the stinger being nearly ready for sea, the boatswain's wife determined to give a party in honour of the event, and suggested that mr. shever should ask a few of his men. now, this was certainly very contrary to all that warrant officer's ideas of propriety.
"what! ask blue jackets? why, my dear, it is against all precedent," he exclaimed.
"bother your president," said the good natured woman. "ask a few of the poor fellows; i warrant you they will behave well; then, knowing me, if ever you are sick, they will look after you."
after many pros and cons the husband as usual, yielded to his wife's persuasion, and agreed to invite gummings, a quartermaster, price, a boatswain's mate, and the tender-hearted jerry thompson.
jerry was of middle height, well built and active, with good-looking oval face bronzed by exposure in many climes, dark eyes, and curly chestnut-coloured hair. frank, generous and good natured to a fault, he was liked by every man and boy in the ship,—while his respectfully cheeky manner was tolerated by his officers, who passed over his freedom of speech and action.
at various times jerry had determined to give up the sea and settle on shore, but after a few month's trial his roving propensities would get the better of him, and in spite of the lamentations of the children and regrets of his numerous circle of lady friends, he would pack his chest and be off to sea again.
previous to joining the stinger he had for some months been employed as a super at the surrey theatre; but growing weary of that life, and the country being at war, he joined the navy, as he remarked, "from patriotic motives of a hard-up description." this was his first trial of a man-of-war's life, he being, to all intents and purposes, a merchant-service sailor, which will account for his want of reverence for the authorities and traditions of h. m. navy.
mr. shever was serving out spun yarn one morning, when jerry came to him for orders. giving directions as to the business on which the seaman had consulted him, the boatswain, after a short pause, suddenly asked "if he had ever been to a party?"
"many a one," replied the sailor, "the last one of any importance was with my lord buckingham."
"come, now," growled the boatswain, "i wants no chaff. i knows a lady who intends giving a party, and probably she may ask you."
jerry at once saw how the land lay, and assured the official that, "in case of his being a favored one, he would be on his best behavior."
"none of your—" (here the boatswain lifted his hand as if in the act of imbibing some intoxicating fluid). "you know i don't allow none of that sort of goings on in my house; and," added he, "the party breaks up when i pipes down; that will be your signal."
mr. shever was somewhat doubtful in his own mind whether jerry was sufficiently sedate for admission to such a select company as his wife had asked; but, as she had set her mind upon it, come he must, or a family difficulty might arise, in which case[pg 11] mr. shever would as usual, come off second best. his idea of "piping down" when he thought his visitors should depart was both novel and nautical.
he merely stated to the other sailors that he wanted them to take a cup of tea at his house on a certain day; they were old and tried men, and he knew they would not be any trouble to him.
whenever the boatswain had an opportunity he would put a few questions to jerry, or ask his advice on important points of the coming entertainment. mr. shever was of the opinion that "tea and shrimps, with a song afterwards, was the correct sort of thing;" while jerry suggested "tea and muffins, with a dance to follow,—the whole to wind up with a glass of punch." on this coming to mrs. shever's ears, she at once adopted the idea as an entirely original plan of her own, and declared "if mr. shever did not order a fiddler and a harpist, she would forthwith pack up, visit her mother, and remain there until the stinger had sailed."
jerry looked forward with pleasure to the entertainment, and determined to show the natives a few of his most elaborate steps in the hornpipe line, being sure he would be called upon to amuse the company in that way.
at last the day arrived, and at about six o'clock p.m. thompson was on his way to the boatswain's house. his companions were dressed in their very best, and looked as unhappy as two baboons who had tried on a suit of clothes for the first time. on the road he endeavoured to instil a little cheerfulness into them, but it proved a total failure.
"we mustn't chew, and we mustn't get tight, and we mustn't smoke," growled gummings.
