+Eagerly the French captain cruised outside, continually upon the watch
+for slippery Skipper Wright. His vessel was superior to the _Fame_ in
+numbers of both guns and men. He was sure of victory. "If only the
+hated Englishman would appear!" he grumbled.
+
+Meanwhile the excitement and expectation at Malta became intense.
+Finally it was noised abroad that the terrible privateer had been
+sighted about five miles off the harbor. All factions were aroused:
+the Austrians and English slapping the French and Spaniards upon the
+back, and saying, "Now there will be a chance to sink bold Captain
+Wright, Messieurs!"
+
+To which the irritable Frenchmen would answer, "Ah! Yes! He will be
+gobbled up like Jonah by the whale. Pouff!"
+
+The French privateer sailed out to meet the foe, and soon her white
+canvas had disappeared from view around a jutting headland. The
+stranger ran off. The Frenchman pursued, and soon both were lost to
+the eager gaze of the population of Malta, which crowded every
+headland, eager and expectant for the bloody battle. The shore was
+black with people.
+
+Hours passed. Another day came and with it the news that two vessels
+had been sighted off the entrance to the harbor. Hundreds rushed to
+the headlands and cliffs in order to see the victor and the
+vanquished, for two cruisers were approaching, the one towing the
+other.
+
+"Huzzah!" shouted an enthusiastic Frenchman. "We have won! See--up go
+the French colors upon the first vessel. The other--poof--eet ees a
+jelly. Eet ees pounded to ze shreds."
+
+"Huzzah!" shouted all of his compatriots, and they danced about,
+shaking hands, embracing, and waving their hats and their
+handkerchiefs.
+
+"Ce cher Wright!" cried they. "He ees een the soup, eh?"
+
+And what of the Englishmen?
+
+They--of course--said nothing, but bit their lips, looked at their
+Austrian friends, and hung their heads dejectedly.
+
+Here is the most beautiful part of all this story, for Fortunatus
+Wright, my boys, was a joker--a real, true end man in a minstrel
+show--and he was having his fun with "the Frenchies." His
+vessel--indeed--had come off victorious, in spite of the fact that she
+had been much more shattered than the other contestant. Therefore,
+Wright had put her in tow of the captured Frenchman, which he,
+himself, was steering, with the crew of his opponent down in the hold,
+as prisoners of war.
+
+Seeing the crowded headlands and swarming ramparts in the harbor, he
+could not resist the temptation of hoisting the flag of France. He
+chuckled as he saw the effect it produced upon the crowd, then--as the
+vessels rounded a fort at the entrance to the harbor--down came the
+colors of France and up went the English flag to the peak, with the
+French flag below.
+
+And then--well, you can imagine how the Englishmen and Austrians
+yelled, and how the poor Frenchmen beat a hasty flight for their
+homes. Fortunatus Wright had had a sweet revenge. He laughed long and
+hard, while the Frenchmen said, "Curse heem! He ees a devil! A
+thousand curses upon the head of thees Wright! Sapristi!" And they did
+not open any more bottles of wine for their supposedly great captain
+from Marseilles.
+
+As for Fortunatus Wright, he continued to harass the French and get
+into trouble, as the following anecdote well shows.
+
+Not long after his famous battle, he was travelling in Italy with
+introductions to many of the nobility, and arrived--one day--before
+the city gates of Lucca. Here was stationed a guard, and a sentinel
+scrutinized him with great care and deliberation.
+
+Fortunatus Wright grew impatient.
+
+"Can I not go by?" said he. "My passports are correct!"
+
+"No! No!" answered the soldier. "I no likea zose peestols in your
+belta. You must deeliver them to me before you can go to ze ceety."
+
+The English sea-captain said nothing, but the color rose in his
+cheeks. In an instant he raised one of his pistols and pointed it at
+the head of the astonished sentry.
+
+"The first man that endeavors to take my weapons from me," he yelled,
+"does so at the cost of his life!"
+
+The guardsman was flabbergasted.
+
+"Corporal of the Guard! Post Number Two!" he shouted, presenting his
+musket at the same instant, and pointing it at the head of the
+irascible Captain Wright.
+
+Immediately a dozen soldiers came running to the spot. They surrounded
+the irate English traveller. He was ordered to "Throw up your hands!"
+
+"You air one mad Englishmana!" said the Officer of the Guard. "Here.
+Comea weeth usa! We weel feexa youa!"
+
+Seeing that the odds were too much against him, Captain Wright allowed
+himself to be taken to the guard house, while a soldier was dispatched
+to the British Ambassador in order to explain that "they had captured
+an Englishman as mad as a mad dog!"
+
+Things looked bad for the great privateersman. But was his name not
+Fortunatus? And was not good fortune always with him?
+
+A nobleman to whom the bold mariner had a letter now intervened in his
+favor, and secured the release of the high-tempered man-of-the-sea. On
+the morning of the fourth day of his captivity, and at the early hour
+of four, a soldier waked Captain Fortunatus Wright, who was peacefully
+sleeping at a military prison. A missive was handed him, and he read:
+
+ "SEIGNEUR WRIGHT:--Since you have been so daring as to
+ attempt to enter the town of Lucca by force, it is
+ therefore ordered that you shall now leave the State and
+ never presume to enter it again, without leave from the
+ Republic. Post-horses, with a guard to see you over the
+ border, are now ready for you. We trust that you shall
+ have a safe journey.
+
+ "By order of the
+
+ "GOVERNOR OF LUCCA."
+
+"These Italians are the most unreasonable people alive," growled
+Captain Wright. But he pocketed both his pride and his pistols,
+entered the post-chaise at the door, and was soon rolling forth for
+other parts. In spite of this order--he continued to reside in Italy,
+with the true independence of a privateersman.
+
+In December, 1746, the bold seafarer made an exceptionally good
+capture: a French vessel on a voyage from Marseilles to Naples, with a
+rich cargo and the servants and luggage of a real potentate,--the
+Prince of Campo Florida.
+
+When valorous Wright stepped aboard of her, her captain was scraping
+and bowing near the rail.
+
+"Ah, Seigneur!" said he, "you have taken me, that is true. But you
+cannot touch my cargo or my men. See,--here is a pass from King George
+the Second of England. It says, 'All of the cargo, passengers, and
+crew of _La Belle Florence_ shall be exempt from molestation by
+English cruisers and privateers.' What say you to that?"
+
+Captain Wright looked sad, but he seized the paper and read it with
+care. His smile broadened as he perused the document.
+
+"How am I to know that this particular ship is to go free?" said he.
+"For although you told me that the name of your vessel (_La Belle
+Florence_) was mentioned in this document, I do not find that it is
+mentioned. The paper merely states that 'the vessel' shall not be
+molested, and, my boy, you may have stolen this from some other
+skipper. Ah! Ha! You are my prize and shall go with me into Leghorn."
+
+You should have seen the face of the Frenchman!
+
+"I vill haf revenge!" said he. And he had it.
+
+For, when the matter was referred to the British Minister, he turned
+it over to the Admiral who commanded the English ships at this
+station, and this high official made Captain Wright give up both
+vessel and cargo. He did so with the same unwillingness that he had
+shown when asked to leave the quaint, little town of Lucca. Captain
+Wright, you see, had that bull-dog stubbornness which is
+characteristic of men of the British Isles. He believed in hanging on
+to everything which he took.
+
+A bit later, this trait got him into serious difficulties and into
+prison.
+
+A number of English merchants were trading with the people of Turkey
+under the name of "The Company of English Merchants trading to the
+Levant Sea," and, finding it impossible to ship all of their goods in
+British vessels, they often sent them in the holds of French ships.
+True it was that France was at war with England at this time, but, as
+these were English cargoes, the British naturally thought that they
+should be allowed to come through, unmolested, even though the French
+vessels might be captured by English privateers. But they had not
+reckoned with Fortunatus Wright.
+
+Two French clipper ships were scudding quietly along off the Italian
+coast, one bright day in June of 1747, when a rakish vessel appeared
+upon the horizon and speedily bore down upon them. They crowded on
+sail, but they could not outdistance their pursuer, who was soon near
+enough to fire a gun across the bow of the foremost, and flaunt the
+English colors in her face.
+
+"Helas!" growled the French skipper. "Eet ees that devil, ze Captain
+Wright. Eet is all up with me! Helas!"
+
+So he came to and surrendered; but the other fellow pounded away at
+the British privateer with a couple of swivel guns and put up a smart,
+little skirmish before a well-directed shot from the deck of the
+Englishman, knocked a topmast crashing over the port side. Crippled,
+she surrendered.
+
+It did not take Captain Wright long to sail into Leghorn harbor with
+his prizes. The holds were filled with bales of rich goods, marked:
+"The property of the Company of English Merchants trading to the
+Levant Sea."
+
+"I'll sell the bloomin' cargoes," cried Wright. "For the vessels were
+under the French flag and we're at war with that nation. Besides this,
+one of them put up a fight against me."
+
+Thus--the cargoes were sold--Captain Fortunatus pocketed the money,
+and went upon his way, rejoicing.
+
+But he did not rejoice very long, for the British merchants were
+furious with anger, and procured--through some means or other--an
+order from the English Government to the effect that English cargoes
+in French vessels were not to be touched--when captured by British
+privateers. Word was sent to Captain Wright to refund the money which
+he had secured by the sale of the cargoes captured in the French
+ships, and the property of "The Company of English Merchants trading
+to the Levant Sea."
+
+To this Captain Wright answered, "Bah! I have the money. I intend to
+keep it!"
+
+Orders were sent from England to have this fellow arrested and shipped
+home; so the Italian police obligingly captured the old sea-dog,
+locked him up, and kept him in jail for six months, while the
+attorneys fought over the legality of the affair.
+
+At length the bluff privateersman was allowed to go free, and--he
+never paid back the money. "These fellows attacked me at law," he
+wrote, "but I have not acted contrary to it. I am an Englishman. I am
+acting under a commission from the King of England, and, when we are
+at war with France, I intend to hold and keep all the cargoes which I
+capture in French vessels. As for this 'English Company trading to the
+Levant Sea!' let them learn a lesson and pack their goods in future in
+English vessels. English oak should be good enough for English
+cargoes."
+
+The "English Company trading to the Levant Sea" had certainly learned
+that Fortunatus Wright was as stubborn as a mule, and--in the
+future--they employed no French vessels to carry their bales of
+commerce. _A wise dog only allows himself to be bitten once._
+
+France and England now came to a peaceable settlement of their
+difficulties, but in 1755 war broke out afresh. Fortunatus Wright
+chuckled, for he itched for another brush upon the wide sweep of the
+ocean, and a chance to take a prize or two. So the _Fame_ not being
+available, he had a small vessel constructed at Leghorn, and called
+her the _Saint George_. She was a fast sailer and was as graceful as a
+sea-gull. "In this fair ship," said he, as he gazed upon her
+admiringly, "I shall take many a prize and shall have, I trust, many a
+sharp adventure. _Saint George_, I salute you! May you bring me only
+the best of luck!"
+
+Trouble was in store for the well-hated mariner even before he turned
+his vessel's prow into the Mediterranean, for--in spite of the fact
+that the Italians were neutral--their sympathies were strongly with
+France, and they looked with decided disfavor upon the graceful hull
+of the _Saint George_, as she bobbed serenely upon the surface of the
+bay. Knowing full well the reputation of this famous seaman, they
+paid particular attention to his little craft, and sent a number of
+officials to inspect her. In a few days the intrepid Fortunatus
+received the information that, as his was a merchant vessel, he must
+carry a crew of only five-and-twenty men, and an armament of four
+small guns.
+
+At this the old sea-dog only laughed, and exhibited the greatest
+anxiety to comply with the requirements of the law.
+
+"I would suggest," said he to one of the officials of the town, "that
+you keep guard-boats rowing around my ship in order to be sure that I
+do not take on more guns and men than the law permits, before I set
+sail."
+
+The officer smiled. "We are watching you closely," said he. "For
+Monsieur Wright, it is said that you are as crafty as a cat!"
+
+The mariner grinned, and, before going to sea, obtained from the
+Governor, a certificate to the effect that he had complied with all
+the requirements of the law.
+
+Armed with this, on July 28th, 1756, he put to sea, in company with
+four merchant vessels laden with valuable cargoes, and bound for the
+shores of England. Carefully the _Saint George_ had been watched, so
+carefully, in fact, that the authorities had overlooked the lading of
+the other vessels, aboard which numerous guns, howitzers, and
+hand-spikes had been smuggled, besides a number of seamen who were
+well-experienced in fighting upon the ocean. It is true that
+Fortunatus Wright was as crafty as a cat, or--as they say in
+Maine--"You'd have to git up early if yer wanted ter lick him."
+
+Not only had the officials at Leghorn watched every move of this
+well-known privateersman, but they had sent word to the French that
+Wright had only a feeble force, that he was accompanying several rich
+prizes, and that he could be easily beaten and captured by a vessel of
+any size. So much hated was he, that it is said the French king had
+promised Knighthood and a handsome life pension to the sailor who
+could bring Wright to the shores of France _dead or alive_. The
+merchants of Marseilles were particularly bitter against him, for he
+had captured many of their ships, and in the market-place (where all
+could see it) had been posted a placard, which ran:
+
+ "ALL SAILORS AND SEAMEN ATTENTION!
+
+ To the person, or persons, who will capture and bring to
+ France, the body of the arch-villain Captain Fortunatus
+ Wright, shall be given
+
+ A SUM DOUBLE THE VALUE OF WRIGHT'S VESSEL.
+
+ Frenchmen! Catch this Thief! Bring him in Dead or Alive!
+ Do your Duty!
+
+ This sum is guaranteed by the Merchants and Ship-owners
+ of Marseilles, and the Chamber of Commerce."
+
+Wright had heard of this, and it sent a grim look into his eyes. He
+also heard that a vessel was cruising outside the harbor in wait for
+him, and thus he was not surprised, as he saw a large boat upon his
+port bow, when only a few hours' sail from the snug harbor of Leghorn.
+
+This vessel--a zebeque--had been waiting for the well-hated
+privateersman for several days, as her captain had been warned by the
+Italians that Wright was about to set sail. She had three masts, each
+carrying a huge, three-cornered sail, sixteen guns of considerable
+size, and several swivels. Her crew numbered two hundred and eighty
+men, well armed and eager for a brush with the famous Fortunatus,
+whose proverbial good fortune seemed now to have deserted him.
+
+Rounding to, Wright signalled to his merchantmen to draw near and
+hurriedly transported some of the cannon, which he had smuggled, to
+his own vessel. He also added to his small crew, so that--when the
+zebeque came pounding down within shooting distance--he had increased
+his sailors from twenty-five to seventy-five, and his guns, from four
+to twelve.
+
+"Now let the Frenchie come on!" he cried. "I'm half prepared, but I'll
+give her a warmer welcome than she ever had in all her career!"
+
+"Huzzah! Huzzah!" shouted his men, who were a motley collection of all
+nationalities: Italians, English, Portuguese, Dutch, Germans, and a
+few Arabs. "Huzzah! Huzzah! Wright forever!" The Arabs, of course,
+didn't say this, but they tried to.
+
+The French were very confident, and, as they came within range of the
+guns of the little _Saint George_ they began to sing a hymn of
+victory, while their captain already saw, in his hands, the rich
+reward offered by the good citizens of Marseilles.
+
+"Poof!" he chuckled. "Monsieur Wright, he soon take dinnaire in my
+cabin. Poof!"
+
+But Monsieur Wright was a different fellow than he imagined, and his
+men--although of all nationalities--were so animated by his stirring
+and martial spirit, that they fought better than they had ever fought
+in their lives before. You all know how necessary to success "Spirit"
+is in a foot-ball team, or a base-ball nine. The team which has the
+do-or-dare spirit, the never-give-up-until-the-last-gun-is-fired
+determination, is usually the team that wins. And the spirit of the
+captain is the controlling factor in any contest. If he be no
+desperate fighter, his followers will not be desperate fighters. If he
+is weak-kneed in a crisis, his followers will be weak-kneed.
+
+So this motley crew, under Fortunatus Wright, cheered onward by the
+dauntless navigator, fought as they had never fought before. Arab and
+German strove as well as Englishman and Italian to battle strenuously
+beneath the eye of the famous privateersman. They had never been
+together before, but, animated by the presence of this fearless
+"cock-of-the-Mediterranean," they now sailed into the Frenchman as if
+the zebeque were a vessel of equal strength and armament. Cheer after
+cheer welled into the air as the two antagonists drew near each other,
+while the puff of white smoke from the sides of the French vessel was
+followed by the _chug! chug!_ of solid shot, as it cut up the waves
+near the body of the staunch, little _Saint George_.
+
+"It's three to one against us, Boys!" shouted the battle-scarred
+Captain Wright. "Fire for the enemy's rigging and bring down one of
+her masts, if you can. If you fight hard we can lick her!"
+
+The screech of a shell cut his words short, for a piece of iron passed
+dangerously near his lips, striking a stout Italian in the neck, and
+rendering him useless for further conflict.
+
+Around and around in a wide circle floated the two sea-warriors, for
+the wind was light and just drove them along at the rate of a snail's
+pace. The rag-tag-and-bob-tail crew on the _Saint George_ stood to
+their guns like veterans and poured in such a hot fire that the French
+captain speedily realized that his only chance for victory was to
+board and overwhelm the English by superior numbers.
+
+"Bring the vessel up on her starboard side!" he commanded. "And get
+out the boarding-pikes! Now we'll finish Captain Wright!"
+
+The zebeque soon ranged alongside the battered _Saint George_, threw
+her grappling hooks into the rigging, and her men were in a
+hand-to-hand struggle with the motley crew who battled for the veteran
+Fortunatus. _Slash! Slash! Crack!_ The cutlasses cut and parried, the
+pistols spat, and the boarding-pikes thrust and struck. Cheering
+wildly the Frenchmen attempted to climb upon the deck of the
+privateer, but the followers of old Wright fought like demons. They
+parried and thrust like fiends; and such was the ferocity of their
+struggle that the boarders were repulsed with great slaughter.
+
+[Illustration: "THE BOARDERS WERE REPULSED WITH GREAT SLAUGHTER."]
+
+"Thees Wright ees a very hornet for a fight!" sighed the French
+captain, as he ordered the grappling hooks cast off, and floated his
+vessel away.
+
+_Poom! Poom!_
+
+There was still some fight left in the little _Saint George_ and her
+dauntless crew kept pounding iron at the sullen zebeque, which,
+shattered and torn, filled away and made for the open sea. Her captain
+had been struck by a piece of shell just as the battle closed; two
+lieutenants were killed, seventy men were wounded, and eighty-eight
+had been killed by the accurate shooting of the "Never-Say-Dies" under
+Captain Fortunatus Wright: the invincible. It had been a gallant
+battle, gallantly fought by both sides, and gallantly won.
+
+Bold navigator Wright followed his crippled adversary for several
+miles, then--seeing another French gun-boat threatening his convoy--he
+returned to the merchant-ships which had accompanied him; sent them
+back into Leghorn harbor; and followed, next day, with the proud, but
+battered _Saint George_. It had been a glorious victory.
+
+No sooner had the war-scarred Captain Wright let go his anchor chains
+in the harbor of Leghorn than he realized that he had only just begun
+to fight.
+
+"Sapristi!" said an Italian official. "This pirate has deceived us!
+This fellow was allowed but four guns upon his ship and he had twelve.
+To the jail with this dog! To the prison with this cut-throat!
+Sapristi!"
+
+A boat soon rowed to the _Saint George_ and an order was delivered to
+Captain Wright to the effect that he must bring his vessel into the
+inner harbor, and, if he did not obey, she would be brought in by
+Italian gun-boats. Wright--of course--refused. So two big Italian
+warships sailed up upon either side of the _Saint George_, ran out
+their guns, and cast anchor.
+
+"I will not move for the entire Italian Government!" roared Captain
+Fortunatus. "I will appeal to the British consul for protection, as
+England is at war with France, not with Italy."
+
+Now was a pretty how-de-do. The Italians were furious with the
+stubborn privateersman for refusing to obey their orders, but, in
+truth, the way that he had deceived them in smuggling the extra cannon
+aboard--when under their own eyes--is what had roused their quick,
+Tuscan tempers. They thought that they had been sharp--well--here was
+a man who was even sharper than they, themselves. "Sapristi!" they
+cried. "To the jail weeth heem!"
+
+There was a terrific war of words between the British consul and the
+officials of that snug, little town. Then, the problem was suddenly
+solved, for, two powerful, English men-of-war dropped into the harbor:
+the _Jersey_ of sixty guns, and the _Isis_ mounting fifty. The
+authorities of Leghorn were told that they had orders from the Admiral
+of the British, Mediterranean fleet, to convoy any English
+merchantmen which might be there, and _to release the Saint George
+immediately_. Wright threw up his cap and cheered, but the officials
+of Leghorn said things which cannot be printed. Thus the _Saint
+George_ sailed upon her way, unmolested, and was soon taking more
+prizes upon the broad waters of the Mediterranean.
+
+The path of the privateer is not strewn with roses. Captain Fortunatus
+found that his reputation had gone abroad and it had not been to his
+credit, for, when he put in at Malta he was not allowed to buy
+provisions for his ship.
+
+"You are a beastly pirate!" said an official. "You cannot purchase
+anything here for your nefarious business."
+
+"I am a privateer!" answered Wright, with anger.
+
+"A privateer looks just the same to me as a pirate," sarcastically
+sneered the official. And Captain Fortunatus had to look elsewhere for
+provisions.
+
+As he cruised along, a big, French cruiser of thirty-eight guns chased
+the little _Saint George_ as if to gobble her up alive.
+
+"Boys! We shall now have some fun!" said Captain Wright. "I can sail
+faster than this Frenchy. Just watch me!"
+
+So, when the great beast of a French vessel came lumbering by, Wright
+played with her like a cat with a mouse; sailed around her in circles;
+shot guns at her rigging--just to aggravate the men from the sunny
+land--and then dipped his ensign and went careening away as if nothing
+had happened. No wonder that the French hated and despised this
+valiant mariner! Wouldn't you have done so if you had been a
+Frenchman?
+
+Thus Captain Fortunatus Wright continued upon his privateering, his
+fighting, and his cruising; bearing terror to his enemies but
+satisfaction to his friends. His name was as well known among those
+who sailed the Mediterranean as was that of the great Napoleon in
+later years, and it was just as cordially hated by those who opposed
+him. "The Ogre from Leghorn" was one of his titles, while some applied
+to him the choice epithet of "The Red Demon from Italy." At any rate
+this did not seem to worry the veteran sea-dog, who continued to take
+prizes and make money until the year 1757. Then he disappears from
+history, for the body of brave, resolute, stubborn, and valiant
+Captain Fortunatus Wright mysteriously and suddenly vanished from this
+earth.
+
+What was his end?
+
+Perhaps he perished while boarding the deck of some craft which was
+manned by men as gallant as his own. Perhaps he fell while stemming
+the advance of a crew of wild Frenchmen, eager for his blood and
+remembering the many victories which he had won over their countrymen.
+Perhaps, in the wild, wind-tossed wastes of the Mediterranean, his
+vessel--unable to cope with the elements--was hurled upon some jagged
+rock and sunk in the sobbing waters of the frothing sea. Perhaps he
+was captured, hurried to some dark prison, and died in one of those
+many dungeons which disgrace the cities of the Italian coast. Perhaps
+he was hanged for privateering.
+
+At any rate, nothing is known of the last days of this dauntless
+navigator save what can be gathered from an old grave in St. Peter's
+churchyard, in Liverpool.
+
+Here is the tombstone of the father of Fortunatus Wright, an
+inscription upon which, tells us that he was a master-mariner of
+Liverpool; that he defended his ship--on one occasion--most gallantly
+against two vessels of superior force; and that he died, not by the
+stroke of a boarding-pike, but safely in his own home. To this is
+added the information that:
+
+"Fortunatus Wright, his son, was always victorious, and humane to the
+vanquished. He was a constant terror to the enemies of his king and
+his country." That is all.
+
+
+
+
+THE DEEP
+
+
+ There's beauty in the deep:
+ The wave is bluer than the sky;
+ And though the lights shine bright on high,
+ More softly do the sea-gems glow
+ That sparkle in the depths below;
+ The rainbow tints are only made
+ When on the waters they are laid.
+ And sea and moon most sweetly shine
+ Upon the ocean's level brine.
+ There's beauty in the deep.
+
+ There's quiet in the deep.
+ Above, let tide and tempest rave,
+ And earth-born whirlwinds wake the wave;
+ Above, let care and fear contend
+ With sin and sorrow to the end:
+ Here, far beneath the tainted foam
+ That frets above our peaceful home,
+ We dream in joy, and walk in love,
+ Nor know the rage that yells above.
+ There's quiet in the deep.
+
+
+
+
+GEORGE WALKER
+
+WINNER OF THE GAMEST SEA FIGHT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
+
+(1727-1777)
+
+
+ "'War is Hell,' said General William T. Sherman.
+ But,--better have war than bow to an inferior
+ nation."--_Doctrines of the Strenuous Life._
+
+
+GEORGE WALKER
+
+WINNER OF THE GAMEST SEA FIGHT OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
+
+(1727-1777)
+
+ "If Britain can but breed th' men,
+ Who are like Walker made,
+ She'll have no fear of danger,
+ When th' foe starts to invade.
+ When th' foe starts to invade, my boys,
+ An' creep along th' shore,
+ Where th' curling breakers wash th' cliffs,
+ Where th' breeching combers roar.
+ Then, lift a glass to Walker,
+ Of _Glorioso_ fame,
+ _May we ne'er forget his deed lads,_
+ _May we ne'er forget his name_."
+
+ --_Chants from The Channel._--1769.
+
+
+It was the year 1739, and the good people of Charleston, South
+Carolina, were in a great state of agitation. Little knots of
+merchants, sailors, clerks, and dock-hands clustered about each other
+in the narrow streets. And, above the hub-bub of many voices, could be
+heard the solemn sentence, oft repeated:
+
+"The pirate is off the narrows! The pirate will soon be here!"
+
+Then all would gaze seaward with startled faces, and would murmur:
+
+"The pirate--the Spanish pirate will be here."
+
+As they thus stood irresolutely, a strongly-knit fellow came walking
+towards the dock-end. He was clad in gray; his face was deeply seamed
+by long exposure to the elements; and high top-boots of leather
+encased his lower limbs.
+
+"What ho! Good citizens," said he. "Do I understand that a Spaniard
+has frightened you all? Why, where's your courage?"
+
+"Courage?" answered a rotund-bodied merchant. "Of that we have a
+plenty. But we have no ship with which to combat this fellow--or
+fellows--for some of my skippers tell me that there are two of them
+off the coast, and that they've captured twenty trading vessels."
+
+The newcomer smiled.
+
+"I've got a staunch craft here," said he. "My name is Walker, and I
+hail from Bristol, England. My ship--the _Duke William_--mounts but
+twenty guns, and my crew is but of thirty-two, yet, I know that many
+of you gentlemen will volunteer your services, particularly if there
+is to be a nice little battle."
+
+"Hear! Hear!" came from all sides. "You're the boy for us! You're the
+chap we've been looking for! Hear! Hear!"
+
+It did not take long to increase the crew of the _Duke William_.
+Several of the wealthy colonists volunteered their services; many
+sailors were there who had been fighting on the Spanish Main. They
+were eager and anxious to join. So, before three days were out, the
+_Duke William_ spread her canvas for the open sea, carrying one
+hundred men and an additional twenty guns. Now--you see--she could put
+up an excellent fight with the average pirate-ship which cruised about
+the low-lying and sandy coast.
+
+Out into the broad expanse of the Atlantic glided the little barque
+and eagerly the mariners scanned the horizon for some signs of the
+pirate.
+
+"She's been hereabouts!" cried one stout seaman. "For several of my
+mess-mates saw her sails down near the channel islands. And her flag
+was surely black with th' skull an' cross-bones."
+
+"Must have heard that we were coming, then," growled Captain Walker,
+"for there's nothing in view."
+
+In an hour's time he thought differently, for, "Sail ho!" sounded from
+the forward deck, and there, far off to leeward, was the outline of a
+long, blackish vessel, bearing no flag at her mizzen or stern.
+
+Crowding on all canvas--for the breeze was light--the _Duke William_
+bore away towards her. "It must be the pirate!" said all, for, also
+crowding on all sail, the vessel headed up the coast, and did her
+utmost to get away.
+
+On, on, went pursuer and pursued; on, on, and the _Duke William_ began
+to draw dangerously close to the fleeing vessel, which now could be
+easily seen. She was a brigantine, carrying about eighteen guns, with
+a high stern and graceful lines. No flags waved from her mast-heads.
+
+Suddenly the scudding sea-warrior pointed her nose in-shore, ran
+around the corner of a sandy island, and bore away into a seemingly
+large lagoon upon the other side. The _Duke William_ followed, and, as
+she rounded a jutting sand-spit, there before her lay a little
+schooner, on the deck of which were seen several sailors, waving and
+gesticulating frantically. Behind, and on the shore, was an
+earth-work, from which several cannon pointed their black muzzles. On
+a flag-pole in the centre, waved a Spanish flag, and, beneath it, a
+black ensign upon which was the skull-and-cross-bones.
+
+"It's the pirate stronghold!" cried several, at once. "We're in for a
+tight skirmish!"
+
+But Captain Walker only smiled.
+
+The brigantine, which he had been following, now rounded-to, opened
+her port-holes, and fired a couple of shots toward the pursuing craft.
+At the same time an English flag was hoisted on the schooner, and a
+fellow on her deck sang out through a speaking trumpet.
+
+"Thank Heaven you have come! We were only captured two days ago!
+Hurrah for the English flag!"
+
+The _Duke William_ kept on after the brigantine, her mixed crew
+yelling with joy, now that they were to have an action.
+
+_Bang! Bang!_
+
+Her two forward guns spoke, and a shot went ripping through one of the
+foresails of the pirate.
+
+This was enough for the fighting spirit of those who sailed the
+Spanish Main. For, putting about, the brigantine scudded through a
+narrow channel, known only to her skipper (for no one else could have
+followed without grounding upon a sand-spit), and was soon running
+away upon the opposite side of a low-lying island, now flaunting the
+pirate-flag from her halyards.
+
+"She's gone!" sadly remarked the gallant Captain Walker, "but we can
+capture the gun-battery. Make ready to go ashore, if needed!"
+
+Steering for the coast, the guns of the _Duke William_ opened upon the
+sandy barricade, and shot after shot was soon making the dirt and
+gravel fly in every direction:
+
+_Poom! Poom! Cu-poom!_
+
+The cannon in the earth-work next began to speak, and, it was
+apparent, from the strange noises which some of them made, that they
+were full of rust.
+
+_Cu-Poom! Cu-Pow! Chuck-chuck-cu-swash!_ they roared, and a few balls
+began to whistle about the spars of the _Duke William_.
+
+There were some accurate marksmen upon the deck of the British vessel,
+and, as she lay broadside to the fortification, one well-aimed shot
+struck a cannon and dismounted it; while another shattered the
+flag-pole and brought down the flag with a crash.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted the men from Charleston. "Now we'll even up with
+these cursed pirates for all the damage that they've done us. Now,
+we'll teach them not to ravage our coasts and catch our merchant
+ships!"
+
+_Cu-whow!_ barked the rust-caked guns of the barricade. "_Go-slow!
+Go-back! Go-home!_"
+
+To this a full broadside roared, and the balls tore the top of the
+earth-work to shreds.
+
+"Now let thirty men take to the boats!" commanded Captain Walker.
+"Steer for the beach and rush the barricade with pistols and
+cutlasses. I don't believe that there are more than a dozen men inside
+the earth-work."
+
+"Huzzah!" was the cheerful answer to this order, and, in a few
+moments, several boats were racing for the beach, each eager to be the
+first ashore.
+
+As they approached, the antiquated guns on the sand-spit became
+strangely silent, and, as the eager raiders rushed valiantly upon the
+pirate fortress, no shots were fired at them to impede their progress.
+With a wild yell they leaped over the side of the barricade, only to
+find it deserted; for whatever had been the force that had fired these
+cannon, it had taken to the brush as the English seamen drew near.
+Only a few charges of ammunition were there, so it was plainly evident
+that the pirates (whatever their strength might have been) could only
+have held out for a few more rounds.
+
+"Hurrah! Hurrah!" shouted the raiders. "The fort is ours!"
+
+"And it's a sorry victory," said one of the crew, "for there's nothing
+here worth the having, except the cannon, and they couldn't stand more
+than two more shots without blowing up. I call it a pretty hollow
+success."
+
+In spite of this the men of Charleston were well pleased. They had
+dispersed the pirates; taken their fort; and had re-captured a
+schooner which had recently been taken only a few miles from the
+harbor-mouth of that fair, southern city.
+
+When they sailed into their home port they received a tremendous
+ovation. The bells were rung in all the churches; shots were fired;
+trumpets were blown.
+
+"We could fall in with nothing that would stay for us upon the seas,"
+said Captain Walker, modestly; but, in spite of this, he was treated
+like a great hero. All the influential persons in the Colony offered
+to sign a request that he might be given the command of a king's ship;
+but this he declined. So they tendered him an immense tract of land if
+he would remain in that country and drive off the pirates when next
+they became too bold and daring; but this he also declined, and stuck
+to his ship. In a few weeks he sailed for the Barbadoes, and then to
+England, in company with three unarmed trading-vessels which placed
+themselves under his convoy. The good people of Charleston bade him a
+sad and affectionate farewell.
