2
" 1 " 1 11
Adventures on a Man of War.
IT was In 1793 that I lay In the ship
Panther at Londonderry. Ireland was
then . in a state of commotion with the
famous rebellion of the period, and the
oity was full of English soldiers. I was
much interested in the old historic town
which, from time to time, had given the
Sassetmgli (the Gaelic for Englishman)
such abundant trouble.' ' " ' "
'One dajf while 'the' ship was waiting
freight, I had opportunity to walk upon
the great wall which encompasses the
place. A group of remarkablo faces here
attracted my attention. They were those
of a middle-aged woman, a girl of seven
teen, and a boy of fifteen. The appearance
of all three was interesting, but tne face
and figure of the young girl were the most
beautiful that I had ever looked upon.
The group conversed in animated tones,
speaking, however, the anciont Irish, with
which I was totally unacquainted. Their
gestures and apparently Indignant though
partially suppressed sentences, on the ap
pearance of a squad of English soldiers
near the wall, led me to suppose them
touched with the calamities of their nation,
and deeply in sympathy with the rebellion.
Presontly there passed near them a British
officer. ' It seemed probable that they did
not suppose him to understand the Irish
language, for their conversation continued
while the officer drew very near them. I
heard from the boy the term "Sasseuagb,"
coupled apparently with an expression of
patriotic or incensed feeling, though of this
. I could judge only by what followed.
Instautly the officer halted in his walk,
and then starting violently toward the
young lad, struck him with the flat of his
sword, almost felling him to the flinty wall.
Surprised as he was, the youth immediately
recovered his balance, and though helpless
before an armed enemy, he seemed ready
with his naked hand to return the blow of
the sword. His face had a brave defying
look; yet what a mere mite he would have
- been to the burly Englishman. The latter
incensed at the lad's unconquered attitude,
seemed about to repeat the blow, while the
mother and Bister lifted their supplicating
arms. I stood within twenty feet of the
group.
" You mean miserable coward !" I cried;
"another blow and you go off the wall 1"
I was stout and quick. J had hauled out
many an earring, and steered a ship in a
gale. Nevertheless, as the English officer
rushed upon me with his sword, I must
have fallen beneath it had not the Celtic
lad, by grasping the legs of my adversary,
caused him to stumble. Ere he recovered,
I grasped his sword arm and struck him in
the face. As be reeled backward, I suc
ceeded in wrenching the weapon from his
grasp. Confused, yet raging, he felt fran
tically for a pistol, when suddenly up went
his Arms and legs at once. An instant's
struggle to regain his poise, a quick flutter
of his scarlet emit, and then backward and
downward; he was gono right off the wall
of Londonderry 1
My heart leaped up with fright What
was I but a murderer ? I looked down. 1 I
saw his red coat and his buff knee-breeches.
He had struck upon a wide-spread bramble
which broke his fall. Right lustily he be
stirred himself to clear his garments and to
pick up his "at." His round English
curses full soothingly upon my conscience,
for as yet I had done no murder. I threw
his sword after him and bade him good-by.
My new-made Irish friends were aware
of the dangerous position in which all of
us were now placed, and together we hur
ried away.
It happened that no soldier or partisan
, of England had witnessed the transaction,
and thus we regained the city streets un
molested. The mother, who, together with
her children, spoke good English, though
most at home in the Irish, thauked me for
.rny interference in behalf of her boy. She
had suffered much from the " Sasseuagh,"
as bad her unhappy country, and would be
glad to seek refuge beyond the sea. Her
husband, Captain O'Hara, was about to
sail for America, in command of a mor
cliaat vessel, and thither ' t herself and
children were to accompany him. Should
circumstances so direct, they might perma
nently reside there; but, at the least, the
voyage would secure them for a time from
- the perils tliey must otherwise encounter
at home.
' Near - the water-side we met Captain
O'Hara. I must accompany him on board
his vessel, the line brave lad that I was, for
ho would talk with me. Never had I seen
a finer representative of old Erin's sons.
