The Two Admirals Read online

  CHAPTER V.

  "Monarch and ministers, are awful names: Whoever wear them, challenge our devoir."

  YOUNG.

  Our plan does not require an elaborate description of the residence ofSir Wycherly. The house had been neither priory, abbey, nor castle; butit was erected as a dwelling for himself and his posterity, by a SirMichael Wychecombe, two or three centuries before, and had been kept ingood serviceable condition ever since. It had the usual long, narrowwindows, a suitable hall, wainscoted rooms, battlemented walls, andturreted angles. It was neither large, nor small; handsome, nor ugly;grand, nor mean; but it was quaint, respectable in appearance, andcomfortable as an abode.

  The admirals were put each in possession of bed-chambers anddressing-rooms, as soon as they arrived; and Atwood was _berthed_ notfar from his commanding-officer, in readiness for service, if required.Sir Wycherly was naturally hospitable; but his retired situation hadgiven him a zest for company, that greatly increased the inborndisposition. Sir Gervaise, it was understood, was to pass the night withhim, and he entertained strong hopes of including his friend in the samearrangement. Beds were ordered, too, for Dutton, his wife, and daughter;and his namesake, the lieutenant, was expected also to sleep under hisroof, that night.

  The day passed in the customary manner; the party having breakfasted,and then separated to attend to their several occupations, agreeably tothe usages of all country houses, in all parts of the world, and, webelieve, in all time. Sir Gervaise, who had sent a messenger off to thePlantagenet for certain papers, spent the morning in writing; AdmiralBluewater walked in the park, by himself; Atwood was occupied with hissuperior; Sir Wycherly rode among his labourers; and Tom Wychecombe tooka rod, and pretended to go forth to fish, though he actually held hisway back to the head-land, lingering in and around the cottage until itwas time to return home. At the proper hour, Sir Wycherly sent hischariot for the ladies; and a few minutes before the appointed moment,the party began to assemble in the drawing-room.

  When Sir Wycherly appeared, he found the Duttons already in possession,with Tom doing the honours of the house. Of the sailing-master and hisdaughter, it is unnecessary to say more than that the former was in hisbest uniform--an exceedingly plain one, as was then the case with thewhole naval wardrobe--and that the last had recovered from her illness,as was evident by the bloom that the sensitive blushes constantly castathwart her lovely face. Her attire was exactly what it ought to havebeen; neat, simple, and becoming. In honour of the host, she wore herbest; but this was what became her station, though a little jewelry thatrather surpassed what might have been expected in a girl of her rank oflife, threw around her person an air of modest elegance. Mrs. Dutton wasa plain, matronly woman--the daughter of a land-steward of a nobleman inthe same county--with an air of great mental suffering, from griefs shehad never yet exposed to the heartless sympathy of the world.

  The baronet was so much in the habit of seeing his humble neighbours,that an intimacy had grown up between them. Sir Wycherly, who wasanything but an acute observer, felt an interest in themelancholy-looking, and almost heart-broken mother, without knowing why;or certainly without suspecting the real character of her habitualsadness; while Mildred's youth and beauty had not failed of producingthe customary effect of making a friend of the old bachelor. He shookhands all round, therefore, with great cordiality; expressing his joy atmeeting Mrs. Dutton, and congratulating the daughter on her completerecovery.

  "I see Tom has been attentive to his duty," he added, "while I've beendetained by a silly fellow about a complaint against a poacher. Mynamesake, young Wycherly, has not got back yet, though it is quite twohours past his time; and Mr. Atwood tells me the admiral is a littleuneasy about his despatches. I tell him Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe, thoughI have not the honour of ranking him among my relatives, and he is onlya Virginian by birth, is a young man to be relied on; and that thedespatches are safe, let what may detain the courier."

  "And why should not a Virginian be every way as trustworthy and promptas an Englishman, Sir Wycherly?" asked Mrs. Dutton. "He _is_ anEnglishman, merely separated from us by the water."