+
+George Walker sailed forth smiling, but he was now to have far more
+trouble than his little affair with the pirates.
+
+When half way to England, a terrific gale struck the _Duke William_
+and her convoys, which separated them by many miles, and made this
+good vessel (which had dispersed the pirates) leak like a sieve. The
+gale continued in its violence, while Captain Walker was so ill that
+the ship's surgeon despaired of his life. But note how grit and nerve
+pulled him through!
+
+On the second day of the tempest, a sailor rushed into his cabin,
+crying:
+
+"Captain! Captain! We'll founder, for the water is pouring into our
+bottom by the hogshead. We're gone for unless we take to the boats!"
+
+Captain Walker was not the man to leave his ship in such a crisis.
+
+"Throw all of the guns overboard, but two!" he ordered. "We need those
+in order to signal for help if a vessel comes near us. That will
+lighten us so that we can still float awhile."
+
+This was done, but, as the last cannon shot into the waves, a sailor
+burst into his cabin with the intelligence that the men had prepared
+to desert in the tenders.
+
+"Carry me on deck!" roared the resolute captain. "I'll give these
+cowards a piece of my mind."
+
+Three sailors seized him and bore him aloft, where he remonstrated
+with his men in the strongest language possible. In spite of this,
+many clustered about one of the boats.
+
+"The ship's a-sinking," cried one. "She won't stand up for an hour."
+
+As he spoke, the welcome sound of, "Sail ho!" arose, above the wash
+and roar of the angry water.
+
+Sure enough, a ship was bearing down upon them, but, to the dismay of
+all, she hastily hauled off again.
+
+Captain Walker was astonished. "She thinks us an armed enemy," said
+he. "Fire a gun, men, and cut the mizzen-mast in two, so that it falls
+overboard. That will show the stranger that we're a friend in
+distress."
+
+His orders were immediately obeyed and the mast came ripping and
+tearing over the side. A gun also roared, and the stranger, now
+convinced that the ship was a friend, and not a foe, came bearing down
+upon the crippled _Duke William_, to the rescue.
+
+"She's one of our own convoy!" shouted a seaman, waving his hand
+joyfully. And such she proved to be. Captain Walker had saved his crew
+by his foresight and quickness of decision. Had he thrown all of his
+cannon overboard he would have had no gun with which to hail the
+stranger, and, had he not cut away his own mast, she would have gone
+away, fearful that he was an enemy. Three cheers for the brave and
+thoughtful Captain Walker! He reached England, at last, but he and his
+men were in a sorry plight, for the vessel which had rescued them was
+almost as unseaworthy as their own, which sank in a great whirl of
+eddying foam, not half an hour after they had left her. Thus ended the
+career of the good ship which had chased all of the pirates away from
+the harbor of Charleston. A sad fate, indeed, for such a gallant
+craft.
+
+Captain Walker was not long idle, for he soon took charge of a
+brigantine trading to the Baltic Sea, in spite of the fact that war
+had been declared with France, and the privateers and gun-boats of
+that nation hovered in his path, eager and anxious to secure some
+English merchant vessel, as a prize.
+
+"I see that these fellows mean to catch me, if they can," said the
+keen-witted mariner. "So I intend to be ready for them if I do not
+happen to be near an English man-of-warsman when they come sailing
+by."
+
+He therefore shipped a number of wooden guns, which were painted
+black, so that, at a distance, they looked exactly like the real
+thing. Upon his vessel were only six cannon, so when--a short time
+afterwards--he was chased by a French privateer off the coast of
+Scotland--he had an excellent opportunity to "bluff" the bold
+marauder.
+
+As the Frenchman drew near, the vessel which Captain Walker was on
+kept steadily upon her way, and, through his glass, the cautious
+mariner saw that his pursuer carried fully twenty guns.
+
+"Run out our dummy cannon!" he ordered.
+
+Out were thrust the black, wooden muzzles, twenty-five in number,
+and--as the Frenchman was now within shooting distance--the English
+boat was luffed into the wind. In a second the British jack, ensign,
+and man-of-war's pendant were hoisted, and a gun was fired across the
+bow of the arrogant privateer.
+
+"Come on!" shouted bold Walker. "I am waiting for you!"
+
+But the enemy did not come on. Instead of this, she turned tail in a
+hurry, filled away, and made off as fast as a freshening breeze would
+drive her.
+
+"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the genial, English skipper. "Bluffed by a lot
+of wooden guns. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
+
+And all of his sailors gave a rousing cheer.
+
+This was indeed good fortune, but Captain Walker was soon to meet
+with some fortune which was quite the reverse.
+
+It was the year 1744 and the doughty sailor had accepted the command
+of the privateer _Mars_, of twenty-six guns and one hundred and thirty
+men, which sailed from London for a cruise in the English channel.
+With her was the _Boscawen_, another privateer with about the same
+number of guns, but with a crew of fully one hundred and eighty. They
+soon had an adventure which was not all to the liking of bold George
+Walker.
+
+At midnight, late in December, the two privateers were running near
+the coast of France. There was a heavy mist and rain, also a fresh
+breeze, so the steersmen could not well see what way they were going.
+Suddenly the hulls of two large vessels loomed up in the blackness,
+and the twinkling lights from their port-holes shone upon the dripping
+sides of the British privateers. Voices came through the mist--French
+voices--so it was apparent that the ships were not friends.
+
+"Those fellows are showing much alarm," said Captain Walker, a few
+moments later. "I therefore believe that the vessels are full of
+treasure. We'll hang on until daylight, at any rate, and see whether
+or no we cannot capture a rich cargo."
+
+Next morning, at eight o'clock, the fog suddenly lifted,
+disclosing--not two treasure ships--but two French men-of-war; one
+bearing seventy-four guns, the other sixty-four.
+
+"Egad!" ejaculated the startled Walker. "We're in a hornet's nest! I
+guess we'd better run for it!"
+
+The Frenchmen, however, were both treasure-ships, as well as
+men-of-war; both bound from the West Indies, with cargoes worth about
+four millions sterling ($20,000,000), which they were carrying into
+the harbor of Brest. They were not in good fighting trim, as their
+heavy cargoes made them low in the water, and very unwieldy. It is
+probable that they would not have attacked the two Englishmen, had not
+the captain of the _Boscawen_ turned tail and fled, leaving the _Mars_
+all alone.
+
+"Did you ever see such a coward?" cried Captain Walker, with heat.
+"Boys! We're in for it now!"
+
+Sure enough, they were: for the Frenchmen saw that only one enemy was
+left, and immediately sent the sixty-four gun ship--the _Fleuron_--in
+pursuit.
+
+Walker turned his vessel about and clapped on all sail, but the large
+gun-boat quickly overhauled him.
+
+"Gentlemen!" said Captain Walker, as she rapidly approached. "I do not
+mean to be so rash as to attempt a regular engagement with so superior
+a force; all I ask of you is to confide in me and my orders, to get
+away--if possible--without striking our flag; and, be assured, I shall
+not call upon you to fight unless there is excellent opportunity for
+success. The ship which pursues us is certainly the better sailer of
+the two French men-of-war; yet, if we have good fortune with our
+shots, we may bring down a topmast or yard; or hurt her rigging so as
+to retard her pursuit. We may yet get entirely clear. So, my
+hearties, do not lose your nerve!"
+
+These wise remarks were greeted with a "Hip! Hip! Hooray!"
+
+Now was a lively chase. The _Mars_ hoisted the English flag, opened
+with her stern guns, and put on all available canvas. But she was not
+a fast sailer, and gradually but surely, the _Fleuron_ crept up on one
+side, and the other French man-of-war upon the other. She, too, had
+entered the chase.
+
+Finally the French vessels had the British privateer directly between
+them.
+
+"The jig is up!" cried Captain Walker, sadly. "Gentlemen, we do not
+strike to one ship only. Haul down the colors!"
+
+Down came the proud ensign, the sails were lowered, and the gallant
+Walker entered a boat, in order that he might be put aboard the
+_Fleuron_ and give up his sword. When he arrived on the deck he found
+the French captain by no means in the politest of humors.
+
+After receiving the weapon of the vanquished privateersman, the
+Frenchman thundered in very good English:
+
+"How dare you fire against a force like mine in so small a ship?
+Sirrah, you must be stark mad. I compliment you upon your lack of
+judgment."
+
+Captain Walker was nettled.
+
+"Sir," he replied, with warmth, "if you will look at my commission you
+will find that I had as good a right to fight as you, yourself, had.
+Furthermore, if my force had not been so inferior to yours, I would
+have shown you more civil treatment on board my own ship, after I had
+captured you."
+
+The Frenchman winced.
+
+"How many of your bushwhackers have I killed?" said he.
+
+"None at all, sir!" replied the Englishman.
+
+"Then, sir, you should be well ashamed of your scurvy fighting. For
+you have killed six of my brave men and have wounded several with
+pieces of glass. Pray, when, sir, did the rules of war allow glass to
+be used as ammunition?"
+
+"You lie," cried Captain Walker. "No glass was used by my men."
+
+The Frenchman curbed his anger.
+
+"Then what was it?" said he.
+
+Here a British seaman interrupted.
+
+"If it would please your French Majesty," he said, with a bow, "I
+reckon I know what it was that you took for glass. The captain of one
+of our stern guns, when he found out that we must surrender, sir, took
+about sixteen shillings from his pocket, saying: 'Sooner than let
+these French rascals plunder me of all I've got in the world, I'll see
+what a bribe can do!' So he wrapped the money up in a bag, sir,
+crammed it into a gun, and let fly at your deck. Faith, your men were
+lucky to be struck by good, British coin!"
+
+At this all had a good laugh, and the unpleasantness between the
+French captain and George Walker was at an end. The privateersman was
+treated with the greatest courtesy and was made as comfortable as
+could be.
+
+The action took place on Friday and the ships were headed for Brest,
+about three days' sail away. At daybreak on Sunday morning, four large
+boats were sighted astern, and it did not take long to realize that
+they were coming up pretty fast _and were flying the English colors_.
+
+"Hurray!" shouted Captain Walker. "No French prison for me. Hurray!"
+
+The English squadron gained steadily. The boats grew nearer and
+nearer, while Walker's hopes soared higher and higher. Finally, the
+French officer, who was in charge of his own boat--the _Mars_--put his
+helm up and ran to leeward, hoping to draw one of the British vessels
+after him. He was successful, for a seventy-gun ship made after him,
+chased him for several miles, and finally re-captured the English
+privateer. The other ships kept on and drew closer and closer.
+
+Seeing that an action would soon take place, the French captain
+politely requested Walker and his officers to go below.
+
+"Messieurs!" said he. "There will soon be a leetle affair in which the
+balls will fly. You will be better off in the hold, where they cannot
+reach you so easily as up here."
+
+"Sir!" replied the English privateer-captain. "I go below with the
+greatest of pleasure, for I am now certain of my liberty. Au revoir!"
+
+"Do not count your chickens before they hatch!" cried the Frenchman,
+after his retreating form.
+
+The British vessels were the _Hampton Court_ of seventy guns, and the
+_Sunderland_ and _Dreadnought_ of sixty each; so, being three to two,
+they should have had a fairly easy victory over the Frenchmen. But the
+_Sunderland_ lost a spar overboard, and dropped astern; so it left but
+two to two: an even affair.
+
+Alas for gallant Captain Walker! Although the Englishmen came near the
+two French men-of-war, they hung about without firing a shot; allowed
+the Frenchmen to sail on unmolested, and thus carry their
+astonishingly rich treasure into Brest, amid wild and enthusiastic
+cheering of their crews, and groans of disappointment from the English
+prisoners.
+
+Yet these same prisoners had little cause to complain of their
+treatment when they arrived at Brest; for they were landed at once,
+and the captain and officers were liberated on parole. The French also
+treated them very well and invited the valorous George Walker to many
+a repast, where they laughed at the narrow shave that he had had from
+death,--for they had left the _Fleuron_ none too soon.
+
+On the day following the landing, Captain Walker was seated in the
+office of a counting-house, near the dock-end, and was writing a
+letter to the captain of the _Fleuron_, requesting him to send him his
+letter-of-credit, which was in a tin box in a cabin of the French
+man-of-war, when a terrible _Boom!_ sounded upon his ears.
+
+A sailor came running past the open window.
+
+"The _Fleuron_ has blown up!" he cried. "The _Fleuron_ is a total
+loss!"
+
+Captain Walker dashed into the street; to the end of the quay; and
+there a sad spectacle greeted his eager gaze. Strewn about upon the
+surface of the water were broken spars; pieces of sail; and the debris
+of a once gallant man-of-war. The remnants of the _Fleuron_ were
+burning brightly.
+
+The captain of the French ship came running by. "Helas!" he wailed. "A
+careless gunner has destroyed my gallant vessel. Helas! Helas!"
+
+It was too true. Four or five powder barrels had been left in the
+magazine for saluting purposes, and quite a little loose powder had
+been allowed to lie upon the floor. Some careless seamen had gone down
+into the hold with a decrepit, old lantern. The handle broke, the
+flame set fire to the loose powder,--and that was the end of the
+gallant ship _Fleuron_. She burned to the water's edge and then went
+down to the bottom with a dull, sizzling hiss; while the treasure also
+disappeared. Later on, divers secured a part of it, but much that was
+of value was never recovered.
+
+Captain Walker did not long grieve over the loss of his
+letter-of-credit, left on board the ill-starred _Fleuron_, for he was
+exchanged, after a few weeks, and was sent back to England with his
+crew. This was in 1745. He lost no time in reporting to the owners of
+the _Mars_, and so well did they think of him, that in a short while
+they sent him upon another privateering venture aboard the _Boscawen_,
+which, as you remember, had run away from the _Mars_, after she had
+fallen in with the two French men-of-war. Now occurred his greatest
+sea-fight.
+
+The _Boscawen_ had been built in France and had been a prize, taken
+at sea. She mounted twenty-eight guns (nine-pounders), but Walker
+added two more, and shipped a crew of three hundred and fourteen men.
+Without waiting for the _Mars_, the stout sea-dog put out to sea on
+April 19th, 1745, steering for the shores of France where cruised the
+prize-laden clipper ships, and the unwelcome men-of-warsmen. The
+British privateersman cruised about for a whole month without any
+luck, and, falling in with the privateer _Sheerness_, joined with her
+in a little run in search of inoffensive merchantmen. At daybreak a
+cry came from the forward watch,--
+
+"Sails ho! Sails ho! Off the starboard quarter! There're eight o' them
+an' heading no' east."
+
+Both the privateers started in pursuit, but the _Sheerness_ was left
+far astern, as the _Boscawen_ was a speedy sailer. The latter drew
+near the eight scudding sail, which suddenly veered about and formed a
+line, awaiting an attack. The _Sheerness_ was way astern. Would
+Captain Walker advance?
+
+It was eight against one, and there was no certainty what was the
+armament of the vessels now standing in a row, all ready for action.
+The faces of the officers on the _Boscawen_ showed anxiety and
+suspense, but there was no shadow of fear upon the countenance of
+Captain Walker, who now addressed them in the following words:
+
+"Gentlemen, I hope that you do not think the number of prizes before
+us too many. Be assured, my good friends, that by their being armed,
+they have something on board of them that is worth defending. I take
+them to be merchantmen with letters of marque (privateers), and
+homeward bound. Without doubt we shall meet with some opposition, in
+which I know that you will exhibit your usual courage. We must conquer
+these superior numbers by superior skill. Be cool. Be careful that you
+aim correctly, for, as we shall be pressed on all sides, let every man
+do his best to engage the enemy that he sees before him.
+
+"In a word, Gentlemen, if you will put full confidence in me for
+leading you on, I will pawn my life upon the fact that I will bring
+you off victorious."
+
+"Hurray! Hurray for Walker!" came the reassuring response.
+
+"Then go to your quarters, my hearties! Fight like Britishers of old,
+and all will be well!" cried the brave mariner.
+
+Like a hornet among a group of snap-dragons, the _Boscawen_ now sailed
+into the centre of the enemy's line.
+
+"Do not fire until I give the word!" cried Captain Walker, as the salt
+spray kicked and splashed about the bow of the on-coming _Boscawen_.
+"Then hammer away like anvils on a sledge!"
+
+Sixty men were ill on board the stout little English privateer, but
+all save three crawled on deck in order to render what assistance they
+could in pointing and handling the guns.
+
+Now was a glorious fight.
+
+_Bang! Crash! Z-i-i-p!_
+
+The French privateers were hammering away as the Englishman approached
+and their balls cut and tore through the rigging, damaging the mizzen
+topsail, and splitting a topmast. Steering straight for the largest
+vessel, Walker waited until he was within close range and then gave
+the order:
+
+"Fire, and hull her if you can."
+
+_Poof! Cr-a-a-sh!_
+
+A blinding broadside rolled from the port of the _Boscawen_, and the
+solid shot bit and tore the stranger like a terrier mouthing a rat.
+
+The valiant little privateer was now in the midst of the enemy. Two
+were to right of her; two to the left of her; one across her bow; and
+one across her stern. Two of the eight decamped, at this juncture;
+making the odds six, instead of eight, to one.
+
+"_Pow! Pow! Cu-boom!_"
+
+The vessel astern was banging away like a Banshee, but a sudden
+_crash_ from the stern guns so badly damaged her that she hauled off.
+It was now five to one.
+
+"Keep it up, boys!" cried Walker, above the roar and rattle of the
+fray. "You're doing splendidly. You all deserve statues in the temple
+of fame."
+
+"Huzzah!" shouted his men. "Hurray for the _Boscawen_. Down with the
+Frenchmen!"
+
+"_Cu-pow! Boom! Boom!_" roared the cannon, while the broadsides from
+the _Boscawen_ were delivered without either confusion or disorder.
+The five were sparring gamely, but they were lightly armed, with only
+a few guns to each, so the thirty nine-pounders on board the English
+privateer were about an equal match for the greater numbers of the
+foe.
+
+Thus the fight raged for an hour, when, suddenly, the ensign upon the
+mast of the French flagship was seen to flutter to the deck. Ten
+minutes later a cry arose from a sailor aboard the _Boscawen_:
+
+"Look, Captain, she's sinking!"
+
+Sure enough, the accurate fire from the British privateer had so
+riddled the hull of the Frenchman, that she fast filled with water,
+and sank, stern first, her men escaping in their small boats.
+
+"That's one less, anyway," mused Captain Walker.
+
+The remaining four continued the fight, but the little privateer was
+too much for them. Around and around she veered, broadsiding with
+astonishing accuracy, and knocking the spars about like a foot-ball
+team kicking a ball. "_Pow! Pow!_" the guns roared, and the men cried,
+"Remember the oath of our captain! Let's take 'em all!"
+
+It began to look as if they would do it, too; for, now upon the
+starboard quarter appeared the white sails of a vessel, and, as she
+approached, a joyous cheer arose from the deck of the _Boscawen_, for
+it was the _Sheerness_.
+
+"Now we'll get 'em! Now we'll get 'em!" yelled the British sailors,
+and they plied their guns with renewed activity and care.
+
+Down came the flag upon one of the Frenchmen, and--in a few
+moments--down came another. Then, as the _Sheerness_ rolled closer,
+two more ensigns fluttered to the deck. There was but one Frenchman
+left, and she made off, with the newcomer hot in pursuit.
+
+"Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!" The sailors on board the _Boscawen_ were
+fairly jumping for joy. "Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!" they yelled.
+
+And well might they cheer, for had they not won one of the pluckiest
+sea-fights of all history? The enemy is said to have had one hundred
+and thirteen killed and drowned, while the casualties of the
+_Boscawen_ amounted to but one killed and seven wounded. "And this,"
+says an old chronicler of the spirited affair, "was due to the fact
+that the British privateer had a bulwark of elm-planking, man-high,
+around her deck. It was so fashioned that there was a step on which
+the marines could mount and fire, and then come down in order to load.
+Furthermore, this elm-wood did not splinter; but kept out the bullets,
+and closed up around the holes made by shot."
+
+At any rate, it was a glorious victory, and when--a few hours
+later--the _Sheerness_ came back with the other French vessel a prize,
+the total capture amounted to six vessels: homeward bound traders from
+Martinique, provided with letters of marque, and with about six guns
+each. Their crews were undoubtedly undisciplined and ill-used to
+shooting, else how could they have done so badly with the _Boscawen_?
+
+The prizes were headed for the English coast and arrived at King's
+Road, Bristol, in a few days, where a swarm of eager sight-seers
+crowded about the shattered craft.
+
+"My! My!" said many. "This Walker is another Drake. He is a valiant
+soul!"
+
+And so thought the British Admiralty, for they sent him a letter (upon
+his reporting to them) which read:
+
+"We cannot too highly congratulate and commend you upon the
+seamanship and courage which you have displayed in the capture of
+these French vessels. Your daring and ability should always make your
+name one to be revered by those Britishers who follow the sea. May
+your future career upon the ocean but add to the laurels which you
+have already won!"
+
+And were they not right?
+
+Seldom has such a feat been accomplished, and seldom has one vessel
+come off victorious against such odds. If you love a game warrior,
+cheer for George Walker, for he deserves it. If you are an admirer of
+the fighting quality in a man, give three times three for the
+privateersman who had the nerve to sail into eight vessels,--and won
+out.
+
+So much, indeed, did the British owners of the privateer vessels think
+of Captain Walker, that he was now placed in command of four ships,
+known as "The Royal Family of Privateers," for each was named after
+some member of the English royal family. These were the _Princess
+Amelia_, of twenty-four guns and one hundred and fifty men: the
+_Prince Frederick_ of twenty-six guns and two hundred and sixty men:
+the _Duke_ of twenty guns and two hundred and sixty men; and the _King
+George_, of thirty-two guns and three hundred men. This last boat was
+commanded by Walker, himself; the _Duke_ by Edward Dottin, a staunch
+sailor; the _Prince Frederick_ by Hugh Bromedge; and the _Princess
+Amelia_ by Robert Denham. The entire squadron carried nearly a
+thousand men and one hundred and two guns, so, you see, that it could
+do quite a little damage to the enemies of Merrie England.
+
+Sailing in May, 1746, the squadron soon met with hard luck, for the
+_Prince Frederick_ ran upon a rock in Bristol Channel, and had to be
+left behind; for she was badly punctured below the water-line. The
+three others sailed for the coast of France, and--a week later--had a
+startling little adventure.
+
+A heavy fog lay over the sobbing water, and the three English
+sea-robbers were gliding along within easy gun-shot of each other,
+when it was evident that they were near some other vessels. Voices
+came out of the mist, lights flashed (for it was near the close of
+day), and the wash of water could be heard, as the waves beat against
+solid oak planking.
+
+"Egad!" whispered Captain Walker to one of his lieutenants. "Listen,
+my boy, and tell me whether these voices are French, Spanish, or
+English."
+
+The lieutenant held a speaking-trumpet to his ear.
+
+The _swish_, _swish_ of water came to the eager senses of the anxious
+privateersman. That was all!
+
+Captain Walker passed the word around among his men to be absolutely
+silent, and, as he strained his hearing, in order to catch the
+faintest sound from the strangers, suddenly he heard the sentence,
+
+"Pressy! Chantez une chanson. Je vais me coucher." (Sing a song,
+Pressy. I am going to bed.)
+
+In a second the gallant Walker knew that, as once before, he was in
+the midst of some French vessels.
+
+"Caught!" he whispered. "And I believe that they're men-of-warsmen!
+Now we're in a pretty pickle!"
+
+His officers scowled.
+
+"I know that they're men-o'-warsmen," said one, "for, just now, the
+fog lifted for a second, and I could make out--by their lights--that
+they were large gun-ships."
+
+Captain Walker looked dejected.
+
+"The deuce," said he.
+
+But he soon regained his composure.
+
+"Put every light out on board," he ordered. "These fellows see us, for
+I hear them bearing over our way."
+
+Sure enough, from the swashing of water and glimmer of lights in the
+fog, it could be seen that the great lumbering men-of-war were closing
+in upon the privateer. But the Frenchmen had a human eel to capture
+and he was equal to the occasion.
+
+"Bring up a couple of casks from below!" cried Captain Walker. They
+were soon on deck.
+
+"Now put a lantern in one and lash them together," he continued.
+"We'll alter our course and skip, while the Frenchies will follow this
+light."
+
+The ruse worked magnificently, and, when morning dawned and the bright
+sun burned off the fog, the French men-of-war found themselves
+hovering around a couple of old casks with a lantern tied to the top;
+while Captain Walker in the _King George_ was scudding along the
+French coast, many miles away. At which the French captain remarked,
+
+"Sapristi! L'oiseau s'est envole." (Egad! The bird has flown!)
+
+Not long after this "The Royal Family of Privateers" took some
+valuable prizes, and, having chased a small, French merchantman into
+the bay of Safia, in Morocco, Captain Walker determined to capture her
+at night, by sending a party against her in the long-boats. A second
+lieutenant was put in charge of this venture, and, at dark three
+tenders, crowded with armed seamen and propelled by muffled oars,
+started after the prize. As they neared the merchantman a hail came
+through the blackness:
+
+"Qui est la?" (Who is there?)
+
+No answer was made to this, but the boats kept straight on.
+
+_Crash! Bang!_
+
+A gun roared in the faces of the privateers, and shots came falling
+around them like hail-stones,--but still they kept on.
+
+Again _Crash! Crash! Crash!_
+
+The Frenchmen were plying their guns right willingly, but the English
+sailors could not be stopped, and they neared the vessel under
+vigorous sweeps of the oars. The lieutenant in command was badly
+wounded, and was forced to lie in the bottom of his boat, but--in a
+few moments--the tenders were alongside the merchantman, and the
+sailors, with a wild yell, were clambering to her deck. There was a
+fierce hand-to-hand struggle, but nothing would gainsay the rush of
+the British tars. In twenty minutes the fight was all over and the
+vessel was towed out of the bay, in triumph, next morning. As she was
+a smart, little craft she was turned into a privateer in place of the
+_Prince Frederick_ (which had run aground) and was christened the
+_Prince George_.
+
+The "Royal Family" continued upon its way, made many captures,
+and--after eight months--put into the harbor of Lisbon with prizes and
+prize-money amounting to L220,000 (about $1,100,000). So you can see
+that privateering was a very lucrative trade in those days, when
+successfully pursued. Not a single man had been killed aboard the
+little fleet, but many had been severely wounded. The ships were
+overhauled, refitted, and, being joined by the _Prince Frederick_,
+amounted to six in number, for the vessel captured in the harbor of
+Safia had been converted into a full-fledged privateer. Now was to be
+one of the most gruelling sea-fights in which George Walker ever
+engaged.
+
+In the month of October the squadron was cruising off of Lagos Bay, on
+the coast of Portugal, when a large sail was sighted at about five in
+the morning. The _Princess Amelia_ was at anchor in the harbor of
+Lagos, so Captain Walker sent a small sloop (a recent capture) after
+her to tell her to "Hurry up and get under way," while he gave signal
+to the other vessels to chase the stranger at once. All started after
+the foreigner, who stood to the northward and could be seen to be
+crowding on all possible canvas. There were four ships in this merry
+little chase, but two of them--the _Duke_ and the _Prince
+George_--dropped out, after about an hour's run. They either could
+not get up, or else their captains grew tired of the affair.
+
+On, on, went the other privateers, and--at about noon--Walker drew
+near the fugitive, in the _King George_. The _Prince Frederick_, with
+her twenty-six guns, was still some distance away, but Walker kept
+after the stranger, although he now saw that she was a large
+vessel,--much more powerful than the _King George_, with her
+thirty-two guns and three hundred men. He was rapidly nearing the big
+fellow, when it grew suddenly calm, so that neither could move.
+
+At this moment an ejaculation of astonishment burst from the lips of
+some of the officers aboard the saucy _King George_.
+
+"She's a seventy-four!" cried several. "We're in a tight hole!"
+
+Sure enough, the pursued hoisted her colors, ran out her guns, and
+showed herself to be a man-of-warsman carrying seventy-four cannon:
+over double the amount of armament aboard the plucky _King George_.
+
+"I can't make out whether she's Spanish or Portuguese," said Captain
+Walker, gazing carefully at her drooping flag.
+
+The colors hung down in the dead calm, and it was impossible to tell
+whether they were Spanish or Portuguese; for the two ensigns--at that
+period--were very similar.
+
+The sea-warriors drifted along, eyeing each other, for about an hour,
+when the stranger ran in her lower deck-guns and closed her
+port-holes.
+
+"She's a treasure ship," cried a sailor. "And she won't fight if she
+can avoid it!"
+
+Walker turned to his officers and asked,
+
+"Gentlemen, shall we fight her?"
+
+"Aye! Aye!" came from all. "She's afraid of us!"
+
+The vessel, in fact, was a treasure ship which had been recently
+chased by some English men-of-war and had already landed her treasure,
+to the value of about one million sterling (about $5,000,000). A
+slight breeze sprang up, at about five in the afternoon, and the big
+ship kept on her course; the gamey _King George_ following, while the
+white sails of the _Prince Frederick_ were far astern, as the breeze
+had not yet struck her. So they swashed along, the Englishmen anxious
+for a fight, and a chance to overhaul the supposed treasure which the
+stranger was carrying. At eight o'clock the _King George_ was struck
+by a favorable puff of wind, and came quite close to the seventy-four.
+It was time for battle.
+
+"What ship is that?" hailed Captain Walker, in the Portuguese tongue.
+He was cleared for action and his men were all lying down at their
+quarters. There was no answer to his challenge.
+
+"What ship is that?" he asked again; this time in English.
+
+A voice came back,--also in English,
+
+"And what ship may you be?"
+
+"The _King George_."
+
+_Crash! B-oo-m!_
+
+A thundering broadside belched from the side of the seventy-four,
+dismounting two guns on the port side of the _King George_, and
+bringing the main topsail yard crashing to the deck. It was now bright
+moonlight, and in its radiance the flag of the stranger was seen to
+blow straight out, disclosing her nationality to be Spanish. She was
+the _Glorioso_: a strong and powerful vessel, ably officered and ably
+manned. She towered above the little _King George_ like a
+church-spire, and her broadsides now sputtered with great regularity.
+
+_Crash! Crash! Crash!_
+
+The sprightly little _King George_ kept after the big warship like a
+sword-fish chasing a whale. She drew so close that some burning wads
+from the Spanish guns set fire to her mainsail. Continually hoping
+that the _Prince Frederick_ would come up, the gallant Walker hammered
+away at the _Glorioso_ with furious precision, and drove her so near
+the rocks off Cape Vincent that the castle guns began to play upon the
+two grappling warriors of the sea. The British sea-captain fought and
+commanded with "a calmness peculiar to himself" and his example
+secured order and discipline even in the thickest of the fight, when
+the mainsail was set on fire. He was magnificent in action.
+
+So the unequal struggle kept on. By half-past ten the _King George_
+had been so severely damaged aloft that she could not have escaped if
+she had tried. All the braces were shot away; the foremast was quite
+disabled; and the mainmast was badly splintered. Battered, torn, and
+distressed she kept banging away at the great, towering Spaniard;
+while the big fellow ceased her fire somewhat, and ever now and again
+let go a broadside, like the blow from the mouth of a huge whale. It
+sounded like, _Chu-spow!_
+
+[Illustration: ACTION BETWEEN THE "GLORIOSO" AND THE "KING GEORGE" AND
+"PRINCE FREDERICK" UNDER GEORGE WALKER.]
+
+But hurrah! hurrah! The _Prince Frederick_ had at last caught the
+breeze, and came bouncing by, her little pennons fluttering like so
+many silk stockings on a clothes-line.
+
+"Are you all well?" shouted her commander, as he neared the splintered
+_King George_. "You look as if you're sinking."
+
+Captain Walker came to the rail with the speaking-trumpet in his hand.
+
+"One killed and fifteen wounded," he answered. "Now sail after that
+Spanish villain and take her, in revenge for all the damage that she
+has done me. She's a treasure ship."
+
+"All right," Captain Dottin called back, and he kept on after the
+_Glorioso_, which was now rapidly drawing away.
+
+By the bright moonlight it could be seen that the _Duke_ and the
+_Prince George_ were also approaching. And, when they came close
+enough to the maimed and battered _King George_, her captain called to
+them, "to keep on after the Spaniard, and catch the rascal." They
+continued on their way, and, at daybreak the three vessels could be
+seen, through the glass, as they closed in upon the Spanish game-cock
+from three sides. "She'll be ours before nightfall," said Captain
+Walker, chuckling.
+
+The headmost ship, apparently the _Duke_ under Captain Dottin, could
+now be seen to hotly engage the _Glorioso_, which greatly displeased
+the captain of the dismantled _King George_.
+
+"Dottin will fire away all of his cartridges," said he, turning to a
+few of his officers, who clustered around him. "He will shoot them all
+off at too great a distance, and will afterwards be obliged to load
+with loose powder, by which some fatal accident is sure to occur. He's
+a brave fellow, but a rash one!"
+
+He had scarcely spoken, when a broadside rang out. Simultaneously,
+with the discharge of the guns, a pillar of smoke and flame shot high
+into the air.
+
+"Good Heavens, the _Duke_ has blown up!" cried Captain Walker. "Dottin
+and his brave followers have found a watery grave!"
