CHAPTER XV.
UP-CHANNEL.
"A wet sheet and a flowing sea,"
(Sings Allan Cunningham),
"A wind that follows fast,
And fills the white and rustling sail
And bends the gallant mast;
And bends the gallant mast, my boys,
When, like an eagle free,
Away the good ship flies, and leaves
Old England on the lee."
I quote these famous lines for their spirit rather than their
accuracy. It is not every ship that can so defy the laws of nature
as to run off a lee shore with a shore wind; and the _Vesuvius_ bomb,
reaching up Channel with a rare nor'-nor'-westerly breeze, kept old
England well to windward all the time. But as Mr. Sturge explained
to the Major, later in the day, "Without being a practical seaman, an
artist can yet catch the spirit of these things and impart it to his
fellow-men."
Mr. Sturge was not criticising (by anticipation) Allan Cunningham's
lines, but talking, as usual, about himself. Many circumstances
combined to induce a cheerful mood in him. To begin with, his
manacles had been removed. Also he had overcome the morning's
nausea. The _Vesuvius_--a deep vessel for her size--was by no means
speedy off the wind, and travelled indeed like a slug; but her frame,
built for the heavy mortars, was extraordinarily stout in comparison
with her masts, and this gave her stability. She was steering a
course, too, which kept her fairly close inshore and in smooth water.
Pages:
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195