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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
permitted to pass unnoticed, or, at least, undetained. But, as we
drew nearer to the narrow waters, I had little hope of escaping without being boarded. In the mean while, we made short
stretches off the land, and back again, all one day and night,
working slowly to the eastward. We still met with no interruption. I was fast getting confidence in myself; handling the
Amanda, in my own judgment, quite as welt as Marble could
have done it, and getting my green hands into so much method and practice, that I should not have hesitated about turning round and shaping our course for New York, so far as the
mere business of navigating the vessel was concerned.
The lights on the English coast were safe guides for our
movements, and they let me understand how much we made
or lost on a tack. Dungeness was drawing nearer slowly, to appearances, and I was beginning to look out for a pilot; when
Talcott, who had the watch, about three in the morning, came
with breathless haste into the cabin, to tell me there was a sail
closing with us fast, and, so far as he could make her out in the
darkness, she was lugger-rigged. This was startling news indeed, for it was almost tantamount to saying the stranger was
a Frenchman. I did not undress at all, and was on deck in a moment. The vessel in chase was about half a mile distant on our
lee-quarter, but could be plainly enough distinguished, and
I saw at a glance she was a lugger. There were certainly English luggers; but all the traditions of the profession had taught
me to regard a vessel of that particular rig as a Frenchman. I
had heard of privateers from Dunkirk, Boulogne, and various
other ports in France, running over to the English coast in the
night, and making prizes, just as this fellow seemed disposed to
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
serve us. Luckily, our head was toward the land, and we were
looking about a point and a half to windward of the light on
Dungeness, being also favoured with a flood-tide, so far as we
could judge by the rapid drift of the vessel to windward.
My decision was made in a minute. I knew nothing of batteries, or where to seek protection; but there was the land,
and I determined to make for it as fast as I could. By keeping
the brig a good full, and making all the sail she could carry,
I thought we might run ashore before the lugger could get
alongside us. As for her firing, I did not believe she would dare
to attempt that, as it might bring some English cruiser on her
heels, and France was some hours’ sail distant. The fore and
mizen top-gallant-sails were set as fast as possible, the weather-braces pulled upon a little, the bowlines eased, and the brig
kept a rap-full. The Amanda was no flyer, certainly; but she
seemed frightened as much as we were ourselves, that night. I
never knew her to get along so fast, considering the wind; and
really there was a short time when I began to think she held
her own, the lugger being jammed up as close as she could be.
But this was all delusion, that craft coming after us more like
a sea-serpent than a machine carried ahead by canvass. I was
soon certain that escape from such a racer by sailing, was altogether out of the question.
The land and light were now close aboard us, and I expected
every moment to hear the brig’s keel grinding on the bottom.
At this instant I caught a faint glimpse of a vessel at anchor to
the eastward of the point, and apparently distant about a quarter of a mile. The thought struck me that she might be an English cruiser, for they frequently anchored in such places; and
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
I called out, as it might be instinctively, “luff!” Neb was at the
helm, and I knew by his cheerful answer that the fellow was
delighted. It was lucky we luffed as we did, for, in coming to the
wind, the vessel gave a scrape that was a fearful admonisher of
what would have happened in another minute. The Amanda
minded her helm beautifully, however, and we went past the
nearest land without any further hints, heading up just high
enough to fetch a little to windward of the vessel at anchor.
At the next moment, the lugger, then about a cable’s length
from as, was shut in by the land. I was now in great hopes the
Frenchman would be obliged to tack; but he had measured his
distance well, and felt certain, it would seem, that he could lay
past. He reasoned, probably, as Nelson is said to have reasoned
at the Nile, and as some of his captains unquestionably did reason; that is, if there was water enough for us, there was water
enough for him. In another minute I saw him, jammed nearly
into the wind’s eye, luffing past the point, and falling as easily
into our wake as if drawn by attraction.
All this time, the night was unbroken by any sound. Not
a hail, nor a call, our own orders excepted, and they had been
given in low tones, had been audible on board the Amanda. As
regards the vessel at anchor, she appeared to give herself no
concern. There she lay, a fine ship, and, as I thought, a vesselof-war, like a marine bird asleep on its proper element. We
were directly between her and the lugger, and it is possible her
anchor-watch did not see the latter. The three vessels were not
more than half a cable’s length asunder; that is, we were about
that distance from the ship, and the lugger was a very little
farther from us. Five minutes must determine the matter. I was
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
on the brig’s forecastle, anxiously examining all I could make
out on board the ship, as her size, and shape, and rig, became
slowly more and more distinct; and I hailed –
“Ship ahoy!”