  This was said mildly, or in the manner of one accustomed to speak undera rebuked feeling; but it was said earnestly, and perhaps a littlereproachfully, while the speaker's eye glanced with natural interesttowards the beautiful face of her daughter.

  "Why not, sure enough, my dear Mrs. Dutton!" echoed the baronet. "They_are_ Englishmen, like ourselves, only born out of the realm, as itmight be, and no doubt a little different on that account. They arefellow-subjects, Mrs. Dutton, and that is a great deal. Then they aremiracles of loyalty, there being scarcely a Jacobite, as they tell me,in all the colonies."

  "Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe is a very respectable young gentleman," saidDutton; "and I hear he is a prime seaman for his years. He has not thehonour of being related to this distinguished family, like Mr. Thomas,here, it is true; but he is likely to make a name for himself. Should heget a ship, and do as handsome things in her, as he has done already,His Majesty would probably knight him; and then we should have _two_ SirWycherly Wychecombes!"

  "I hope not--I hope not!" exclaimed the baronet; "I think there must bea law against _that_. As it is, I shall be obliged to put Bart. after myname, as my worthy grandfather used to do, in order to preventconfusion; but England can't bear two Sir Wycherlys, any more than theworld can bear two suns. Is not that your opinion, Miss Mildred?"

  The baronet had laughed at his own allusion, showing he spoke halfjocularly; but, as his question was put in too direct a manner to escapegeneral attention, the confused girl was obliged to answer.

  "I dare say Mr. Wychecombe will never reach a rank high enough to causeany such difficulty," she said; and it was said in all sincerity; for,unconsciously perhaps, she secretly hoped that no difference so widemight ever be created between the youth and herself. "If he should, Isuppose his rights would be as good as another's, and he must keep hisname."

  "In such a case, which is improbable enough, as Miss Mildred has so wellobserved," put in Tom Wychecombe, "we should have to submit to the_knighthood_, for that comes from the king, who might knight achimney-sweep, if he see fit; but a question might be raised as to the_name_. It is bad enough as it is; but if it really got to be _two_ SirWycherlys, I think my dear uncle would be wrong to submit to such aninvasion of what one might call his individuality, without making someinquiry as to the right of the gentleman to one or both his names. Theresult might show that the king had made a Sir Something Nobody."

  The sneer and spite with which this was uttered, were too marked toescape notice; and both Dutton and his wife felt it would be unpleasantto mingle farther in the discourse. Still the last, submissive, rebuked,and heart-broken as she was, felt a glow on her own pale cheek, as shesaw the colour mount in the face of Mildred, and she detected the strongimpulses that urged the generous girl herself to answer.

  "We have now known Mr. Wychecombe several months," observed Mildred,fastening her full, blue eye calmly on Tom's sinister-looking face; "andwe have never known any thing to cause us to think he would bear aname--or names--that he does not at least think he has a right to."

  This was said gently, but so distinctly, that every word entered fairlyinto Tom Wychecombe's soul; who threw a quick, suspicious glance at thelovely speaker, as if to ascertain how far she intended any allusion tohimself. Meeting with no other expression than that of generousinterest, he recovered his self-command, and made his reply withsufficient coolness.

  "Upon my word, Mrs. Dutton," he cried, laughing; "we young men will allof us have to get over the cliff, and hang dangling at the end of arope, in order to awaken an interest in Miss Mildred, to defend us whenour backs are turned. So eloquent--and most especially, so lovely, socharming an advocate, is almost certain of success; and my uncle andmyself must admit the absent gentleman's right to our name; though,heaven be praised, he has not yet got either the title or the estate."

  "I hope I have said nothin
g, Sir Wycherly, to displease _you_," returnedMildred, with emphasis; though her face was a thousand times handsomerthan ever, with the blushes that suffused it. "Nothing would pain memore, than to suppose I had done so improper a thing. I merely meantthat we cannot believe Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe would willingly take aname he had no right to."