In addressing his daughter, his "Cathleen
attort,", his strong face so lighted np with
tenderness, that I could not wonder at the
expressive beauty of one descended from
'such a stock, " ',
Next morning, at sunrise, the chorus of
" 0 heave ho !" came lustily over the har
bor, as the topsail-yards of - the brig 6t.
Patrick wont slowly up to the topmost
heads. Her anchor was hove to the bow,
her topgallant-sails were set, and she stood
. out to sea. ' ' ' ' ,' ' ' !. ' 1
I dared scarcely hope that a delicate
handkerchief, momentarily waved above
the bulwarks as she passed our ship, had
aught of encouragement for the feeling I
had rncst at heart. That handkerchief,
I)C pnc0, Nttu Bloomfttfo, )a.
' " ...J.,.,, - , i.. . i , i , . ... . , .,,.,.,.,,,,
"spotted with strawberries" how' white
the hand beneath it I
The 6t. Patrick was gone and Cathleen ;
but all my hoart was changed, ' and I was
no more the careless sea-boy of the day
previous. As if to increase my melan
choly, an Irish sailor at evening sang a
sweet but tragio ballad. It swept along
the waters like a prophecy of sorrow:
"Thy lover will than) thy death (lamber with thee,
O Cathleen MtYourneen, vnuhle niachreel"
We sailed soon after for home. France
and the Uiiked States were then virtually
at war with each other, although hostilities
were never formally declared, and a very
notable iuoident of our passage was an en
gagement With a French privateer. She
attaoked us in what was almost a gale, and
so heavy a swell was running that hardly a
shot , touched the ship. I think we fired
better than the enemy, for although the
Hirondelle carried sixteen guns, we beat
her off with two old rusty six-pounders.
Upon arriving home, I learned that the
brig St. Patrick had not reached the port
for which she sailed. It is needless to
dwell upon my disappointment. I re
mained long waiting, but it was finally an
nounced, by a neutral vessel, that the Irish
brig had fallon a prey to the Hirondelle,
the very privateer which had engaged our
ship, and I doubted not that the bright
face of Cathleen was In the Frenchman's
cabin at the very moment we were firing
upon him.
Never again, I mused, could the daughter
of Erin become a reality in my experience ;
yet my nightly dreams were gladdened by
her presence, and it seemed strange that
they always resulted favorably. I have
ever had faith in dreams. The night be
fore our engagement with the Hirondelle,
I bad dreamed of Cathleen as dressed in
the blue, white and scarlet of France.
The elder Adams was now president, and
although no lover of French republicanism,
he would gladly have avoided war with the
ambitious Gauls. Yet something must be
done to protect our commerce, and soon
the names of vessels fitting out against the
French became familiar to all mariners.
I shipped in the Constellation frigate,
rating thirty-eight guns, and commanded
by Captain Truxton. A nobler object than
this American ship of war, as under her
three topsail, topgallant-sails and royals,
with her broad courses heavily swelling,
her spanker, staysails, jib and flying-jib all
taking the quartering breeze, as she stood
out of the Chesapeake, it would not be
easy to conceive.
Many of our tars regretted that it was
not the English instead of the French of
whom we were sent in quest; for the deeds
of the previous thirty years had given our
countrymen as great dislike for the former
as gratitude toward the latter. Besides,
the capture of a French ship could by no
means bejregarded as so notable an achieve
ment as the capture of an Englishman of
the same rate. If any of my readers who are
careless of historical information should
doubt that we were ever in a state of actual
war with France, the records of '08 and '09
will enlighten them. Nothing is more in
teresting tlian a file of old newspapers of
that stirring period.
