“As to that, Jack, you must let me take my own course,” answered Mr Plumb.
I found that Dicky Plumb got considerably laughed at by his companions for what they called his uppishness, and his boasting of his various friends and relations of rank. Still, nothing would ever put him down.
“It is no fault of mine if my father happens to have a Duke for a cousin, or a Governor-General of India for a brother-in-law, or if he is intimate with the Prime Minister, or if the Queen herself holds him in high estimation; so I do not see why you chaps should laugh at me.”
“But, I say, Master Dicky,” exclaimed an old mate, Sampson Trueman by name, “is it a fact that your father has a cousin a Duke, and is brother-in-law to the Governor-General?”
“I ask you, Mr Trueman, whether it is becoming of you—a master’s mate in the British navy, and soon, I hope, should the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty be made aware of your superlative merits, to become a lieutenant—to call in question the word of another officer, notwithstanding that he may not be of your own exalted rank,” exclaimed Dicky, in his usual pompous manner. “I must decline answering those questions.”
There was a general laugh, in which Mr Trueman joined; and though, probably, the older members of the mess suspected that the gentleman had been romancing, others were still under the impression that he really possessed the exalted connections of whom he boasted.
Helped along by a fine steady breeze we made good progress, and at length reached the entrance to the river Hoogley. Dicky got leave to accompany the captain up to Calcutta. Whether or not he was received as a relative by the Governor-General no one in his own mess could ascertain. He dined, however, at Government House, but that might have been in consequence of some introduction sent out by Mrs Brigadier. She was, at all events, a person to take care that her son should not be overlooked. We did not remain there long before we received orders to make the best of our way on to China, where an expedition was engaged in teaching the Celestials to pay due respect to the outside barbarians, as they call the nations of Europe.
Chapter Six.
We Reach the Flowery Land.
On a fine afternoon we found ourselves sailing into a beautiful bay, with high mountains rising up on either side. We soon dropped anchor off a town, which we found was the new English city of Victoria, in the island of Hong Kong, close to the mainland of China. A large number of other vessels were already at anchor, men-of-war, merchantmen, transports, and store-ships. The transports had on board a body of British troops destined, as Sergeant Turbot informed me, to teach the Chinese manners.
Before long, several of the officers and men from other ships of the squadron came aboard us, and soon told us what had been done, making us, of course, very eager to be engaged in similar exploits. Boxes, slippers, daggers, knives, and all sorts of articles were exhibited as trophies. The most highly prized were the Chinamen’s pigtails, which our men had cut off, they declared, when the enemy ran away. We had a busy time of it at Hong Kong. It was understood that there would probably be a good deal more fighting with the Chinese. The marines, of course, expected to be employed on shore. I could not help feeling, however, somewhat anxious for my friend, Sergeant Turbot; for in that climate to have to make a long march, or to storm a fort at the top of a hill, would, I thought, too likely prove fatal to him.