"we've got to stay until he pipes down, and then all the publics will be shut," muttered price.
mr. shever walked slowly home, keeping the party always at a respectable distance from him. what would people say if they knew he had invited such strange guests? you see even h. m. boatswains are afraid of mrs. grundy.
mrs. shever had stationed a small girl at the front door to let in visitors, so that when jerry touched the bell the door was promptly opened and they were shown into the parlour. here, enthroned upon the sofa-bedstead, sat the good lady, waiting to receive her company. by her side was seated her sister, a plump jolly girl, about eighteen years of age, who, when she saw the sailors, giggled and bashfully hid her face behind a turkey-feather fan.
the three men walked into the room, and stood looking at the ladies like shy children.
in a few moments mrs. shever recovered her composure, which had been slightly disturbed by the sudden entrance of the sailors, although all three of them were well known to her, and addressing jerry, said, "good-evening, thompson, i'm proud to see you; and you too, price and gummings." jerry, not at all abashed after the ice was broken, advanced towards the ladies, and politely inquired after their health. the two sailors looked around with a bewildered air, pulled their forelocks, mumbled, "service to ye missis," and then retired to a bench behind the door, from which place they did not emerge until tea commenced.
thompson was soon quite at home; and as one corner of the sofa was vacant, he requested permission to take it. his amusing stories quickly won the young girl's attention, and a formal introduction took place, mrs. shever giving him what he termed a handle to his name, by saying, "miss mary ann ross, permit me to introjuce you to mr. thompson." when she rose to bow, the artful fellow seized the opportunity, and[pg 12] sat down between the ladies; and as they did not ask him to move, he made the most of his position.
soon after this mr. shever arrived, and seeing thompson ensconced so snugly, tried to catch his eye, to show him that he did not quite approve of his freedom. but it was of no use. jerry was oblivious of winks and nods, or returned them as witty and artful exchanges to the bewildered boatswain. at last, upon the arrival of mrs. shever's mother and father and two of her cousins with their respective young men in waiting. mr. shever requested jerry to "move off that 'ere sofa, and let the girls sit down," upon which his wife told the aforesaid girls to "sit on chairs by the fire, as mr. thompson was getting on nicely," and forthwith ordered her husband to go into the kitchen, and help the girl to toast the muffins, adding, "she thought they could spare him well enough."
this flattering sentiment was fully indorsed by jerry, who declared "he often saw too much of the boatswain," a remark which was received as a real joke by all present excepting the two sailors, who were fast asleep when it was made. they woke up, however, in time to join in the laugh that followed, after which they again sweetly slumbered.
mr. shever stood in the passage between the parlour and kitchen until the laughter died away, and, we are sorry to state, said anything but his prayers. "bless his impudence to sit on the sofa between 'melia and mary ann, and to wink at me like that there, and he only a common sailor. for two pins i'd pipe down now."
another peal of laughter followed just then, as jerry had finished relating a joke, the fun of which was torture to the boatswain. the latter seized his call, and putting it to his lips, blew the shrill signal, known on board ship as "pipe down."
"what's that?" exclaimed mrs. shever.
"do you keep a canary?" innocently inquired thompson. upon which the boatswain gave another blast of the pipe, and this time it was much louder.
mrs. shever rang the bell, and when the servant appeared told her "to inform mr. shever if he wanted to amuse himself in that way he'd better wait until he got on board his ship," and added, "i suppose he don't want me to come out to him."
as he did not repeat the noise, it may be presumed he felt as if his wife was just as well where she was; so holding his peace, he turned his attention to toasting the muffins, and winking at the servant girl, which combination of amusement and labour at last made him recover his temper, and by the time he had finished he became quite cheerful again.
"if you please mem, tea's aready in the back bedroom," said the servant.
mrs. shever darted a look of displeasure at the girl, but without otherwise noticing the faux pas, invited her visitors to the room above, which was indeed usually devoted to the purpose described by the maid.
