His compatriots bore no malice to Mick or ourselves, as might have been expected from their champion having got the worst of it.
On the contrary, they raised a cheer when we turned to leave the scene of action, accompanying us into the town, and dancing round us in their amusing way, and making quite a triumphal procession of our progress up Roebuck Street.
“Golly, Sambo!” one of them shouted out to another of their number, who evidently was the local poet of the party. “You makee singsong ob de lilly buckra sailor!”
Thereupon, the poet, who was clearly a man of vivid imagination and spontaneous genius, at once struck up a doggerel rhyme; all of them taking up the chorus as they marched along on either side of us:—
“Man ob war buckra, man ob war buckra,
Jus’ come ashore, jus’ come ashore,
Jus’ come ashore!
“’Badian gen’leman, ’Badian gen’leman,
He make um roar, he make um roar,
He make um roar!
“Man ob war buckra an’ ’Badian gen’leman,
Dey hab a shindy, dey hab a shindy,
Dey hab a shindy!
“’Badian gen’leman, he mash um mout’;
Man ob war buckra, um bash um snout;
Golly, yah, yah,
Um bash um snout!”
“Begorrah!” exclaimed Mick, none the worse for the fray, beyond a slight cut on his port cheek, which had been caused by the scrape of the mulatto’s long nails and not by his fist, as he burst into a roar of laughter on the darkeys bringing out this impromptu musical account of the recent fight—in which all hands joined, making most of the passers-by we met on our route to one of the hotels recommended by Mr Jones, who had been to Bridgetown before, look round to see what was the matter—“it bates Bannagher an’ Donnybrook Fair all rowled into one, sure!”
It need hardly be said after this, that, on our presently reaching the favourite hostelry of our guide, the signalman, we stood treat to all the darkeys; and then, having had enough of their somewhat too marked attentions, we parted company, with the most friendly feelings on both sides.
The people altogether received us very kindly, all sorts of festivities being held in our honour, officers and men alike having balls and dinners and picnics and cricket-matches all got up especially for their pleasure; so that our fortnight’s stay at Barbados was one long holiday from the first day to the last, for, if we did not happen to be ashore, parties of ladies and gentlemen used to come off to see the ship and be entertained in their turn.
We sailed from our anchorage, near the lighthouse at Needham Point to the north-east of the bay, somewhere in the second week of January, making first for Tobago, which lies more to the southward of the Windward Islands. After this we visited Trinidad and most of the other colonies, calling also at the French possessions of Guadaloupe and Martinique, before returning for a final look in at Barbados on our way home again to England.
After leaving Carlisle Bay for the second time, the squadron made for Bermuda, the commodore hoping to pick up the light westerly winds which are to be met with at this season of the year hereabouts; but, when to the south of the thirtieth parallel, we encountered a terrific gale from the north-west, which was as child’s play in comparison to the one we experienced in the Bay of Biscay.