All the way home True Blue could talk of nothing but the King, and how glad he was to have seen him. In the evening, however, one of the young ladies began to play a hornpipe, the music of which Sir Henry, not without difficulty, had procured for her. True Blue pricked up his ears, and then, running to the piano, exclaimed, “You play it very well indeed, Miss Julia—that you do; but I wish that you could just hear Sam Smatch with his fiddle—he’d take the shine out of you, I think you’d say. Howsomdever, my lady, if you and the young ladies and Sir Henry please, and Miss Julia will just strike up a bit of a tune, I’ll shuffle my feet about and show you what we call a hornpipe at sea. Sir Henry knows, though, right well; but, to say truth, I’d rather have the smooth deck under my feet than this grassy sort of stuff, which wants the right sort of spring in it.”
“Never mind, Freeborn,” said Sir Henry, laughing. “They are not such severe judges as Ogle and Bush, and Marline and our other shipmates.”
“To be sure—to be sure,” said True Blue in a compassionate tone. “Now, Miss Julia, please marm, strike up and off I go.”
True Blue did go off indeed, and with the greatest spirit performed a hornpipe which deservedly elicited the admiration of all the spectators. Miss Julia’s fingers were tired before his feet, and, having made the usual bow round to the company, throwing back his hair, he stood ready to begin again.
The applause which followed having ceased, he laughed, exclaiming, “Oh, it’s nothing, ladies—nothing to what I can do, Sir Henry will tell you; but, you see, there’s a good deal of difference between the forecastle of a man-of-war, and this here drawing-room in big London City.” The tone of his voice showed that he gave the preference to the forecastle.
That evening Lady Elmore and her son had a long discussion.
“But are you certain, Henry, that we are doing the best thing for the brave lad?” she said.
“Oh, he’ll polish—he’ll polish rapidly!” answered her son. “He has no notion of concealment, or that it is necessary for him to assume shoregoing manners, now that he has got over his bashfulness at finding himself among strangers. He says exactly what he thinks and feels. The outside husk is rough enough, I own, but, depend on it, the jewel within will soon take a polish which will shine brightly through the shell and light up the whole form. Not a bad notion for a midshipman, mother!”
“Oh, you were always poetical and warm-hearted and good and enthusiastic, Henry,” said Lady Elmore, pressing him to her heart. “Do as you think best, and I have no doubt our young sailor will turn out a shining character.”