第35章 THE VOYAGE(23)

From all these fears we were relieved,at six in the morning,by the arrival of Mr.Morrison,who acquainted us that he was sure he beheld land very near;for he could not see half a mile,by reason of the haziness of the weather.This land he said was,he believed,the Berry-head,which forms one side of Torbay:the captain declared that it was impossible,and swore,on condition he was right,he would give him his mother for a maid.A forfeit which became afterwards strictly due and payable;for the captain,whipping on his night-gown,ran up without his breeches,and within half an hour returning into the cabin,wished me joy of our lying safe at anchor in the bay.

Sunday,July 26.--Things now began to put on an aspect very different from what they had lately worn;the news that the ship had almost lost its mizzen,and that we had procured very fine clouted cream and fresh bread and butter from the shore,restored health and spirits to our women,and we all sat down to a very cheerful breakfast.But,however pleasant our stay promised to be here,we were all desirous it should be short:I resolved immediately to despatch my man into the country to purchase a present of cider,for my friends of that which is called Southam,as well as to take with me a hogshead of it to Lisbon;for it is,in my opinion,much more delicious than that which is the growth of Herefordshire.I purchased three hogsheads for five pounds ten shillings,all which I should have scarce thought worth mentioning,had I not believed it might be of equal service to the honest farmer who sold it me,and who is by the neighboring gentlemen reputed to deal in the very best;and to the reader,who,from ignorance of the means of providing better for himself,swallows at a dearer rate the juice of Middlesex turnip,instead of that Vinum Pomonae which Mr.Giles Leverance of Cheeshurst,near Dartmouth in Devon,will,at the price of forty shillings per hogshead,send in double casks to any part of the world.Had the wind been very sudden in shifting,I had lost my cider by an attempt of a boatman to exact,according to custom.He required five shillings for conveying my man a mile and a half to the shore,and four more if he stayed to bring him back.This I thought to be such insufferable impudence that I ordered him to be immediately chased from the ship,without any answer.Indeed,there are few inconveniences that I would not rather encounter than encourage the insolent demands of these wretches,at the expense of my own indignation,of which I own they are not the only objects,but rather those who purchase a paltry convenience by encouraging them.But of this I have already spoken very largely.I shall conclude,therefore,with the leave which this fellow took of our ship;saying he should know it again,and would not put off from the shore to relieve it in any distress whatever.It will,doubtless,surprise many of my readers to hear that,when we lay at anchor within a mile or two of a town several days together,and even in the most temperate weather,we should frequently want fresh provisions and herbage,and other emoluments of the shore,as much as if we had been a hundred leagues from land.And this too while numbers of boats were in our sight,whose owners get their livelihood by rowing people up and down,and could be at any time summoned by a signal to our assistance,and while the captain had a little boat of his own,with men always ready to row it at his command.

This,however,hath been partly accounted for already by the imposing disposition of the people,who asked so much more than the proper price of their labor.And as to the usefulness of the captain's boat,it requires to be a little expatiated upon,as it will tend to lay open some of the grievances which demand the utmost regard of our legislature,as they affect the most valuable part of the king's subjects--those by whom the commerce of the nation is carried into execution.Our captain then,who was a very good and experienced seaman,having been above thirty years the master of a vessel,part of which he had served,so he phrased it,as commander of a privateer,and had discharged himself with great courage and conduct,and with as great success,discovered the utmost aversion to the sending his boat ashore whenever we lay wind-bound in any of our harbors.This aversion did not arise from any fear of wearing out his boat by using it,but was,in truth,the result of experience,that it was easier to send his men on shore than to recall them.They acknowledged him to be their master while they remained on shipboard,but did not allow his power to extend to the shores,where they had no sooner set their foot than every man became sui juris,and thought himself at full liberty to return when he pleased.Now it is not any delight that these fellows have in the fresh air or verdant fields on the land.Every one of them would prefer his ship and his hammock to all the sweets of Arabia the Happy;but,unluckily for them,there are in every seaport in England certain houses whose chief livelihood depends on providing entertainment for the gentlemen of the jacket.For this purpose they are always well furnished with those cordial liquors which do immediately inspire the heart with gladness,banishing all careful thoughts,and indeed all others,from the mind,and opening the mouth with songs of cheerfulness and thanksgiving for the many wonderful blessings with which a seafaring life overflows.