the boatswain had what he called "rigged the tea table" after the fashion common on board ship, when the sailors make an effort to entertain some distinguished visitor. in the centre was a huge earthenware jug, filled with choice flowers; and the decorations on this article being of a gorgeous and somewhat eccentric nature, we will briefly describe them. on one side was depicted h. m. s. bluefire, which with brown sails, red masts and rigging, and blue hull, was bounding over a yellow and black sea, in company with some purple and brown boats. on the reverse side was a representation of the sailor's farewell, showing how a gallant tar in a blue suit, scarlet face, and goggle eyes, takes leave of a young woman dressed in a yellow gown, cut very low to show off her pea-green complexion. the said jug was a relic of mrs. shever's girlish days; and being a present to her from a sweetheart, who was lost in an arctic expedition,[pg 13] was looked upon as an ornament of great value, and as such only brought out on state occasions, like the present.
the table presented a somewhat crowded appearance, as the boatswain had piled up the eatables until there was not room to set another tea-cup. as they had only eleven chairs, he rigged a seat by the window, and when the visitors entered the room, he endeavored to allot this to jerry.
"well, mum," said the unabashed sailor, "you have done the thing hansom; ellow me—" upon which he handed the delighted woman to her place at the head of the table. he next installed mary ann; and taking a seat between them, cheerfully observed that, "the company had better fall to."
the silent sailors being somewhat modest, were still standing in the passage, and there were two vacant places at the table. the boatswain was about availing himself of one of these, when his wife exclaimed, "mr. shever, where's your manners? the visitors are not all accommodated."
shever brought in the two sailors, who seated themselves upon the extreme edge of their chairs, and looked around at the festive party like infants suddenly led into a confectioner's and left to their own resources.
the unfortunate boatswain had no alternative but to take the seat by the window, from which he was presently drawn to hand round the muffins; this occupation calling forth from jerry the witty remark that, "mr. shever seemed quite in his element," the point of which was utterly lost upon that worthy.
thompson related some of his most amusing yarns, which were received with roars of laughter by all present, with the exception of the host and the two seamen. the latter, finding themselves behind a heap of bread and butter, were busily employed in reducing the level of the same, varying their banquet with a few pinches of shrimps, which they swallowed whole, utterly oblivious of heads or tails, washing down any little obstacle with tea, which they imbibed from pint mugs, mrs. shever knowing it was useless to tickle their palates with ordinary quantities.
"oh, you funny man!" screamed mary ann; "i never heard the likes of you before."
jerry received this as a direct avowal of admiration on the part of the young lady, and redoubled his exertions to amuse her.
the boatswain was boiling over with rage; and as he dared not object before his wife, was obliged to nurse his wrath, his only relief being to go outside the room, and "pipe down" softly in the passage, or to wink at the servant whenever he could do so with safety.
the ladies pressed thompson to eat, saying "he had not done justice to the fare." this brought forth an avowal from him, "that to his idea their company was more delightful than the choicest viands." upon this sentence being explained to mrs. shever's mother, who was a deaf old lady, the latter signified her appreciation by hammering on the table with a fork, and crying "braywo," which being looked upon as a genteel proceeding and part of the ceremony by the silent sailors, was immediately adopted by them, and a round of hearty applause followed. the boatswain, seizing this opportunity, placed his call to his lips and "piped belay," a feat which he accomplished without being detected by his wife; although the seamen understood it, and ceased their knocking at once.
the company descended to the parlour, which they cleared for dancing; after this the seamen took up their old positions behind the door, where, like two well-gorged boaconstrictors, they curled themselves up and went to sleep.
as a sort of opening exercise, one of the young men in waiting volunteered a song,[pg 14] which was chiefly on "wiolets." this he bellowed out in a high tone, turning up his eyes to the ceiling all the while, until, in rendering the more powerful notes, he strongly resembled a blind man.
jerry listened very attentively, until the last verse was sung, when, attracting mary ann's eye, he turned up his optics exactly as the singer was doing. this was too much for her, and she laughed outright; the rest of the company following suit, until the fellow began to think he was singing a comic song instead of a floral howl, and catching the infection himself, laughed louder than any of the party.
the boatswain now introduced the fiddler, who, apologizing for the absence of the harpist, who, he stated, was suffering from a headache, fell to tuning his violin.
