Captain Hastings

“ And if he remembers the man on deck——”
“Ah—yes—if he does,” said Captain Hastings in his very nastiest way.
Ruth’s cheeks flamed again. Mr. Dowd placed a gentle hand upon her sleeve.
“Never mind that oaf,” he whispered. “He doesn’t know how to behave himself. How he ever got command of a ship like this—well, it shows to what straits we have come in this wartime. Do you mind meeting me later abaft the stacks on deck? I will bring the men, one of whom I think may be the chap we are looking for. Of course he will remember if he drove a seaman or a stoker off the after deck this morning.” ”

“ Dowd been on deck and in possession of his senses, Ruth was quite sure that the panic would have been stayed. Captain Hastings was not a big enough man to handle such a situation 157 as the German plotters had brought about. He lost his head completely, although he doubtless had remained on the ship’s deck until every other soul (as he supposed) was in the small boats.
The very character of the pompous little skipper had made the success of the Hun plot possible. All that was passed now, however. Nothing could be done to avert the successful termination of the conspiracy. ”

“ After the peace Hastings continued in active service, principally in the Mediterranean, till his promotion to commander's rank, 9 May 1825. In November 1828 he was appointed to the Ferret sloop, again in the Mediterranean, and was posted from her on 22 July 1830. In April 1832 he was specially selected as captain of the Excellent, then first instituted as a school of naval gunnery at Portsmouth, He held this important post for thirteen years, during the last six of which he was also superintendentof the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth. ”

“ The terrific and rapid manner in which a force so greatly superior to his own was utterly annihilated by the hot shot and shells of the Karteria, silenced the opponents of Captain Hastings' plan throughout all Europe. From that day it became evident to all who studied the progress of naval warfare, that every nation in Europe must adopt his principles of marine artillery, and arm some vessels in their fleets on the model he had given them. In Greece the question of continuing to hire merchant ships to form a fleet was put to rest ”

“ Yet he overcame every difficulty; and with very little assistance, either from the Greek government, or the officers who were his superiors in the Greek navy, he succeeded in giving all the naval powers of Europe a valuable practical lesson in marine artillery. Great Britain is especially called upon to acknowledge her obligations to Captain Hastings. She has imitated the armament of the Greek steam-frigate Karteria in several vessels; and though the admiralty have doubtless added many improvements in our ships, we are only the more explicitly bound to recognise the debt of gratitude we owe. ”

“ Hastings, however, feeling the importance of any step he might take to his future reputation, both as a sailor and a gentleman, waited until he had delivered up the command of the Kangaroo to the officer appointed to conduct the survey; and having received his commission as commander, and being ready to return to England on half-pay, he sent a challenge to the flag-captain who had thus insulted him. ”

“ This is my dowry,—it is all!”
“And all I ask or covet,” said Hastings. But his cheek had lost its first passionate glow. Lord of many a broad land and barony, victorious captain in many a foughten field, wise statesman in many a thoughtful stratagem, high in his king’s favour, and linked with a nation’s history,—William de Hastings at that hour was as far below as earth is to heaven the poor maiden whom he already repented to have so honoured, and whose sublime answer woke no echo from his heart. ”

“ The lads were back in Dover where, the first thing after their arrival, they sought an audience with their former commander.
"Yes, sir," Frank agreed, "Jack makes an A-1 captain."
"I'm glad to hear it," was Lord Hastings' comment. "I've other work in hand and I wouldn't want to trust it to a man who is nervous under fire." ”

“ Down went the color sergeant at Captain Bingham’s side. The Captain stood at the head of the stairway, still guarding the approach to the drawing-rooms. He had been struck on the left side of the head by a flying fragment of some kind, and from the wound the blood trickled down his pale face and over his uniform. He was the last man left.
The rifle fire from the air-ships closed entirely, and through the demolished front there surged a mass of men—men from the mobiles. They were armed with rifles and upon their left shoulders they bore a white star. ”