Crossing the Gulf Stream, the Constella
tion bore away for Uie West Indies, where
the French were carrying things with a
high hand. Never had a ship a finer crew
than ours, or a better commander. From
the rough old salts in the round-tops to the
powder-boys of the gundock, every soul on
board loved and respected Capta iu Trux
ton. For some time we cruised off the Wind
ward Islands without falling in with an
enemy. Once we ran as far south as Mar
tinique, then retumed to the neighborhood
of Moutserrat and G uadaloupe. At length,
on the ninth of February, 1709, while off
Montserrat, we espied a sail to the lee
ward. The Constellation immediately bore
down for her, while the stranger, who was
hauled close on the wind, appeared per
fectly willing to meet us. We soon per
ceived her to be a frigate of equal force
with the Constellation; that is to say, she
rated thirty-eight guns, but earned forty
niue. All ships of war at that period car
ried more than thoir rate. The stranger
had, like ourselves, twenty-eight eightoeu
pouuders on her gundeck, and twenty-one
on her spar-deck, one of the latter being a
shifting gun.
Whether she were French or English we
know not, but many of us guessed her to
be the French frigate Insurgente, a ship of
which we had heard a remarkably fast
sailer, and a very active depredator upon
American conrmerce. At all events, she
was a flue-looking vessel.
- We were quite close upon the strange
ship whon the Constellation sent up a large
ensign at the mizzen, , and immediately
after a smaRer ono at the fore. The last
the stranger could see plainly, but Che other
was hidden by the sails ahead of it. In
stantly the French tri-color floated from
the opposing ship, and suspense was ended.
I recall at this moment the opening of
the battle with all Its incidents. First of
all, the Frenchman poured a Are from his
quaiter-deck, then section by aectlon,came
his entire broad side. I remember the
thick smoke, and how his sails and spars
grew Indistinct, as if in a fog. Then a
deep concussion shook our decks, as the
Constellation, from her long eighteens,
gave back the compliment. , .
As the battle went on, my nerves of hear
ing teemed torn and distracted by the tre
mendous roar. ' ;-
At intervals a fresher breeze would some
what clear the air ; then we would see our
grim enemy, with his black and active
muzzles, his torn rigging and spars. Here
were shaouds hanging loose ; there, yards
shattered and braces cut away. Still the
tri-color, dusky in the battle cloud, waved
at his mizzen ; for the Frenchman was no
coward, and be made a gallant fight. - r t,
On board the Constellation, in working
both ship and guns, there was the utmost
regularity. The mariners from the poop
deck kept np a ceaseless fire of musketry,
and the long eighteens in the broadside an
unbroken roar.. The Frenchman, with all
his courage, being at length so disabled as
to manoeuvre with difficulty, we took a
position on his weather-bow, raking hinv
fore and aft. ' At lost he struck his colors.
He had fough t nobly, but ho was only a
Frenchman.
Three cheers went, up from the Constel
lation's deck. Our loss was comparatively
slight, and the damage to the ship could be
soon repaired ; but the Insurgente (for we
had correctly guessed the name of our
antagonist) presented a sorrowful spectacle
Our first lieutenant went on board to
take possession, but I was not of his boat's
crew. I remember distinctly the appear
ance of the French officers who came to
us in the returning boat. They were very
few, for most of the brave fellows were
beyond the grasp of captivity.
After a time a man was sent to us who
had been a prisoner to the French, and
whom I recognized before be came over
the gangway. He was Captain O'Hara,
once of the brig St. Patrick.
It is not my purpose to relate surprises,
with all their accompanying ejaculations.
Sun, and storm, and anxiety bod written
their story in the face of the Celtic captain.