“Hilloa! What brig’s that?”
“An American, with a French privateer-lugger close on
board me, directly in my wake. You had better be stirring!”
I heard the quick exclamation of “The devil there is!”
“Bloody Yankees!” came next. Then followed the call of “All
hands.” It was plain enough my notice had set everything in
motion in that quarter. Talcott now came running forward to
say he thought, from some movements on board the lugger,
that her people were now first apprised of the vicinity of the
ship. I had been sadly disappointed at the call for all hands on
board the ship, for it was in the manner of a merchantman,
instead of that of a vessel-of-war. But we were getting too near
to remain much longer in doubt. The Amanda was already
sweeping up on the Englishman’s bows, not more than forty
yards distant.
“She is an English West-Indiaman, Mr. Wallingford,” said
one of my oldest seamen; “and a running ship; some vessel that
has deserted or lost her convoy.”
“Do you know anything of the lugger?” demanded an officer from on board the ship, in a voice that was not very amicable.
“No more than you see; she has chased me, close aboard, for
the last twenty minutes.”
There was no reply to this for a moment, and then I was
asked – “To tack, and give us a little chance, by drawing him
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
away for a few minutes. We are armed, and will come out to
your assistance.”
Had I been ten years older, experience in the faith of men,
and especially of men engaged in the pursuit of gain, would
have prevented me from complying with this request; but, at
eighteen, one views these things differently. It did appear to
me ungenerous to lead an enemy in upon a man in his sleep,
and not endeavour to do something to aid the surprised party.
I answered “ay, ay!” therefore, and tacked directly alongside of
the ship. But the manoeuvre was too late, the lugger coming in
between the ship and the brig, just as we began to draw ahead
again, leaving him room, and getting a good look at us both.
The Englishman appeared the most inviting, I suppose, for she
up helm and went on board of him on his quarter. Neither
party used their guns. We were so near, however, as plainly
to understand the whole, to distinguish the orders, and even
to hear the blows that were struck by hand. It was an awful
minute to us in the brig. The cries of the hurt reached us in
the stillness of that gloomy morning, and oaths mingled with
the clamour. Though taken by surprise, John Bull fought well;
though we could perceive that he was overpowered, however,
just as the distance, and the haze that was beginning to gather
thick around the land, shut in the two vessels from our view.
The disappearance of the two combatants furnished me
with a hint how to proceed. I stood out three or four minutes
longer, or a sufficient distance to make certain we should not
be seen, and tacked again. In order to draw as fast as possible
out of the line of sight, we kept the brig off a little, and then
ran in towards the English coast, which was sufficiently distant
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
to enable us to stand on in that direction some little time longer. This expedient succeeded perfectly; for, when we found it
necessary to tack again, day began to dawn. Shortly after, we
could just discern the West-Indiaman and the lugger standing
off the land, making the best of their way towards the French
coast. In 1799, it is possible that this bold Frenchman got his
prize into some of his own ports, though three or four years
later it would have been a nearly hopeless experiment. As for
the Amanda, she was safe; and Nelson did not feel happier, after his great achievement at the Nile, than I felt at the success
of my own expedient. Talcott congratulated me and applauded
me; and I believe all of us were a little too much disposed to
ascribe to our own steadiness and address, much that ought
fairly to have been imputed to chance.
Off Dover we got a pilot, and learned that the ship captured was the Dorothea, a valuable West-Indiaman that had
stolen away from her convoy, and come in alone, the previous evening. She anchored under Dungeness at the first of the
ebb, and, it seems, had preferred taking a good night’s rest to
venturing out in the dark, when the flood made. Her berth
was a perfectly snug one, and the lugger would probably never
have found her, had we not led her directly in upon her prey.
I was now relieved from all charge of the brig; and a relief
I found it, between shoals, enemies, and the tides, of which I
knew nothing. That day we got into the Downs, and came-to.
