When they had taken their places I asked, “Are you ready?” and on being answered “Yes,” I said, “Present,” and so kept them for a few seconds, when I dropped my handkerchief as the signal to fire. McDermot fired and missed my friend, who instantly afterwards fired his pistol in the air. I stepped forward to McDermot’s friend and said, “Gentlemen, I hope you are satisfied?” The Irishman answered, “Certainly not, they must go on.” I endeavoured in vain to convince him that the rules of honour were satisfied, that his friend had had the chance of shooting mine, and that mine had fully acknowledged himself in the wrong by firing his pistol in the air. Dr. McDermot appeared to agree with me, but said he must leave all to his second; but the Irishman became more and more excited, and said he could not be satisfied until they had another shot or two. I then said, “Well, sir, it must be you and I to go on, for I cannot suffer these gentlemen to go any further; so come on.” This worked a marvellous change, and my brave Irish boy soon became cool and reasonable; finally, we all shook hands and returned to Lisbon, and had a comfortable breakfast together in a café. This was the first and only duel I ever was concerned in, and yet in my early days duels and hard drinking were frequent evils, and considered by many to be both necessary and unavoidable.
CHAPTER XV
CHASED BY A PIRATE
Appointed captain in the 50th Regiment—Embark for Jamaica—A terrible storm and a drunken captain—Return to port—Sail again with another captain—Ship chased by a pirate—Jamaica once more
IN April, 1821, I again attended the Commander-in-Chief’s Military Secretary’s levée. Sir Henry Torrens was still in office, and when I told him of my anxiety to be employed he asked me where I would like to serve. I said, “Jamaica above all other parts of the world”; he then directed me to write to him to that effect. I did so next day, and three weeks afterwards had the pleasure of seeing myself appointed captain of a company in the 50th Regiment, and I soon received an official letter advising me to join the depot of the regiment in the Isle of Wight, which I did in the month of July following. I remained doing duty there for nearly twelve months, and it was during that period that I had a severe attack of inflammation of the eyes, which induced me to appeal to Lord Palmerston for the second, and last time, for my pension. We embarked for Jamaica in the hired ship Echo, but were detained by contrary winds in Cowes harbour for a fortnight. The captain had his wife on board during our detention, and we were so much pleased with his manner and polite attentions that we invited him to become our guest during the voyage (for in those days officers so embarked provided their own messing), and all went on well until a fine fair wind enabled us to sail: the captain then landed his wife, and from that hour and for ten days after he was never sober.
During this time the mate took charge, but in a few days we were met by a fearful gale right against us, and every hour and day it became worse and worse. Our captain still remained beastly drunk and most troublesome, every now and then throwing handfuls of silver, and some gold, amongst the soldiers on deck, allowing them to scramble for it, and when spoken to by any of us, swearing and damning and calling out that we were all going to Davy Jones’s locker together.
The gale at last increased to a hurricane; the captain then became so troublesome that the senior officers present (Captain Powell and I) went officially to our commanding officer, Colonel P——, and advised him to confine the captain to his cabin, and to order the mate to take the ship back to port, as the sailors were already done up and grumbling. Colonel P—— was a good and kind man, but without energy or resolution, and he declined to interfere or to take any such responsibility on himself. We urged and urged our request, as the lives of all were in danger, but still finding Colonel P—— would not do anything, we insisted on having his leave to act, so that we might ourselves carry out his orders. He then said, “Well, boys, just do as you like.” We then at once forced the captain off the deck into his cabin, and told him he must consider himself under arrest. He got very violent, and swore he would not be kept a prisoner by any one. Then we got him down again and placed two sentries in his cabin, with orders not to suffer him to go on deck. We next went to the mate and told him that his captain was a prisoner for habitual drunkenness and neglect of duty, and that he (the mate) should at once take the ship into port. This the honest sailor refused to do; he could not, he said, act without his captain’s orders, that he would be dismissed by the owners and ruined if he did so. We reported accordingly to Colonel P——, who at once declined further responsibility. The gale continued without any visible change; many of our sails were blown away, the weather became very thick and dirty, our sailors were done up and discontented to a man, yet the mate would do nothing. He confessed the crew were overworked, but that he could not help it, and dared not go back. In this state we got through another day and night, and next morning found ourselves at daylight all but on shore on the island of Alderney, with only enough sea room to clear the rocks ahead of us, on which we must have been wrecked, had not the morning’s dawn happily come in time to save us.
When clear in the open sea, we again urged the mate to bear away for the nearest harbour, but he still refused, urging his former reasons. We then begged him to parade the whole crew on the quarter-deck, that we might know their opinions. This he did, and the gallant fellows to a man declared they could not possibly work any longer, and urged us, for the safety of all, to put up in some harbour. For days we had made no observations, but being satisfied it was the island of Alderney we saw that morning the mate had no doubt of our whereabouts. We now went to Colonel P—— (who seldom left his cabin, for he had his wife and a young lady, Miss C——, with him), and we urged or rather insisted upon his signing a written order which we had prepared, directing the mate at once to take the ship back to the nearest port, telling Colonel P—— at the same time the danger we had escaped, and the result of our parade of the crew. As before, he resisted for some time all responsibility, but at last we got him to sign the order. Then followed difficulties with the mate, and it was not until we threatened to put a sentry over him that he consented, and gave the order to bear away and steer for Torbay. At four on the same evening land was reported ahead, and by sunset we were close in, and hoisted a signal of distress, which soon brought us a pilot boat, which boarded us and at once took us safely to anchor, thankful for our escape from destruction.
I now recommended Colonel P—— to report all that had occurred to us to the different authorities in London, and to state the necessity which obliged him to take all the responsibility and to act as he did. Poor man! he became more than ever confused, and said that he would be ruined and brought to a court-martial. I tried all I could to convince him, and he asked me to write the reports in his name, and said that he would sign them if I did so. I dispatched them at once, for fear of his altering his mind, and he soon received an answer approving of all he had done, and thanking him for his most able and judicious conduct.
On the same day the owners came down from London, bringing another captain with them. It was then found that the ship had suffered much, and carpenters and shipwrights were sent from the dockyard at Plymouth to examine and repair her. The owners were so pleased with the assistance which the soldiers gave the sailors during the gale, that they made the former a present of two tons of potatoes. It took more than a fortnight before the Echo was again reported fit for sea. During that time we amused ourselves landing and making excursions daily to different parts of the country, and in this interval Colonel P—— had a second letter, saying that our application for additional allowances for our losses during the storm was under favourable consideration; this enabled us to replenish our sea-stock, and to make due provision for our future comfort. We sailed again with a fair breeze, and in due course reached Madeira, where we remained for some days, landing frequently and enjoying ourselves much in that gay town.