Captured by the Hirondelle, he had wit
nessed the passage at arms between that
vessel and the Panther. We killed, he
said, three of the Frenchmen and wounded
eight. '
A short time subsequent to this, the
Hirondelle fell in with a British privateer,
called the Cinque Ports. The latter was of
Inferior force, yet, in the battle which en
sued, the sons of Albion were, as a matter
of course, triumphant. The Frenchman
seemed to have a passion for engaging his
enemies in a gale of wind, for nSw, as in
his brush with the Panther, it was blowing
very hard, and the swell was heavy. The
English carried the Hirondelle by boarding,
but immediately after the battle the latter
shipped a sea, which swept almost every
man from her decks, and at the same time
drove her dear from the Englishman,
whose maintopmast in the meantime went
ovci board. Some half-dozen of the Eng
lish were lost, but the remainder, being
carried by the sea directly against their
own vessel, succeeded in getting on board
of her. Captain O' Hat a aud young Cathal,
the boy whom I had protected in London
derry, having at that moment been liber
ated, were swept by the sea, the former over
board and the latter into the Hirondoll's
Scrambling on board the British brig,
upon whose docks the sea itself had ,wall
nigh carried him, the Irish captain sow
himself separated from his family. To
make matters worse, the wind now blew
with much increased violence that it
was utterly impossible for the Euglislt, in
tlie disabled condition of tiieir vessel, to re
gain possession of their prize. They bad
the mortification to sue tlie vertical stripes
of scarlet, white and azure once more go
up to the peak of the Hirondelle, as, shat
tered by sea and riddled by Bitot, yet still
quite manageable, she stood off under her
courses aud topsails.
Vainly the captain of the Cinque Ports
cursed the low of his maintopmast, . as
without it lie could keep nowlvere near the
wind, but was obliged to head three or
four points a-lee of the chose. The feelings
of Capt. O'Hara, with his wife and children
etill in the hands of the enemy, found their
only relief in the reflection that the latter
had thus far ; treated them kindly, and
would probably continue to do so, as the
French republicans had always a sympathy
for let lrelandoit, however such sympathy
might bo unequal to pecuniary temptation.
With her spare rigging aud spars, the
Cinque Ports was soon repaired. She bad
lost no less than four prize captaius, and
her commander, previously acquainted
with Captain O'Hara, whim he hod met
in the West Indieappointed him master
I of the first prize which foil prey to the
privateer after her adventure with the
Hirondelle.
" We had six prize masters," said the
English Captain, " when we left Jamaica.
Two were sent off in prizes, two killed in
fight, and two washed off the deck of that
blasted Frenchman." '
Captain O'Hara proceeded to Jamaica
with his prize, where the proceeds of bis
share placed him above immediate want.
He now spent several weeks In the endeav
or to learn something of the Hiroudello.and
the situation of bis wife aud children. He
was unable, however, to ascertain more
than that the Freuch privateer was not, as
yet, known to have arrived at any port.
The suspense was dreadful, but he had no
mean nfatentng the result. His chief
dependence was upon the kind offices of the
various British offloials at the French ports,
who were informed of the circumstances.
In the meantime he had visited Barba
does, and soon after, embarking thence on
the return to Jamacla, he was captured by
the Insurgente. She stood northward to
Montserra, where the guns of the Constel
lation put a lull stop to her mischievous
enterprises. .
While listening to Captain O'Hara's
story, I felt for him more sympathy than
I could well express he was so earnest, so
honest, and withal he so stout-heartedly
bore up. Nothing he yet knew of l'Hiron
dello, his" wife, or Cathal, or bright-eyed
Cathleen. And . now, the possibility of
their having gone down in the battle-torn
barque of the Frenchman became more and
more apparent.
Standing to the northward, we were
nearly up with Hatteras, when the Con
stellation made prize of a merchant ship
from Now Orleans (then a French port),
for Bordeaux. I was of the number sent
to take possession of her. It was evening,
and, in going up tho side, our midship
man dropped the prize papers which Cap
tain Truxton had given him, a mishap that
left the young officer in command with no
written authority. For three days we had
that kind of weather which one is apt to
encountor off Cape Hatteras, cutting off all
communication with the frigate, until
finally we lost sight of her for good.
The storm at lost subsiding, we stood on
out of the Gulf Stream and headed for
Chesapeake Bay. Within two hours' sail
of Cape Henry, we were brought to by the
Eurydice frigate. Her captain could have
hung us all handsomely, for we 1 had no
papers, but he chose to act differently.