+
+"It is merely the smoke of a broadside," one of the officers
+interrupted.
+
+"No! No!" answered Walker, dejectedly. "It's the last that will ever
+be seen of noble Dottin and his men!"
+
+The smoke now cleared away and no ship was to be seen upon the surface
+of the water. The _Glorioso_ was still-belching both smoke and flame,
+and near her were three sails, indistinctly seen through a haze of
+smoke and fog. Could it not have been the _Duke_, after all? "Vain
+thought," cried bold Walker, aloud. "Our bravest and best ship has
+gone to the bottom."
+
+This terrible incident had such an effect upon the seamen of the _King
+George_ that Captain Walker called the officers aside into the
+companionway, and there made them a speech.
+
+"My brave men," said he, "you must keep up an air of cheerfulness
+before these fellows of ours, for, otherwise they will be backward in
+fighting, and will not have the courage which we desire. Go among them
+and show no sign that you are lacking in pleasantry."
+
+As he ceased speaking there was a series of sudden explosions, mingled
+with cries of alarm.
+
+"Gad zooks! What's happened!" cried all, rushing to the deck.
+
+They found matters in a sorry state, for the crew was in a panic; some
+clinging outside the ship; some climbing out upon the bowsprit, all
+ready to jump overboard should the vessel blow up.
+
+Captain Walker was astonished. "Why, men!" said he. "What means this
+confusion?"
+
+It was easily explained, for the alarm had been caused by a seaman who
+stepped upon a number of loaded muskets, which had been covered by a
+sail. One was fired off accidentally, and this exploded some spare
+ammunition, set the sail on fire, and completely demoralized the crew;
+who still were thinking of the sad tragedy which they had just
+witnessed. Order was quickly restored, the blazing sail was torn down
+and bucketed, and the terrified sailors came back to their posts. When
+men have their nerves shattered, it is easy to startle them.
+
+But how about the _Glorioso_?
+
+The fair-fighting Spaniard was far out of sight, by now, still
+whanging away at her many enemies, and still proudly flaunting the
+flag of Arragon in the faces of the British war-dogs, who were
+snapping and snarling at her like a wolf pack. What became of her was
+not known for several days, when the poor, battered _King George_
+staggered into a sheltering harbor, there to meet with the _Duke_
+herself, which was Dottin's good ship,--the one which all had thought
+to have exploded and sunk.
+
+"Hurray!" shouted many. "She's afloat after all!"
+
+Eager questioning brought out the fact that it had been the frigate
+_Dartmouth_ which had exploded; a vessel which had run near the fight
+in order to see the fun. Some loose powder had set fire to her
+magazine, and thus she had suffered the same fate as the _Fleuron_,
+which, as you remember, had blown up, when at anchor in the harbor of
+Brest. _It's a wise ship that keeps away from a sea battle._
+
+Only seventeen of the crew of this unfortunate craft had been picked
+up by the boats of the _Prince Frederick_; one of whom was an Irish
+lieutenant named O'Brien, who was hauled aboard Dottin's vessel, clad
+only in a night shirt.
+
+"Sirrah!" said he, bowing politely. "You must excuse the unfitness of
+my dress to come aboard a strange ship, but really I left my own in
+such a hurry that I had no time to stay for a change." He had been
+blown out of a port-hole!
+
+An additional vessel, the _Russel_, had aided in the capture of the
+powerful _Glorioso_, so it had taken four privateers to down the proud
+Castilian: the _Duke_, the _Prince George_, the _Prince Frederick_,
+and the _Russel_. Certainly she had put up a magnificent battle and
+she had completely crippled the stout little craft sailed by Captain
+Walker, who was now filled with chagrin and mortification, when he
+found that the treasure (which he had been sure was in the hold) had
+been safely landed at Ferrol, before he had sighted this valorous
+man-of-warsman. It was a great blow both to him and to his men, and,
+upon arriving at Lisbon he was met by one of the owners of his own
+vessel, who severely reprimanded him for fighting with such a powerful
+boat.
+
+"Captain Walker," said he, "I fear that your fighting blood is
+superior to your prudence!"
+
+But to this, the game old sea-dog replied, with considerable heat:
+
+"Had the treasure been aboard the _Glorioso_, as I expected, my dear
+sir, your compliment would have been far different. Or had we let her
+escape from us with the treasure aboard, what would you have said
+then?"
+
+To these sage reflections the owner did not reply.
+
+The honesty and courage of this able seaman were never questioned, and
+the following incident bears good witness to the first quality. Upon
+one occasion he was sailing for Lisbon in a well-armed privateer, when
+a couple of East India trading ships offered him L1,000 ($5,000) if he
+would act as their guard and protect them from the enemy.
+
+"Gentlemen," said he to the captain of these vessels, "I shall never
+take a reward for what I consider it my duty to do without one. I
+consider it my bounden duty to conduct you both safely into port, for
+you are both British ships, and I am engaged to fight the enemies of
+our King."
+
+So he convoyed them safely into port and would not take even the
+smallest present, in recompense for his services.
+
+As a fighter he had no superior. War is simply glorified sport and
+those who are best trained athletically can usually win upon the
+battle-field. Did not Wellington say, "The battle of Waterloo was won
+upon the foot-ball grounds of Eton and Harrow?" Which was another way
+of saying that the boys who had learned to stand punishment upon the
+athletic field, could take it manfully and well upon the field of
+battle.
+
+Walker believed in athletic exercise and made his sailors continually
+practice both gunnery and work with the cutlass. They were always in
+training and always prepared. That is the reason why they won. As you
+know, if you want to win in athletics you have to train hard and
+practice daily. If you want to win at warfare you have to do likewise.
+The most athletic nation is the nation which will win in the long
+fight, providing that it has sufficient resources and money to carry
+out a war, once that it has placed its men in the field. It takes a
+great deal of money to fight a war, but it takes trained men also, and
+those who are the most fit will win every time.
+
+The English are an athletic nation, an island nation, and great
+numbers of her people have had to follow the sea as a matter of
+course. Hence England has always had a vast quantity of well-trained
+seamen at her beck and call. For this reason she has been more
+successful upon the ocean than many of her neighbors. Will she
+continue to be?
+
+_If she continues to breed men like George Walker there is little
+reason to doubt that she will always be a winner in sea fighting._
+
+As for this famous mariner, little is known of his later life save
+that he was once imprisoned for debt, but this was no disgrace in
+those times and I am sure that he was soon liberated. He died
+September 20th, 1777, but where he was buried is not known, nor is
+there any record of his marriage. At any rate he has left the
+reputation of a brave and valiant seaman who was beloved by his men,
+feared by his enemies, and appreciated by his contemporaries.
+
+
+ "Britannia's glory first from ships arose;
+ To shipping still her power and wealth she owes.
+ Let each experienced Briton then impart,
+ His naval skill to perfect naval art."
+
+
+
+
+BIVOUAC OF THE DEAD
+
+
+ Their silvered swords are red with rust,
+ Their plumed heads are bowed;
+ Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,
+ Is now their martial shroud.
+ And plenteous funeral tears have washed
+ The red stains from each brow,
+ And the proud forms, by battle gashed,
+ Are free from anguish now.
+
+ Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
+ In deathless song shall tell,
+ When many a vanished age hath flown,
+ The story how ye fell:
+ Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,
+ Nor Time's remorseless gloom,
+ Shall dim one ray of glory's light
+ That gilds your deathless tomb.
+
+
+[Illustration: From "The Army and Navy of the United States."
+ AMERICAN PRIVATEER TAKING POSSESSION OF A PRIZE.]
+
+
+
+
+JOHN PAUL JONES
+
+THE FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN NAVY
+
+(1747-1792)
+
+
+ "Every generation has its own war. To forget the
+ disagreeable is a characteristic of the human
+ mind."--_The Philosopher._
+
+
+JOHN PAUL JONES
+
+THE FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN NAVY
+
+(1747-1792)
+
+ "Why! Shiver my bones! It's John Paul Jones!
+ Johnny the Pirate! Johnny should swing!
+ Johnny who hails from Old Scotlant y' know,
+ Johnny who's tryin' to fight our good King.
+ Shiver my Timbers! We'll catch the old fox!
+ _Clew up those top-sails! Ware o' th' shoals!_
+ _Fire 'cross his bow-lines! Steer for th' rocks!_
+ _Ease away on the jib-boom; shoot as she rolls!_
+
+ "Oh! Johnny, my Johnny, you're slick as can be,
+ But, Johnny, My John, you'll be nipped present-ly."
+
+ --_Song of the English Privateers._--1794.
+
+
+A French frigate lay in the silvery water off Norfolk, Virginia, and,
+as she swung quietly upon her anchor chains, a small sloop came
+bobbing alongside. A hail arose from her stern, where sat a man of
+about twenty-eight years; of medium stature, strongly built and
+swarthy. He was dressed in the gray clothing of a Virginian planter.
+
+"Hallo," he shouted in very good French. "May I come aboard?"
+
+"_Certainement! Certainement!_" cried a French officer, as he neared
+the rail. "Welcome, Monsieur Jones!"
+
+And, as the Virginian farmer scrambled upon the deck, he was greeted
+most effusively by a handsome nobleman. It was Louis Philippe Joseph,
+Duke de Chartres; known as "the Sailor Prince of France." The
+Virginian was John Paul Jones, of "Whitehaven" upon the river
+Rappahannock.
+
+"I bring you delicacies of the season from my garden," said the
+planter, smiling. "Some for you, and some for the commander--the
+Commodore de Kersaint. I trust that you will accept them, with my
+kindest regards. Meanwhile, I beg that you will give me leave to
+inspect your vessel and obtain information in regard to her plan,
+construction of the hull, arrangement of the batteries, her spars, her
+rig and other technical particulars. For, know you, Gentlemen, that
+war has just commenced between Great Britain and her Colonies and the
+newly-formed Marine Department of the Government will require a
+knowledge of ships and their construction. Partly for this I have
+visited you."
+
+Kersaint's face grew sober.
+
+"Monsieur Jones," said he, "I have just heard the news from Lexington
+and I am the senior officer upon this coast. France is at peace with
+England. The situation for me is a delicate one. I must refuse to
+allow you to sketch any plans of my vessel."
+
+But the young Duke de Chartres looked upon the matter in a different
+light.
+
+"You shall have all the assistance from me that you wish," he cried.
+"I do not fear the displeasure of England."
+
+So the Virginian planter was allowed to obtain the most complete data
+of the new frigate, even to copies of deck plans and sail spread,
+which he caused his carpenter to make. John Paul Jones was the guest
+of the Frenchman for two or three days.
+
+"And now you will visit my plantation," said he, when the time came
+for him to leave. "Is it not so? For there I can repay some of the
+kindnesses which you have shown me."
+
+"That we cannot do," replied the French commander. "It would be most
+impolitic for us to accept entertainment ashore from persons known to
+be hostile to King George. But we thank you, exceedingly, for your
+kind offer."
+
+So John Paul Jones proceeded alone to his plantation, and the French
+warship sailed for Corunna, Spain, after firing one gun as a salute to
+the new-born nation.
+
+The son of a Scotch gardener of Arbigland, Parish of Kirkbean, the
+youthful farmer had emigrated to America, where his brother owned the
+large plantation upon which he now resided. He found his kinsman dying
+of what was then called lung fever--in our time pneumonia--and, as he
+willed him his Virginian possessions, Jones was soon residing upon
+"3,000 acres of prime land, on the right bank of the Rappahannock;
+1,000 acres cleared and under plough, or grass; with 2,000 acres of
+strong, first-growth timber." He had a grist-mill; a mansion;
+overseer's houses; negro quarters; stables; tobacco houses; threshing
+floors; thirty negroes of all ages; twenty horses and colts; eighty
+neat cattle and calves; and many sheep and swine. Thus lived the
+future sea-captain; in peace, plenty, and seclusion, at the outbreak
+of the American Revolution.
+
+John Paul Jones had gone to sea at the early age of twelve. As a
+master's apprentice upon the stout brig _Friendship_, he had sailed
+from Scotland to the North American Colonies, the West Indies, and
+back again. He had kept to his seaman's life, and--so improved in
+knowledge of his profession--that he became second mate; then first
+mate; then Captain. At twenty-one he had amassed a fortune of about
+one thousand guineas ($5,000) in gold,--then equal, in purchasing
+power, to three times this sum. Besides this he had studied French and
+Spanish assiduously, so that he could speak the first like a native.
+It was to be of great help to the ambitious mariner. And he had plenty
+of nerve, as the following incident bears full witness:
+
+Upon one of his many voyages, the crew was reduced, by fever, to five
+or six hands. One of them was a huge mulatto named Munro--or
+"Mungo"--Maxwell. They became mutinous, and, as Captain Jones was the
+only officer who could keep the deck, it was found necessary to subdue
+the refractory seaman.
+
+"Will you obey my orders?" cried Jones, picking up a belaying pin.
+
+"You go sit down," cried Maxwell. "I no like you. _Pish!_ I could kill
+you with one crack."
+
+John Paul Jones did not answer, but walking towards the big black, he
+struck him just one blow with his pin. "Mungo" dropped to the deck and
+lay there. He never rose again.
+
+Upon arriving at port, Captain Jones surrendered to the authorities,
+and asked for a trial. It was given him.
+
+"Captain Paul," asked the Judge, "are you, in conscience, satisfied
+that you used no more force than was necessary to preserve discipline
+on your ship?"
+
+"May it please the most Honorable Court, Sir," answered the doughty
+seaman, "it became imperative to strike the mutinous sailor, Maxwell.
+Whenever it becomes necessary for a commanding officer to hit a
+seaman, it is also necessary to strike with a weapon. I may say that
+the necessity to strike carries with it the necessity to kill, or to
+completely disable the mutineer. I had two brace of loaded pistols in
+my belt, and could easily have shot him. I struck with a belaying pin
+in preference, because I hoped that I might subdue him without killing
+him. But the result proved otherwise. I trust that the Honorable Court
+and the jury will take due account of the fact that, though amply
+provided with pistols throwing ounce balls, necessarily fatal weapons,
+I used a belaying pin, which, though dangerous, is not necessarily a
+fatal weapon."
+
+The judge smiled and Captain Paul was acquitted.
+
+The famous Lord Nelson once said: "A naval officer, unlike a military
+commander, can have no fixed plans. He must always be ready for _the_
+chance. It may come to-morrow, or next week, or next year, or never;
+but he must be _always ready_!" Nunquam non Paratus. (Never
+unprepared.)
+
+Paul Jones kept a copy of this maxim in his head. He was always in
+training; always on the _qui vive_; always prepared. And--because he
+was always prepared--he accomplished what would seem to be the
+impossible.
+
+Shortly placed in command of a sloop-of-war, the _Alfred_ (one of the
+four vessels which constituted the American Navy), Lieutenant Jones
+assisted in an expedition against Fort Nassau, New Providence Island,
+in the Bahamas, which was a complete and absolute failure. On the way
+home, and when passing the end of Long Island, his boat was chased by
+the twenty-gun sloop-of-war _Glasgow_. The long shot kicked up a lot
+of spray around the fleet American vessel, but it was of no use. Jones
+got away and sailed into Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, with sails full
+of holes and stern-posts peppered with lead. But he was created a
+Captain; placed in command of the _Providence_--sloop-of-war, fourteen
+guns and one hundred and seven men--and soon harried the seas in
+search of fighting and adventure. With him were two faithful negro
+boys--Cato and Scipio--who followed him through the many vicissitudes
+of the Revolutionary War.
+
+The seas traversed by the _Providence_ were full of English
+cruisers--superior in size to the saucy American--but inferior in
+alertness and resources of her commander and her crew. She captured
+sixteen vessels--of which eight were sent to port and eight were
+destroyed at sea. Twice she was chased by British frigates, and, on
+one of these occasions, narrowly escaped capture.
+
+As the little sloop was running into one of the many harbors of the
+coast, a fast-sailing frigate bore down upon her from the starboard
+quarter.
+
+_Whang!_
+
+Her bow-guns spoke and said "Heave to!"
+
+But Captain Jones had heard this call before, and kept on upon his
+course.
+
+"She's got me," said he. "But, as the breeze is fresh I may run away.
+Stand ready, Boys, and let go your tackle immediate, when I give the
+command!"
+
+The helm was now put hard-up and the _Providence_ crept into the wind.
+Closer and closer came the brig--now her bow-guns sputtered--and a
+shot ricochetted near the lean prow of the _Providence_. But the sloop
+kept on.
+
+Suddenly--just as the brig drew alongside--Paul Jones swung his rudder
+over, wore around in the wind, and ran dead to leeward.
+
+"Watch her sniffle!" cried the gallant Captain, as the brig
+_chug-chugged_ on the dancing waves, and, endeavoring to box short
+about, came up into the wind. But fortune favored the American
+skipper. Just then a squall struck the Englishman; she lost steering
+way; and hung upon the waves like a huge rubber ball, while her
+Captain said things that cannot be printed.
+
+When in this condition, Jones ran his boat within half gun-shot, gave
+her a dose of iron from one of his stern-guns, and--before the
+frigate could get squared away--was pounding off before the wind,
+which was the sloop's best point of sailing.
+
+"Well," said the crafty John Paul, his face wreathed in smiles. "If
+the frigate had simply followed my manoeuver of wearing around under
+easy helm and trimming her sails as the wind bore, I could not have
+distanced her much in the alteration of the course, and she must have
+come off the wind very nearly with me, and before I could get out of
+range.
+
+"I do not take to myself too great credit for getting away. I did the
+best that I could, but there was more luck than sense to it. A good or
+bad puff of wind foils all kinds of skill one way or the other--and
+this time when I saw the little squall cat's-pawing to windward--I
+thought that I would ware ship and see if the Britisher wouldn't get
+taken aback. The old saying that 'Discretion is the better part of
+valor' may, I think, be changed to 'Impudence is--or may be,
+sometimes--the better part of discretion.'"
+
+Two kinds of news greeted the slippery sailor when he arrived in port.
+One was a letter from Thomas Jefferson, enclosing his commission as
+Captain in the Continental Navy, by Act of Congress. The other--an
+epistle from his agents in Virginia, informing him that, during the
+month of July previous, his plantation had been utterly ravaged by an
+expedition of British and Tories (Virginians who sided with England in
+the war) under Lord Dunmore. His buildings had all been burned; his
+wharf demolished; his livestock killed; and every one of his
+able-bodied slaves of both sexes had been carried off to Jamaica to
+be sold. The enemy had also destroyed his growing crops; cut down his
+fruit trees; in short, nothing was left of his once prosperous and
+valuable plantation but the bare ground.
+
+"This is part of the fortunes of war," said Jones. "I accept the
+extreme animosity displayed by Lord Dunmore as a compliment to the
+sincerity of my attachment to the cause of liberty."
+
+Bold words, well spoken by a bold man!
+
+"But," continued the able sailor, "I most sadly deplore the fate of my
+poor negroes. The plantation was to them a home, not a place of
+bondage. Their existence was a species of grown-up childhood, not
+slavery. Now they are torn away and carried off to die under the
+pestilence and lash of Jamaica cane-fields; and the price of their
+poor bodies will swell the pockets of English slave-traders. For this
+cruelty to those innocent, harmless people, I hope sometime, somehow,
+to find an opportunity to exact a reckoning."
+
+Again bold sentiments,--and the reckoning, too, was forthcoming.
+
+"I have no fortune left but my sword, and no prospect except that of
+getting alongside of the enemy," wrote the impoverished sea-captain to
+a Mr. Hewes.
+
+This prospect also was to soon have ample fulfilment.
+
+Ordered to take command of the _Alfred_, Captain Jones made a short
+cruise eastward, in 1776, accompanied by the staunch little
+_Providence_. The journey lasted only thirty-three days, but, during
+that time, seven ships of the enemy fell into the clutches of the two
+American vessels.
+
+"Aha!" cried Captain Jones, as he rubbed his hands. "This looks more
+propitious for our cause. We have taken the _Mellish_ and the
+_Biddeford_. Let us break into them and see how much of the King's
+treasure has been secured."
+
+And it was indeed good treasure!
+
+The _Mellish_ was found to contain ten thousand complete uniforms,
+including cloaks, boots, socks and woollen shirts, for the winter
+supply of General Howe's army; seven thousand pairs of blankets; one
+thousand four hundred tents; six hundred saddles and complete cavalry
+equipments; one million seven hundred thousand rounds of fixed
+ammunition (musket cartridges); a large quantity of medical stores;
+forty cases of surgical instruments; and forty-six soldiers who were
+recruits sent out to join the various British regiments then serving
+in the Colonies.
+
+The larger prize--the _Biddeford_--carried one thousand seven hundred
+fur overcoats for the use of the Canadian troops; eleven thousand
+pairs of blankets, intended partly for the British troops in Canada,
+and partly for the Indians then in British pay along the northern
+frontier; one thousand small-bore guns of the type then known as the
+"Indian-trade smooth-bore," with hatchets, knives, and boxes of flint
+in proportion, to arm the redskins. There were eight light six-pounder
+field guns and complete harness and other equipage for the two
+four-gun batteries of horse-artillery. Also some wines and table
+supplies for Sir Guy Carleton and a case of fine Galway duelling
+pistols for a British officer then serving in Canada.
+
+"These I will appropriate as mine own portion," cried Captain Jones.
+"And also a share of the wines, for I must have something to drink the
+health of mine enemy in." And--so saying--he chuckled gleefully. It
+had been a rich haul.
+
+But the Captain was not happy. His pet project was to cruise in
+European waters, and he wanted to get near the British coast with a
+ship--or better--a squadron of some force.
+
+"Cruises along the American coast," said he, "will annoy the enemy and
+result in capture of small ships and consorts from time to time. But
+who--forsooth--will hear of this in Europe? We will add nothing to our
+prestige as a new nation if we win victories upon this side of the
+ocean."
+
+All who heard him were much impressed by the vehement earnestness of
+his arguments.
+
+"You have had so much success, Mr. Jones," said they, "that we feel
+you will have still greater good fortune in future years."
+
+And Jones said to himself: "Oh, if I only could get the chance!"
+
+It soon came, for on June the 14th, 1777, the Continental Congress
+passed the following resolution:
+
+"_Resolved:_ That Captain John Paul Jones be appointed to command the
+ship _Ranger_" (a brand-new sloop-of-war which had just been launched
+at Portsmouth, N. H.).
+
+This boat was designed to carry a battery of twenty long six-pounders
+and was planned expressly for speed. She was one hundred and sixteen
+feet long, twenty-eight feet in breadth, and her bottom was covered
+with copper: the first American ship to be thus protected. Captain
+Jones put fourteen long nine-pounders in her and only four
+six-pounders, but even then she was top-heavy.
+
+In spite of the fact that it was not quite safe to carry full sail, if
+clearing to windward, close-hauled in squally weather; when running
+free--before the wind--she could course through the water like a
+jack-rabbit. In outward appearance she was a perfect beauty, and, as
+she was rather low in the water for her length, and her masts raked
+two or three degrees more than any other ship of the day, she was--on
+the whole--the sauciest craft afloat. Jones was delighted.
+
+"I have the best crew I have ever seen," said he. "I believe it is the
+best in the world. They are nearly all native Americans, and the
+proportion of able seamen to the total is much beyond the average. I'm
+going to make one or two short runs off the coast--a day or two at a
+time--to shake down the sails and find the best trim of the ship. Then
+away to the shores of England and France!"
+
+He waited impatiently for orders to proceed across the blue Atlantic.
+On October the 18th, 1777, a courier raced frantically into
+Portsmouth, crying,
+
+"Burgoyne has surrendered! Burgoyne has surrendered!" And Jones'
+impatience to be off increased ten-fold.
+
+There were no details of the American victory, for the courier had
+reached the sleepy New England town from the field of Stillwater, in
+about thirty hours, and it was one hundred and forty-seven miles--as
+the crow flies--or, about one hundred and seventy-five by the shortest
+road. He had stopped only long enough to saddle a fresh horse and
+shift his saddle, eating his meals in the stirrups, and never thinking
+of rest until he had shouted his tidings for three full days. The
+patriot country was wild with enthusiasm.
+
+"I will spread the news in France in thirty days," said Jones, when
+his dispatches were placed in his hands, about midnight of October
+the thirty-first. And, running by the whirling eddies of
+"Pull-and-be-damned" Point, he soon had the _Ranger_ clear of the
+low-lying Isle of Shoals: the sea cross and choppy, but the good
+ship bowling along before a fresh gale of wind.
+
+"I had sailed with many Captains," writes Elijah Hall, second
+Lieutenant of the staunch, little vessel, "but I never had seen a ship
+crowded as Captain Jones drove the _Ranger_. The wind held
+northeasterly and fresh 'til we cleared Sable Island and began to draw
+on to the Banks. Then it came northeast and east-northeast with many
+snow squalls, and thick of nights."
+
+Imagine the situation of the _Ranger_'s crew, with a top-heavy,
+cranky ship under their feet, and a Commander who day and night
+insisted on every rag she could stagger under, without laying clear
+down!
+
+As it was, she came close to beam-ends more than once, and on one
+occasion righted only by letting-fly her sheets cut with hatchets.
+During all this trying work Captain Jones was his own navigating
+officer, keeping the deck eighteen or twenty hours out of the
+twenty-four; often serving extra grog to the men with his own hands;
+and, by his example, silencing all disposition to grumble. In the
+worst of it, the watch and watch was lap-watched, so that the men
+would be eight hours on to four off; but no one complained. It speaks
+well alike for commander and crew that not a man was punished or even
+severely reprimanded during the terrific voyage.
+
+But Captain Jones made good his boast. He actually did land at
+Nantes--upon the coast of France--early in the morning of December
+second, 1777, thirty-two days out from Portsmouth. His crew were
+jubilant, and sang a song which ran:
+
+ "So now we had him hard and fast,
+ Burgoyne laid down his arms at last,
+ And that is why we brave the blast,
+ To carry the news to London!
+ Heigh-ho! Carry the News!
+ Go! Go! Carry the News!
+ Tell old King George that he's undone!
+ He's licked by the Yankee squirrel gun.
+ Go!
+ Go!
+ Carry the news to London!"
+
+And Captain John made haste to proceed to Paris, placing the
+dispatches in the hands of Dr. Franklin early upon the fifth day of
+December,--travelling two hundred and twenty miles in sixty hours. He
+returned to his ship about the middle of the month, to find that
+several of the crew were mutinous.
+
+"See here, Captain," said one--a seaman from Portsmouth, New
+Hampshire--"Me and my pals enlisted at home after readin' a hand-bill
+which said that we wuz to get $40.00 apiece extra, for this cruise.
+Now, your young Lieutenant tells us that the reg'lations of Congress
+say that we are to only get th' reg'lar salary allotted by those old
+pals, who make our laws. We came with you thinkin' that we wuz ter git
+this money, and, by gum, we intend to git it!"
+
+"Calm yourself, my good fellow," said Jones soothingly. "If the
+hand-bill said that you were to receive $40.00 you shall have it. You
+shall get this sum even if I have to pay it myself."
+
+And this he did.
+
+"I would not deceive any man who has entered or may enter, to serve in
+my command," remarked John Paul Jones. "I consider myself as being
+under a personal obligation to these brave men, who have cheerfully
+enlisted to serve with me, and I accept their act as a proof of their
+good opinion of me, which I value so highly, that I cannot permit it
+to be dampened in the least degree, by misunderstanding, or failure to
+perform engagements. I wish all my men to be happy and contented. The
+conditions of the hand-bills will be strictly complied with."
+
+Accordingly he disbursed one hundred and forty-seven guineas (about
+$800.00) out of his own pocket, in making good the terms of the
+hand-bill. Is it any wonder that the gallant seaman was popular with
+his followers?
+
+But the _Ranger_ lay at Brest--eager for action--her light sails
+furled; her spars shining with new varnish; her polished guns winking
+in the rays of the sun.
+
+"Come, my Hearties!" cried Captain Jones on April the 10th, "we'll hie
+us out to the west coast of Ireland and see if our new ship cannot
+make a good name for herself."
+
+Sails were hoisted upon the staunch, little vessel. Her bow was turned
+toward the ocean--and--with the new flag of the infant republic
+fluttering from her masts, the _Ranger_ went forth for battle, for
+plunder, and for glory. She was to get a little of each.
+
+Arriving off the coast of Cumberland, and, learning from fishermen
+decoyed on board, that there was a large amount of shipping in the
+harbor of Whitehaven, with no warship of superior force in the
+neighborhood to protect it, the bold American skipper resolved to make
+a dash into this quiet cove, with a view of destroying the ships there
+in port. The British authorities had no suspicion of his presence in
+the Irish Sea.
+
+As the _Ranger_ drew near to Whitehaven, the wind blew such a gale
+from the southwest, that it was impossible to land a boat.
+
+"We must hold off until the breeze slackens!" cried bold Captain
+Jones. "This cannot last forever, and our opportunity will soon be
+here."
+
+Sure enough--the wind died out about midnight of April 22nd--and the
+_Ranger_ beat up towards the town. When about five hundred yards from
+the shore, the vessel was hove to--two boats were lowered--and
+twenty-nine seamen, with third Lieutenant Wallingford, Midshipmen
+Arthur Green and Charles Hill, jumped into them. With Jones in command
+they hastened toward the coast.
+
+The surprise was complete. Two small forts lay at the mouth of the
+harbor, but, as the seamen scrambled ashore, they were precipitately
+abandoned by the garrison of "coast-guards." Captain Jones, Midshipman
+Green, and six men rushed shouting upon one of these, capturing it
+without an effort; the other was taken by Lieutenant Wallingford and
+eight sailors,--while four were left behind as a boat-guard. A few
+pistols spattered, a few muskets rang; but, when the stout sea-dogs
+reached the tidal basin, where the shipping lay, the townsfolk were
+thoroughly aroused. Burning cotton was thrown on board of the ships
+lying at anchor, but only one took fire. It was full daylight, and the
+insignificance of Jones' force became evident to the townsfolk, who
+were rallying from all directions.
+
+"Retreat to the ships," shouted the Yankee Captain, "there is no time
+to lose!"
+
+The landing party--small as it was--had become separated into two
+groups; one commanded by Jones, the other by Wallingford. Thinking
+that Wallingford's party was, for the moment, more seriously menaced
+than his own, Jones attacked and dispersed--with his dozen men--a
+force of about one hundred of the local militia who were endeavoring
+to retake the lower fort, or battery, whose guns had been spiked by
+the Americans. The townsfolk and coast-guards had joined and were
+making a vigorous assault upon Wallingford. But shots flew thick and
+fast from the muskets of the followers of the daring Paul Jones--as
+they retreated to their own boats. The whole landing party--with the
+exception of one man--finally leaped safely into the boat, and were on
+board the _Ranger_ before the sun was an hour over the horizon.
+
+Jones was delighted.
+
+"The actual results of this affair," said he, "are of little moment,
+as we destroyed but one ship. The moral effect--however--is very
+great, as it has taught the English that the fancied security of their
+coasts is a Myth."
+
+In fact this little raid of the valiant John Paul made the Government
+take expensive measures for the defense of numerous ports hitherto
+relying for protection upon the vigilance and supposed omnipotence of
+the navy. It also doubled the rates of marine insurance; which was the
+most grievous damage of all.
+
+"Now to attack a castle!" cried Jones, "and bag an Earl, too, if he is
+around!"
+
+The _Ranger_ was headed for Solway Firth--not more than three hours'
+sail away--where, upon St. Mary's Isle, was the castle of the Earl of
+Selkirk.
+
+"If we can catch the noble owner of this keep," said John Paul, "we
+will hold him as hostage for the better treatment of American
+prisoners in England."
+
+As luck would have it, the Earl was away at this particular time, and,
+although the wild sea-dogs of the _Ranger_ carried off several pieces
+of silverware from the castle, this was all that was captured. Lucky
+Earl! But, had he fallen into the clutches of John Paul, he would have
+been treated with the greatest consideration, for the Captain of the
+_Ranger_ was the most chivalrous of conquerors.
+
+The _Ranger_ stood across the Irish Channel and next day ran into some
+fisher boats.
+
+"Ah! Ha!" laughed one of the sons of Ireland. "The _Drake_--the
+guard-ship at Carrickfergus--is after you, and she's a twenty-gun
+sloop-of-war."
+
+John Paul smiled.
+
+"To lessen trouble," said he, "I'll heave-to off the mouth of Belfast
+Lough and wait for her to work out. This will save her the pains of
+coming after me."
+
+So he luffed his ship, lay to, and waited for the _Drake_ to sail on.
+Her white sails could be seen more clearly as she neared the
+adventurous American. A boat was sent out to reconnoitre--but--as it
+approached, it was surrounded by tenders from the _Ranger_; a
+midshipman and five men in her, were made prisoners. Tide and wind
+were both against the _Drake_; she came on slowly; and, at an hour
+before sundown, was just within hail. The sea was fairly smooth, the
+wind southerly and very light.
+
+"What ship is that?" sounded from the deck of the _Drake_.
+
+"The American Continental ship _Ranger_," rang the clear reply. "Lay
+on! We are waiting for you!"
+
+Both ships bore away before the wind and neared each other to within
+striking distance. _Boom!_ a broadside roared from the side of the
+_Drake_, and the fight had begun.