  "My little dear," said the baronet, taking the hand of the distressedgirl, and kissing her cheek, as he had often done before, with fatherlytenderness; "it is not an easy matter for _you_ to offend _me_; and I'msure the young fellow is quite welcome to both my names, if you wish himto have 'em."

  "And I merely meant, Miss Mildred," resumed Tom, who feared he mighthave gone too far; "that the young gentleman--quite without any fault ofhis own--is probably ignorant how he came by two names that have so longpertained to the head of an ancient and honourable family. There is manya young man born, who is worthy of being an earl, but whom the lawconsiders--" here Tom paused to choose terms suitable for his auditor,when the baronet added,

  "A _filius nullius_--that's the phrase, Tom--I had it from your ownfather's mouth."

  Tom Wychecombe started, and looked furtively around him, as if toascertain who suspected the truth. Then he continued, anxious to regainthe ground he feared he had lost in Mildred's favour.

  "_Filius nullius_ means, Miss Mildred, exactly what I wish to express; afamily without any legal origin. They tell me, however, that in thecolonies, nothing is more common than for people to take the names ofthe great families at home, and after a while they fancy themselvesrelated."

  "I never heard Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe say a word to lead us to supposethat he was, in any manner, connected with this family, sir," returnedMildred, calmly, but quite distinctly.

  "Did you ever hear him say he was _not_, Miss Mildred?"

  "I cannot say I ever did, Mr. Wychecombe. It is a subject that hasseldom been introduced in my hearing."

  "But it has often been introduced in his! I declare, Sir Wycherly, ithas struck me as singular, that while you and I have so very frequentlystated in the presence of this gentleman, that our families are in noway connected, he has never, in any manner, not even by a nod or a lookof approbation, assented to what he must certainly know to be the case.But I suppose, like a true colonist, he was unwilling to give up hishold on the old stock."

  Here the entrance of Sir Gervaise Oakes changed the discourse. Thevice-admiral joined the party in good spirits, as is apt to be the casewith men who have been much occupied with affairs of moment, and whomeet relaxation with a consciousness of having done their duty.

  "If one could take with him to sea, the comforts of such a house asthis, Sir Wycherly, and such handsome faces as your own, young lady,"cried Sir Gervaise, cheerfully, after he had made his salutations;"there would be an end of our exclusiveness, for every _petit maitre_ ofParis and London would turn sailor, as a matter of course. Six months inthe Bay of Biscay gives an old fellow, like myself, a keen relish forthese enjoyments, as hunger makes any meat palatable; though I am far,very far, indeed, from putting this house or this company, on a levelwith an indifferent feast, even for an epicure."

  "Such as it is, Sir Gervaise, the first is quite at your service, in allthings," rejoined the host; "and the last will do all in its power tomake itself agreeable."

  "Ah--here comes Bluewater to echo all I have said and feel. I am tellingSir Wycherly and the ladies, of the satisfaction we grampuses experiencewhen we get berthed under such a roof as this, with woman's sweet faceto throw a gleam of happiness around her."

  Admiral Bluewater had already saluted the mother, but when his eye fellon the face and person of Mildred, it was riveted, for an instant, withan earnestness and intentness of surprise and admiration that all noted,though no one saw fit to comment on it.

  "Sir Gervaise is so established an admirer of the sex," said therear-admiral, recovering himself, after a pause; "that I am neverastonished at any of his raptures. Salt water has the usual effect onhim, however; for I have now known him longer than he might wish to bereminded of, and yet the only mistress who can keep him true, is hisship."

  "And to that I believe I may be said to be constant. I don't know how itis with you, Sir Wycherly, but every thing I am accustomed to I like.Now, here I have sailed with both these gentlemen, until I should assoon think of going to sea without a binnacle, as to go to sea without'em both--hey! Atwood? Then, as to the ship, my flag has been flying inthe Plantagenet these ten years, and I can't bear to give the old craftup, though Bluewater, here, would have turned her over to an inferiorafter three years' service. I tell all the young men they don't staylong enough in any one vessel to find out her good qualities. I neverwas in a slow ship yet."