“ When his men saw their leader fall, a howl of dismay and rage went up. There was a quick flash of leveled rifles and a volley. Captain Bingham rose to his full height and for one brief instant his form stood erect and rigid. He raised his sword high aloft and his voice broke into a great hoarse cry—the last salute of the last of the Guards to the cause he served:
“Long live the King!” ”

“ Then Lord Hastings turned to Frank.
“I am sorry, my boy,” he said kindly, “but there is nothing we can do. However, the case may not be as bad as we fear. The fact that I instructed Captain Johnson to keep Taylor away from the girl may arouse some suspicion in his mind and delay a court-martial.”
“But there is nothing sure about it!” cried Frank. “To think of a girl dying like that, when we are able to save her!”
Lord Hastings did not reply, but turned and went on deck. Frank followed him, still imploring that the Sylph be put about and return to the cruiser. ”

“ I have no intention of questioning your power, past or present, Milady, nor do I seek to have that power turned against me. I have enemies enough already. Won’t you now listen to my plan?”
“What is it?” asked Lady Brooke, still angry, but grown suddenly wary.
“This,” said Lord Ashley: “At fifteen and a half o’clock to-day, Captain Haslam, who is the officer of the day, will receive an order bearing the Royal seal, to release Captain Mortimer. This order he will immediately execute and then proceed to destroy the order and forget that he ever received such document. ”

“ James has happily preserved to posterity a full account of this, although in some instances he has not always done full credit to the gallantry and determination of these merchant ships. And I shall make no apology for availing myself of his detailed story.
The Warren Hastings was a vessel of 1200 tons, was armed with 44 guns, and her crew consisted of 196 men and boys. She was therefore in size, in armament and crew a distinctly formidable ship, her commander being Captain Thomas Larkins. On the 17th of February 1805 she left Portsmouth bound for China. ”

“ Why, Hastings, who was the oldest, and, I will say, the sharpest of the three, said that we had better stay up there for a few days, till we had made up our minds what to do, and try if we could not procure a musket or two, and ammunition; for, you see, we had money, as, when the Indiaman was first taken, the captain divided a keg of rupees, which was on board, among the officers and men, in proportion to the wages due to them, thinking it was better for the crew to have the money than to leave it for the Frenchmen ”

“ HASTINGS, HANS FRANCIS, eleventh Earl of Huntingdon (1779–1828) , fourth and only surviving son of George Hastings, lieutenant-colonel in the 3rd regiment of foot-guards, by his wife Sarah, daughter of Colonel Thomas Hodges, was born in London on 14 Aug. 1779. He was educated at Repton School (1787–90) , and afterwards at John Bettesworth's academy at Chelsea. Early in 1793 he commenced his naval career under Sir John Borlase Warren, then captain of the Flora. He took part in the action off Cancale Bay in April 1794, and in the following year was wounded in the Quiberon expedition. ”

“ In Hastings and its neighborhood the most grotesque suspicions were spread concerning the Southern captain who had thus come to dwell among them, and who, for conscience and country, had given up more than had been demanded of those who thus distrusted him. Time was needed to allow men's minds to reach a more reasonable frame, and for the Government itself to sift and test, not merely the fidelity, but the heartiness and the probable capacity of the officers at its command. ”

“ He next served, during 1855, on board the Hastings, commanded by Captain Caffin, a Christian officer, whose advice to his young midshipmen when joining is worthy of being noted: “If you are a Christian, nail your colours to the mast and fight under them; you will be sure, in the end, to overcome your opponents!” While belonging to the Hastings, he was gazetted as having served with the rocket-boats at the bombardment of Sveaborg. After commanding the gunboat Goshawk, he proceeded to China, where he joined the Calcutta, flagship ”