+
+_Crash! Crash!_ Muskets spoke from the rigging of the _Ranger_, where
+several seamen had climbed in the endeavor to pick off the gunners on
+the deck of the British warship. There were one hundred and
+fifty-seven men upon the _Drake_; Paul Jones had one hundred and
+twenty-six. The _Drake_'s battery was sixteen nine-pounders and four
+sixes. Thus--you see--the advantage was clearly with the Britishers.
+
+Both boats swung along under full canvas, pounding away at each other
+like prize-fighters. Spars were shattered; sails ripped; masts
+splintered in the hail of iron. And--as the fight progressed--it could
+be plainly seen that the marksmanship of those upon the _Drake_ was
+infinitely less accurate than that of the Americans.
+
+"Every shot of our men told," said Jones--not long afterwards. "They
+gave the _Drake_ three broadsides for two, right along, at that. The
+behavior of my crew in this engagement more than justifies the
+representations I have often made, of what American sailors would do,
+if given a chance at the enemy in his own waters. We have seen that
+they fight with courage on our own coast--but fought here, almost
+in hail of the enemy's shore."
+
+[Illustration: From "The Army and Navy of the United States."
+ "BEGAN TO HULL THE 'DRAKE' BELOW THE WATER-LINE."]
+
+As the two ships were going off the wind, which was light, they both
+rolled considerably, and together; that is, when the _Ranger_ went
+down to port, the _Drake_ came up to starboard. The gunners upon the
+quarter-deck of the _Ranger_ timed their guns, so that they were fired
+as their muzzles went down and the enemy's side arose. By this
+practice they began to hull the _Drake_ below the water-line.
+
+"Sink the English! Sink the English!" cried the powder-blackened
+fighters.
+
+But Captain Jones thought differently.
+
+"Don't sink her!" he yelled to gunner Starbuck, above the din of
+battle. "I want to take her alive, instead of destroying her; for it
+will be much more to our advantage if we carry her as a visible prize
+into a French port."
+
+"All right, Cap'n!" shouted his men. "We'll cripple her aloft!"
+
+They now fired as the muzzles rose, and, so terrific were their
+broadsides, that the fore and main topsail-yards came tumbling across
+the starboard quarter, in a tangle of ropes, sails, and rigging.
+
+"Rake her! Rake her!" shouted Jones to his men.
+
+The _Ranger_ luffed and crossed the stern of the _Drake_ with the
+purpose of spanking a full broadside down her decks. The British boat
+was badly crippled and had lost steering way.
+
+But, before the well-aimed guns belched another destructive volley
+into the shattered Englishman, a white flag went aloft, and a voice
+came: "Hold your fire. We surrender!" The _Drake_ was a
+prisoner-of-war.
+
+Thus Paul Jones had won a notable victory, and thus he had proved that
+the British were not invincible, and could be defeated, upon the sea,
+by their own cousins, as readily as upon the land.
+
+When the _Ranger_ lay in the harbor of Brest, a few days later, with
+the _Drake_ alongside, boats crowded about in order to view the vessel
+which had captured another,--larger than herself. And, as the _Ranger_
+had taken three merchant ships on the way to the coast of France, the
+black eyes of the natives shone with beady lustre as they gazed upon
+the graceful hull of the victorious sloop-of-war from Portsmouth, New
+Hampshire.
+
+"See Monsieur Jones," said they, as they nudged each other. "Voila!
+Here is a man who is better than our own sailors. Look at this
+American sea-devil!"
+
+And the chest of John Paul Jones swelled with pride.
+
+Eager and active, the gallant Commodore was most unhappy during the
+next few months, for the _Ranger_ was ordered back to America--under
+his Lieutenant Simpson. Twenty-seven of his crew, however, elected to
+remain and fight with him, when he should get another command,--among
+them a little Narragansett Indian called Antony Jeremiah.
+
+"Me like to see big gun shoot," said he. "Me like to walk on deck of
+enemy's big boat when you take it! Byme-by we take bigger ship than
+_Drake_ and kill heap more enemy! Ugh! Ugh!"
+
+At this John Paul laughed.
+
+"Antony Jeremiah," said he, "you shall witness one big fight if you
+stay with John Paul. You wait and see!"
+
+And what John Paul had said soon came to pass.
+
+"The French," writes the doughty warrior, "have little conception of
+an expedition such as I propose; to harry the coast and destroy the
+commerce of the enemy. Their idea is to leave all of that to
+privateers, of which I have already been offered a dozen commands.
+Some of the ships they fit out as privateers are really respectable
+frigates in size, and I have seen one, called the _Monsieur_, that
+mounts thirty-eight or forty guns. But I do not wish to engage in
+privateering. My object is not that of private gain, but to serve the
+public in a way that may reflect credit on our infant navy and give
+prestige to our country over the sea."
+
+Noble sentiments--nobly expressed!
+
+In spite of the gloomy outlook he at last secured a vessel from the
+King himself, called the _Duras_, which he re-christened "_Le Bon
+Homme Richard_"--"_The Good Richard_"--the name assumed by Dr.
+Benjamin Franklin when writing his famous "Almanack," except that he
+called him "Poor Richard." This was a well-merited compliment to the
+great and good man, who was then Commissioner from the United States
+to France, and a firm friend to the ardent John Paul. The vessel had
+forty guns, "and," writes the Minister of Marine, "as you may find
+too much difficulty in enlisting a sufficient number of Americans, the
+King permits you to levy French volunteers, until you obtain a full
+crew."
+
+John Paul hastened to get her ready for a cruise. "I mounted
+twenty-eight long twelve-pounders on the gun-deck," he says, "put
+eight of the long nines on the quarter-deck, and discarded the
+six-pounders of her old battery. This gave her a battery of forty-two
+guns, throwing two hundred and fifty-eight pounds of metal in a single
+broadside. She was the fair equivalent of a thirty-six gun frigate."
+
+From February to June she was worked over; refitted; resparred. On
+June 19th, 1779, the gallant John Paul Jones swung out into the
+English Channel; he, himself, in command of the _Good Richard_, which
+carried a crew of three hundred and seventy-five, not more than fifty
+of whom were Americans. Four other vessels were with him: the
+_Alliance_, a thirty-two gun frigate; the _Pallas_, a twenty-eight gun
+frigate; the _Vengeance_, a twelve gun brig; and the _Cerf_, a cutter.
+
+On the second day out the _Alliance_ fouled the _Richard_, causing so
+much damage to both, that the squadron was compelled to return to port
+for repairs, which--with other transactions--consumed six weeks. But
+the accident was a lucky one, for numerous American sailors, who were
+in English prisons, were shortly exchanged with English seamen in
+French dungeons; and thus Paul Jones was able to man the _Good
+Richard_ with one hundred and fourteen native Americans, who were
+anxious to have a crack at those who had captured them but a short
+time before.
+
+Finally, with refitted ships and reorganized crews, Paul Jones was
+ready to sail from the roadstead of Isle de Groaix, in the early part
+of August, 1779, bound upon his cruise around the British Islands.
+There were four ships in this squadron: the _Good Richard_; the
+_Alliance_, under Pierre Landais (a depraved and dishonest Frenchman);
+the _Pallas_, under Cottineau (an honest Frenchman); and the
+_Vengeance_, a sloop-of-war. The prevailing winds were light and
+baffling, so the squadron moved slowly.
+
+War had been declared between France and England, and thus the English
+Channel was thronged with privateers from both countries. The
+_Richard_ and a French privateer, in company, re-captured a large ship
+belonging to Holland, but bound from Barcelona to Dunkirk, France,
+which had been taken some days before by an English vessel off Cape
+Ortegal and ordered into Falmouth, England. England and Holland were
+still at peace, at this time, but the English claimed the right to
+intercept and send into their own port for examination, all neutral
+vessels bound to French ports, as England and France were then at war.
+Commodore Jones took the English prize-crew out of the Dutch ship, as
+prisoners of war, and then ordered the ship into l'Orient in charge of
+her own crew, but under the command of one of his midshipmen, until
+she could come under the protection of a French port.
+
+"Things are going well with us!" cried Captain Jones, rubbing his
+hands gleefully.
+
+He soon felt much happier. For, on the morning of August 23rd, when in
+the vicinity of Cape Clear, the _Richard_ sent three boats, and
+afterwards a fourth, to take a brig that was becalmed in the northwest
+quarter--just out of gun-shot. It proved to be the _Fortune_, of
+Bristol, bound from Newfoundland for her home-port with whale-oil,
+salt fish, and barrel staves. Manned by a prize-crew of two warrant
+officers and six men, she was sent to Nantes.
+
+All were happy. All were looking forward to a good fight. It was to
+come to them.
+
+The little fleet of war-dogs sailed northward, and, on September 1st,
+about ten o'clock in the morning, the northwest promontory of Scotland
+was sighted. At the same instant, two large ships bore in sight on the
+same quarter, and another vessel appeared to windward.
+
+"Bear up! Bear up!" cried Jones.
+
+The _Richard_ held over toward the first two ships until he saw that
+it was the _Alliance_ and a prize she had taken about daylight,--a
+vessel bound for Jamaica, from London.
+
+"Now chase the other fellow!" he cried, turning the wheel with his own
+hands, and soon the _Good Richard_ was bounding over the waves in hard
+pursuit of the second sail. Slowly but surely she was overhauled.
+Heavily armed, she did not surrender until after the exchange of
+several shots, which the _Richard_ pumped into her, after running up
+close enough to show her broadside.
+
+A boat soon carried a number of seamen to take possession of her, and
+she proved to be the British privateer, the _Union_, mounting
+twenty-two six-pounders, and bound northward from London to Quebec, in
+Canada, laden with a cargo of naval and military stores for the
+British troops and flotillas on the Lakes. The _Union_ also carried a
+valuable mail, including dispatches for Sir William Howe, in New York,
+and Sir Guy Carleton, in Canada. "These were lost," writes John Paul
+to good Doctor Franklin, at Paris, for the _Alliance_ imprudently
+showed American colors, though English colors were still flying on the
+_Bon Homme Richard_; "the enemy thereby being induced to throw his
+papers of importance overboard before we could take possession of
+him." The prizes were manned from the _Alliance_ and sent (by Landais)
+into the seaport of Bergen, in Norway.
+
+The squadron now beat down the east coast of Scotland, and, after
+capturing five or six small prizes, rounded-to off the Firth of Forth.
+
+"I intend to attack the port of Leith!" cried Jones, "as I understand
+that it is defended only by a small guard-ship of twenty-two guns, and
+an old fortification (old Leith Fort) garrisoned by a detachment of
+Militia."
+
+The wind was adverse, blowing off shore, with frequent heavy squalls,
+but about noon of the 17th of September, the _Richard_ and the
+_Pallas_ beat up within gun-shot of Leith Fort and were lowering away
+their tenders in order to land, when a heavy Northwest gale sprang up,
+compelling them to hoist their boats, and put to sea. The gale lasted
+about twenty-four hours, but, on the morning of the 19th, the wind
+took another turn, the sea grew calm, and Jones proposed to renew the
+attack upon Leith. The Commander of the _Pallas_ made strong objection
+to this. "I do not believe that we should stay here," cried he. "If we
+persist in the attempt to remain on this station three days longer, we
+shall have a squadron of heavy frigates, if not a ship of line, to
+deal with. Convinced of this, I offer it as my judgment that we had
+better work along the shore to-day and to-morrow, as far as Spurn
+Head, and then, if we do not fall in with the Baltic merchant fleet,
+stand off the coast and make the best of our way to Dunkirk."
+
+Commodore Jones spent a few moments in reflection. "You are probably
+right, Cottineau," said he. "I only wish that another man like you
+were in command of the _Alliance_. However, we cannot help what is and
+must make the best of it. Go aboard your ship and make sail to the
+south-southwest. Speak the _Vengeance_ as you run down, and tell
+Ricot--her commander--to rendezvous off Spurn Head. I will bring up
+the rear with this ship. We may fall in with the Baltic fleet between
+here and Scarboro', which is usually their first English port of
+destination at this time of the year. Should you happen to sight the
+_Alliance_, inform Captain Landais of our destination, but do not
+communicate it to him as an order, because that would be likely to
+expose you only to insult."
+
+The two ships turned South, and the next three days were without
+events of importance. At length they neared the harbor of Scarboro',
+and, as they hovered about twelve miles off the land, they saw some
+vessels making for the shore, and protecting a fleet of merchantmen.
+
+"They're a heavy man-of-war--either a fifty-gun frigate, or a
+fifty-four--with a large ship-of-war in company," cried one of his
+Lieutenants, who had been watching them through a glass. "The Captain
+of the larger one has cleverly manoeuvered to protect his merchant
+ship."
+
+Commodore Jones seemed to be much pleased.
+
+"At last we'll have a little fight," cried he. "Bear hard for the
+land, and get between the larger vessel and the shore!"
+
+Captain Cottineau was signalled to and requested to go after the
+sloop-of-war. About sundown the _Richard_ succeeded in weathering the
+large frigate and manoeuvered between her and the land.
+
+The ships neared each other very gradually, for the breeze was slight.
+They were on opposite tacks and Commodore Jones readily made out the
+force and rate of his antagonist. By the light of the dying day--for
+it was about seven P. M.--he saw that she was a new forty-four; a
+perfect beauty. It was the _Serapis_--Captain Richard Pearson
+commanding--but six months off the stocks and on her first cruise as a
+convoy to the Baltic fleet of merchantmen: consisting of about forty
+vessels laden with timber and other naval stores for the use of the
+British dockyards. Jones had hoped to have an opportunity to attack
+this flotilla, but his plans had been frustrated by the vigilance and
+skill of the commander of the men-of-war in convoy.
+
+Even now Landais might have got among the merchantmen in the
+fast-sailing _Alliance_, while Jones and Cottineau occupied the
+attention of the two men-of-war; but the French officer did not have
+sufficient courage to tackle them, and kept well beyond striking
+distance.
+
+The Captain of the _Serapis_ stood upon the deck, intently gazing at
+the on-coming vessel.
+
+"Gad Zooks!" he uttered. "From the size of her spars and her height
+out of water I take her to be a French fifty of the time of the last
+war. It's too dark for me to see whether she has any lower ports or
+not." He raised his night glasses to his eyes, and, in the light of
+the full moon which was now flooding the sea with a silvery haze, saw
+that his opponent was intent upon a fight.
+
+"It is probably Paul Jones," said he, lowering the glasses. "If
+so--there's tight work ahead. What ship is that?" he cried out in loud
+tones.
+
+No answer came from the dark hull of the _Good Richard_, but, as she
+swung nearer upon the rolling waves, suddenly a flash, a roar, and a
+sheet of flame belched from her side. The battle was on!
+
+It was a struggle which has been talked of for years. It was a battle
+about which the world never seems to tire of reading. It was _the_
+battle which has made the name of John Paul Jones nautically immortal.
+
+The two warriors of the deep were on the same tack, headed northwest,
+driven by a slight wind which veered to the westward. The sea was
+smooth, the sky was clear, the full moon was rising--the conditions
+for a night struggle were ideal.
+
+_Crash! Crash! Crash!_
+
+Broadside after broadside rolled and shrieked from ship to ship, as
+the air was filled with flying bits of iron.
+
+_Crash! Crash! Crash!_
+
+Travelling very slowly, for the wind was little more than sufficient
+to give them steering-way in the tide, the two antagonists drifted
+along for twenty minutes, at cable length (600 to 900 feet--about the
+distance of the 220 yard dash). But suddenly--_Boom!_ an explosion
+sounded in the gun-room of the _Good Richard_. Two of her
+eighteen-pounders had blown up back of the trunnions; many of the crew
+lay dead and dying, the after part of the main gun-deck was shattered
+like a reed: Senior Midshipman and Acting Lieutenant John Mayrant--who
+had command of this battery--was severely wounded in the head by a
+fragment of one of the exploded shells, and was scorched by the blast
+of flame.
+
+"Abandon your guns!" shouted First Lieutenant Dale, "and report with
+your remaining men to the main-deck battery!"
+
+"All right!" answered Mayrant, as he bound a white kerchief around
+his bleeding head. "I'll be with you just as soon as I give them one
+more shot."
+
+This he endeavored to do, but not a gun could be touched off. "The old
+sixteen-pounders that formed the battery of the lower gun-deck, did no
+service whatever, except firing eight shots in all," writes John Paul
+Jones. "Two out of three of them burst at the first fire, killing
+almost all the men who were stationed to manage them."
+
+The gunnery of the _Good Richard_ was excellent. Though her battery
+was one-third lighter than that of the _Serapis_; though her gun-crews
+were composed--to a great extent--of French volunteers, who had never
+been at sea before--in quickness and rapidity of fire, the shells from
+the American fell just as accurately as did those from the Britisher;
+pointed and gauged by regular, trained English men-of-war seamen. The
+roar of belching cannon was deafening. The superior weight and energy
+of the British shot began to tell decisively against the sputtering
+twelve-pounders of the _Richard_, in spite of the fact that they were
+being served with quickness and precision. As the two battling
+sea-monsters drifted slowly along, a pall of sulphurous smoke hung
+over their black hulls, like a sheet of escaping steam. They were
+drawing nearer and nearer to each other.
+
+It was now about a quarter to eight. Wounded and dying littered the
+decks of both Britisher and American, but the fight was to the death.
+
+"Luff! Luff!" cried Captain Pearson, as the _Richard_ began to forge
+near him. "Luff! Luff! and let fly with all guns at the water-line.
+Sink the Yankee Pirate!"
+
+But Paul Jones was intent upon grappling with his adversary. Quickly
+jerking the tiller to one side, he shoved the _Richard_ into the wind
+and endeavored to run her--bows on--into the side of his opponent. The
+_Serapis_ paid off, her stern swung to, and, before she could gather
+way, the _Richard_'s jib-boom shot over her larboard quarter and into
+the mizzen rigging.
+
+Jones was delighted.
+
+"Throw out the grappling hooks!" cried he, in shrill tones. "Hold
+tight to the Britisher and be prepared to board!"
+
+In an instant, many clawing irons spun out into the mizzen stays of
+the _Serapis_; but, though they caught, the lines holding them soon
+parted. The _Serapis_ fell off and the _Richard_ lurched ahead.
+Neither had been able to bring her broadsides to bear.
+
+"We can't beat her by broadsiding," cried Jones. "We've _got_ to
+board!"
+
+_Crash! Crash! Crash!_
+
+Again the cannon made the splinters fly. Again the two game-cocks spat
+at each other like angry cats, but, the fire from the _Richard_ was
+far weaker than before.
+
+Commodore Jones walked hastily to the gun-deck.
+
+"Dick," said he to Lieutenant Dale, "this fellow's metal is too heavy
+for us at this business. He is hammering us all to pieces. We must
+close with him! We must get hold of him! Be prepared at any moment to
+abandon this place and bring what men you have left on the
+spar-deck--and give them the small arms for boarding when you come
+up."
+
+Lieutenant Dale saluted.
+
+"All right!" cried he. "I'll be with you in a jiffy, Commodore."
+
+As Jones walked hastily to the main deck--the Lieutenant ran to the
+store-room and dealt out cutlasses, pistols and pikes, to the eager
+men. The deck was red with blood.
+
+The worst carnage of all was at "number two" gun of the forward,
+starboard division. From the first broadside until the quarter-deck
+was abandoned, nineteen different men were on this gun, and, at this
+time, only one of the original crew remained. It was the little
+Indian, Antony Jeremiah; or, as his mates called him, "Red Cherry."
+
+"Let me join you," he cried, as he saw Mayrant's boarding party.
+Seizing a cutlass and dirk, he stood beside the cluster of men, eager
+and keen to have a chance at the enemy. A soul of fire was that of the
+little savage--and now he had a splendid opportunity to indulge in the
+natural blood-thirst of his race, for an Indian loves a good fight,
+particularly when he is upon the winning side.
+
+The vessels swung on slowly--the fire from the _Serapis_ still strong
+and accurate; the sputtering volleys from the _Richard_ growing weaker
+and weaker. Only three of the nine-pounders on the starboard
+quarter-deck were serviceable; the entire gun-deck battery was silent
+and abandoned.
+
+"We have him," cheerfully cried Captain Pearson to one of his aides.
+"But, hello"--he continued, "what sail is that?"
+
+As he spoke the _Alliance_ came bounding across the waves, headed for
+the two combatants, and looking as if she were to speedily close the
+struggle.
+
+"The fight is at an end," said Jones, jubilantly.
+
+Imagine his astonishment, chagrin, and mortification! Instead of
+pounding the English vessel, the French ally discharged a broadside
+full into the stern of the _Richard_, ran off to the northward, close
+hauled, and soon was beyond gun-shot.
+
+"Coward!" shouted John Paul, shaking his fist at the retreating ally.
+"I'll get even with you for this if it takes me twenty years!"
+
+No wonder he was angered, for, with his main battery completely
+silenced, his ship beginning to sink, nearly half his crew disabled,
+his wheel shot away, and his consort firing into him, there remained
+but one chance of victory for John Paul Jones: to foul the enemy and
+board her.
+
+Luckily a spare tiller had been fitted to the rudder stem of the
+_Richard_ below the main tiller--before leaving port--because of the
+fear that the wheel would be disabled. The foresight of the Commodore
+had effected this; and now--by means of this extra steering-gear--the
+battered warrior-ship was enabled to make one, last, desperate lunge
+for victory. It was touch and go with John Paul Jones.
+
+"I could distinctly hear his voice amid the crashing of musketry,"
+says a seaman. "He was cheering on the French marines in their own
+tongue, uttering such imprecations upon the enemy as I have never
+before or since heard in French, or any other language. He exhorted
+them to take good aim, pointed out the object of their fire, and
+frequently took their loaded muskets from their hands in order to
+shoot them himself. In fact, towards the very last, he had about him a
+group of half a dozen marines who did nothing but load their firelocks
+and hand them to the Commodore; who fired them from his own shoulder,
+standing on the quarter-deck rail by the main topmast backstay."
+
+Luck now came to the disabled _Richard_. A fortunate puff of wind
+struck and filled her sails, shooting her alongside of the growling
+_Serapis_, and to windward. The canvas of the Britisher flapped
+uselessly against her spars. She was blanketed and lost steering-way.
+In a moment the jib-boom of the English vessel ran over the poop-deck
+of the American ship. It was seized, grappled by a turn of small
+hawsers, and made fast to the mizzen-mast.
+
+"She's ours!" cried John Paul Jones. "Seize that anchor and splice it
+down hard!"
+
+As he spoke, the fluke of the starboard anchor of the _Serapis_ hooked
+in the mizzen chains. It was lashed fast, and the _Richard_ had been
+saved.
+
+_Rattle! Rattle! Crash!_ sounded the muskets of the French marines.
+The English tried to cut their anchor chains and get free, but all who
+attempted to sever these hawsers were struck dead by the accurate
+balls from the marksmen on the poop-deck and round-house of the
+_Richard_.
+
+"I demand your surrender!" shouted Pearson.
+
+[Illustration: From an old print.
+ "THEY SWARMED INTO THE FORECASTLE AMIDST FIERCE CHEERS."]
+
+"Surrender?" cried John Paul Jones. "Why, I am just beginning to
+fight!"
+
+Then he turned to John Mayrant, who stood ready to rush across the
+hammock-nettings into the waist of the enemy's ship. Twenty-seven
+sailors were nearby, each with a cutlass and two ship's pistols.
+
+"Board 'em!" he cried.
+
+Over the rail went the seamen--monkey-wise--over the rail, John
+Mayrant leading with a dirk in his teeth, like a Bermuda pirate. They
+swarmed into the forecastle amidst fierce cheers, the rattle of
+musketry, and the hiss of flames. Just at the moment that John
+Mayrant's feet struck the enemy's deck, a sailor thrust a
+boarding-pike through the fleshy part of his right thigh. _Crack!_ a
+pistol spat at him, and he fell prostrate.
+
+"Remember Portsea jail! Remember Portsea jail!" cried the dauntless
+raider, rushing down into the forecastle with his wild, yelping
+sailors. Pearson stood there; crest-fallen--abashed.
+
+Seizing the ensign-halyards of the _Serapis_, as the raging torrent of
+seamen rolled towards him, the brave English sea-captain hauled the
+flag of his ship to the deck.
+
+The _Richard_ had won!
+
+"He has struck; stop firing! Come on board and take possession!"
+yelled Mayrant, running to the rail.
+
+Lieutenant Dale heard him, and, swinging himself on the side of the
+_Serapis_, made his way to the quarter-deck, where Captain Pearson was
+standing. "I have the honor, sir, to be the first Lieutenant of the
+vessel alongside," said he saluting. "It is the American Continental
+ship _Bon Homme Richard_, under command of Commodore Paul Jones. What
+vessel is this?"
+
+"His Britannic Majesty's late man-of-war the _Serapis_, sir," was the
+sad response, "and I am Captain Richard Pearson."
+
+"Pardon me, sir," said the American officer, "in the haste of the
+moment I forgot to inform you that my name is Richard Dale and I must
+request you to pass on board the vessel alongside."
+
+Pearson nodded dejectedly.
+
+As he did so, the first Lieutenant of the _Serapis_ came up from
+below, and, looking at Captain Pearson, asked,
+
+"Has the enemy struck, sir?"
+
+"No, sir! _I_ have struck!" was the sad reply.
+
+"Then, I will go below and order our men to cease firing," continued
+the English Lieutenant.
+
+But Lieutenant Dale interrupted.
+
+"Pardon me, sir," said he, "I will attend to that; and, as for
+yourself, please accompany Captain Pearson on board the ship
+alongside."
+
+With reluctant steps the two officers clambered aboard the battered
+_Good Richard_, where Commodore Jones received them with much
+courtesy.
+
+Bowing low, Captain Pearson offered him his sword. His first
+Lieutenant did likewise.
+
+"Captain Pearson," said the victorious John Paul, "you have fought
+heroically. You have worn this weapon to your own credit and to the
+honor of your service. I hope that your sovereign will suitably
+reward you."
+
+The British commander was the image of chagrin and despair. He bowed
+again, and then walked slowly into the cabin, followed by his
+crest-fallen Lieutenant.
+
+It was nearly midnight. The full moon above--in a cloudless sky--made
+it almost as light as day. Seven feet of water were in the hold of the
+_Richard_; she had sunk so much that many shot-holes were below the
+water-line and could not be plugged. Nearly sixty of her crew lay dead
+upon her decks; more than a hundred and twenty were desperately
+wounded. Every twelve-pounder of the starboard broadside was either
+dismounted, or disabled. The starboard side, which had been opposite
+the _Serapis_'s eighteen-pounders, was driven so far in, that, but for
+a few frames and stanchions which remained, the whole gun-deck would
+have fallen through. She was afire, and the flames licked upward with
+an eager hiss.
+
+"Take the wounded aboard the _Serapis_!" commanded Captain Jones. "We
+must desert our good ship!"
+
+In an hour's time all were upon the deck of the vanquished Britisher.
+No one was left on the _Richard_ but the dead. The torn and tattered
+flag was still flying from the gaff, and, as the battered sea-warrior
+gradually settled in the long swell, the unconquered ensign fluttered
+defiantly in the slight breeze. At length the _Bon Homme Richard_
+plunged downward by the head; her taffrail rose momentarily on high,
+and, with a hoarse roar of eddying bubbles and sucking air, the
+conqueror disappeared from view. To her immortal dead was bequeathed
+the flag which they had so desperately defended.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+So ended the great battle. Thus Paul Jones had made his name immortal.
+And by it he was to be known for all time.
+
+This was not the end of his career, by any means. He never again
+fought for the infant Republic of the United States. But he became an
+Admiral in the Russian Navy: battled valorously for the great Empress
+Catherine against the Turks, and died in Paris, July 18th, 1792.
+
+Buried at the French capital, his body was disinterred in the year
+1905, and brought to the United States, to be entombed with military
+honors, at Annapolis, Maryland.
+
+Paul Jones loved brave men. The braver they were the more he loved
+them. When he went ashore and happened to meet his old sailors--every
+one of whom he knew and called by his first name--they seldom failed
+to strip his pockets of the last shilling. He was generous to a fault
+and faithful to his friends. His time, his purse, his influence were
+always at the call of those who had served under him. A typical
+sea-dog: a brave fighter,--
+
+Then, why not give three times three for John Paul Jones?
+
+Are you ready?
+
+
+
+
+THE ESCAPE
+
+
+ 'Tis of a gallant, Yankee ship that flew the Stripes and Stars,
+ And the whistling wind from the west-nor'-west blew through her
+ pitch-pine spars:
+ With her starboard tacks aboard, my Boys, she hung upon the gale;
+ On the Autumn night, that we passed the light, on the old Head of
+ Kinsale.
+
+ It was a clear and cloudless eve, and the wind blew steady and
+ strong,
+ As gayly, o'er the sparkling deep, our good ship bowled along;
+ With the foaming seas beneath her bow, the fiery waves she spread,
+ And, bending low her bosom of snow, she buried her lee cat-head.
+
+ There was no talk of short'ning sail, by him who walked the poop,
+ And, under the press of her pounding jib, the boom bent like a hoop!
+ And the groaning, moaning water-ways, told the strain that held the
+ tack,
+ But, he only laughed, as he glanced aloft, at the white and silvery
+ track.
+
+ The mid-tide met in the Channel waves that flow from shore to shore,
+ And the mist hung heavy upon the land, from Featherstone to Dunmore,
+ And that sterling light in Tusker Rock, where the old bell tolls
+ each hour,
+ And the beacon light, that shone so bright, was quenched on Waterford
+ tower.
+
+ What looms upon our starboard bow? What hangs upon the breeze?
+ 'Tis time that our good ship hauled her wind, abreast the old
+ Saltees,
+ For, by her pond'rous press of sail, and by her consorts four,
+ We saw that our morning visitor, was a British Man-of-War.
+
+ Up spoke our noble Captain--then--as a shot ahead of us passed,--
+ "Haul snug your flowing courses! Lay your topsail to the mast!"
+ Those Englishmen gave three loud cheers, from the deck of their
+ covered ark,
+ And, we answered back by a solid broad-side, from the side of our
+ patriot barque.
+
+ "_Out booms! Out booms!_" our skipper cried, "_Out booms! and give
+ her sheet!_"
+ And the swiftest keel that e'er was launched, shot ahead of the
+ British fleet,
+ 'Midst a thundering shower of shot,--and with stern-sails hoisting
+ away,
+ Down the North Race _Paul Jones_ did steer, just at the break of day.
+
+ --_Old Ballad._
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN SILAS TALBOT
+
+STAUNCH PRIVATEERSMAN OF NEW ENGLAND
+
+(1751-1813)
+
+
+ "If you want ter learn how ter fight, why jest
+ fight."--_Dock-end Philosophy._
+
+
+CAPTAIN SILAS TALBOT
+
+STAUNCH PRIVATEERSMAN OF NEW ENGLAND
+
+(1751-1813)
+
+ "Talk about your clipper ships, chipper ships, ripper ships,
+ Talk about your barquentines, with all their spars so fancy,
+ I'll just take a sloop-o'-war with Talbot, with Talbot,
+ An' whip 'em all into 'er chip, an' just to suit my fancy.
+
+ "So, heave away for Talbot, for Talbot, for Talbot,
+ So, heave away for Talbot, an' let th' Capting steer,
+ For, he's the boy to smack them, to crack them, to whack them,
+ For he's th' boy to ship with, if you want to privateer."
+
+ --_Ballads of Rhode Island._--1782.
+
+
+A trading vessel, laden with wheat, from Cardigan in Wales, was lying
+to in the English Channel. Nearby rolled a long-bodied American
+Privateer, while a boat neared the trader, in the stern of which sat a
+staunch, weather-beaten officer in a faded pea-jacket. It was the year
+1813 and war was on between England and the United States.
+
+When the blustering captain entered the cabin to survey his prize, he
+spied a small box with a hole in the top, on which was inscribed the
+words, "Missionary Box." He drew back, astonished.
+
+"Pray, my bold seaman," said he, turning to the Welsh captain, "what
+is this?"
+
+"Oh," replied the honest, old sailor, heaving a sigh, "'tis all over
+now."
+
+"What?" asked the American privateersman.
+
+"Why, the truth is," said the Welshman, "that I and my poor fellows
+have been accustomed, every Monday morning, to drop a penny each into
+that box for the purpose of sending out missionaries to preach the
+Gospel to the heathen; but it's all over now."
+
+The American seemed to be much abashed.
+
+"Indeed," said he, "that is very good of you." And, pausing a few
+moments, he looked abstractedly into the air, humming a tune beneath
+his breath.
+
+"Captain," said he, at length, "I'll not hurt a hair of your head, nor
+touch your vessel."
+
+So saying, he turned on his heel, took to his boat, and left the
+Welshman to pursue its even course. And--as the privateer filled away
+to starboard--a voice came from the deck of the helpless merchantman,
+
+"God bless Captain Silas Talbot and his crew!"
+
+But we do not know what the owners of the privateer said to the humane
+skipper about this little affair when he returned to New York. They
+might have uttered hard words about a Welshman who scored upon him by
+means of a pious fraud. At any rate Silas Talbot had done a good deed.
+
+This valorous privateer was born at Dighton, Massachusetts, on the
+Sakonet River about the year 1752; beginning his career at sea as a
+cabin-boy. At twenty-four he was a captain in the United States army
+and fought in the Revolutionary war, for a time, on land. But--by
+reason of his nautical training--he was placed in command of a
+fireship at New York, and was soon promoted to be Major--but still
+with duties upon the water and not the shore. While here, a soldier
+came to him, one day, with his eyes alight in excitement.