  "For the simple reason that you never get into a fast one, that you donot wear her fairly out, before you give her up. The Plantagenet, SirWycherly, is the fastest two-decker in His Majesty's service, and thevice-admiral knows it too well to let any of us get foot in her, whileher timbers will hang together."

  "Let it be so, if you will; it only shows, Sir Wycherly, that I do notchoose my friends for their bad qualities. But, allow me to ask, younglady, if you happen to know a certain Mr. Wycherly Wychecombe--anamesake, but no relative, I understand, of our respectable host--andone who holds a commission in His Majesty's service?"

  "Certainly, Sir Gervaise," answered Mildred, dropping her eyes to thefloor, and trembling, though she scarce knew why; "Mr. Wychecombe hasbeen about here, now, for some months, and we all know something ofhim."

  "Then, perhaps you can tell me whether he is generally a loiterer onduty. I do not inquire whether he is a laggard in his duty to you, butwhether, mounted on a good hunter, he could get over twenty miles, ineight or ten hours, for instance?"

  "I think Sir Wycherly would tell you that he could, sir."

  "He may be a Wychecombe, Sir Wycherly, but he is no Plantagenet, in theway of sailing. Surely the young gentleman ought to have returned somehours since!"

  "It's quite surprising to me that he is not back before this," returnedthe kind-hearted baronet. "He is active, and understands himself, andthere is not a better horseman in the county--is there, Miss Mildred?"

  Mildred did not think it necessary to reply to this direct appeal; butspite of the manner in which she had been endeavouring to school herfeelings, since the accident on the cliff, she could not prevent thedeadly paleness that dread of some accident had produced, or the rush ofcolour to her cheeks that followed from the unexpected question of SirWycherly. Turning to conceal her confusion, she met the eye of TomWychecombe riveted on her face, with an expression so sinister, that itcaused her to tremble. Fortunately, at this moment, Sir Gervaise turnedaway, and drawing near his friend, on the other side of the largeapartment, he said in an under tone--

  "Luckily, Atwood has brought ashore a duplicate of my despatches,Bluewater, and if this dilatory gentleman does not return by the time wehave dined, I will send off a second courier. The intelligence is tooimportant to be trifled with; and after having brought the fleet north,to be in readiness to serve the state in this emergency, it would berare folly to leave the ministry in ignorance of the reasons why I havedone it."

  "Nevertheless, they would be almost as well-informed, as I am myself,"returned the rear-admiral, with a little point, but quite without anybitterness of manner. "The only advantage I have over them is that I_do_ know where the fleet is, which is more than the First Lord canboast of."

  "True--I had forgot, my friend--but you must feel that there _is_ asubject on which I had better not consult you. I have received someimportant intelligence, that my duty, as a commander-in-chief, rendersit necessary I should--keep to myself."

  Sir Gervaise laughed as he concluded, though he seemed vexed andembarrassed. Admiral Bluewater betrayed neither chagrin, nordisappointment; but strong, nearly ungovernable curiosity, a feelingfrom which he was singularly exempt in general, glowed in his eyes, andlighted his whole countenance. Still, habitual submission to hissuperior, and the self-command of disc
ipline, enabled him to wait forany thing more that his friend might communicate. At this moment, thedoor opened, and Wycherly entered the room, in the state in which he hadjust dismounted. It was necessary to throw but a single glance at hishurried manner, and general appearance, to know that he had something ofimportance to communicate, and Sir Gervaise made a sign for him not tospeak.

  "This is public service, Sir Wycherly," said the vice-admiral, "and Ihope you will excuse us for a few minutes. I beg this good company willbe seated at table, as soon as dinner is served, and that you will treatus as old friends--as I should treat you, if we were on board thePlantagenet. Admiral Bluewater, will you be of our conference?"

  Nothing more was said until the two admirals and the young lieutenantwere in the dressing-room of Sir Gervaise Oakes. Then the latter turned,and addressed Wycherly, with the manner of a superior.