thompson was uncertain whether to ask the hostess or mary ann to dance with him. he was about to speak to mrs. shever, when she said good-humouredly, "now, mr. thompson, don't neglect mary ann!" upon which he led the blushing girl out, and in a few moments they were "hard at it," this being the only term we can apply to their exertions, mrs. shever dancing with her husband, who was about as active as a half-trained elephant.
jerry was in great favour. his frank manner and amusing stories delighted every one; he danced with all the ladies in succession, and quite won the heart of the oldest one by asking her twice, although there was little danger of her accepting him the second time, as he had completely exhausted her for the evening during the first; nevertheless, the old lady was charmed with him, and declared he was "quite a gentleman."
his best efforts were, however, reserved for his performance with mary ann and his hostess, with whom he was, as the boatswain remarked, "as much at home as if the house belonged to him." he amused them during the intervals of the dances with choice songs of a pathetic kind; and, as he possessed a good voice and style, the women were several times melted to tears.
about ten o'clock the hostess produced a steaming bowl of punch, upon which the silent sailors immediately woke up, and received a liberal allowance of the liquid. carefully holding their mugs, as if anxious that none of the nectar should escape they retreated to their corner, and two sponges could not have absorbed the fluid more expeditiously or quietly than they did. after a time they emerged from their concealment, and finding no one was looking, helped each other to another dose of the delicious beverage, then sank back into their former retirement, this man?uvre being repeated several times during the evening.
under the influence of mrs. shever's brewing the party had become quite noisy, and thompson had danced his last hornpipe before they found the time had arrived to separate. the boatswain decided to walk a short distance with the seamen; and price and gummings after many declarations that "misshis sheaver was a dutchessh, and missir sheaver wast a perfetchs shentleman, and they never had enjoyshed themselves so much afore," were with the assistance of jerry, at last fairly got out of the house.
when at some distance from his residence the boatswain suddenly stopped, and drawing forth his pipe, blew the well-known "pipe down;" then assuming his naval authority, he ordered the sailors to go their ways. upon turning to speak to jerry, with whom he wished to have an explanation, he found that individual had vanished; thinking it might be from fear of his anger, he did not trouble himself, knowing he could talk to him at a future time, when the sailor would be a little more respectful. mr. shever then walked about with his hat off, until his mind was thoroughly composed, when he retired to the bosom of his family.
jerry had quietly returned to bid mary ann good-bye, and entering the house,[pg 15] found the two ladies busily engaged in putting their hair in paper, preparatory to retiring up-stairs.
"law, jerry, how you did frighten me," exclaimed mary ann.
as the effects of love at first sight were somewhat increased by the punch he had imbibed, thompson was not at all hurt at being called jerry, but he advanced towards the blushing maiden, and saying she looked like an angel, proceeded to kiss her in a vigorous manner.
"for shame!" said the delighted girl. "have done now, jerry, or i'll scream."
"you rogue, you," observed mrs. shever. "why you'd kiss me if i didn't stop you. i wish shever would come in."
the active sailor proceeded at once to demonstrate his admiration of the latter speaker, evidently having little fear of the boatswain's returning just then, and a loud smack on the face, administered "more in sorrow than in anger" announced the completion of the outrage.
"there never was such a shocking man," giggled the matron.
"don't you try it on again!" cried mary ann, in a most provoking manner.
despite her pleading, jerry renewed his attention, and as they parted, boldly declared that "he'd have her if she'd have him."
mary ann saw him out of the house, and as he kissed her for the last time, quietly murmured, "jerry, dear, i'll marry you whenever you are ready."
happy pair! they had now a bright future to anticipate: both could dream of it. it was a pleasant and inexpensive luxury, and about as likely to be realized as such visions usually are. however, "they've done it now," as the boatswain observed, when his wife informed him of the fact of mary ann's engagement. "that's what comes of introducing people of low manners into society. there'll be a 'mess-alliance,' and all the parties will be sorry for it when it's too late." mr. shever was evidently of opinion that jerry was far beneath mary ann's notice, and possibly forgot that when he married her sister he was only what he now termed a common sailor; while his wife, seeing in thompson, a good-hearted, merry fellow, woman-like, favoured his suit.