Taking advantage of our position, he claim
ed three other men and myself as British
subjects. Protestation availed nothing,
and in sight of Cope Henry, with the Ches
apeake opening before us, we were trans
ferred to his ship.
Had not accident left us at ' his mercy,
he would not, perhaps, have ventured to
impress American man-of-war's men ; but
though he ; doubted not the truth of our
story, inasmuch as he allowed the midship
man to proceed with the prize, he knew
that the strict letter of maritime law was
against us, and that, therefore, he would
not be called to account for this outrage
on our navy.
On recovering from the despair of my
impressment from the American ship, I
had at first anticipated some excitement
from expected contests with the French ;
but such contests were not as frequent as
the romantio admirer of naval prowess may
suppose. The French, sure to suffer do
feat, had learned to give British ships a
wide berth and thus the six months of
my service on board the Eurydice had
given no opportunity for battle.
But it was now that off Barbadoes, in
company with the Agamemnon, seventy
four, commanded by Sir Edward Berry, we
fell in with four ships, mounting respect
ively, sixty, forty-six, forty and thirty-two
guns. The Agamemnon, although rating
but seventy-four, carried eighty-six guns ;
while the Eurydico, rating but thirty-six,
carried forty-four. Thus, we had two ships
mounting one huudered and thirty guns,
against four ships mounting one hundred
aud seventy-eight guns.
This battle afforded a spectacle worth
all the six months of enforced servitude.
There was some nianoouvering for advan
tage of position, and the ships became
somewhat scattered, the Agamemnon, with
two oppononts,getting a mile fiom us. She
engaged the Vantur, sixty, and the Hector,
forty-cix ; the two antagonists which closed
with the Eurydice being the Ropublique,
forty, and the Aigle, thirty-two. Our en
emies endeavored to keep both on the same
side of the Eurydice, in order to divide
our broadside, but we had crew enough to
man nil our guns at once, though some
what scantily ; aud, therefore,' the old
British sea-dog, our commander insisted
on gutting betweon the Frenchman. Then
wiUt the one oil the starboard and the
other on the larboard, we poured a full
broadside into each. Aud such a roar,
such smoke and flame 1
Meauwhile the Agamemnon, a mile dis
tant, was thundering from her castle-like
sides on the two heavy ships opposed to
her, her huge spars rocking to and . fro
with the recoil of her loud batteries, and
the blood-red cross flaming out at her
mizzen.
The Eurydice suffered heavily ; for the
heroic courage of our two antagonists al
most redocmed their want of skill. They
fired faster than ourselves, but ' with less
accuracy, and their discharges were con
fused ; so that they exemplified tho prov
erb, "the more haste the less 'speed."
Still, the great disparity of force would
have rendered us fearful of. the result, but
for the reflection that the opposing force
was French while our own,was English.
Inialf an hour the forty gun ship struck
to the Eurydice, while her consort endeav
ored to got off. A brief pursuit, however, '
brought her to, but it was only to fight
with a desperation that surprised us. The
Eurydice laid her on board, but the French
captain seemed to have gone insane,' and
he communicated his frenzy to his men.
Seldom has naval warfare witnessed such
a conflict. From stem to stern the decks
, . .a.
were strewn with dead, and the ship swam
in blood. At lost the brave captain fell by
a sword thrust from our first lieutenant,
and then, as if the honor of the French had
hung upon his life, his men threw down
their weapons.
Ere this the forty-six gun frigate opposed
to the Agamemnon had lost her foremast
by the board, her mainmast-head, and
about half of - her mizzen-topmast. The-
British seventy-four had abandoned her to
pursue the ship of sixty guns, which ter
ribly crippled, was making a running fight,
under her fore-topsail and jib, the only
sails she could set. The Briton soon closed
with his foe, aud when the smoke of the
Agamemnon's broadside had rolled to lee
ward, uncovering the tall- spars of the
Frenchman, we saw thot the Republioane
ensign had done homage to the mistress of
the deep. The forty-six gun ship, already
helpless, was soon after taken possession
of, as was also that of forty guns, which
we had left astern in chasing the thirty-two.