  "I should have met you with a reproof, for this delay, young gentleman,"he commenced, "did I not suspect, from your appearance, that somethingof moment has occurred to produce it. Had the mail passed themarket-town, before you reached it, sir?"

  "It had not, Admiral Oakes; and I have the satisfaction of knowing thatyour despatches are now several hours on their way to London. I reachedthe office just in season to see them mailed."

  "Humph! On board the Plantagenet, it is the custom for an officer toreport any important duty done, as soon as it is in a condition to bethus laid before the superior!"

  "I presume that is the usage in all His Majesty's ships, Sir GervaiseOakes: but I have been taught that a proper discretion, when it does notinterfere with positive orders, and sometimes when it does, is a surersign of a useful officer, than even the most slavish attention torules."

  "That is a just distinction, young gentleman, though safer in the handsof a captain, perhaps, than in those of a lieutenant," returned thevice-admiral, glancing at his friend, though he secretly admired theyouth's spirit. "Discretion is a comparative term; meaning differentthings with different persons. May I presume to ask what Mr. WycherlyWychecombe calls discretion, in the present instance?"

  "You have every right, sir, to know, and I only wanted your permissionto tell my whole story. While waiting to see the London mail start withyour despatches, and to rest my horse, a post-chaise arrived that wascarrying a gentleman, who is suspected of being a Jacobite, to hiscountry-seat, some thirty miles further west. This gentleman held asecret conference with another person of the same way of thinking ashimself; and there was so much running and sending of messages, that Icould not avoid suspecting something was in the wind. Going to thestable to look after Sir Wycherly's hunter, for I knew how much hevalues the animal, I found one of the stranger's servants in discoursewith the ostler. The latter told me, when the chaise had gone, thatgreat tidings had reached Exeter, before the travellers quitted thetown. These tidings he described as news that 'Charley was no longerover the water.' It was useless, Sir Gervaise, to question one sostupid; and, at the inn, though all observed the manner of the travellerand his visiter, no one could tell me any thing positive. Under thecircumstances, therefore, I threw myself into the return chaise, andwent as far as Fowey, where I met the important intelligence that PrinceCharles has actually landed, and is at this moment up, in Scotland!"

  "The Pretender is then really once more among us!" exclaimed SirGervaise, like one who had half suspected the truth.

  "Not the Pretender, Sir Gervaise, as I understand the news; but hisyoung son, Prince Charles Edward, one much more likely to give thekingdom trouble. The fact is certain, I believe; and as it struck methat it might be important to the commander of so fine a fleet as thiswhich lies under Wychecombe Head, to know it, I lost no time in gettingback with the intelligence."

  "You have done well, young gentleman, and have proved that discretion_is_ quite as useful and respectable in a lieutenant, as it can possiblyprove to be in a full admiral of the white. Go, now, and make yourselffit to take a seat by the side of one of the sweetest girls in England,where I shall expect to see you, in fifteen minutes. Well, Bluewater,"he continued, as soon as the door closed on Wycherly; "this _is_ news,of a certainty!"

  "It is, indeed; and I take it to be the news, or connected with thenews, that you have sent to the First Lord, in the late despatches. Ithas not taken you altogether by surprise, if the truth were said?"

  "It has not, I confess. You know what excellent intelligence we havehad, the past season, from the Bordeaux agent; he sent me off suchproofs of this intended expedition, that I thought it advisable to bringthe fleet north on the strength of it, that the ships might be used asthe exigency should require."

  "Thank God, it is a long way to Scotland, and it is not probable we canreach the coast of that country until all is over! I wish we hadinquired of this young man with what sort of, and how large a navalforce the prince was accompanied with. Shall I send for him, that we mayput the question?"

  "It is better that you remain passive, Admiral Bluewater. I now promiseyou that you shall learn all I hear; and that, under the circumstances,I think ought to content you."