+
+"Major," said he, "there's a chance for a splendid little enterprise.
+Just off the coast of Rhode Island, near Newport, lies a British
+vessel, moored to a kedge. She mounts fifteen guns and around her is
+stretched a stout netting to keep off a party of boarders. But we can
+cut it and get through, I'll warrant. And the game is worth the
+candle."
+
+Young Talbot was delighted at the thought of a little expedition.
+
+"I'll tell you how we'll cut through," said he. "We'll fix a small
+anchor at the bowsprit of our sloop. Then, we'll ram her into the
+netting at night, and--if our vessel can punch hard enough--we'll have
+forty Americans upon the deck before you can say 'Jack Robinson.'"
+
+The soldier laughed.
+
+"Major Talbot," said he, "you are a true fighting man. I'll have a
+crew for you within twenty-four hours and we'll take the good sloop
+_Jasamine_, lying off of Hell Gate. Ahoy for the capture of the
+Englishman!"
+
+In two days' time, all was ready for the expedition. The sloop
+_Jasamine_ slowly drifted into the harbor of New York, an anchor
+spliced to her bowsprit, a crew of sturdy adventurers aboard; and,
+filling away in a stout sou'wester, rolled down the coast in the
+direction of Rhode Island. Reaching the vicinity of Newport, she lay
+to behind a sheltering peninsula, waiting for the night to come, so
+that she could drop down upon the Englishman under the cloak of
+darkness.
+
+Blackness settled upon the still and waveless water. With muffled oars
+the sloop now glided towards the dark hull of the British gun-boat;
+her men armed to the teeth, with fuses alight, and ready to touch off
+the cannon at the slightest sign of discovery. All was still upon the
+towering deck of the war-vessel and the little lights twinkled at her
+bow.
+
+But what was that?
+
+Suddenly a voice came through the darkness.
+
+"Who goes there?"
+
+No answer came but the dip of the oars in unison.
+
+"Who goes there? Answer, or I fire!"
+
+Again the slow beat of the oars and nothing more.
+
+_Crash!_
+
+A musket spoke from the jutting bow in front of the sloop and a bullet
+struck in the foremast of the staunch attacker, with a resounding
+z-i-n-n-g!
+
+"We're discovered," whispered Talbot. "Pull for your lives, men, and
+punch her like a battering-ram. When we've cut through the netting,
+let every fellow dash upon her decks, and fight for every inch you
+can."
+
+As he ceased speaking, the bow of the sloop struck the roping
+stretched around the man-o'-warsman, and a ripping and tearing was
+plainly heard above the crash of small arms, the shouts of men, and
+the rumble of hawsers. Two cannon spoke from the side of the
+Englishman, and, as their roar echoed across the still ocean, the
+guns of the _Jasamine_ belched forth their answer.
+
+[Illustration: "TALBOT, HIMSELF, AT THE HEAD OF HIS ENTIRE CREW, CAME
+LEAPING ACROSS THE SIDE."]
+
+The anchor attached to the bowsprit had done what was desired. It tore
+a great hole in the stout netting, ripped open a breach sufficiently
+wide for entrance to the deck, and, as the cannon grumbled and spat at
+the sloop,--the bowsprit was black with jack-tars scrambling for an
+opportunity to board the Britisher.
+
+"Now, men," shouted Major Talbot, above the din. "Swing our craft
+sideways! Let go the port guns, and then let every mother's son rush
+the foe! And your cry must be, 'Death and no quarter!'"
+
+As he ceased, the good _Jasamine_ was forced sideways into the
+man-o'-warsman, and, propelled by the current, drifted against her
+with tremendous force, crushing the remaining nets as she did so. A
+few of the Americans were already on the deck in a terrific struggle
+with the half-sleepy English seamen, but--in a moment--Talbot,
+himself, at the head of his entire crew, came leaping across the side.
+
+Now was a scene of carnage. The cutlasses of both Yankee tar and
+British, were doing awful execution, and pistols were cracking like
+hail upon the roof. Back, back, went the English before the vigorous
+assault of the stormers, and, as the deck was now piled with the dead
+and dying, the commander of the man-o'-warsman cried out,
+
+"I surrender! Cease, you Yankee sea-dogs. You're too smart for me!"
+
+So saying, he held up a handkerchief tied to his cutlass, and the
+battle ceased.
+
+The story of the fight of Silas Talbot's was now on every lip, and
+all praised the daring and courage of this valorous Major, who was as
+bold as a lion, and as courageous as any seaman who sailed upon the
+sea.
+
+Promotion came rapidly to the soldier-sailor. In 1779 he became a
+colonel and was placed in command of the _Argo_, a sloop of about one
+hundred tons, armed with twelve six-pounders, and carrying but sixty
+men. 'Tis said that she looked like a "clumsy Albany trader," with one
+great, rakish mast, an immense mainsail, and a lean boom. Her tiller
+was very lengthy, she had high bulwarks and a wide stern--but, in
+spite of her raw appearance, she could sail fast and could show a
+clean pair of heels to most vessels of twice her size.
+
+Shortly after taking charge of this privateer, word was brought that
+Captain Hazard of the privateer _King George_ was off the coast of
+Rhode Island.
+
+"That's what I want," cried Captain Talbot, slapping his knee. "This
+fellow Hazard is an American. He was born in Rhode Island, and,
+instead of joining in our righteous cause against the Mother Country,
+he has elected to fight against us. For the base purpose of plundering
+his old neighbors and friends, he has fitted out the _King George_ and
+has already done great damage on the coast. Let me but catch the old
+fox and I'll give him a taste of American lead. I'll put a stop to the
+depredations of this renegade."
+
+The _King George_ had fourteen guns and eighty men, but this did not
+worry staunch and nervy Silas Talbot. He started in pursuit of her, as
+soon as he learned of her whereabouts, and, before many days, sighted
+a sail just off the New York coast, which was hoped to be the vessel
+of the renegade.
+
+Mile after mile was passed. Hour by hour the _Argo_ ploughed after the
+silvery sails, until, late in the afternoon, the stranger hovered near
+a shallow harbor on the coast, and seemed to await the on-coming
+privateer with full confidence.
+
+The _Argo_ boomed along under a spanking sou'wester and, sailing near
+the stranger, to the keen eyes of Talbot came the welcome sight of
+_King George_ painted upon the stern of the rakish privateer.
+
+"All hands man the guns," cried he. "We'll sink th' rascally Hazard
+with all his crew, unless he strikes. She's got more men and guns, but
+what care we for that. Take hold, my Hearties, and we'll soon make her
+know her master."
+
+The _King George_ seemed to welcome the coming fight; she luffed; lay
+to; and her men could be seen standing ready at the polished cannon.
+Now was one of the strangest battles of American sea history.
+
+The _King George_ cruised along under a full spread of canvas, jibbed,
+came about upon the port quarter of the stranger, and ran up to within
+shooting distance, when a broadside was poured into the deck of the
+rolling _Argo_. She replied with her own fourteen guns, and, before
+they could be reloaded, the _King George_ struck her alongside; the
+American seaman swarmed across the rail; and--if we are to believe a
+historian of the period--"drove the crew of _King George_ from their
+quarters, taking possession of her, without a man on either side being
+killed." Hats off to the doughty Silas Talbot for this brave
+adventure! Did you ever hear of such a fight with no man ever being
+slaughtered?
+
+Again rang the fame of Silas Talbot, but he was not to rest long upon
+laurels won. The British privateer _Dragon_--of three hundred tons and
+eighty men--was hovering near Providence, Rhode Island, hungry and
+eager for unprotected merchantmen.
+
+"I'll have to strike her," said Captain Talbot.
+
+It was a beautiful day in June. As the _Dragon_ drowsed along
+listlessly a dozen miles off the shore, her topsails barely filling in
+the gentle southerly breeze, the watch suddenly stirred, and sang out
+in no gentle tones,
+
+"Sail ho, off the starboard! Looks like Captain Talbot of the _Argo_!"
+
+The captain came bounding from his cabin, glass in hand.
+
+"Sure enough," said he, scanning the white sails upon the horizon.
+"It's Talbot and we're in for a tight affair. All hands prepare for
+action!"
+
+There was noise and confusion upon the deck of the privateer as the
+guns were sponged, charges were rammed home, and all prepared for
+battle. Meanwhile, the stranger came nearer, and rounding to within
+striking distance, crashed a broadside into the slumbering _Dragon_,
+who had not yet shown her fangs.
+
+_Crackle! Crackle! Boom!_
+
+The small arms from the Britisher began to spit at the advancing
+privateer, and seven of her fourteen guns rang out a welcome to the
+sailors of Rhode Island. The solid shot ploughed through the rigging,
+cutting ropes and spars with knife-like precision.
+
+"Round her to on the port quarter!" shouted Captain Talbot, "and get
+near enough for boarding!"
+
+But, as the _Argo_ swung near her antagonist, the _Dragon_ dropped
+away--keeping just at pistol-shot distance.
+
+"Run her down!" yelled the stout Rhode Islander, as he saw this
+manoeuvre of his wily foe. Then he uttered an exclamation of disgust,
+for, as he spoke, a bullet struck his speaking trumpet; knocking it to
+the deck, and piercing it with a jagged hole.
+
+"Never mind!" cried he, little disconcerted at the mishap. "Give it to
+her, boys!"
+
+Then he again uttered an exclamation, for a bounding cannon
+ball--ricochetting from the deck--took off the end of his
+coat-tail.[1]
+
+ [1] A true incident vouched for by two historians.
+
+"I'll settle with you for that," yelled the old sea-dog, leaping to a
+cannon, and, pointing it himself, he touched the fuse to the vent. A
+puff of smoke, a roar, and a ball ploughed into the mainmast of the
+rocking _Dragon_.
+
+Talbot smiled with good humor.
+
+"Play for that, my brave fellows," he called out, above the din of
+battle. "Once get the mainmast overside, and we can board her."
+
+With a cheer, his sailors redoubled their efforts to sink the
+_Dragon_, and solid shot fairly rained into her hull, as the two
+antagonists bobbed around the rolling ocean in this death grapple.
+Thus they sparred and clashed for four and a half hours, when, with a
+great splitting of sails and wreck of rigging, the mainmast of the
+_Dragon_ trembled, wavered, and fell to leeward with a sickening thud.
+
+"She's ours!" yelled Captain Talbot, through his dented speaking
+trumpet.
+
+Sure enough, the _Dragon_ had had enough. Her wings had been clipped,
+and, in a moment more, a white flag flew from her rigging.
+
+"The _Argo_ is sinking! The _Argo_ is sinking!" came a cry, at this
+moment.
+
+"Inspect the sides of our sloop," cried Talbot.
+
+This was done, immediately, and it was found that there were numerous
+shot-holes between wind and water, which were speedily plugged up.
+Then, bearing down upon the crippled _Dragon_, she was boarded; a
+prize-crew was put aboard; and the _Argo_ steered for home, her men
+singing,
+
+ "Talk about your gay, old cocks,
+ Yankee, Doodle, Dandy,
+ 'Si' Talbot he can heave the blocks,
+ And stick like pepp'mint candy.
+
+ "Yankee--Doodle--Shoot and kill,
+ Yankee--Doodle--Dandy,
+ Yankee--Doodle--Back an' fill,
+ Yankee--Doodle--Dandy."
+
+Silas Talbot, in fact, had done extremely well, but, not content with
+his laurels already won, he soon put out again upon the _Argo_, in
+company with another privateer from Providence, Rhode Island, called
+the _Saratoga_; which sailed under a Captain Munro. They were not off
+the coast more than two days when they came across the _Dublin_; a
+smart, English privateer-cutter of fourteen guns, coming out of Sandy
+Hook. Instead of running away, she ploughed onward, and cleared for
+action.
+
+The _Argo_ and the _Saratoga_ ran in upon the windward quarter and
+banged away with audacity. The fight lasted for an hour. Then--as the
+_Argo_ tacked in closer in order to grapple and board--the _Saratoga_
+was headed for the privateer. But--instead of coming in--she began to
+run off in the wind.
+
+"Hard a-weather! Hard up there with the helm!" cried Captain Munro.
+
+"It is hard up!" cried the steersman.
+
+"You lie, you blackguard!" cried Munro. "She goes away lasking! Hard
+a-weather I say again!"
+
+"It is hard a-weather, I say again, captain," cried the fellow at the
+tiller.
+
+"Captain Talbot thinks that I am running away when I want to join
+him," cried Munro. "What the deuce is the matter anyway?"
+
+"Why, I can tell you," cried a young Lieutenant. "You've got an iron
+tiller in place of the wooden one, and she's loose in the rudder head,
+so your boat won't steer correctly."
+
+"Egad, you're right," said Munro, as he examined the top of the
+tiller. "Now, jam her over and we'll catch this _Dublin_ of old
+Ireland, or else I'm no sailor. We'll give her a broadside, too, when
+we come up."
+
+The _Argo_, meanwhile, was hammering the Englishman in good fashion,
+and, as the _Saratoga_ pumped a broadside into her--raking her from
+bow to stern--the _Dublin_ struck her colors.
+
+"Two to one, is too much odds," cried the English captain, as a boat
+neared the side of his vessel. "I could have licked either of you,
+alone."
+
+And, at this, both of the American privateersmen chuckled.
+
+Old "Si" Talbot was soon in another fight. Three days later he chased
+another sail, and coming up with her, found his antagonist to be the
+_Betsy_: an English privateer of twelve guns and fifty-eight men,
+commanded by an honest Scotchman.
+
+The _Argo_ ranged up alongside and Talbot hailed the stranger. After a
+bit of talk he hoisted the Stars and Stripes, crying,
+
+"You must haul down those British colors, my friend!"
+
+To which the Scot replied:
+
+"Notwithstanding I find you an enemy, as I suspected, yet, sir, I
+believe that I shall let them hang a little longer, with your
+permission. So fire away, Flanagan!"
+
+"And that I'll do," yelled Talbot. "Flanagan will be O'Toole and
+O'Grady before the morning's over. For I'll beat you like an Irish
+constable from Cork."
+
+So it turned out. Before an hour was past, the _Betsy_ had struck, the
+captain was killed, and all of his officers were wounded.
+
+"Old Si"--you see--had had good luck. So well, indeed, had he fought,
+that in 1780 he was put in command of a good-sized vessel, the
+_General Washington_. In her he cruised about Sandy Hook in search of
+spoil.
+
+One hazy day in August, the watch sang out,
+
+"Several sail astern, Sir! Looks like a whole squadron!"
+
+Talbot seized the glass and gazed intently at the specks of white.
+
+"Egad! It _is_ a squadron," said he, at length. "And they're after me.
+Crowd on every stitch of canvas and we'll run for it."
+
+So all sail was hoisted, and the _General Washington_ stood out to
+sea.
+
+But the sails of the pursuers grew strangely clear. They came closer,
+ever closer, and Talbot paced the deck impatiently.
+
+"Gad Zooks!" cried he, "I wish that I could fly like a bird."
+
+He could not fly, and, in two hours' time the red flag on the foremast
+of a British brig was clear to the eyes of the crew of the privateer.
+When--an hour later--a solid shot spun across his bow, "Old Si" Talbot
+hove to, and ran up the white flag. He was surrounded by six vessels
+of the English and he felt, for once, that discretion was the better
+part of valor.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"Old Si" was now thrown into a prison ship off Long Island and then
+was taken to England aboard the _Yarmouth_. Imprisoned at Dartmoor, he
+made four desperate attempts to escape. All failed.
+
+In the summer of 1781 he was liberated; found his way home to Rhode
+Island; and died "with his boots on" in New York, June 30th, 1813. The
+old sea-dogs of his native state still cherish the memory of "Capting
+Si;" singing a little song, which runs:
+
+ "He could take 'er brig or sloop, my boy,
+ An' fight her like 'er man.
+ He could steer 'er barque or barquentine,
+ An' make her act jest gran!
+ 'Ole Si' wuz 'er rip-dazzler,
+ His flag wuz never struck,
+ Until 'er British squadroon,
+ Jest catched him in th' ruck.
+
+ "So drink 'er drop ter 'Ole Si,' Sky-high, Oh my!
+ Drink 'er glass ter 'Ole Si,' th' skipper from our kentry.
+ Give three cheers fer 'Ole Si,' Sky-high, Oh my!
+ Give three cheers fer 'Ole Si,' th' pride o' Newport's gentry."
+
+
+[Illustration: From "The Army and Navy of the United States."
+ AMERICAN PRIVATEER CAPTURING TWO ENGLISH SHIPS.]
+
+
+
+
+CAPTAIN "JOSH" BARNEY
+
+THE IRREPRESSIBLE YANKEE
+
+(1759-1818)
+
+
+ "Never strike your flag until you have to. And if you
+ have to, why let it come down easy-like, with one, last
+ gun,--fer luck."--_Maxims of 1812._
+
+
+CAPTAIN "JOSH" BARNEY
+
+THE IRREPRESSIBLE YANKEE
+
+(1759-1818)
+
+ If you would hear of fighting brave,
+ Of war's alarms and prisons dark,
+ Then, listen to the tale I tell,
+ Of Yankee pluck--and cruising barque,
+ Which, battling on the rolling sea,
+ There fought and won,--Can such things be?
+
+
+It was about eight o'clock in the evening. The moon was bright, and as
+the privateer _Pomona_ swung along in the fresh breeze, her Captain,
+Isaiah Robinson of New York, laid his hand softly upon the shoulder of
+his first officer, Joshua Barney, saying,
+
+"A ship off the lee-quarter, Barney, she's an Englishman, or else my
+name's not Robinson."
+
+Barney raised his glass.
+
+"A British brig, and after us, too. She's a fast sailer and is
+overhauling us. But we'll let her have a broadside from our twelve
+guns and I believe that we can stop her."
+
+The _Pomona_ carried thirty-five men. Laden with tobacco for Bordeaux,
+France, she was headed for that sunny land,--but all ready for a
+fight, if one should come to her. And for this she carried twelve
+guns, as her first officer had said.
+
+The British boat came nearer and nearer. Finally she was close enough
+for a voice to be heard from her deck, and she ran up her colors. A
+cry came from the black body,
+
+"What ship is that?"
+
+There was no reply, but the Stars and Stripes were soon floating from
+the mainmast of the American.
+
+"Haul down those colors!" came from the Britisher.
+
+There was no answer, but the _Pomona_ swung around so that her port
+guns could bear, and a clashing broadside plunged into the pursuer.
+Down came her fore-topsail, the rigging cut and torn in many places,
+and, as the American again showed her heels, the British captain cried
+out,
+
+"All sail aloft and catch the saucy and insolent privateer!"
+
+Then commenced one of the most interesting running actions of American
+naval history.
+
+"The cursed American has no stern-gun ports," said the British
+sea-captain. "So keep the ship abaft, and on th' port quarter, where
+we can let loose our bow-guns and get little in return."
+
+This was done, but--if we are to believe an old chronicler of the
+period--"The British crew had been thrown into such confusion by the
+_Pomona_'s first broadside that _they were able to fire only one or
+two shots every half hour_."
+
+"By Gad," cried Joshua Barney to Captain Robinson, about this time,
+"let's cut a hole in our stern, shove a cannon through it, and whale
+the British landlubber as he nears us for another shot with her
+bow-chasers."
+
+The captain grinned.
+
+"A good idea, Barney, a good idea," he chuckled. "Now we can teach her
+to keep clear of us."
+
+So a three-pounder soon poked her nose through the stern, and, when
+the proud Britisher again came up for one of her leisurely discharges,
+she received a dose of grape which made her captain haul off
+precipitously. Nor did he venture near again for another shot at the
+saucy fugitive.
+
+When daylight came, sixteen guns were counted upon the British brig.
+
+"By George!" shouted Barney. "See those officers in the rigging. She's
+a gun-ship--a regular ship-of-war."
+
+But Captain Robinson laughed.
+
+"That's an old game," said he. "They're tryin' to fool us into the
+belief that she's a real gun-boat, so's we'll surrender immediately.
+But see--she's drawin' near again--and seems as if she's about to
+board us from the looks of her crew."
+
+Barney gazed intently at the stranger.
+
+"You're right," said he. "Load the three-pounder with grape-shot."
+
+"And here's a crow-bar as'll top it off nice," put in a sailor.
+
+Captain Robinson laughed.
+
+"Yes, spike her in, too. She'll plunk a hole clear through th'
+rascal," he cried. "I'll touch her off myself."
+
+The British gun-boat drew nearer and nearer. Just as she was within
+striking distance--about ten yards--the three-pounder was touched off
+with a deaf'ning roar.
+
+"So accurate was the aim," says an old historian, "that the British
+were completely baffled in their attempt; their foresails and all
+their weather foreshrouds being cut away."
+
+"Give her a broadside!" called out Captain Robinson, as the brig
+sheered off in order to support its foremast, which tottered with its
+own weight; the rigging which supported it, being half cut away. And,
+as he spoke--the crew let drive a shower of balls and grape-shot. It
+was the last volley.
+
+The _Pomona_ kept upon her course, while the white sails of the
+attacker grew fainter and fainter upon the horizon.
+
+"I saw her name as she ranged in close to us," said Joshua Barney,
+slapping Captain Robinson on the back. "And it was the _Rosebud_."
+
+"I reckon that _Rosebud_ has no thorns left," chuckled Captain
+Robinson, and he was still chuckling when the little _Pomona_ safely
+sailed into the harbor of Bordeaux in France. The voyage had been a
+success.
+
+Here a store of guns, powder and shot was purchased, and, having
+shipped a cargo of brandy, and raised the crew to seventy men, the
+staunch, little vessel set sail for America.
+
+Not three days from the coast of France the cry of "Sail ho!" startled
+all on board, and, upon the starboard quarter--loomed a British
+privateer. Upon nearer view she was seen to have sixteen guns and
+seventy men.
+
+"All hands for a fight!" cried Robinson. "Don't let th' fellow
+escape."
+
+Now was a hard battle. It lasted for full two hours, and--in the
+end--the Britisher struck, with twelve killed and a number wounded,
+while the American loss was but one killed and two wounded. The
+_Pomona_ kept upon her course, jubilantly.
+
+But the saucy ship was not to have all smooth sailing. She was soon
+captured--by whom it is not known--and stout "Josh" Barney became a
+prisoner of war. In December, 1780, with about seventy American
+officers, he was placed on board the _Yarmouth_--a sixty-four-gun
+brig--and was shipped to England.
+
+Now listen to the treatment given him according to a contemporaneous
+historian. Did you ever hear of anything more atrocious?
+Peace--indeed--had more horrors than war in the year 1780.
+
+"From the time these Americans stepped aboard the _Yarmouth_ their
+captors gave it to be understood, by hints and innuendos, that they
+were being taken to England 'to be hanged as rebels;' and, indeed the
+treatment they received aboard the _Yarmouth_ on the passage over, led
+them to believe that the British officers intended to cheat the
+gallows of their prey, by causing the prisoners to die before they
+reached port.
+
+"On coming aboard the ship-of-the-line, these officers were stowed
+away in the lower hold, next to the keel, under five decks, and many
+feet below the water-line. Here, in a twelve-by-twenty-foot room, with
+upcurving floor, and only three feet high, the seventy-one men were
+kept for fifty-three days, like so much merchandise--without light or
+good air--unable to stand upright, with no means to get away.
+
+"Their food was of the poorest quality, and was supplied in such
+insufficient quantities, that, whenever one of the prisoners died, the
+survivors concealed the fact, in order that the dead man's allowance
+might be added to theirs. The water which they were served to drink
+was atrocious.
+
+"From the time the _Yarmouth_ left New York till she reached Plymouth,
+in a most tempestuous winter passage, these men were kept in this
+loathsome dungeon. Eleven died in delirium; their wild ravings and
+piercing shrieks appalling their comrades, and giving them a foretaste
+of what they, themselves, might expect. Not even a surgeon was
+permitted to visit them.
+
+"Arriving at Plymouth, the pale, emaciated men were ordered to come on
+deck. Not one obeyed, for they were unable to stand upright.
+Consequently they were hoisted up, the ceremony being grimly
+suggestive of the manner in which they had been treated,--like
+merchandise. And what were they to do, now that they had been placed
+on deck?
+
+"The light of the sun, which they had scarcely seen for fifty-three
+days, fell upon their weak, dilated pupils with blinding force; their
+limbs were unable to uphold them, their frames wasted by disease and
+want. Seeking for support, they fell in a helpless mass, one upon the
+other, waiting and almost hoping for the blow that was to fall upon
+them next. Captain Silas Talbot was one of these unfortunate
+prisoners.
+
+"To send them ashore in this condition was 'impracticable,' so the
+British officers said, and we readily discover that this
+'impracticable' served the purpose of diverting the indignation of the
+land's folk, which sure would be aroused, if they knew that such
+brutality had been practiced under the cross of St. George (the cross
+upon the British flag).
+
+"Waiting, then, until the captives could, at least, endure the light
+of day, and could walk without leaning on one another, or clutching at
+every object for support, the officers had them removed to the old
+Mill Prison."
+
+This story has been denied, for the reason that the log of the
+_Yarmouth_ shows that she was forty-four and not fifty-three days at
+sea, and the captain writes:
+
+"We had the prisoners 'watched' (divided into port and starboard
+watch) and set them to the pumps. I found it necessary so to employ
+them, the ship's company, from their weak and sickly state, being
+unequal to that duty, and, on that account to order them whole
+allowance of provisions."
+
+It would have been impossible for men to be in the condition which the
+first historian describes if they had to man the pumps. It would have
+been impossible for them to have done an hour's work. Therefore, I,
+myself, believe the second story. Don't you?
+
+But to return to stout "Josh" Barney, now meditating thoughts of
+escape in old Mill Prison. Bold and resourceful he was always, and he
+was now determined to face the difficulties of an exit and the chances
+of detection. "I must and can get away," he said.
+
+The prisoners were accustomed to play leap-frog, and one day the
+crafty "Josh" pretended that he had sprained his ankle. Constructing
+two crutches--out of pieces of boards--he limped around the
+prison-yard and completely deceived all but a few of his most intimate
+friends.
+
+One day--it was May the eighteenth, 1781--he passed a sentry near the
+inner gate. The fellow's name was Sprokett and he had served in the
+British army in America, where he had received many kindnesses from
+the country people. For this reason his heart warmed to the stout,
+young "Josh," who had often engaged him in conversation.
+
+Hopping to the gate upon his crutches, the youthful American
+whispered,
+
+"Give me a British uniform and I will get away. Can you do it?"
+
+Sprokett smiled.
+
+"Sure," said he.
+
+"To-day?"
+
+"Dinner."
+
+And this meant one o'clock, when the warders dined.
+
+"All right," whispered "Josh," smiling broadly, and he again hobbled
+around the yard.
+
+After awhile the sentry motioned for him to come nearer. He did
+so--and as he approached--a large bundle was stealthily shoved into
+his arms. He hastened to his cell and there put on the undress uniform
+of an officer of the British army.
+
+Drawing on his great-coat, he went into the yard and hobbled about
+upon his two sticks until the time drew near for the mid-day mess.
+Then he drew close to the gate.
+
+One o'clock tolled from the iron bell upon the prison rampart, and, as
+its deep-toned echoes sounded from its tower, several of Barney's
+friends engaged the half-dozen sentries in conversation. It was the
+time for action.
+
+The astute "Josh" suddenly dropped his crutches. Then--walking across
+the enclosure towards the gate,--he winked to the sentry. A companion
+was at hand. With a spring he leaped upon his shoulders. One
+boost--and he was on top of the walk. Another spring, and he had
+dropped to the other side as softly as a cat.
+
+But the second gate and sentry had to be passed.
+
+Walking up to this red-coated individual he placed four guineas (about
+$20.00) into his outstretched palm. The soldier smiled grimly, as the
+great-coat was tossed aside, and the shrewdest privateer in the
+American Navy walked towards the opening through the outer wall, which
+was usually left ajar for the convenience of the prison officials.
+Another sentry stood upon duty at this point.
+
+Barney nodded. The sentry had been "squared" (told of the coming
+escape) and so he turned his back. Thus--with his heart beating like a
+trip-hammer--"Josh," the nervy one--walked down the cobbled street
+outside of the "Old Mill." He was free.
+
+Dodging into a lane, he soon met a friend who had been told of his
+attempt, and who took him to the house of an old clergyman in
+Plymouth. In the morning, with two fellow-countrymen, who were also in
+hiding (for they had been captured as passengers in a merchant
+vessel), he secured a fishing-smack. "Josh" now covered his uniform.
+Putting on an old coat with a tarred rope tied around his waist, a
+pair of torn trousers, and a tarpaulin hat, the disguised Jack-tar ran
+the little vessel down the River Plym, just as day was dawning. The
+forts and men-of-war were safely passed, and the little shallop tossed
+upon the gleaming wavelets of the English channel.
+
+We are told that his escape was not noticed for some time because "a
+slender youth who was capable of creeping through the window-bars at
+pleasure crawled into Barney's cell (in the Old Mill Prison) and
+answered for him." I doubt this, for--if you have ever seen the bars
+of a prison--it would take a Jack Spratt to get through them, and Jack
+Spratts are not common. At any rate someone answered to the daily
+roll-call for Joshua B., so that it was full two weeks before the
+authorities knew of his escape. Perhaps there was a ventriloquist in
+the jail.
+
+The tiny boat in which the adventurous American hoped to reach the
+welcome shores of France, bobbed up and down, as she ambled towards
+the low-lying coast, under a gentle southerly breeze. But there was
+trouble in this self-same wind, for the white wings of a British
+privateer grew nearer and nearer, and a hail soon came:
+
+"What's your name, and where are you bound?"
+
+Barney and his partners in distress did not answer at all. They
+scowled as a boat was lowered from the side of their pursuer, and
+quickly splashed towards them. In not many moments, a swearing
+sea-captain swung himself upon their deck.
+
+"Who are you, you lubbers?" said he. "Where' yer papers, and where'
+yer bound to?"
+
+"I'm a British officer," replied the astute Joshua, opening his coat
+and disclosing the uniform of the service. "I am bound for France upon
+official business."
+
+The Captain snickered.
+
+"An' with two others in er' launch? Aw go tell that to th' marines!"
+
+"It's God's truth. I'm in a state secret."
+
+"Wall--be that as it may be--you must come aboard of my vessel and
+tell yer state secret to th' authorities in England. Meanwhile, I'll
+put a skipper of my own aboard yer vessel and we'll travel
+together--bein' friends."
+
+Barney swore beneath his breath.
+
+Thus the two boats beat towards the coast of Merrie England in
+company, and upon the day following, came to anchor in a small harbor,
+six miles from Plymouth. The captain of the privateer went ashore in
+order to report to Admiral Digby at Plymouth, while most of the crew
+also hastened to the beach in order to avoid the chance of being
+seized by the press-gang, which harried incoming vessels for recruits
+for His Majesty's service.
+
+"Can't I go, too?" asked the cautious "Josh."
+
+"No, you must remain on board until we come for you," said the
+captain, as he jumped into his boat en route for the shore. "Mister
+Officer, I want to search your record." Then he laughed brutishly.
+
+But Barney's thinking cap was working like a mill race. There was a
+jolly-boat tied to the stern of the privateer, and, when all were safe
+ashore, he gently slipped into this, purposely skinning his leg as he
+did so. Then he sculled to the beach; where a group of idlers stood
+looking out to sea.
+
+"Here," he cried, as he neared them. "Help me haul up this boat, will
+yer? She's awful heavy."
+
+A custom's officer was among these loiterers and he was inquisitive.
+
+"Who are you?" said he. "What regiment and where stationed, pray?"
+
+"That I cannot answer, my friend," calmly replied the acute "Josh,"
+pointing to the blood as it trickled through his stocking. "I am badly
+injured, you see, and must go away in order to get my leg tied up.
+Prithee, kind sir, can you tell me where the crew from my vessel have
+gone to?"
+
+"They are at the Red Lion at the end of the village," replied the
+official of the law. "You are, indeed, badly hurt."
+
+"Wall, I reckon," replied the American, and, stumbling up the beach,
+he was soon headed for the end of the little village.
+
+But things were not to go too well with him. He found that he was
+obliged to pass the Red Lion, and he had almost succeeded in doing so
+unmolested, when one of the sailors who was loitering outside, cried
+out after him,
+
+"Ho, friend! I would speak with you!"
+
+"Josh" had to stop although sorely tempted to run for it.
+
+"I've got some idee of shippin' in th' Navy," said the fellow, as he
+approached. "Now, friend, you can tell me somethin' of th' pay an'
+service, as you're an officer of th' army."
+
+Barney's eyes shone with pleasure, as he saw that his disguise had
+deceived the fellow.
+
+"Walk along with me towards Plymouth," said he, "and I'll explain
+everything to you. I have business there which will not wait and I
+must get on to it."
+
+So they jogged along together, talking vigorously about the Navy, but,
+in the course of half an hour the jack-tar seemed to think better of
+his plan for entering "a service noted for its cruelty to seamen," and
+turned back, saying,
+
+"Thank'ee my fine friend. Thank'ee. I'll stick to privateerin'. It's
+easier an' there's less cat-o'-nine-tails to it."