“ And one bright waste hides all the works of men;
The circling seas, alone absorbing all,
Drink the dissolving fleeces as they fall.—Iliad. In such a season as the above I arrived at Hastings on the 30th of January 1806. I was appointed to the station by Lord Garlies, one of the lords of the admiralty, who behaved to me in the kindest manner. After waiting on Captain Isaac Schomberg, who superintended the Sea Fencibles from Beachy Head to Dungeness, I proceeded to join my station about three miles to the eastward of Hastings. ”

“ But Captain Mortimer’s military duties as an officer of the Guard might possibly interfere with his movements on the critical night. There must also be a substitute, in case of emergency, and naturally they selected Captain Mortimer’s comrade, Captain Ralph Swords.
Reluctantly, therefore, Kearns consented and the subject was broached to the two officers, under strictest promise of secrecy. To no one must they breathe one word of the expedition, neither before nor after the event, until relieved from their respective promises by Mr. Kearns. ”

“ Kearns visibly expressed his astonishment.
“Captain Mortimer,” continued the King, “has, we are aware, performed gallant military service and his arrest has been so ordered as to preserve due secrecy and not injure his career should it develop, as you pretend, that a mistake has been made.”
“It most assuredly has, Sire,” replied Kearns.
“When you are prepared to furnish proof of that fact,” rejoined the King, “the order can be rescinded. Until then it will stand. It behooves you to hasten. We leave for our City Palace to-day but shall return here to-morrow. ”

“ Kearns whispered in return, as he hastily closed the door. “I’m glad you went. It’s not very interesting sitting here in the dark, without even the privilege of a comforting cigar. Still, I’ve had a few experiences of the kind before.”
Captain Mortimer removed his sword and stored it away in the air-ship. It was a strict military regulation that officers should appear abroad only in uniform and wearing their swords. ”

“ They seem to gain and then we seem to creep up on them a little. Perhaps this may be due to certain effects of the air currents, but it is decidedly peculiar.”
Captain Mortimer made no reply. He sat watching the pursued craft, distinctly outlined in the rays of the flash-light. On and on they rushed at topmost speed through the yielding air, grown raw and chilly. The first streaks of light began to flicker in the east. The pursued now rose to still greater altitudes, until the air became uncomfortably rarified. The Professor manipulated his levers and the pursuers followed. ”

“ It’s now fully an hour earlier than the time of the preceding visit.”
“Quite so,” replied the Professor; “still I’ll wager, for all that, you wouldn’t care to have us go to sleep during the next hour.”
“Right you are,” assented Kearns; “one can never be quite sure what may happen. Those fellows, whoever they may be, seem to know pretty well what takes place in the palace. They doubtless have a confederate, or confederates, on the inside.”
“You think so?” said Captain Mortimer. “Have you made any efforts to discover?”
“None whatever,” answered Kearns. “I’ve been too busy with other matters. ”

“ I told him that as a multimillionaire, as a captain of industry, as a pillar of capitalistic society, he ought to be ashamed of himself for robbing the widows and the orphans and taking the money out of the collection baskets of the House of God to pay an architect to draw plans for a wastebasket. ”

“ Behind him a tall figure appeared through the thickening smoke. She saw a face she knew; a voice she knew cried out her name:
"Arlee!"
"Oh, here!" she cried and flung herself toward him.
"Not unless you want another?" said Billy B. Hill to the Captain, turning his gun suggestively.
One tense instant the three faced each other in that flaming room, then with a sound of impotent fury, Kerissen turned and darted out the door. But as Billy turned to follow, his hand on Arlee's, there was a sound of sliding bolts.
"Burn, burn, then! Burn together!" called a hoarse voice through the wood. ”

“ At first she looked at him, shaking her head and smiling, then of a sudden her eyes fell and she began tracing figures with her parasol in the gravel at her feet. Hastings had taken a place on the seat, and now, with his elbows on his knees, sat watching the spray drifting above the fountain jet. A small boy, dressed as a sailor, stood poking his yacht and crying, "I won't go home! I won't go home!" His nurse raised her hands to Heaven.
"Just like a little American boy," thought Hastings, and a pang of homesickness shot through him. ”