. Washing the bloody decks and casting
overboard the dead, we at once commenced
repairing damages. . Jury-masts were set
up in the prizes, and stays, shrouds and
running rigging replaced on board the
victors. Our sails looked as if they hod
all served for targets. The enemy must
have fired very high, for one of their shot
hod carried away our main-royal -yard.
The day passed, and it was two bells (or
nine o'clock) in the evening watch. We
were slowly standing ; in for Barbadoes.
The Eurydice had reached a position close
a-beam of the Vantour, the prize of sixty
guns. Some of our watch, in high spirits,
were singing a grand old song of the sea
fight of La Hogue, in 1003 :
I was leaning over our bulwarks listen
ing to the full strong notes of the song, and
gazing up at the lofty spars of the French
Bhip, as if she had been poor Tourville's
Royal Sun, when, at the last line, an ex
plosion occurred on board of her, followed
by a dense smoke. Our officer of the deck
was in the act of hailing, to learn the ex
tent of the injury or danger, when every
soul was killed by a roar that shook the
sea. The Eurydice herself felt the shock.
It passed like an earthquake under onr
keel, and . resounded in the air like ten
thousand bolts of thunder.
The Yantour bod blown up I There was
a vivid flame that seemed to throw the
whole night into the clouds. Upon its
wild and streaming arms went decks, guns
and masts, till lost in the dark arch above.
The blackness which then settled upon the
scene, was as impenetrable as a plank. A
suffocating smoke rolled all about us, and
we could hear the rapid rain of splinters,
spars, guns and dead bodies, . that, falling
a-starboard and a-larboard, splashed into
the water. -
The boats of the squadron, rowing about
in the dark, found only one human being
alive or dead, and he a lad picked up by
the cutter of the Eurydice. He belonged
to tho Agamemnon, having been put on
board the Yantour as one of the prize Aew.
The squadron lay by the spot all night, but
the dawn of day revealed nothing more of
life.
My duties had left me no opportunity to
closely observe the rescued youth ; but
now, as he stood on deck under the broad
ening light, I felt my blood start quickly
as I looked at him. And the voice, too
had I not heard it at Londonderry ? Con
cluded next weok.
Mixed up Darkey.
"Uncle Chow," a venerable negro
preacher of Jorsy City, who was formorly
a slave and now unites his professional '
duties with those appertaining to the wbite
wasltin' business, cherishes the old delu
sion that women have only seven devils.
" For," says Uncle Chew, " as Mary Mag
dalen was the only woman who ever had
them cast out, all the rest, consequently
have them 1 He thinks the preaching of
the present day is shocking." " Why,"
says ho, "doy don't say nu 111 n' 'bout hell
now-a-days, and what's religion for with
out hell and de . debble 7 Guess dey find
out fo' domselvos by and by, shuh." Uncle
Chew quotes. " If a man steals one grain
of wheat and plant it, in the fall when
gathered the whole is stolen." "So,"
says Uncle Chew, " when doy stole do
first darkey from Africa de whole product
are staled, and as the prosperity of the'
country was made by stolod labor, it right
fully belongs to the cullored folks." Uncle
Chews thoory would sadly Interfere with
the plans of some people.
A Louisville lawyer lately met with
a singular mishap. His wife wanted waste
paper for the manufacture of a certain arti
cle of her dress, . which may or may uot be
properly called by us a, bustle. Newspa
pers being scarce in that house, Mrs. Attor
ney seized upon certain important legal
documents which she found iu ber hus-,
band's office, aud with them constructed
the desired appendage. The case in whbU
these papers were to be used came on for
trial,' but in consequence of Madam's little
theft they couldn't try it a bit. An inquiry
was instituted in short thore was a ,row(
about it; and the lngeuius culprit confess
ed; restored the depositions and so forth,
and we ' suppose took such a lecture on ..
grand larceny from' her husband a she,,
never before had iu her life, ' ' . ' ,'