+
+As soon as his burly form disappeared down the winding road, Barney
+began to grow anxious about his safety. Perhaps a guard would be sent
+after him? Perhaps--even now--men had discovered his absence and were
+hurrying to intercept him? So--with these thoughts upon his mind--he
+jumped over a stiff hedge into the grounds of Lord Mount-Edgecumbe.
+
+"Egad! it's touch and go with me," said he, as he walked down one of
+the gravelled paths. "I'm in for it now for here comes the gardener."
+
+Sure enough, towards him ambled a middle-aged fellow, smiling as he
+pushed along a wheel-barrow filled with bulbs.
+
+Joshua walked up to him, extending his right hand.
+
+"My friend," said he, "I am an officer escaping from some seamen who
+wish my life because of a duel in which I recently engaged over the
+hand of a fair lady. Here is a guinea. It is all that I possess.
+And--if you could but pilot me to the waterside and will not tell of
+my whereabouts--I will bless you to my dying day."
+
+The good-humored man-of-the-soil smiled benignly.
+
+"Prithee, but follow me," said he, "and we'll soon see that you pass
+by the way of the water gate. Your money is most welcome, sir, for my
+wife is just now ill and doctors must be paid, sir. That you know
+right well."
+
+Barney breathed easier as they walked towards the sea; for out of the
+corner of his eye he saw a guard--sent to capture him--tramping along
+the other side of the hedge over which he had leaped.
+
+"Good-bye and good luck!" cried the kind-hearted servant as he closed
+the private gate which led to the waterside. And, with a wave of the
+hand, the fleeing American was soon hastening to the winding river,
+over which he must cross in order to get on to Plymouth.
+
+Luck was still with him. A butcher who was ferrying some beeves by
+water, took him in his boat, and, as night fell, the keen-witted
+privateersman crept through the back door of the old clergyman's house
+at Plymouth--from which he had started. For the time being, he was
+safe.
+
+Strange to relate, the two friends of the fishing-smack adventure here
+joined him once more, for they, also, had run away from the crew of
+the privateer, and--as they sat around the supper-table--the
+town-crier went by the house, bawling in harsh and discordant tones:
+
+"Five guineas reward for the capture of Joshua Barney; a rebel
+deserter from Mill Prison! Five guineas reward for this deserter! Five
+guineas! Five guineas!"
+
+But Barney stuffed his napkin into his mouth in order to stop his
+laughter.
+
+Three days later a clean-shaven, bright-cheeked, young dandy stepped
+into a post chaise, at midnight, and drove off to Exeter. At Plymouth
+gate the conveyance was stopped; a lantern was thrust into the black
+interior; and the keen eyes of the guard scanned the visages of those
+within:
+
+"He's not here," growled the watchman, lowering the light. "Drive on!"
+
+Thus Joshua Barney rolled on to home and freedom, while the
+stout-bodied soldier little guessed that the artful privateersman had
+slipped through his fingers like water through a sieve.
+
+Two months later--in the autumn of 1781--Joshua Barney: fighter,
+privateer, liar and fugitive, walked down the quiet streets of
+Beverly, Massachusetts, and a little fish-monger's son whispered to
+his companions,
+
+"Say, Boys! That feller is a Jim Dandy. He's been through more'n we'll
+ever see. Say! He's a regular Scorcher!"
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Many months later--when the Revolutionary War had ended--the good ship
+_General Washington_ lay in Plymouth Harbor on the south coast of
+England. Her commander--Captain Joshua Barney--gazed contentedly at
+the Stars and Stripes as they flew jauntily from the mizzen-mast, and
+then walked to the rail, as a group of British officers came over the
+side. But there was one among these guests who was not an officer. He
+was bent, old, weather-beaten; and his dress showed him to be a tiller
+and worker of the soil. It was the aged and faithful gardener of Lord
+Mount-Edgecumbe.
+
+"You remember me?" cried the genial American, grasping the honest
+servant by the hand.
+
+The gardener's eyes were alight with pleasure.
+
+"You are the feller who jumped over the hedge--many years ago--when
+the sea-dogs were hot upon your trail."
+
+Joshua Barney chuckled.
+
+"The same," said he. "And here is a purse of gold to reward my kind
+and worthy helpmeet."
+
+So saying, he placed a heavy, chamois bag of glittering eagles into
+the trembling hands of the ancient retainer.
+
+
+
+
+THE DERELICT
+
+
+ Unmoored, unmanned, unheeded on the deep--
+ Tossed by the restless billow and the breeze,
+ It drifts o'er sultry leagues of tropic seas.
+ Where long Pacific surges swell and sweep,
+ When pale-faced stars their silent watches keep,
+ From their far rhythmic spheres, the Pleiades,
+ In calm beatitude and tranquil ease,
+ Smile sweetly down upon its cradled sleep.
+ Erewhile, with anchor housed and sails unfurled,
+ We saw the stout ship breast the open main,
+ To round the stormy Cape, and span the World,
+ In search of ventures which betoken gain.
+ To-day, somewhere, on some far sea we know
+ Her battered hulk is heaving to and fro.
+
+
+
+
+ROBERT SURCOUF
+
+THE "SEA HOUND" FROM ST. MALO
+
+(1773-1827)
+
+
+ "If you would be known never to have done anything,
+ never do it."--EMERSON.
+
+
+ROBERT SURCOUF
+
+THE "SEA HOUND" FROM ST. MALO
+
+(1773-1827)
+
+ _Parlez-vous Francais?_ Yes, Monsieur,
+ I can speak like a native,--sure.
+ Then, take off your cap to the lilies of France,
+ Throw it up high, and hasten the dance.
+ For "Bobbie" Surcouf has just come to town,
+ _Tenez!_ He's worthy of wearing a crown.
+
+
+It was a sweltering, hot day in July and the good ship _Aurora_ swung
+lazily in the torpid waters of the Indian Ocean. Her decks fairly
+sizzled in the sun, and her sails flopped like huge planks of wood.
+She was becalmed on a sheet of molten brass.
+
+"I can't stand this any longer," said a young fellow with black hair
+and swarthy skin. "I'm going overboard."
+
+From his voice it was easy to see he was a Frenchman.
+
+Hastily stripping himself, he went to the gangway, and standing upon
+the steps, took a header into the oily brine. He did not come up.
+
+"Sacre nom de Dieu!" cried a sailor. "Young Surcouf be no risen. Ah!
+He has been down ze long time. Ah! Let us lower ze boat and find
+heem."
+
+"Voila! Voila!" cried another. "He ees drowned!"
+
+_Plunkety, plunk, splash!_ went a boat over the side, and in a moment
+more, a half dozen sailors were eagerly looking into the deep, blue
+wash of the ocean.
+
+"He no there. I will dive for heem," cried out the fellow who had
+first spoken, and, leaping from the boat, he disappeared from view.
+
+In a few moments he re-appeared, drawing the body of the first diver
+with him. It was apparently helpless. The prostrate sailor was lifted
+to the deck; rubbed, worked over, scrubbed,--but no signs of life were
+there.
+
+Meanwhile, a Portuguese Lieutenant, who was pacing the poop, appeared
+to be much pleased at what took place.
+
+"The fellow's dead! The beggar's done for,--sure. Overboard with the
+rascal! To the waves with the dead 'un!"
+
+"Give us a few more moments," cried the sailors. "He will come to!"
+
+But the Lieutenant smiled satirically.
+
+"To the waves with the corpse! To the sharks with the man from St.
+Malo!" cried he.
+
+And all of this the senseless seaman heard--for--he was in a
+cataleptic fit, where he could hear, but could not move. The
+Portuguese Lieutenant and he were bitter enemies.
+
+"Oh, I tell you, Boys, the fellow's dead!" again cried the Portuguese.
+"Over with him!"
+
+So saying, he seized the inert body with his hands; dragged it to the
+ship's side; and started to lift it to the rail.
+
+Conscious of all that went on around him, the paralyzed Surcouf
+realized that, unless he could make some sign, he had only a few
+seconds to live. So, with a tremendous effort--he made a movement of
+his limbs. It was noticed.
+
+"Voila! Voila!" cried a French sailor. "He ees alife. No! No! You
+cannot kill heem!"
+
+Running forward, he grabbed the prostrate form of Robert Surcouf,
+pulled it back upon the deck, and--as the Portuguese Lieutenant went
+off cursing--he rubbed the cold hands of the half-senseless man. In a
+moment the supposed corpse had opened its eyes.
+
+"Ah!" he whispered. "I had a close call. A thousand thanks to all!"
+
+In five more moments he could stand upon the deck, and--believe me--he
+did not forget the Portuguese Lieutenant!
+
+Robert Surcouf was born at St. Malo--just one hundred years after Du
+Guay-Trouin, to whom he was related. And like his famous relative he
+had been intended for the Church,--but he was always fighting; was
+insubordinate, and could not be made to study. In fact, he was what is
+known as a "holy terror."
+
+Finally good Mamma Surcouf sent him to the Seminary of St. Dinan,
+saying:
+
+"Now, Robert, be a good boy and study hard thy lessons!"
+
+And Robert said, "Oui, Madame!" But he would not work.
+
+One day the master in arithmetic did not like the method in which
+young "Bobbie" answered him, and raising a cane, he ran towards the
+youthful scholar. But Robert had learned a kind of "Jiu-Jitsu"
+practiced by the youths of France, and he tackled his irate master
+like an end-rush upon the foot-ball team, when he dives for a runner.
+Both fell to the ground with a thud. And all the other boys yelled
+"Fine!" in unison.
+
+Now was a fierce battle, but weight told, and "Bobbie" was soon
+underneath, with his teeth in the leg of his tutor. They scratched and
+rolled until "Bobbie" freed himself, and, running to the window,
+jumped outside--for he was on the ground floor--scaled the garden
+fence, and made off. Home was twenty miles away.
+
+"I must get there, somehow," said young "Bobbie." "I can never go
+back. I will be spanked so that I cannot seat myself."
+
+So little "Bob" trudged onward in the snow, for it was winter. It grew
+dark. It was bitterly cold, and he had no hat. At length--worn out
+with cold and hunger--he sank senseless to the roadside.
+
+Luck pursues those destined for greatness.
+
+Some fish-merchants happened that way, and, seeing the poor, helpless,
+little boy, they picked him up; placed him upon a tiny dog-cart; and
+carried him to St. Malo, where he had a severe attack of pneumonia.
+But his good mother nursed him through, saying:
+
+"Ta donc! He will never be a scholar. Ta donc! Young Robbie must go to
+sea!"
+
+So when "Bobbie" was well he was shipped aboard the brig _Heron_,
+bound for Cadiz, Spain--and he was only just thirteen. But he threw up
+his cap crying,
+
+"This is just what I've always wanted. Hurrah for the salty brine!"
+
+At about twenty years of age we find him upon the good ship _Aurora_
+from which his dive into the Indian Ocean came near being his last
+splash. And the Portuguese Lieutenant did not forget.
+
+Upon the next visit of the cruiser _Aurora_ to the coast of Africa an
+epidemic of malarial fever struck the crew. Among those who succumbed
+to the disease was the Portuguese Lieutenant. He was dangerously ill.
+
+The ship arrived at the island of Mauritius, and, Lieutenant Robert
+Surcouf was just going ashore, when he received a message which said:
+
+"Come and see me. I am very ill." It was from his enemy,--the
+Portuguese.
+
+Surcouf did not like the idea, but after thinking the matter over, he
+went. But note this,--he had a pair of loaded pistols in his pocket.
+Dead men--you know--tell no tales.
+
+As he entered the sick man's cabin, a servant was there. The
+Portuguese made a sign to him to retire.
+
+"I wish to speak to you with a sincere heart," said he, turning his
+face to young Surcouf. "Before I pass from this world I want to
+relieve my conscience, and ask your forgiveness for all the evil which
+I have wished you during our voyages together."
+
+"I bear you no malice," said Surcouf. "Let by-gones be by-gones."
+
+As he spoke a spasm seemed to contort the body of the dying man. One
+arm stretched out towards a pillow nearby, and Robert had a sudden,
+but excellent thought. Stepping forward, he seized the hand of his old
+enemy, lifted the pillow, and, then started back with an exclamation
+of astonishment.
+
+"Ye Gods!" cried he. "You would murder me!"
+
+There, before him, were two cocked and loaded pistols.
+
+Leaping forward he grabbed the weapons, pointing one at the forehead
+of the rascally sailor.
+
+"You miserable beast!" cried he. "I can now shoot you like a dog, or
+squash you like an insect; but I despise you too much. I will leave
+you to die like a coward."
+
+"And," says a historian, "this is what the wretched man
+did,--blaspheming in despairing rage."
+
+In October, 1794, Lieutenant Surcouf saw his first big battle, for,
+the English being at war with the French, two British men-of-war
+hovered off the island of Mauritius, blockading the port of St.
+Thomas. They were the _Centurion_ of fifty-four guns, and the
+_Diomede_, also of fifty-four cannon, but with fewer tars. The French
+had four ships of war: the _Prudente_, forty guns; the _Cybele_,
+forty-four guns; the _Jean Bart_, twenty guns; and the _Courier_,
+fourteen guns. Surcouf was junior Lieutenant aboard the _Cybele_.
+
+It was a beautiful, clear day, as the French vessels ploughed out to
+battle; their sails aquiver with the soft breeze; their pennons
+fluttering; guns flashing; and eager sailors crowding to the rails
+with cutlasses newly sharpened and pistols in their sashes.
+
+_Boom!_
+
+The first gun spoke. The first shell spun across the bow of the
+British bull-dog _Diomede_, and the battle was on.
+
+Have you ever seen a school of pollock chasing a school of smaller
+fry? Have you ever seen them jump and splash, and thud upon the
+surface of the water?
+
+Well--that is the way that the shells looked and sounded--as they
+plumped and slushed into the surface of the southern sea; and every
+now and then there was a _punk_, and a _crash_, and a _chug_, as a
+big, iron ball bit into the side of a man-of-war.
+
+Around and around sailed the sparring assailants, each looking for a
+chance to board. _Crash! Roar! Crash!_ growled the broadsides. Shrill
+screams sounded from the wounded; the harsh voices of the officers
+echoed above the din of the conflict; and, the whining bugle squealed
+ominously between the roaring crush of grape and chain-shot.
+
+But the French got nearer and nearer. Great gaps showed in the
+bulwarks of the _Diomede_; one mast was tottering. Beaten and
+outnumbered she stood out to sea, her sailors crowding into the
+rigging like monkeys, and spreading every stitch of white canvas.
+
+"She runs! Egad, she runs!" cried the Commander of the other British
+vessel. "Faith, I cannot stand off four Frenchmen alone. I must after
+her to save my scalp."
+
+So--putting his helm hard over--he threw his vessel before the wind,
+and she spun off, pursued by bouncing shells and shrieking grapnel.
+
+"Voila!" cried the French. "Ze great battaile, eet belongs to us!" But
+there were many dead and wounded upon the decks of the proud French
+warships.
+
+Soon after this smart, little affair the soldiers and sailors who had
+been in this fight were discharged,--and--looking about for
+employment, young Robert took the first position that presented
+itself: the command of the brig _Creole_,--engaged in the slave trade.
+He made several successful voyages, but orders were issued to--
+
+ "Arrest the Slave Hunter and all his crew,
+ When they arrive at the Mauritius."
+
+One of those little birds which sometimes carry needed information,
+both on sea and land, whispered this ill news to the gallant, young
+sea-dog. So he steered for the isle of Bourbon, and there landed his
+human freight in a small bay. At daybreak he lay at anchor in the
+Harbor of St. Paul in that self-same island.
+
+About eight in the morning a boat was seen approaching, and to the
+hail,--"Who goes there?" came the reply--
+
+"Public Health Committee from St. Denis. We wish to come on board and
+to inspect your ship."
+
+Surcouf was much annoyed.
+
+"You can climb aboard," said he, stifling an exclamation of disgust.
+"I am at your service."
+
+In a few moments the commissioners were upon the deck, and, in a few
+moments more, they had discovered that the ship was a slaver.
+
+Turning to the youthful captain, one of the committee said:
+
+"You, sir, are engaged in illegal traffic. You must suffer for this,
+and must come with us at once to the city to answer an indictment
+drawn up against you."
+
+Surcouf smiled benignly.
+
+"I am at your service," said he, with a polite bow. "But do not go--I
+pray thee--until you have given me the great pleasure of partaking of
+the breakfast which my cook has hastily prepared."
+
+The Committee-men smiled.
+
+"You are very kind," said one. "We accept with pleasure."
+
+The hasty efforts of the cook proved to be most attractive. And, as
+the Commissioners smacked their lips over the good Madeira wine, the
+mate of the _Creole_ dismissed the boat which had brought the stolid
+Commissioners to the side.
+
+"The tender of our brig will take your people ashore," said he to the
+coxswain.
+
+No sooner had this tender neared the shore, than the cable of the
+_Creole_ was slipped; she left her anchorage; and quickly drew out to
+sea in a fresh sou'westerly breeze.
+
+The unaccustomed rallying soon warned the Commissioners that the
+vessel was no longer at anchor, and, rushing to the deck, they
+saw--with dismay--that a full half mile of foam-flecked ocean lay
+between them and the island.
+
+"Ye Gods!" cried one, turning to Surcouf. "What mean you by this,
+sir?"
+
+The crafty Captain was smiling like the Cheshire cat.
+
+"You are now in my power," said he--very slowly and deliberately. "I
+am going to take you to the coast of Africa among your friends--the
+negroes. You seem to prefer them to the whites, so why not, pray?
+Meanwhile,--my kind sirs,--come below and take my orders."
+
+The Commissioners were flabbergasted.
+
+"Pirate!" cried one.
+
+"Thief!" cried another.
+
+"Scamp!" shouted the third.
+
+But they went below,--mumbling many an imprecation upon the head of
+the crafty Robert Surcouf.
+
+That night the wind freshened, the waves rose, and the good ship
+_Creole_ pitched and tossed upon them, like a leaf. The Committee-men
+were very ill, for they were landsmen, and Surcouf's smile expanded.
+
+"Take us ashore! Take us ashore!" cried one. "We _must_ get upon
+land."
+
+Surcouf even laughed. Everything was as he wished.
+
+"I will land you upon one condition only," said he. "Destroy the
+indictment against me and my ship. Write a document to the effect that
+you have found no traces of slaves upon my staunch craft. Say that my
+boat was driven from her anchor by a tidal wave--and you can put your
+feet upon solid ground."
+
+The three Commissioners scowled, but he had them. Besides they were
+sea-sick.
+
+In an hour's time, the desired paper had been drawn up. The _Creole_
+was headed for the Mauritius,--and, in eight days, the sad but wiser
+Commissioners were brooding over the smartness of Robert Surcouf when
+seated in their own snug little homes. "He is a rascal," said one.
+"He's a slick and wily cur."
+
+So much reputation came to the young mariner--at this exploit--that he
+was soon offered the command of the _Emilie_: a privateer of one
+hundred and eighty tons and four guns. He accepted with glee, but when
+about to go to sea, the Governor refused him Letters of Marque.
+
+"What shall I do?" asked the crest-fallen Robert, approaching the
+owners of the trim and able craft.
+
+"Sail for the Seychelles (Islands off the east coast of Africa) for a
+cargo of turtles," said they. "If you fail to find these; fill up with
+corn, cotton and fruit. Fight shy of all English cruisers, and battle
+if you have to."
+
+Surcouf bowed.
+
+"I am not a regular privateer," he answered. "For I have no Letters of
+Marque. But I can defend myself if fired upon, and am an armed vessel
+in war-time. I may yet see some fighting."
+
+He was not to be disappointed.
+
+While at anchor at the Seychelles, two large and fat English
+men-of-war appeared in the offing. Surcouf had to run for it.
+
+Steering in among the many little islets, which here abound, he
+navigated the dangerous channels and got safely off, his men crying,
+
+"Voila! Here is a genius. We did well to ship with such a master!"
+
+But the gallant Surcouf soon turned from privateer to pirate.
+
+South of the Bay of Bengal, a cyclone struck the _Emilie_ and she was
+steered for Rangoon, where--
+
+ "The flying fishes play,
+ An' the dawn comes up like thunder,
+ Outer China across the Bay."
+
+And here a British vessel steered for her: white-winged, saucy,
+vindictive-looking.
+
+She came on valiantly, and, when within a hundred yards, pumped a shot
+across the bow of the drowsing _Emilie_. It meant "Show your colors."
+
+Hoisting the red, white and blue of France, Surcouf replied with three
+scorching shots. One struck the Britisher amid-ships, and pumped a
+hole in her black boarding.
+
+Like a timid girl, the Englishman veered off, hoisted her topsail, and
+tried to get away. She saw that she had caught a tartar.
+
+The blood was up of the "Man from St. Malo." "I consider the shot
+across my bows as an attack," said he, and he slapped on every stitch
+of canvas, so that the _Emilie_ was soon abreast of the Britisher.
+_Boom!_ A broadside roared into her and she struck her colors. Bold
+Robert Surcouf had passed the Rubicon,--he had seen the English flag
+lowered to him, for the first time; and his heart swelled with
+patriotic pride, in spite of the fact that this was an act of piracy,
+for which he could be hanged to the yard-arm.
+
+"On! On!" cried Surcouf. "More captures! More prizes!"
+
+Three days later three vessels carrying rice fell into his hands,--one
+of which,--a pilot-brig--was appropriated in place of the _Emilie_,
+which had a foul, barnacled bottom and had lost her speed. The
+_Diana_, another rice-carrier--was also captured--and Robert Surcouf
+headed for the Mauritius: pleased and happy.
+
+A few days later, as the vessels pottered along off the river Hooghly,
+the cry came:
+
+"A large sail standing into Balasore Roads!"
+
+In a moment Surcouf had clapped his glass to his keen and searching
+eye.
+
+"An East Indiaman," said he. "And rich, I'll warrant. Ready about and
+make after her. She's too strong for us,--that I see--but we may
+outwit her."
+
+The vessel, in fact, was the _Triton_, with six-and-twenty guns and a
+strong crew. Surcouf had but nineteen men aboard, including the
+surgeon and himself, and a few Lascars,--natives. The odds were
+heavily against him, but his nerve was as adamant.
+
+"My own boat has been a pilot-brig. Up with the pilot flag!" he cried.
+
+As the little piece of bunting fluttered in the breeze, the _Triton_
+hove to, and waited for him, as unsuspecting as could be. Surcouf
+chuckled.
+
+Nearer and nearer came his own vessel to the lolling Indiaman, and, as
+she rolled within hailing distance, the bold French sea-dog saw
+"_beaucoup de monde_"--a great crowd of people--upon the deck of the
+Englishman.
+
+"My lads!" cried he, turning to his crew. "This _Triton_ is very
+strong. We are only nineteen. Shall we try to take her by surprise and
+thus acquire both gain and glory? Or, do you prefer to rot in a
+beastly English prison-ship?"
+
+"Death or victory!" cried the Frenchmen.
+
+Surcouf smiled.
+
+"This ship shall either be our tomb, or the cradle of our glory," said
+he. "It is well!"
+
+The crew and passengers of the _Triton_ saw only a pilot-brig
+approaching, as these did habitually (to within twenty or thirty feet)
+in order to transfer the pilot. Suddenly a few uttered exclamations of
+surprise and dismay. The French colors rose to the mast of the
+sorrowful-looking pilot-boat, and with a flash and a roar, a heavy
+dose of canister and grape ploughed into the unsuspecting persons upon
+the deck of the Indiaman. Many sought shelter from the hail of iron.
+
+A moment more, and the brig was alongside. A crunching: a splitting of
+timber as the privateer struck and ground into the bulwarks of the
+_Triton_, and, with a wild yell--Surcouf leaped upon the deck of his
+adversary--followed by his eighteen men, with cutlass, dirks and
+pistols.
+
+There was but little resistance. The Captain of the _Triton_ seized a
+sword and made a vain attempt to stem the onslaught of the boarders,
+but he was immediately cut down. The rest were driven below, and the
+hatches clapped tight above them. In five minutes the affair was over,
+with five killed and six wounded upon the side of the English: one
+killed and one wounded among the French. Surcouf had made a master
+stroke. The _Triton_ was his own.
+
+The many prisoners were placed on board the _Diana_ and allowed to
+make their way to Calcutta, but the _Triton_ was triumphantly steered
+to the Mauritius, where Surcouf received a tremendous ovation.
+
+"Hurrah for Robert Surcouf: the sea-hound from St. Malo!" shrieked the
+townsfolk.
+
+"Your captures are all condemned," said the Governor of the island, a
+few days after his triumphant arrival. "For you sailed and fought not
+under a Letter of Marque, so you are a pirate and not a privateer.
+Those who go a-pirating must pay the piper. Your prizes belong to the
+Government of France, and its representative. I hereby seize them."
+
+Surcouf was nonplussed.
+
+"We will take this matter to France, itself," cried he. "And we shall
+see whether or no all my exertions shall go for nought."
+
+So the case was referred to the French courts, where Robert appeared
+in person to plead his cause. And the verdict was:
+
+"The captures of Captain Robert Surcouf of St. Malo are all declared
+'good prize' and belong to him and the owners of his vessel."
+
+So the wild man from St. Malo was very happy, and he and his owners
+pocketed a good, round sum of money. But he really was a pirate and
+not a privateer. _Tenez!_ He had the money, at any rate, so why should
+he care?
+
+The remaining days of Robert's life were full of battle, and, just a
+little love, for he returned to his native town during the progress of
+the law-suit--in order to see his family and his friends, and there
+became engaged to Mlle. Marie Blaize, who was as good as she was
+pretty. But the sea sang a song which ran:
+
+ "For men must work and women must weep,
+ The home of a hero is on the deep."
+
+which the stout sea-dog could not resist. So he left the charming
+demoiselle without being married, and 'tis said that she wept
+bitterly.
+
+Now came his greatest exploit.
+
+On October 7th, 1800, the hardy mariner--in command of the _Confiance_;
+a new vessel with one hundred and thirty souls aboard--was cruising
+off the Indian coast. He had a Letter of Marque this time, so all
+would go well with him if he took a prize. The opportunity soon came.
+A sail was sighted early that day, and Surcouf scanned her carefully
+through his glass.
+
+[Illustration: "SURCOUF SCANNED HER CAREFULLY THROUGH HIS GLASS."]
+
+"She's a rich prize," said he. "An Indiaman. All hands on deck.
+Make sail! Drinks all round for the men! Clear for action!"
+
+He spoke this to himself, for he was aloft, and, climbing to the deck,
+ordered everybody aft to listen to a speech. When they had collected
+there, he said, with feeling:
+
+"I suppose each one of you is more than equal to one Englishman? Very
+good--be armed and ready for boarding--and, as it is going to be hot
+work, I'll give you one hour for pillage. You can fight, and, behind
+me, you should be invincible! Strike, and strike hard; and you will be
+rich."
+
+The _Kent_ had four hundred and thirty-seven souls aboard, says an old
+chronicler, for she had picked up a great part of the crew of the
+_Queen_: an East Indiaman which had been destroyed off the coast of
+Brazil. Her Captain's name was Rivington and he was a fellow of heroic
+courage.
+
+As the _Confiance_ drew near, the crew of the Englishman gave her a
+fair broadside and pumped gun after gun into her hull. But the
+Frenchman held her fire, and bore in close, in order to grapple.
+Hoarse shouts sounded above the roar of the guns and the splitting of
+timber, as the two war-dogs closed for action. The crew of the _Kent_
+were poorly armed and undisciplined: they had never fought together.
+With Surcouf it was far different. His sailors were veterans--they had
+boarded many a merchantman and privateer before--and, they were well
+used to this gallant pastime. Besides, each had a boarding-axe, a
+cutlass,--pistol and a dagger--to say nothing of a blunderbuss loaded
+with six bullets, pikes fifteen feet long, and enormous clubs--all of
+this with "drinks all round" and the promise of pillage. No wonder
+they could fight!
+
+With a wild, ear-splitting whoop the wild men of the French privateer
+finally leaped over the rail--upon the deck of the Englishman--and
+there was fierce struggling for possession of her. At the head of his
+men, Rivington fought like a true Briton,--cutlass in hand, teeth
+clinched, eyes to the front. He was magnificent.
+
+But what could one man do against many?
+
+Back, back, the French forced the valiant lion, while his crew fell
+all about in tiers, and, at length, they drove him to the poop. He was
+bleeding from many a wound. He was fast sinking.
+
+"Don't give up the ship!" he cried, casting his eye aloft at the red
+ensign of his country.
+
+Then he fell upon his face, and the maddened followers of Surcouf
+swept over the decking like followers of Attila, the terrible Hun.
+
+"Spare the women!" shouted the French Captain above the din--and roar
+of battle. "Pillage; but spare the women!"
+
+It was well that he had spoken, for his cut-throats were wild with the
+heat of battle. In twenty minutes the _Kent_ was helpless; her crew
+were prisoners; and the saucy pennon of France fluttered where once
+had waved the proud ensign of Great Britain.
+
+Surcouf was happy. Landing the English prisoners in an Arab vessel, he
+arrived at the Mauritius with his prize in November, and soon took his
+doughty _Confiance_ to the low shores of France, catching a
+Portuguese merchant en route, and anchoring at La Rochelle, on April
+13th, 1801.
+
+Rich, famous, respected; he now married the good Mlle. Marie Blaize,
+and became the owner of privateers and a respected citizen of the
+Fatherland. Fortune had favored this brave fellow.
+
+As a prosperous ship-owner and ship-builder of his native
+village--"the Sea-Hound of St. Malo"--closed his adventurous life in
+the year 1827. And when he quietly passed away, the good housewives
+used to mutter:
+
+"Look you! Here was a man who fought the English as well as they
+themselves could fight. He was a true son of William the Conqueror.
+Look you! This was a King of the Ocean!"
+
+And the gulls wheeled over the grave of the doughty sea-warrior,
+shrieking,
+
+"He-did-it! He-did-it! He-did-it!"
+
+
+
+
+THE CRY FROM THE SHORE
+
+
+ Come down, ye greyhound mariners,
+ Unto the wasting shore!
+ The morning winds are up,--the Gods
+ Bid me to dream no more.
+ Come, tell me whither I must sail,
+ What peril there may be,
+ Before I take my life in hand
+ And venture out to sea!
+
+ _We may not tell thee where to sail,_
+ _Nor what the dangers are;_
+ _Each sailor soundeth for himself,_
+ _Each hath a separate star;_
+ _Each sailor soundeth for himself,_
+ _And on the awful sea,_
+ _What we have learned is ours alone;_
+ _We may not tell it thee._
+
+ Come back, O ghostly mariners,
+ Ye who have gone before!
+ I dread the dark, tempestuous tides;
+ I dread the farthest shore.
+ Tell me the secret of the waves;
+ Say what my fate shall be,--
+ Quick! for the mighty winds are up,
+ And will not wait for me.
+
+ _Hail and farewell, O voyager!_
+ _Thyself must read the waves;_
+ _What we have learned of sun and storm_
+ _Lies with us in our graves;_
+ _What we have learned of sun and storm_
+ _Is ours alone to know._
+ _The winds are blowing out to sea,_
+ _Take up thy life and go!_
+
+
+
+
+LAFITTE
+
+PRIVATEER, PIRATE, AND TERROR OF THE GULF OF MEXICO
+
+(1780-1826)
+
+
+ "For it's fourteen men on a dead man's chest,
+ Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum."
+
+ --STEVENSON.
+
+
+LAFITTE
+
+PRIVATEER, PIRATE, AND TERROR OF THE GULF OF MEXICO
+
+(1780-1826)
+
+ "He was the mildest mannered man,
+ That ever scuttled ship or cut a throat;
+ With such true breeding of a gentleman,
+ That you could ne'er discern his proper thought.
+ Pity he loved an adventurous life's variety,
+ He was _so_ great a loss to good society."
+
+ --_Old Ballad._--1810.
+
+
+"Captain, we can't live much longer unless we have food. We've got
+enough to last us for two weeks' time, and then--if we do not get
+fresh provisions--we'll have to eat the sails."
+
+The fellow who spoke was a rough-looking sea-dog, with a yellow
+face--parched and wrinkled by many years of exposure--a square figure;
+a red handkerchief tied about his black hair; a sash about his waist
+in which was stuck a brace of evil-barrelled pistols. He looked grimly
+at the big-boned man before him.
+
+"Yes. You are right, as usual, Gascon. We've got to strike a foreign
+sail before the week is out, and capture her. And I, Lafitte, must
+turn from privateer to pirate. May my good mother at St. Malo have
+mercy on my soul."
+
+And, so saying, he turned to pace restlessly upon the sloping deck of
+the two-hundred-ton barque which boiled along under a spread of
+bellying canvas, and was guided by the keen eye of this youthful
+mariner. He came from the same little town in France which sheltered
+the good mother of Du Guay-Trouin, the great French "blue." His name
+was Jean Lafitte.
+
+This sea-rover had been born in 1781, and had taken to the ocean at
+the age of thirteen, when most boys are going to boarding-school.
+After several voyages in Europe, and to the coast of Africa, he was
+appointed mate of a French East Indiaman, bound to Madras in India.
+But things did not go any too well with the sturdy ship; a heavy gale
+struck her off the Cape of Good Hope; she sprung her mainmast,
+and--flopping along like a huge sea-turtle--staggered into the port of
+St. Thomas in the island of Mauritius, off the east coast of Africa.
+
+"Here," said young Lafitte to his Captain, "is where I leave you, for
+you are a bully, a braggart, and a knave."