  The two admirals now separated, though neither returned to the companyfor some little time. The intelligence they had just learned was tooimportant to be lightly received, and each of these veteran seamen pacedhis room, for near a quarter of an hour, reflecting on what might be theprobable consequences to the country and to himself. Sir Gervaise Oakesexpected some event of this nature, and was less taken by surprise thanhis friend; still he viewed the crisis as exceedingly serious, and asone likely to destroy the prosperity of the nation, as well as the peaceof families. There was then in England, as there is to-day, and as thereprobably will be throughout all time, two parties; one of which clung tothe past with its hereditary and exclusive privileges, while the otherlooked more towards change for anticipated advantages, and createdhonours. Religion, in that age, was made the stalking-horse ofpoliticians; as is liberty on one side, and order on the other, in ourown times; and men just as blindly, as vehemently, and as regardlesslyof principle, submitted to party in the middle of the eighteenthcentury, as we know they do in the middle of the nineteenth. The mode ofacting was a little changed, and the watchwords and rallying points werenot exactly the same, it is true; but, in all that relates to ignorantconfidence, ferocious denunciation, and selfishness but half concealedunder the cloak of patriotism, the England of the original whigs andtories, was the England of conservatism and reform, and the America of1776, the America of 1841.

  Still thousands always act, in political struggles, with the fairestintentions, though they act in bitter opposition to each other. Whenprejudice becomes the stimulant of ignorance, no other result may behoped for; and the experience of the world, in the management of humanaffairs, has left the upright and intelligent, but one conclusion as thereward of all the pains and penalties with which political revolutionshave been effected--the conviction that no institutions can be invented,which a short working does not show will be perverted from theiroriginal intention, by the ingenuity of those entrusted with power. In aword, the physical constitution of man does not more infallibly tend todecrepitude and imbecility, imperiously requiring a new being, and a newexistence, to fulfil the objects of his creation, than the moralconstitutions which are the fruits of his wisdom, contain the seeds ofabuses and decay, that human selfishness will be as certain tocultivate, as human indulgence is to aid the course of nature, inhastening the approaches of death. Thus, while on the one hand, thereexists the constant incentive of abuses and hopes to induce us to wishfor modifications of the social structure, on the other there stands theexperience of ages to demonstrate their insufficiency to produce thehappiness we aim at. If the world advances in civilization and humanity,it is because knowledge will produce its fruits in every soil, and underevery condition of cultivation and improvement.

  Both Sir Gervaise Oakes and Admiral Bluewater believed themselves to bepurely governed by principles, in submitting to the bias that each felttowards the conflicting claims of the houses
of Brunswick and Stuart.Perhaps no two men in England were in fact less influenced by motivesthat they ought to feel ashamed to own; and yet, as has been seen, whilethey thought so much alike on most other things, on this they werediametrically opposed to each other. During the many years of arduousand delicate duties that they had served together, jealousy, distrust,and discontent had been equally strangers to their bosoms; for each hadever felt the assurance that his own honour, happiness, and interestswere as much ruling motives with his friend, as they could well be withhimself Their lives had been constant scenes of mutual but unpretendingkindnesses; and this under circumstances that naturally awakened all themost generous and manly sentiments of their natures. When young men,their laughing messmates had nick-named them Pylades and Orestes; andlater in life, on account of their cruising so much in company, theywere generally known in the navy as the "twin captains." On severaloccasions had they fought enemies' frigates, and captured them; on theseoccasions, as a matter of course, the senior of the two became mostknown to the nation; but Sir Gervaise had made the most generous effortsto give his junior a full share of the credit, while Captain Bluewaternever spoke of the affairs without mentioning them as victories of thecommodore. In a word, on all occasions, and under all circumstances, itappeared to be the aim of these generous-minded and gallant seamen, toserve each other; nor was this attempted with any effort, or strivingfor effect; all that was said, or done, coming naturally andspontaneously from the heart. But, for the first time in their lives,events had now occurred which threatened a jarring of the feelingsbetween them, if they did not lead to acts which must inevitably placethem in open and declared hostility to each other. No wonder, then, thatboth looked at the future with gloomy forebodings, and a distrust,which, if it did not render them unhappy, at least produced uneasiness.