Here I saw a fleet at anchor; and a pretty stir it made among
the man-of-war’s-men, when our story was repeated among
them. I do think twenty of their boats were alongside of us,
to get the facts from the original source. Among others who
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
thus appeared, to question me, was one old gentleman, whom
I suspected of being an admiral. He was in shore-dress, and
came in a plain way; the men in his boat declining to answer
any questions; but they paid him unusual respect. This gentleman asked me a great many particulars, and I told him the
whole story frankly, concealing or colouring nothing. He was
evidently much interested. When he went away, he shook me
cordially by the hand, and said – “Young gentleman, you have
acted prudently and well. Never mind the grumbling of some
of our lads; they think only of themselves. It was your right
and your duty to save your own vessel, if you could, without
doing anything dishonourable; and I see nothing wrong in
your conduct. But it’s a sad disgrace to us, to let these French
rascals be picking up their crumbs in this fashion, right under
our hawse-holes.”
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CHAPTER X
“How pleasant and how sad the turning tide
Of human life, when side by side
The child and youth begin to glide
Along the vale of years:
The pure twin-being for a little space,
With lightsome heart, and yet a graver face.
Too young for woe, though not for tears.”
Allston.
With what interest and deference most Americans of any
education regarded England, her history, laws and institutions, in 1799! There were a few exceptions – warm political
partisans, and here and there an individual whose feelings had
become embittered by some particular incident of the revolution – but surprisingly few, when it is recollected that the
country was only fifteen years from the peace. I question if
there ever existed another instance of as strong provincial admiration for the capital, as independent America manifested
for the mother country, in spite of a thousand just grievances,
down to the period of the war of 1812. I was no exception to
the rule, nor was Talcott. Neither of us had ever seen England
before we made the Lizard on this voyage, except through our
minds’ eyes; and these had presented quantities of beauties
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
and excellencies that certainly vanished on a nearer approach.
By this I merely mean that we had painted in too high colours,
as is apt to be the case when the imagination holds the pencil; not that there was any unusual absence of things worthy
to be commended. On the contrary, even at this late, hour, I
consider England as a model for a thousand advantages, even
to our own inappreciable selves. Nevertheless, much delusion
was blended with our admiration.
English history was virtually American history; and everything on the land, as we made our way towards town, which
the pilot could point out, was a source of amusement and delight. We had to tide it up to London, and had plenty of leisure
to see all there was to be seen. The Thames is neither a handsome, nor a very magnificent river; but it was amazing to witness the number of vessels that then ascended or descended it.
There was scarce a sort of craft known to Christendom, a few
of the Mediterranean excepted, that was not to be seen there;
and as for the colliers, we drifted through a forest of them that
seemed large enough to keep the town a twelvemonth in firewood, by simply burning their spars. The manner in which the
pilot handled our brig, too, among the thousand ships that lay
in tiers on each side of the narrow passage we had to thread,
was perfectly surprising to me; resembling the management
of a coachman in a crowded thoroughfare, more than the ordinary working of a ship. I can safely say I learned more in the
Thames, in the way of keeping a vessel in command, and in
doing what I pleased with her, than in the whole of my voyage
to Canton and back again. As for Neb, he rolled his dark eyes
about in wonder, and took an occasion to say to me – “He’ll
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
make her talk, Masser Miles, afore he have done.” I make no
doubt the navigation from the Forelands to the bridges, as
it was conducted thirty years since, had a great influence on
the seamanship of the English. Steamers are doing away with
much of this practice, though the colliers still have to rely on
themselves. Coals will scarcely pay for tugging.
I had been directed by Captain Williams to deliver the
brig to her original consignee, an American merchant established in the modern Babylon, reserving the usual claim for
salvage. This I did, and that gentleman sent hands on board
to take charge of the vessel, relieving me entirely from all farther responsibility. As the captain in his letter had, inadvertently I trust, mentioned that he had put “Mr. Wallingford,
his third mate,” in charge, I got no invitation to dinner from the
consignee; though the affair of the capture under Dungeness
found its way into the papers, viâ Deal, I have always thought,
with the usual caption of “Yankee Trick.” Yankee trick! This
phrase, so often carelessly used, has probably done a great deal
of harm in this country. The young and ambitious – there are
all sorts of ambition, and, among others, that of being a rogue;
as a proof of which, one daily hears people call envy, jealousy,
covetousness, avarice, and half of the meaner vices, ambition –
the young and ambitious, then, of this country, too often think
to do a good thing, that shall have some of the peculiar merit
of a certain other good thing that they have heard laughed at
and applauded, under this designation. I can account in no
other manner for the great and increasing number of “Yankee
tricks” that are of daily occurrence among us. Among other
improvements in taste, not to say in morals, that might be
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