+
+And, so saying, he cut for shore in the jolly-boat, but--if the truth
+must be known--Lafitte and the Captain were too much alike to get on
+together. They both wished to "be boss." Like magnets do not attract,
+but repel.
+
+Luck was with the young deserter. Several privateers were being fitted
+out at the safe port of St. Thomas and he was appointed Captain of one
+of them. Letters of Marque were granted by the Governor of the
+Mauritius.
+
+"Ah ha!" cried the youthful adventurer. "Now I can run things to suit
+myself. And I'll grow rich."
+
+This he speedily succeeded in doing, for, in the course of his cruise,
+he robbed several vessels which came in his path, and, stopping at the
+Seychelles (Islands off the eastern coast of Africa), took on a load
+of slaves for the port of St. Thomas. Thus he had descended--not only
+to piracy--but also to slave catching; the lowest depths to which a
+seaman could come down.
+
+When four days out from the curiously named islands, a cry went up
+from the watch,
+
+"Sail ho! Off the port bow! A British frigate, by much that's good,
+and she's after us with all speed!"
+
+To which bold Lafitte answered, "Then, we must run for it!" But he
+hoisted every bit of canvas which he had about and headed for the Bay
+of Bengal. "And," said he, "if she does not catch us and we get away,
+we'll take an English merchantman and burn her." Then he laughed
+satirically.
+
+The British frigate plodded along after the lighter vessel of Lafitte's
+until the Equator was reached, and then she disappeared,--disgruntled at
+not being able to catch the saucy tartar. But the privateersman headed
+for the blue Bay of Bengal; there fell in with an English armed schooner
+with a numerous crew; and--although he only had two guns and twenty-six
+men aboard his own vessel--he tackled the sailors from the chilly isle
+like a terrier shaking a rat. There was a stiff little fight upon the
+shimmering waves of the Indian Ocean. When night descended the
+Britisher had struck and nineteen blood-stained ruffians from the
+privateer took possession of the battered hulk, singing a song which
+ran:
+
+ "For it's fourteen men on a dead man's chest,
+ Yo-Ho-Ho and a bottle of rum."
+
+Lafitte was now feeling better; his men had been fed; he had good
+plunder; and he possessed two staunch, little craft.
+
+"Let's bear away for India, my Hearties," cried he, "and we'll hit
+another Englishman and take her."
+
+What he had said soon came to pass, for, when off the hazy, low-lying
+coast of Bengal, a rakish East Indiaman came lolling by, armed with
+twenty-six twelve-pounders and manned with one hundred and fifty men.
+A bright boarding upon her stern-posts flaunted the truly Eastern
+name: the _Pagoda_.
+
+The dull-witted Britishers had no suspicions of the weak,
+Puritan-looking, little two-'undred tonner of Lafitte's, as she glided
+in close; luffed; and bobbed about, as a voice came:
+
+"Sa-a-y! Want a pilot fer the Ganges?"
+
+There was no reply for a while. Then a voice shrilled back,
+
+"Come up on th' port quarter. That's just what we've been lookin'
+for."
+
+The fat _Pagoda_ ploughed listlessly onward, as the
+unsuspicious-looking pilot plodded up on the port side; in fact, most
+of the crew were dozing comfortably under awnings on the deck, when a
+shot rang out. Another and another followed, and, with a wild,
+ear-splitting whoop, the followers of Lafitte clambered across the
+rail; dirks in their mouths; pistols in their right hands, and
+cutlasses in their left.
+
+Now was a short and bloodless fight. Taken completely by surprise, the
+Englishmen threw up their hands and gave in only too willingly. With
+smiles of satisfaction upon their faces, the seamen of the bad man
+from St. Malo soon hauled two kegs of spirits upon the decks, and held
+high revel upon the clean boarding of the rich and valuable prize. The
+_Pagoda_ was re-christened _The Pride of St. Malo_, and soon went off
+privateering upon her own hook; while Lafitte headed back for St.
+Thomas: well-fed--even sleek with good living--and loaded down with
+the treasure which he had taken. "Ah-ha!" cried the black-haired
+navigator. "I am going to be King of the Indian waters."
+
+Now came the most bloody and successful of his battles upon the broad
+highway of the gleaming, southern ocean.
+
+Taking command of the _La Confidence_ of twenty-six guns and two
+hundred and fifty men, whom he found at the port of St. Thomas, he
+again headed for the coast of British India; keen in the expectation
+of striking a valuable prize. And his expectations were well
+fulfilled.
+
+In October, 1807, the welcome cry of "Sail Ho!" sounded from the
+forward watch, when off the Sand Heads, and there upon the starboard
+bow was a spot of white, which proved to be a Queen's East Indiaman,
+with a crew of near four hundred. She carried forty guns.
+
+There were double the number of cannon, there were double the number
+of men, but Lafitte cried out:
+
+"I came out to fight and I'm going to do it, comrades! You see before
+you a vessel which is stronger than our own, but, with courage and
+nerve, we can beat her. I will run our own ship close to the enemy.
+You must lie down behind the protecting sides of our vessel until we
+touch the stranger. Then--when I give the signal to board--let each
+man seize a cutlass, a dirk, and two pistols, and strike down all that
+oppose him. We _must_ and _can_ win!"
+
+These stirring words were greeted by a wild and hilarious cheer.
+
+Now, running upon the port tack, the _La Confidence_ bore down upon
+the Britisher with the water boiling under her bows; while the
+stranger luffed, and prepared for action. Shrill cries sounded from
+her huge carcass as her guns were loaded and trained upon the
+on-coming foe, while her masts began to swarm with sharpshooters eager
+to pick off the ravenous sea-dogs from the Mauritius.
+
+Suddenly a terrific roar sounded above the rattle of ropes and creak
+of hawsers--and a broadside cut into the _La Confidence_ with keen
+accuracy.
+
+"Lie flat upon the deck," cried Lafitte, "and dodge the iron boys if
+you can see 'em."
+
+His men obeyed, and, as the missiles pounded into the broad sides of
+their ship, the steersman ran her afoul of the Queen's East Indiaman.
+When he did so, many sailors swarmed into the rigging, and from the
+yards and tops threw bombs and grenades into the forecastle of the
+enemy, so that death and terror made the Britishers abandon the
+portion of their vessel near the mizzen-mast.
+
+"Forty of the crew will now board," cried Lafitte. "And let every
+mother's son strike home!"
+
+With pistols in their hands and daggers held between their teeth, the
+wild sea-rovers rollicked across the gunwales like a swarm of rats.
+Dancing up the deck of the Britisher they beat back all who opposed
+them, driving them below into the steerage. Shots rang out like
+spitting cats; dirks gleamed; and cutlasses did awful execution. But
+the Captain of the Indiaman was rallying his men about him on the
+poop, and, with a wild cheer, these precipitated themselves upon the
+victorious privateers.
+
+"Board! Board!" cried Lafitte, at this propitious moment, and, cutlass
+in hand, he leaped from his own vessel upon the deck of the East
+Indiaman. His crew followed with a yelp of defiant hatred, and beat
+the Captain's party back again upon the poop, where they stood
+stolidly, cursing at the rough sea-riders from St. Thomas.
+
+But Lafitte was a general not to be outdone by such a show of force.
+He ordered a gun to be loaded with grape-shot; had it pointed towards
+the place where the crowd was assembled; and cried--
+
+"If you don't give in now, I'll exterminate all of you at one
+discharge of my piece."
+
+It was the last blow. Seeing that it was useless to continue the
+unequal struggle, the British Captain held up his long cutlass, to
+which was bound a white handkerchief, and the great sea battle was
+over. Lafitte and his terrible crew had captured a boat of double the
+size of his own, and with twice his numbers.
+
+Says an old chronicler of the period: "This exploit, hitherto
+unparalleled, resounded through India, and the name of Lafitte became
+the terror of English commerce in these latitudes. The British vessels
+now traversed the Indian Ocean under strong convoys, in order to beat
+off this harpy of South Africa."
+
+"Egad," said Lafitte about this time, "these fellows are too smart for
+me. I'll have to look for other pickings. I'm off for France."
+
+So he doubled the Cape of Good Hope, coasted up the Gulf of Guinea,
+and, in the Bight of Benin, took two valuable prizes loaded down with
+gold dust, ivory, and palm oil. With these he ran to St. Malo, where
+the people said:
+
+"Tenez! Here is a brave fellow, but would you care to have his
+reputation, Monsieur?" And they shook their heads, shrugged their
+shoulders, and looked the other way when they saw him coming.
+
+The privateersman, slaver, and pirate was not going to be long with
+them, however, for he soon fitted out a brigantine, mounted twenty
+guns on her, and with one hundred and fifty men, sailed for
+Guadaloupe, among the West Indies. He took several valuable prizes,
+but, during his absence upon a cruise, the island was captured by the
+British, so he started for a more congenial clime. He roved about for
+some months, to settle at last at Barrataria, near New Orleans,
+Louisiana. He was rich; he had amassed great quantities of booty; and
+he was a man of property. Lafitte, in fact, was a potentate.
+
+"Now," said the privateer and pirate, "I will settle down and found a
+colony."
+
+But can a man of action keep still?
+
+It is true that Lafitte was not as bold and audacious as before, for
+he was now obliged to have dealings with merchants of the United
+States and the West Indies who frequently owed him large sums of
+money, and the cautious transactions necessary to found and to conduct
+a colony of pirates and smugglers in the very teeth of civilization,
+made the black-haired Frenchman cloak his real character under a
+veneer of supposed gentility. Hundreds of privateers, pirates, and
+smugglers gathered around the banner of this robber of the high seas.
+
+But what is Barrataria?
+
+Part of the coast of Louisiana is called by that name: that part lying
+between Bastien Bay on the east, and the mouth of the wide river, or
+bayou of La Fourche, on the west. Not far from the rolling, sun-baked
+Atlantic are the lakes of Barrataria, connecting with one another by
+several large bayous and a great number of branches. In one of these
+is the Island of Barrataria, while this sweet-sounding name is also
+given to a large basin which extends the entire length of the cypress
+swamps, from the Gulf of Mexico, to a point three miles above New
+Orleans. The waters from this lake slowly empty into the Gulf by two
+passages through the Bayou Barrataria, between which lies an island
+called Grand Terre: six miles in length, and three in breadth, running
+parallel with the coast. To the West of this is the great pass of
+Barrataria, where is about nine to ten feet of water: enough to float
+the ordinary pirate or privateersman's vessel. Within this pass--about
+two miles from the open sea--lies the only safe harbor upon the coast,
+and this is where the cut-throats, pirates, and smugglers gathered
+under Lafitte. They called themselves _Barratarians_, and they were a
+godless crew.
+
+At a place called Grand Terre, the privateers would often make public
+sale of their cargoes and prizes by auction. And the most respectable
+inhabitants of the State were accustomed to journey there in order to
+purchase the goods which the _Barratarians_ had to offer. They would
+smile, and say,
+
+"We are going to get some of the treasure of Captain Kidd."
+
+But the Government of the United States did not take so kindly to the
+idea of a privateer and pirate colony within its borders. And--with
+malice aforethought--one Commodore Patterson was sent to disperse
+these marauders at Barrataria, who, confident of their strength and
+fighting ability, defiantly flaunted their flag in the faces of the
+officers of the Government. "We can lick the whole earth," chuckled
+the piratical followers of Lafitte.
+
+Patterson was a good fighter. On June the eleventh he departed from
+New Orleans with seventy members of the 44th regiment of infantry. On
+the sixteenth he made for the Island of Barrataria, with some six
+gun-boats, a launch mounting one twelve pound carronade; the _Sea
+Horse_ (a tender carrying one six-pounder) and the schooner
+_Carolina_.
+
+"We must fight, Boys," cried Lafitte to his ill-assorted mates. "Come,
+take to our schooners and show these officers that the followers of
+Lafitte can battle like Trojans."
+
+A cheer greeted these noble sentiments.
+
+"Lead on!" yelled his cut-throats. "Lead on and we'll sink these cocky
+soldiers as we've done to many an East Indiaman!"
+
+So, about two o'clock in the afternoon, the privateers and pirates
+formed their vessels, ten in number (including their prizes) near the
+entrance of the harbor.
+
+_Crash!_
+
+A shell from the forward gun of the leading gun-boat spun across the
+bows of Lafitte's flagship and buried itself in the gray water with a
+dull sob.
+
+Up went a huge white flag upon the foremost mast-head of the king
+pirate and these words could be plainly seen:
+
+"Pardon for all Deserters."
+
+"Ah, ha," chuckled Patterson. "The arch ruffian has heard that some of
+my men are ashore and this is the way he would hire them."
+
+_Crash!_
+
+Another shell ricochetted across the still surface of the harbor and
+sunk itself in the side of a piratical brig.
+
+"Hello!" cried a Lieutenant, running up to the United States
+Commander. "They're giving up already. See! The beggars are hastening
+ashore in order to skip into the woods."
+
+"I'm afraid so," answered the disappointed Commodore. "All my pains
+for nothing. The fellows are getting away."
+
+Sure enough--afraid to remain and fight it out--the craven followers
+of Lafitte now turned their schooners to the shore--ran their bows
+into the sand, and, leaping overboard, made into the forest as fast as
+their legs could carry them. Thus--without firing a shot--the cowardly
+pirates of Barrataria "took to the bush."
+
+"The enemy had mounted on their vessels, twenty pieces of cannon of
+different calibre," wrote Patterson, after this tame affair. "And, as
+I have since learnt, they had from eight hundred to one thousand men
+of all nations and colors. When I perceived the pirates forming their
+vessels into a line of battle I felt confident, from their fleet and
+very advantageous position, and their number of men, that they would
+have fought me. Their not doing so I regret; for had they, I should
+have been enabled more effectually to destroy or make prisoners of
+them and their leaders; but it is a subject of great satisfaction to
+me, to have effected the object of my enterprise, without the loss of
+a man. On the afternoon of the 23rd, I got under way with my whole
+squadron, in all seventeen vessels, but during the night one escaped
+and the next day I arrived at New Orleans with my entire command."
+
+Thus ended the magnificent (?) attempt of the vainglorious Lafitte to
+stem the advance of the Government of the United States. In the
+parlance of the camp, "He was a fust-class quitter."
+
+But he did not show himself to be a "quitter" in the battle of New
+Orleans.
+
+The English and Americans, in fact, were soon at each other's throats
+in the ungentle game of war. At different times the British had sought
+to attack the pirates of Barrataria, in the hope of taking their
+prizes and armed vessels. On June 23rd, 1813, while two of Lafitte's
+privateers were lying to off of Cat Island, an English sloop-of-war
+came to anchor at the entrance of the pass, and sent out two boats in
+the endeavor to capture the rakish sea-robbers. But they were repulsed
+with severe and galling loss.
+
+On the 2nd of September, 1814, an armed brig appeared on the coast,
+opposite the famous pass to the home of the rangers of the sea. She
+fired a gun at a smuggler, about to enter, and forced her to poke her
+nose into a sand-bar; she then jibed over and came to anchor at the
+entrance to the shallows.
+
+"That vessel means business, sure," said one of the pirates to
+Lafitte. "She has spouted one gun, but now she's lyin' to. Better see
+what's up."
+
+"You're right," answered the famous sea-rover. "We'll go off in a boat
+and look out for what's going to happen."
+
+So, starting from the shore, he was soon on his way to the brig, from
+which a pinnace was lowered, in which could be seen two officers, one
+of whom had a flag of truce. The two boats rapidly neared each other.
+
+"Where is Mr. Lafitte?" cried one of the Britishers, as the pinnace
+neared the shore. "I would speak with the Laird of Barrataria."
+
+But Lafitte was not anxious to make himself known.
+
+"He's ashore," said he. "But, if you have communications for him,
+these I can deliver."
+
+"Pray, give him these packages, my good man," spoke the English tar,
+handing him a bundle of letters, tied up in tarpaulin.
+
+Lafitte smiled.
+
+"I would be delighted to do so," he replied. "But, pray come ashore
+and there I will return you your answer after I have seen the great
+Captain, who is camping about a league inland."
+
+The Britishers readily assented, and both rowed towards the sandy
+beach, where a great number of pirates of Barrataria had collected.
+
+As soon as the boats were in shallow water, Lafitte made himself known
+to the English, saying:
+
+"Do not let my men know upon what business you come, for it will go
+ill with you. My followers know that war is now on between Great
+Britain and the United States, and, if they hear you are making
+overtures with me, they will wish to hang you."
+
+It was as he had said. When the Englishmen landed, a great cry went up
+amongst the privateers, pirates and smugglers:
+
+"Hang the spies! Kill the dirty dogs! To the yard-arm with the
+rascally Englishmen! Send the hounds to New Orleans and to jail!"
+
+But Lafitte dissuaded the multitude from their intent and led the
+officers in safety to his dwelling, where he opened the package,
+finding a proclamation addressed to the inhabitants of Louisiana, by
+Col. Edward Nichalls--British commander of the land forces in this
+state--requesting them to come under the sheltering arm of the British
+Government. There were also two letters to himself, asking him to join
+and fight with the English.
+
+"If you will but battle with us," said Captain Lockyer--one of the
+British officers--"we will give you command of a forty-four gun
+frigate, and will make you a Post Captain. You will also receive
+thirty thousand dollars,--payable at Pensacola."
+
+Lafitte looked dubiously at him.
+
+"I will give answer in a few days," he replied, with courtesy.
+
+"You are a Frenchman," continued the British Captain. "You are not in
+the service of the United States, nor likely to be. Come--man--give us
+a reply at once."
+
+Captain Lafitte was obdurate, for--strange as it may seem--he wished
+to inform the officers of the State Government of this project of the
+English. So he withdrew to his own hut.
+
+As he did this, the pirates seized the British officers, dragged them
+to a cabin, and thrust them inside. A guard was stationed at the door,
+while cries went up from every quarter:
+
+"To New Orleans with the scoundrels! A yard-arm for the butchers! A
+rope's end for the scurvy tars!"
+
+Lafitte was furious when he learned of this, and, after haranguing the
+crowd, had the Britishers released.
+
+"If you treat men under a flag of truce as prisoners," he cried, "you
+break one of the first rules of warfare. You will get the same
+treatment if you, yourselves, are captured, and you will lose the
+opportunity of discovering what are the projects of the British upon
+Louisiana."
+
+His men saw the good sense of these words of advice, and acted
+accordingly.
+
+Early the next morning the officers were escorted to their pinnace
+with many apologies from Lafitte, who now wrote a letter to Captain
+Lockyer, which shows him to have been a man of considerable
+cultivation, and not a mere "rough and tumble" pirate--without
+education or refinement. He said:
+
+ "BARRATARIA, 4th Sept., 1814.
+
+ "TO CAPTAIN LOCKYER,
+
+ "SIR:--The confusion which prevailed in our camp
+ yesterday and this morning, and of which you have a
+ complete knowledge, has prevented me from answering in a
+ precise manner to the object of your mission; nor even
+ at this moment can I give you all the satisfaction that
+ you desire. However, if you could grant me a fortnight,
+ I would be entirely at your disposal at the end of that
+ time.
+
+ "This delay is indispensable to enable me to put my
+ affairs in order. You may communicate with me by sending
+ a boat to the Eastern point of the pass, where I will be
+ found. You have inspired me with more confidence than
+ the Admiral--your superior officer--could have done,
+ himself. With you alone I wish to deal, and from you,
+ also, I will claim in due time, the reward of the
+ services which I may render you.
+
+ "Your very respectful servant,
+
+ "J. LAFITTE."
+
+His object in writing this letter--you see--was, by appearing to
+accede to the proposals, to give time to communicate the affair to the
+officers of the State Government of Louisiana and to receive from them
+instructions how to act, under circumstances so critical and important
+to his own country: that is, the country of his adoption.
+
+He, therefore, addressed the following epistle to the Governor of
+Louisiana. Do you think that you, yourself, could write as well as did
+this pirate?
+
+ "BARRATARIA, Sept. 4th, 1814.
+
+ "TO GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE:
+
+ "SIR:--In the firm persuasion that the choice made of
+ you to fill the office of first magistrate of this
+ State, was dictated by the esteem of your fellow
+ citizens, and was conferred on merit, I confidently
+ address you on an affair on which may depend the safety
+ of this country.
+
+ "I offer to you to restore to this State several
+ citizens, who perhaps, in your eyes, have lost that
+ sacred title. I offer you them, however, such as you
+ could wish to find them, ready to exert their utmost
+ efforts in the defence of the country.
+
+ "This point of Louisiana, which I occupy, is of great
+ importance in the present crisis. I tender my services
+ to defend it; and the only reward I ask is that a stop
+ be put to the proscription against me and my adherents,
+ by an act of oblivion, for all that has been done
+ heretofore.
+
+ "I am the stray sheep wishing to return to the fold.
+
+ "If you are thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my
+ offences, I should appear to you much less guilty, and
+ still worthy to discharge the duties of a good citizen.
+ I have never sailed under any flag but the republic of
+ Carthagena, and my vessels were perfectly regular in
+ that respect.
+
+ "If I could have brought my lawful prizes into the ports
+ of this State, I should not have employed illicit means
+ that have caused me to be proscribed (hounded by the
+ State authorities).
+
+ "I decline to say more upon this subject until I have
+ your Excellency's answer, which I am persuaded can be
+ dictated only by wisdom. Should your answer not be
+ favorable to my ardent desire, I declare to you that I
+ will instantly leave the country, to avoid the
+ imputation of having cooperated towards an invasion on
+ this point, which cannot fail to take place, and to rest
+ secure in the acquittal of my conscience.
+
+ "I have the honor to be,
+
+ "Your Excellency's Most Humble Servant,
+
+ "J. LAFITTE."
+
+Now how is that for a swashbuckling privateer? Anyone would be proud
+of such a letter and it does honor to the judgment of this sand-spit
+king, giving clear evidence of a strange but sincere attachment to the
+American cause. Hurrah for the Frenchman!
+
+This missive, in fact, made such an impression upon the Governor that
+he had an interview with Lafitte, who was ushered into his presence
+only to find General Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory) closeted with the
+chief executive.
+
+"My dear sir," said the effusive Governor. "Your praiseworthy wishes
+shall be laid before the council of the State, and I will confer with
+my august friend, here present, upon this important affair, and send
+you an answer."
+
+Bowing low, the courteous privateersman withdrew.
+
+"Farewell," cried Old Hickory after his retreating form. "When we meet
+again I trust that it will be in the ranks of the American Army."
+
+And in two days' time appeared the following proclamation:
+
+"The Governor of Louisiana, informed that many individuals implicated
+in the offences hitherto committed against the United States at
+Barrataria, express a willingness at the present crisis to enroll
+themselves and march against the enemy.
+
+"He does hereby invite them to join the standard of the United States,
+and is authorized to say, should their conduct in the field meet the
+approbation of the Major General, that that officer will unite with
+the Governor in a request to the President of the United States, to
+extend to each and every individual, so marching and acting, a free
+and full pardon."
+
+When Lafitte saw these words, he fairly yelled with delight, and it is
+said that he jumped into the air, cracking his heels three times
+together before he struck the ground.
+
+The orders were circulated among his followers and most of them
+readily embraced the pardon which they held out. Thus--in a few
+days--many brave men and skillful artillerists flocked to the
+red-white-and-blue standard of the United States. And when--a few
+months afterwards--Old Hickory and his men were crouched behind a line
+of cotton bales, awaiting the attack of a British army (heroes, in
+fact, of Sargossa), there, upon the left flank, was the sand-spit King
+and his evil crew. Lafitte's eyes were sparkling like an electric
+bulb, and the language of his followers does not bear repetition.
+
+It was the morning of January eighth. The British were about to attack
+the American Army defending New Orleans, which--under the leadership
+of stout Andrew Jackson--now crouched behind the earthworks and cotton
+bales, some miles from the city. Rockets shot into the air with a
+sizzling snap. The roar of cannon shook the thin palmettos, and wild
+British cheers came from the lusty throats of the British veterans of
+Spain, as they advanced to the assault in close order--sixty men in
+front--with fascines and ladders for scaling the defences. Now a
+veritable storm of rockets hissed and sizzed into the American lines,
+while a light battery of artillery pom-pomed and growled upon the
+left flank. All was silence in the dun-colored embankments.
+
+But look! Suddenly a sheet of flame burst from the earthworks where
+lay the buck-skin-clad rangers from Tennessee and Kentucky: men who
+had fought Indians; had cleared the forest for their rude log huts,
+and were able to hit the eye of a squirrel at one hundred yards.
+_Crash! Crash! Crash!_ A flame of fire burst through the pall of
+sulphurous smoke, a storm of leaden missiles swept into the red coats
+of the advancing British, and down they fell in windrows, like wheat
+before the reaper. _Boom! Boom! Boom!_ The cannon growled and spat
+from the cotton bales, and one of these--a twenty-four pounder--placed
+upon the third embrasure from the river, from the fatal skill and
+activity with which it was managed (even in the best of battle),--drew
+the admiration of both Americans and British. It became one of the
+points most dreaded by the advancing foe. _Boom! Boom!_ It grumbled
+and roared its thunder, while Lafitte and his corsairs of Barrataria
+rammed home the iron charges, and--stripped to the waist--fought like
+wolves at bay.
+
+Two other batteries were manned by the Barratarians, who served their
+pieces with the steadiness and precision of veteran gunners. The enemy
+crept closer, ever closer, and a column pushed forward between the
+levee and the river so precipitously that the outposts were forced to
+retire, closely pressed by the coats of red. On, on, they came, and,
+clearing the ditch before the earthworks, gained the redoubt through
+the embrasures, leaped over the parapet and quickly bayonetted the
+small force of backwoodsmen who held this point.
+
+"To the rescue, men," cried Lafitte, at this juncture. "Out and at
+'em!"
+
+Cutlass in hand, the privateer called a few of his best followers to
+his side; men who had often boarded the decks of an East Indiaman and
+were well used to hand-to-hand engagements. With a wild cheer they
+leaped over the breastworks and rushed upon the enemy.
+
+The British were absolutely astonished at the intrepidity of this
+advance. Pistols spat, cutlasses swung, and one after another, the
+English officers fell before the snapping blade of the King of
+Barrataria, as they bravely cheered on their men. The practiced
+boarders struck the red-coated columns with the same fierceness with
+which they had often bounded upon the deck of an enemy, and cheer
+after cheer welled above the rattle of arms as the advancing guardsmen
+were beaten back. All the energies of the British were concentrated
+upon scaling the breastworks, which one daring officer had already
+mounted. But Lafitte and his followers, seconding a gallant band of
+volunteer riflemen, formed a phalanx which it was impossible to
+penetrate. They fought desperately.
+
+It was now late in the day. The field was strewn with the dead and
+dying. Still spat the unerring rifles of the pioneers and still
+crashed the unswerving volleys from their practiced rifles. "We cannot
+take the works," cried the British. "We must give up." And--turning
+about--they beat a sad and solemn retreat to their vessels. The great
+battle of New Orleans was over, and Lafitte had done a Trojan's share.
+
+In a few days peace was declared between the United States and Great
+Britain, and General Jackson--in his correspondence with the Secretary
+of War--did not fail to speak in the most flattering terms of the
+conduct of the "Corsairs of Barrataria." They had fought like tigers,
+and they had been sadly misjudged by the English, who wished to enlist
+them in their own cause. Their zeal, their courage, and their skill,
+were noticed by the whole American Army, who could no longer
+stigmatize such desperate fighters as "criminals." Many had been
+sabred and wounded in defence of New Orleans, and many had given up
+their lives before the sluggish bayous of the Mississippi. And now,
+Mr. Lafitte, it is high time that you led a decent life, for are you
+not a hero?
+
+But "murder will out," and once a privateer always a privateer, and
+sometimes a pirate.
+
+Securing some fast sailing vessels, the King of Barrataria sailed to
+Galveston Bay, in 1819, where he received a commission from General
+Long as a "privateer." Not content with living an honest and peaceful
+life, he proceeded to do a little smuggling and illicit trading upon
+his own account, so it was not long before a United States cruiser was
+at anchor off the port to watch his movements. He was now Governor of
+Galveston, and considered himself to be a personage of great moment.
+Five vessels were generally cruising under his orders, while three
+hundred men obeyed his word. Texas was then a Republic.
+
+ "Sir"--wrote Lafitte to the Commander of the American
+ cruiser off the port of Galveston--"I am convinced that
+ you are a cruiser of the navy, ordered here by your
+ Government. I have, therefore, deemed it proper to
+ inquire into the cause of your lying before this port
+ without communicating your intention. I wish to inform
+ you that the port of Galveston belongs to and is in the
+ possession of the Republic of Texas, and was made a port
+ of entry the 9th day of October, last. And, whereas the
+ Supreme Congress of the said Republic have thought
+ proper to appoint me as Governor of this place, in
+ consequence of which, if you have any demands on said
+ Government, you will please to send an officer with such
+ demands, who will be treated with the greatest
+ politeness. But, if you are ordered, or should attempt,
+ to enter this port in a hostile manner, my oath and duty
+ to the Government compel me to rebut your intentions at
+ the expense of my life.
+
+ "Yours very respectfully,
+
+ "J. LAFITTE."
+
+But to this the American officer paid no attention. Instead, he
+attacked a band of Lafitte's followers, who had stationed themselves
+on an island near Barrataria with several cannon, swearing that they
+would perish rather than surrender to any man. As they had committed
+piracy, they were open to assault. Twenty were taken, tried at New
+Orleans, and hung,--the rest escaped into the cypress swamps, where
+it was impossible to arrest them.
+
+When Lafitte heard of this, he said with much feeling:
+
+"A war of extermination is to be waged against me. I, who have fought
+and bled for the United States. I who helped them to win the battle of
+New Orleans. My cruisers are to be swept from the sea. I must turn
+from Governor of Galveston, and privateer to pirate. Then--away--and
+let them catch me if they can."
+
+Now comes the last phase of his career. Too bad that he could not have
+died honestly!
+
+Procuring a large and fast-sailing brigantine, mounting sixteen guns,
+and having selected a crew of one hundred and sixty men, the desperate
+and dangerous Governor of Galveston set sail upon the sparkling waters
+of the Gulf, determined to rob all nations and neither to give quarter
+nor to receive it.
+
+But luck was against him. A British sloop-of-war was cruising in the
+Mexican Gulf, and, hearing that Lafitte, himself, was at sea, kept a
+sharp lookout at the mast-head for the sails of the pirate.
+
+One morning as an officer was sweeping the horizon with his glass he
+discovered a long, dark-looking vessel, low in the water: her sails as
+white as snow.
+
+"Sail off the port bow," cried he. "It's the Pirate, or else I'm a
+landlubber."
+
+As the sloop-of-war could out-sail the corsair, before the wind, she
+set her studding-sails and crowded every inch of canvas in chase.
+Lafitte soon ascertained the character of his pursuer, and, ordering
+the awnings to be furled, set his big square-sail and shot rapidly
+through the water. But the breeze freshened and the sloop-of-war
+rapidly overhauled the scudding brigantine. In an hour's time she was
+within hailing distance and Lafitte was in a fight for his very life.
+
+_Crash!_
+
+A cannon belched from the stern of the pirate and a ball came
+dangerously near the bowsprit of the Englishman.
+
+_Crash! Crash!_
+
+Other guns roared out their challenge and the iron fairly hailed upon
+the decks of the sloop-of-war; killing and wounding many of the crew.
+But--silently and surely--she kept on until within twenty yards of the
+racing outlaw.
+
+Now was a deafening roar. A broadside howled above the dancing
+spray--it rumbled from the port-holes of the Englishman--cutting the
+foremast of the pirate in two; severing the jaws of the main-gaff; and
+sending great clods of rigging to the deck. Ten followers of Lafitte
+fell prostrate, but the great Frenchman was uninjured.
+
+A crash, a rattle, a rush, and the Englishman ran afoul of the
+foe--while--with a wild cheer, her sailors clambered across the
+starboard rails; cutlasses in the right hand, pistols in the left,
+dirks between their teeth.
+
+"Never give in, men!" cried the King of Barrataria. "You are now with
+Lafitte, who, as you have learned, does not know how to surrender."
+
+But the Britishers were in far superior numbers. Backwards--ever
+backwards--they drove the desperate crew of the pirate ship. Two
+pistol balls struck Lafitte in the side which knocked him to the
+planking; a grape-shot broke the bone of his right leg; he was
+desperate, dying, and fighting like a tiger. He groaned in the agony
+of despair.
+
+The deck was slippery with blood as the Captain of the boarders rushed
+upon the prostrate corsair to put him forever out of his way. While he
+aimed a blow a musket struck him in the temple, stretching him beside
+the bleeding Lafitte, who, raising himself upon one elbow, thrust a
+dagger at the throat of his assailant.
+
+But the tide of his existence was ebbing like a torrent; his brain was
+giddy; his aim faltered; the point of the weapon descended upon the
+right thigh of the bleeding Englishman. Again the reeking steel was
+upheld; again the weakened French sea-dog plunged a stroke at this
+half-fainting assailant.
+
+The dizziness of death spread over the sight of the Monarch of the
+Gulf of Mexico. Down came the dagger into the left thigh of the
+Captain; listlessly; helplessly; aimlessly; and Lafitte--the robber of
+St. Malo--fell lifeless upon the rocking deck. His spirit went out
+amidst the hoarse and hollow cheers of the victorious Jack-tars of the
+clinging sloop-of-war.
+
+
+ "The palmetto leaves are whispering, while the gentle trade-winds blow,
+ And the soothing, Southern zephyrs, are sighing soft and low,
+ As a silvery moonlight glistens, and the droning fire-flies glow,
+ Comes a voice from out the Cypress,
+ 'Lights out! Lafitte! Heave ho!'"
+
+
+
+
+THE PIRATE'S LAMENT
+
+
+ I've been ploughin' down in Devonshire,
+ My folks would have me stay,
+ Where the wheat grows on th' dune side,
+ Where th' scamperin' rabbits play.
+ But th' smells come from th' ocean,
+ An' th' twitterin' swallows wheel,
+ As th' little sails bob landwards,
+ To th' scurryin' sea-gulls' squeal.
+
+ _Oh, it's gold, gold, gold,_
+ _That's temptin' me from here._
+ _An' it's rum, rum, rum,_
+ _That makes me know no fear._
+ _When th' man-o-war is growlin',_
+ _As her for'ard swivels roar,_
+ _As th' decks are black with wounded,_
+ _An' are runnin' red with gore._
+
+ I've been goin' to church o' Sundays,
+ An' th' Parson sure can talk,
+ He's been pleadin' for my soul, Sir,
+ In Paradise to walk.
+ An' I kind o' have th' shivers,
+ Come creepin' down my spine,
+ When th' choir breaks into music,
+ While th' organ beats th' time.
+
+ _But it's gold, gold, gold,_
+ _That glitters in my eye,_
+ _An' it's rum, rum, rum,_
+ _That makes me cheat an' lie,_
+ _When th' slaver's in th' doldrums,_
+ _Th' fleet is closin' round,_
+ _An' th' Captain calls out, furious,_
+ _"Now, run th' hound aground!"_
+
+ No matter how I farm, Sir,
+ No matter how I hoe,
+ Th' breezes from th' blue, Sir,
+ Just kind uv make me glow.
+ When th' clipper ships are racin',
+ An' their bellyin' sails go past,
+ I just leave my team an' swear, Sir,
+ I'll ship before th' mast.
+
+ _For it's gold, gold, gold,_
+ _That makes me shiver, like,_
+ _An' it's rum, rum, rum,_
+ _That makes me cut an' strike,_
+ _When th' boarders creep across th' rail,_
+ _Their soljers all in line,_
+ _An' their pistols spittin' lead, Sir,_
+ _Like er bloomin' steam engine._
+
+ So I'll kiss my plough good-bye, Sir,
+ I'll throw my scythe away,
+ An' I'm goin' to th' dock, Sir,
+ Where th' ships are side th' quay.
+ Shake out th' skull an' cross-bones,
+ Take out th' signs of Marque,
+ An' let's cut loose an' forage,
+ In a rakish ten-gun barque.
+
+
+
+
+THE MEN BEHIND THE GUNS
+
+
+ A cheer and salute for the Admiral, and here's to the Captain bold,
+ And never forget the Commodore's debt, when the deeds of might are
+ told!
+ They stand to the deck through the battle's wreck, when the great
+ shells roar and screech--
+ And never they fear; when the foe is near, to practice what they
+ preach:
+ But, off with your hat, and three times three, for the war-ship's
+ true-blue sons,
+ The men who batter the foe--my Boys--the men behind the guns.
+
+ Oh, light and merry of heart are they, when they swing into port,
+ once more,
+ When, with more than enough of the "green-backed stuff," they start
+ for their leave-o'-shore;
+ And you'd think, perhaps, that these blue-bloused chaps who loll
+ along the street,
+ Are a tender bit, with salt on it, for some fierce chap to eat--
+ Some warrior bold, with straps of gold, who dazzles and fairly stuns
+ The modest worth of the sailor boys,--the lads who serve the guns.
+
+ But, say not a word, till the shot is heard, that tells of the
+ peace-blood's ebb,
+ Till the long, low roar grows more and more, from the ships of the
+ "Yank" and "Reb."
+ Till over the deep the tempests sweep, of fire and bursting shell,
+ And the very air is a mad Despair, in the throes of a living Hell:
+ Then, down, deep down, in the mighty ship, unseen by the mid-day suns,
+ You'll find the chaps who are giving the raps--the men behind the guns.
+
+ --ROONEY (_Adapted_).
+
+
+
+
+RAPHAEL SEMMES
+
+DESPOILER OF AMERICAN COMMERCE
+
+(1809-1877)
+
+
+ "Sit apart, write; let them hear or let them forbear;
+ the written word abides, until, slowly and unexpectedly,
+ and in widely sundered places, it has created its own
+ church."--RALPH WALDO EMERSON.
+
+
+RAPHAEL SEMMES
+
+DESPOILER OF AMERICAN COMMERCE
+
+(1809-1877)
+
+ "We started from Ole England fer to cripple up our foes,
+ We started from Ole England fer to strike some rapid blows,
+ So we coasted to the Azores where we ran a packet down,
+ And then to the Bermudas, where we burned the _Royal Crown_,
+ Then we scampered to Bahia, fer to sink the gay _Tycoon_,
+ And to scuttle the _Justina_, before the Harvest Moon.
+ We hit across the ocean to race by Cape Good Hope
+ And in Madagascar channel towed _Johanna_ with a rope.
+ Away off at Sumatra, we had lots an' lots uv fun,
+ When we winged the _Pulo Condor_; but say,--we had a run,
+ An' a pretty bit uv fightin', when we took the _Emma Jane_
+ Off th' heated coast uv India, near th' bendin' sugar cane.
+ Yes, we did some privateerin', as wuz privateerin', sure,
+ An' we scuttled many a schooner, it wuz risky business pure.
+ But--stranger--we'd be laughin', jest filled with persiflage,
+ If we hadn't had a seance with that bloomin' _Kearsarge_."
+
+ --_Song of the Chief Mate of the Alabama._--1864.
+
+
+It was off the east coast of South America. The year was 1864, and a
+little schooner--the _Justina_--bobbed along, with the flag of the
+United States Government flying jauntily from her gaff.
+
+Suddenly there was a movement on deck. Men rushed hither and thither
+with some show of excitement. Glasses were brought out and
+raised,--smothered cries of excitement were mingled with orders to
+trim sails. All eyes looked with suspicion and dismay at a long,
+graceful vessel which was seen approaching from the northward.
+
+"The _Alabama_!" cried one.
+
+"Yes, the cursed _Alabama_!" answered another. "We are lost!"
+
+On, on came the pursuing vessel; a cloud of black smoke rolling from
+her smoke-stack; her white sails bellying in the fresh breeze; for she
+was rigged like a barquentine, with a lean body, single smoke-stack,
+and a polished rifle-gun winking in the sun-rays upon her bow. On, on,
+she came, and then--_puff! boom!_--a single shot came dancing in front
+of the slow-moving schooner.
+
+"Pull down the colors!" shouted the Captain of the _Justina_. "We're
+done for!"
+
+Down came the ensign of the United States, and the little schooner was
+luffed so that she stood still. The _Alabama_ ranged up alongside, a
+boat soon brought a crew of boarders, and, before many moments, she
+was in the hands of Captain Raphael Semmes and his men.
+
+That evening the _Alabama_ steamed southward, the crew of the
+_Justina_ was on board, her rich cargo filled the hold, and a black
+curl of smoke and hissing flames marked where the proud, little
+merchantman had once bobbed upon the rolling water. Raphael Semmes was
+happy, for his work of destroying the commerce of the United States
+Navy had progressed far better than he had hoped.
+
+[Illustration: RAPHAEL SEMMES.]
+
+"Men!" cried he, "The cause of the Confederate States of America
+was never brighter upon the ocean than now. Give three times three for
+Jeff. Davis--his soldiers and his sailors!"
+
+A rousing cheer rose above the waves, and the proud privateer bounded
+onward upon her career of destruction and death. The _Alabama_ was in
+the zenith of her power.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+The scene now shifts to the harbor of Cherbourg, upon the western
+coast of France. The _Alabama_ lay there,--safely swinging at her
+anchor-chains within the break-water. She had come in to refit, for
+her bottom was much befouled by a long cruise, which had been
+successful. Built at Birkenhead, England, for the Confederate States
+Government, she set sail in August, 1862; and had been down the coast
+of North and South America; around the Cape of Good Hope to India, and
+back to the shores of France. Sixty-six vessels had fallen into her
+clutches, and of these fifty-two had been burned; ten had been
+released on bond; one had been sold, and one set free. Truly she had
+had a marvellous trip.
+
+As she slumbered on--like a huge sea-turtle--a black cloud of smoke
+appeared above the break-water, and a low-bodied United States cruiser
+slowly steamed into the harbor. She nosed about, as if looking for
+safe anchorage, and kept upon the opposite side of the little bay.
+
+Immediately all hands clambered to the side of the Confederate
+cruiser, and glasses were levelled at this vessel which carried the
+flag of opposition.
+
+"She's stronger than we are," said one of the crew.
+
+Another grinned.
+
+"Look at her eleven-pounders," said he. "I see her name, now. She's
+the _Kearsarge_, and about our tonnage, but I reckon that she carries
+more men."
+
+Captain Semmes, himself, had come up from below, and was examining the
+intruder with his glass.
+
+"Boys!" said he, "we've got to fight that ship."
+
+And, as he withdrew into the cabin, all seemed to be well pleased with
+this announcement.
+
+The _Kearsarge_, commanded by Captain John A. Winslow, had been lying
+at anchor in the Scheldt, off Flushing, Holland, when a gun roared
+from the forward part of the ship, warning those officers who had gone
+ashore, to come on board. Steam was raised, and, as soon as all were
+collected on deck, the Captain read a telegram from Mr. Dayton, the
+Minister to France from the United States. It said:
+
+"The _Alabama_ has arrived at Cherbourg. Come at once or she will
+escape you!"
+
+"I believe that we'll have an opportunity to fight her," said Captain
+Winslow. "So be prepared."
+
+At this, all of his sailors cheered wildly.
+
+The _Kearsarge_ was a staunch craft; she was two hundred and
+thirty-two feet over all, with thirty-three feet of beam, and carried
+seven guns; two eleven inch pivots, smooth bore; one thirty-pound
+rifle, and four light thirty-two pounders. Her crew numbered one
+hundred and sixty-three men. The sleeping _Alabama_ had but one
+hundred and forty-nine souls on board, and eight guns: one sixty-eight
+pounder pivot rifle, smooth bore; one one hundred-pounder pivot, and
+six heavy thirty-two pounders. So, you see, that the two antagonists
+were evenly matched, with the superior advantage of the numbers of men
+on the _Kearsarge_ offset by the extra guns of her opponent.
+
+Most of the officers upon the _Kearsarge_ were from the merchant
+service, and, of the crew, only eleven were of foreign birth. Most of
+the officers upon the _Alabama_ had served in the navy of the United
+States; while nearly all of her crew were either English, Irish, or
+Welsh. A few of the gunners had been trained aboard the _Excellent_: a
+British training ship in Portsmouth Harbor. Her Captain--Raphael
+Semmes--was once an officer in the navy of the United States. He had
+served in the Mexican War, but had joined the Southern cause, as he
+was a Marylander. He was an able navigator and seaman.
+
+The _Kearsarge_ cruised about the port of Cherbourg, poked her bows
+nearly into the break-water, and then withdrew. The French neutrality
+law would only allow a foreign vessel to remain in a harbor for
+twenty-four hours.
+
+"Will she come out?" was the question now upon every lip aboard the
+_Kearsarge_. "Will she come out and fight? Oh, just for one crack at
+this destroyer of our commerce!"
+
+But she did not come out, and the _Kearsarge_ beat around the English
+Channel in anxious suspense.
+
+Several days later Captain Winslow went ashore and paid a visit to
+the United States Commercial Agent.
+
+"That beastly pirate will not fight," he thought. "All she wants to do
+is to run away."
+
+Imagine how his eyes shone when he was handed the following epistle!
+
+ "C.S.S. _Alabama_, CHERBOURG, June 14th, 1864.
+
+ "To A. BONFILS, Esqr., Cherbourg;
+
+ "SIR:--I hear that you were informed by the United
+ States Consul that the _Kearsarge_ was to come to this
+ port solely for the prisoners landed by me, and that she
+ was to depart in twenty-four hours. I desire you to say
+ to the U. S. Consul that my intention is to fight the
+ _Kearsarge_ as soon as I can make the necessary
+ arrangements. I hope these will not detain me more than
+ until to-morrow evening, or after the morrow morning at
+ furthest. I beg she will not depart before I am ready to
+ go out.
+
+ "I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
+
+ "Your obedient servant,
+
+ "R. SEMMES, Captain."
+
+"Ha! Ha!" chuckled Winslow. "We're in for it, now. Hurray!" and he
+hastened back to his ship to spread the glad tidings.
+
+"My boys!" said he to his crew. "It is probable that the two ships
+will engage on parallel lines, and, if defeated, the _Alabama_ will
+seek for neutral waters. It is necessary, therefore, that we begin
+this action several miles from the break-water. The _Alabama_ must
+believe that she can win, or she would not fight us, for, if we sink
+her, she cannot be replaced by the Confederate Government. As for
+ourselves, let us never give up, and--if we sink--let us go down with
+the flag flying!"
+
+"Hear! Hear!" cried all. "We're with you, Captain. Never give up the
+ship!"
+
+"Clean decks, boys!" continued brave Winslow. "Get everything
+ship-shape for the coming affair, for we're in for as tight a little
+fight as e'er you entered upon."
+
+Preparations were immediately made for battle, but no _Alabama_
+appeared.
+
+Thursday passed; Friday came; the _Kearsarge_ waited in the channel
+with ports down; guns pivoted to starboard; the whole battery loaded;
+and shell, grape, and canister ready to use in any method of attack or
+defence,--but no _Alabama_ appeared. A French pilot-boat drifted near,
+and the black-eyed skipper cried out,
+
+"You fellers look out for ze _Alabama_. She take in much coal. Whew!
+She take much of ze captured stuff ashore. Whew! She scrub ze deck.
+Whew! She put ze sailors to ze business of sharpening ze cutlass and
+ze dirk. Whew! You look out for ze great privateer! Whew!"
+
+Captain Winslow only smiled.
+
+"Zey have ze big feast," continued the Frenchman. "Zey dr-e-e-nk ze
+wine. Zey stan' on ze chairs and zey say, 'We will seenk ze Yankee
+dog.' Ta donc! Zey call you ze dog!"
+
+And still Captain Winslow smiled. But, next day, his smile turned to
+a frown.
+
+It was Sunday, the nineteenth day of June. The weather was beautiful;
+the atmosphere was somewhat hazy; the wind was light; and there was
+little sea. At ten o'clock the _Kearsarge_ was drifting near a buoy
+about three miles eastward from the entrance of Cherbourg break-water.
+Her decks had been newly holy-stoned; the brass work had been cleaned;
+the guns polished, and the crew had on their Sunday clothes. They had
+been inspected, and dismissed--in order to attend divine service.
+
+At 1.20 a cry rang out:
+
+"She comes!"
+
+The bell was tolling for prayers.
+
+"The _Alabama_! The _Alabama_! She's moving, and heading straight for
+us!"
+
+All rushed to the deck; the drum beat to quarters. Captain Winslow
+laid aside his prayer-book, seized his trumpet, ordered the boat
+about, and headed seaward. The ship was cleared for action and the
+battery was pivoted to starboard.
+
+Yes, she was coming!
+
+From the western entrance of the safe, little French seaport steamed
+the long-bodied, low-hulled privateer: her rakish masts bending
+beneath the spread of canvas: her tall funnel belching sepia smoke. A
+French iron-clad frigate--the _Couronne_--accompanied her, flying the
+pennant of the Commander-of-the-Port. In her wake plodded a tiny
+fore-and-aft-rigged steamer-yacht: the _Deerhound_, showing the flag
+of the Royal Mersey (British) Yacht Club. The frigate--having convoyed
+the Confederate privateer to the limit of the French waters (three
+marine miles from the coast)--put down her helm and ploughed back into
+port. The steam yacht continued on, and remained near the scene of
+action.
+
+As the _Alabama_ had started upon her dash into the open, Captain
+Semmes had mounted a gun-carriage, and had cried,
+
+"Officers and Seamen of the _Alabama_:
+
+"You have at length another opportunity of meeting the enemy--the
+first that has been presented to you since you sank the _Hatteras_! In
+the meantime you have been all over the world, and it is not too much
+to say that you have destroyed, and driven for protection under
+neutral flags, one-half of the enemy's commerce, which, at the
+beginning of the war, covered every sea. This is an achievement of
+which you may well be proud, and a grateful country will not be
+unmindful of it. The name of your ship has become a household word
+wherever civilization extends! Shall that name be tarnished by defeat?
+The thing is impossible! Remember that you are in the English Channel,
+the theatre of so much of the naval glory of our race, and that the
+eyes of all Europe are, at this moment, upon you. The flag that floats
+over you is that of a young Republic, which bids defiance to her
+enemies whenever and wherever found! Show the world that you know how
+to uphold it! Go to your quarters!"
+
+A wild yell had greeted these stirring expressions.
+
+The shore was black with people, for the word had been passed around
+that the two sea-warriors were to grapple in deadly embrace. Even a
+special train had come from Paris to bring the sober townsfolk to
+Cherbourg, where they could view the contest. They were chattering
+among themselves, like a flock of magpies.
+
+"Voila!" said a fair damsel, whose eyes were fairly shining with
+excitement. "Oh, I hope zat ze beeg gray fellow weel win."
+
+She meant the _Alabama_, for the Confederates dressed in that sober
+color.
+
+"Zis ees ze naval Waterloo!" whispered a veteran of the Crimean War.
+
+It was 10.50 o'clock. The _Kearsarge_ had been steaming out to sea,
+but now she wheeled. She was seven miles from shore and one and
+one-quarter miles from her opponent. She steered directly for her, as
+if to ram her and crush through her side. The _Alabama_ sheered off
+and presented her starboard battery. The _Kearsarge_ came on, rapidly,
+and--at 10.57 was about eighteen hundred yards from her
+enemy--then--_Crash! Roar!_ A broadside thundered from the Confederate
+privateer, while the solid shot screamed through the rigging of the
+Yankee man-of-war.
+
+On! On! came Captain Winslow's gallant craft, while a second and a
+third broadside crashed into her. The rigging tore and swayed, but she
+was little injured. She was now within nine hundred yards.
+
+"Sheer! Sheer!" cried the Union Commander.
+
+The _Kearsarge_ spun off and broke her long silence with the
+starboard battery. _Crash! Roar!_ the shells pounded around the great
+privateer, and, with a full head of steam, the corsair of the Southern
+Confederacy swept onward. _Crash! Roar!_ she answered with shell, and
+the bursting iron shivered the foremast of her doughty opponent.
+
+Captain Winslow was fearful that the enemy would make for the shore,
+so he spun over his helm to port in the endeavor to run under the
+_Alabama_'s stern and rake her. But she sheered off, kept her
+broadside to him, and pounded away like a pugilist. The ships were a
+quarter of a mile (440 yards) away from each other. They were circling
+around in a wide arc, plugging away as fast as they could load. The
+spectators cheered, for it was as good a show as they had ever
+witnessed.
+
+"Eet ees fine!" said the veteran of the Crimea. "Eet remin' me of ze
+battaile at Balaklava!"
+
+Suddenly a wild cheer rose from the deck of the United States cruiser.
+A shot had struck the spanker-gaff on the enemy and her ensign had
+come down on the run.
+
+"Hurray!" shouted the seamen. "That means we'll win, sure!"
+
+The fallen ensign re-appeared at the mizzen, while firing from the
+_Alabama_ became rapid and wild. The gunners of the _Kearsarge_ had
+been cautioned against shooting without direct aim, and had been told
+to point their heavy guns below, rather than above the water-line.
+
+Captain Winslow was busy with his orders.
+
+"Clear the enemy's deck with the light guns!" he shouted. "Sink the
+Confederate with the heavy iron!"
+
+Cheer succeeded cheer from his sailors. Caps were thrown into the air,
+or overboard. Jackets were tossed aside. Now, certain of victory, the
+men were shouting wildly, as each projectile took effect.
+
+"That's a good one!"
+
+"Down, boys, down!"
+
+"Give her another like the last!"
+
+"Now--we have her!"
+
+The vessels continued to swing around each other in wide circles,
+and--at this moment--a sixty-eight pound Blakely shell passed through
+the starboard bulwarks of the _Kearsarge_ below the main rigging,
+exploded on the quarter-deck, and wounded three of the crew of the
+after pivot-gun. The three unfortunate men were speedily taken below,
+but the act was done so quietly, that--at the termination of the
+fight--a large number of the crew were unaware that any of their
+comrades were injured.
+
+Two shots now crashed through the port-holes occupied by the
+thirty-two pounders; one exploded in the hammock-netting; the other
+shrieked through the opposite port; yet no one was hurt. Fire blazed
+from the deck; the alarm calling for fire-quarters was sounded, and
+the men who had been detailed for this emergency put it out. The rest
+stayed at the guns.
+
+[Illustration: "THE MEN WERE SHOUTING WILDLY, AS EACH PROJECTILE TOOK
+EFFECT."]
+
+The eleven-inch shells were doing terrible execution upon the
+quarter-deck of the _Alabama_. Three of them crashed into the
+eight-inch pivot-gun port; the first swept off the forward part of
+the gun's crew; the second killed one man and wounded several others;
+the third struck the breast of the gun-carriage and spun around on the
+deck until one of the men picked it up and threw it overboard. The
+ship was careening heavily to starboard, while the decks were covered
+with the dead and dying. A shell plunged into the coal bunker and a
+dense cloud of coal dust arose. Crippled and torn, the hulking
+privateer began to settle by the stern. Her guns still spat and
+growled, and her broadsides were going wild. She was fast weakening.
+
+"Any one who silences that after pivot-gun will get one hundred
+dollars!" cried Captain Semmes, as he saw the fearful accuracy of its
+fire.
+
+_Crash!_ a whole broadside from the privateer spat at this particular
+piece. It was in vain.
+
+Around and around circled the belching _Kearsarge_. Seven times she
+had swooped about the weakening gladiator of the sea, and her fire was
+more and more accurate. She was like a great eagle closing in for a
+deaththrust. Captain Semmes was in a desperate situation.
+
+"Hoist the fore-trysail and jibs!" he called out above the din of
+cannon. "Head for the French coast!"
+
+As the sailors scrambled to obey, the _Alabama_ presented her port
+battery to the _Kearsarge_. She showed gaping sides and only two guns
+were bearing.
+
+At this moment the chief engineer came up on the deck of the
+privateer.
+
+"The fires are all out and the engines will not work!" he reported to
+Captain Semmes.
+
+The doughty seaman turned to his chief executive officer, Mr. Kell.
+
+"Go below, sir," he shouted, "and see how long the ship can float!"
+
+In a few moments the sailor had returned from his inspection.
+
+"Captain!" cried he, saluting. "She will not stay on the sea for ten
+minutes."
+
+The face of the Confederate was ashen, as he answered,
+
+"Then, sir, cease firing, shorten sail, and haul down the colors. It
+will never do in this Nineteenth Century for us to go down with the
+decks covered with our gallant wounded!"
+
+As he ceased speaking, a broadside roared from the side of his sinking
+vessel. The ensign of the _Kearsarge_ had been stopped (rolled up and
+tied with a piece of twine) and, as a shell crashed through her
+rigging, a piece hit the flag-halyards--parted them--and unstopped the
+flag. It unfurled itself gallantly in the breeze, and, as its
+beautiful striping waved aloft, the sailors upon the deck gave a loud
+cheer, for this was the omen of Victory.
+
+At this moment, two of the junior officers upon the _Alabama_ swore
+that they would never surrender, and, in a spirit of mutiny, rushed to
+the two port guns and opened fire upon the Union vessel.
+
+"He is playing us a trick!" shouted Winslow. "Give him another
+broadside!"
+
+Again the shot and shell went crashing through the sides of the
+Confederate cruiser. The _Kearsarge_ was laid across her bows for
+raking, and, in a position to use grape and canister.
+
+A white flag was then shown over the stern of the _Alabama_ and her
+ensign was half-masted; Union down.
+
+"Cease firing!" shouted Captain Winslow.
+
+The great fight was over. It had lasted one hour and two minutes.
+
+_Chugety, plug, splash!_ The boats were lowered from the _Alabama_,
+and her Master's mate rowed to the _Kearsarge_, with a few of his
+wounded.
+
+"We are sinking," said he. "You must come and help us!"
+
+"Does Captain Semmes surrender his ship?" asked Winslow.
+
+"Yes!"
+
+"All right. Then I'll help you!"
+
+Fullam grinned.
+
+"May I return with this boat and crew in order to rescue the
+drowning?" he asked. "I pledge you my word of honor that I will then
+come on board and surrender."
+
+Captain Winslow granted his request.
+
+With less generosity, the victorious Commander could have detained the
+officers and men, supplied their places with his own sailors, and
+offered equal aid to the distressed. His generosity was abused. Fullam
+pulled to the midst of the drowning; rescued several officers; went to
+the yacht _Deerhound_, and cast his boat adrift; leaving a number of
+men struggling in the water.
+
+The _Alabama_ was settling fast.
+
+"All hands overboard!" cried Mr. Kell. "Let every man grab a
+life-preserver, or a spar."
+
+As the sailors plunged into the sea, Captain Semmes dropped his sword
+into the waves and leaped outward, with a life-preserver around his
+waist. Kell followed, while the _Alabama_ launched her bows high in
+the air, and--graceful, even in her death throes--plunged
+stern-foremost into the deep. A sucking eddy of foam, spars, and
+wreckage marked where once had floated the gallant ship.
+
+Thus sank the terror of the merchantmen--riddled through and
+through--and no cheer arose as her battered hulk went down in
+forty-five fathoms of water. Her star had set.
+
+The _Deerhound_ had kept about a mile to windward of the two
+contestants, but she now steamed towards the mass of living heads,
+which dotted the surface of the sea. Her two boats were lowered, and
+Captain Semmes was picked up and taken aboard, with forty others. She
+then edged to the leeward and steamed rapidly away.
+
+An officer quickly approached Captain Winslow.
+
+"Better fire a shot at the yacht," he said, saluting. "She's got
+Captain Semmes aboard and will run off with him."
+
+Winslow smiled.
+
+"It's impossible," said he. "She's simply coming around!"
+
+But the _Deerhound_ kept on.
+
+Another officer approached the commander of the _Kearsarge_.
+
+"That beastly yacht is carrying off our men," said he. "Better bring
+her to, Captain!"
+
+"No Englishman who carries the flag of the Royal Yacht Squadron can so
+act!" Winslow replied,--somewhat pettishly. "She's simply coming
+around."
+
+But she never "came around," and Captain Raphael Semmes was soon safe
+upon British soil. He had fought a game fight. The superior gunnery of
+the sailors of the _Kearsarge_ had been too much for him. Nine of his
+crew were dead and twenty-one wounded, while the _Kearsarge_ had no
+one killed and but three wounded; one of whom died shortly afterwards.
+
+Thus,--the lesson is:
+
+If you want to win: Learn how to shoot straight!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Captain Raphael Semmes died quietly at Mobile, Alabama, August 30th,
+1877. His ill-fated _Alabama_ had inflicted a loss of over seven
+million dollars upon the commerce of the United States.
+
+A number of wise men met, many years afterwards, in Geneva,
+Switzerland, and decided, that, as the British Government had allowed
+this vessel to leave their shores, when warned by the American
+minister of her character and intention to go privateering, it should
+therefore pay for all the vessels which the graceful cruiser had
+destroyed. England had broken the neutrality laws.
+
+John Bull paid up.
+
+ But,
+ --Boys--
+ it
+ hurt!
+
+
+
+
+EL CAPITAN
+
+
+ "There was a Captain-General who ruled in Vera Cruz,
+ And what we used to hear of him was always evil news:
+ He was a pirate on the sea--a robber on the shore,
+ The Senor Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ "There was a Yankee skipper who round about did roam;
+ His name was Stephen Folger,--Nantucket was his home:
+ And having sailed to Vera Cruz, he had been _skinned_ full sore
+ By the Senor Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ "But having got away alive, though all his cash was gone,
+ He said, 'If there is vengeance, I will surely try it on!
+ And I do wish that I may be hung,--if I don't clear the score
+ With Senor Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.'
+
+ "He shipped a crew of seventy men--well-armed men were they,
+ And sixty of them in the hold he darkly stowed away;
+ And, sailing back to Vera Cruz, was sighted from the shore
+ By the Senor Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ "With twenty-five soldados, he came on board, so pleased,
+ And said '_Maldito_, Yankee,--again your ship is seized.
+ How many sailors have you got?' Said Folger, 'Ten--no more,'
+ To the Captain Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ "'But come into my cabin and take a glass of wine,
+ I do suppose, as usual, I'll have to pay a fine:
+ I've got some old Madeira, and we'll talk the matter o'er--
+ My Captain Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.'
+
+ "And, as over the Madeira the Captain-General boozed,
+ It seemed to him as if his head were getting quite confused;
+ For, it happened that some morphine had travelled from 'the Store'
+ To the glass of Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ "'What is it makes the vessel roll? What sounds are these I hear?
+ It seems as if the rising waves were beating on my ear!'
+ 'Oh, it is the breaking of the surf--just that, and nothing more,
+ My Captain Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador!'
+
+ "The Governor was in a sleep, which muddled up his brains;
+ The seventy men had caught his 'gang' and put them all in chains;
+ And, when he woke the following day, he could not see the shore,
+ For he was away out on the sea--the Don San Salvador.
+
+ "'Now do you see the yard-arm--and understand the thing?'
+ Said rough, old Folger, viciously--'for this is where you'll swing,
+ Or forty thousand dollars you shall pay me from your store,
+ My Captain Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador!'
+
+ "The Captain he took up a pen--the order he did sign--
+ 'O my, but Senor Yankee! You charge great guns for wine!'
+ Yet it was not until the draft was paid, they let him go ashore,
+ El Senor Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "The greater sharp will some day find another sharper wit;
+ It always makes the Devil laugh to see a biter bit;
+ It takes two Spaniards, any day, to comb a Yankee o'er--
+ Even two like Don Alonzo Estaban San Salvador."
+
+
+
+
+RETROSPECT
+
+
+ The curtain falls, the plays are done,
+ To roar of shell and shock of gun;
+ The scuttled shipping bobs and sways,
+ In grime and muck of shallow bays.
+ The tattered ensigns mould'ring lie,
+ As diving otters bark and cry;
+ While--in the lee of crumbling piers,
+ The rotting hulk its decking rears.
+ Gray, screaming kestrels wheel and sheer,
+ Above the wasted steering gear.
+ In moulding kelp and mackerel's sheen,
+ The blighted log-book hides unseen.
+ Red flash the beams of northern blaze.
+ Through beaded clouds of Elmo's haze;
+ While dim, unkempt, the ghostly crew
+ Float by, and chant the lesson true!
+
+ Sons of the fog-bound Northland; sons of the blinding seas,
+ If ye would cherish the trust which your fathers left,
+ Ye must strive--ye must work--without ease.
+ Strong have your good sires battled, oft have your fathers bled,
+ If ye would hold up the flag which they've never let sag,
+ Ye must plod--ye must creep where they've led.
+ The shimmering icebergs call you; the plunging screw-drums scream,
+ By shallowing shoals they haul you, to the beat of the walking
+ beam.
+ The twisting petrels chatter, as ye drift by the waiting fleet,
+ In your towering grim, gray Dreadnought,--a king who sneers at
+ defeat.
+ While the silken pennons flutter; as the frozen halyards strain;
+ Comes the growling old-world mutter, the voice of the million
+ slain:
+
+ _Keep to your manly war games; keep to your warrior's play._
+ _Though the dove of peace is dancing to the sounding truce harp's
+ lay._
+ _Arbitrate if you have to; smooth it o'er if you must,_
+ _But, be prepared for battle, to parry the war king's thrust._
+ _Don't foster the chip on the shoulder; don't hasten the slap in
+ the face._
+ _But, burnish your sword, ere you're older,--the blade of the
+ ancient race._
+ _Hark to the deeds of your fathers; cherish the stories I've told,_
+ _Then--go and do like, if you have to--and die--like a Hero of Old._
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+Punctuation errors have been repaired. Hyphenation has been made
+consistent within the main text. There is some archaic and variable
+spelling, which has been preserved as printed.
+
+The following amendments have also been made:
+
+ Page 3--repeated book title deleted.
+
+ Page 77--omitted word 'to' added after row--"... jumped
+ into two small wherries in order to row to the lugger."
+
+ Page 156--pedlers amended to peddlers--"There are
+ tinkers, tailors, haymakers, peddlers, fiddlers, ..."
+
+ Page 178--Huzza amended to Huzzah--""... Huzzah for
+ Fortunatus Wright!""
+
+ Page 226--envolle amended to envole--""Sapristi!
+ L'oiseau s'est envole.""
+
+ Page 248--manoever amended to manoeuver--"... had simply
+ followed my manoeuver of wearing around under easy
+ helm ..."
+
+Illustrations have been moved slightly where necessary so that they
+are not in the middle of a paragraph. The frontispiece and advertising
+matter have been moved to follow the title page.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers
+of the Sea, by Charles H. L. Johnston
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FAMOUS PRIVATEERSMEN ***
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