Captain King

“ Captain King’s narrative is illustrated by lithographs from his own excellent drawings, which show his men, heavily accoutred with pack and pouch, and with no protection against the sun except the aforesaid peak to the forage-cap, severely handicapped in fighting nearly naked blacks armed with rifles. No wonder the 74th lost heavily, their commander, Colonel Fordyce, falling at their head in a bush fight, together with some of his best officers.
It is not only in matters of dress and equipment that we have learnt consideration for our troops on foreign service. ”

“ To his men your captain must he prophet, priest and king. His authority when off-shore is necessarily absolute, and therefore the crew should be as one man impressed that the captain, like the sovereign, can do no wrong. If a captain fail in this, he cannot make up for it by severity, austerity or cruelty. Use force, apply restraint, punish as he may, he will always have a sullen crew and an unhappy ship.”
The nose of the gig grates on the river’s bank, and Captain Jack Paul leaps ashore. He is greeted by a tall, weather-beaten old man—grizzled and gray. ”

“ Captain King has a quick and sentient touch, and his writing is that of one whose belief in mankind is untouched by bitterness. One reads his tales with the satisfying sense of a cheerful solution of all difficulties on the final page. ”

“ I know it well. 'Tis Amory's class ring, and his is the proud device, "Loyauté m'oblige."
THE END THE COLONEL'S DAUGHTER; OR, WINNNING HIS SPURS. By Captain Charles King.
"The sketches of life in a cavalry command on the frontier are exceedingly vivid and interesting; and the element of adventure is furnished in the graphic and spirited accounts of affairs with the hostile Apaches. Captain King is to be thanked for an entertaining contribution to the slender stock of American military novels—a contribution so good that we hope that he will give us another."—N. Y. Tribune. ”

“ By reference to p. 239 of this volume, it will be seen that Captain King commanded the Hebe hired armed ship, and was several times warmly engaged with the enemy’s batteries and flotilla, during the siege of Copenhagen, in 1807. From thence he returned home in the Waldemaar, a Danish 80, the equipment of which ship was greatly expedited by his zealous exertions. ”

“ The favor with which his books have been received proves that he can write as well as fight. 'Marion's Faith' is a very pleasing story, with a strong flavor of love and shoulder-straps, and military life, and cannot but charm the reader."—National Tribune, Washington, D. C.
"Captain King has caught the true spirit of the American novel, for he has endowed his work fully and freely with the dash, vigor, breeziness, bravery, tenderness, and truth which are recognized throughout the world as our national characteristics. ”

“ No more charming historic war story has ever been written. It is Captain King’s best, and bearing, as it does, on the great battle of Mission Ridge, although the story is woven in fiction, it adds an invaluable record of that gigantic contest between the two great armies. ”

“ On the hammock-nettings of the quarter-deck stands the acting captain of the ship, erect, and proud in bearing, with an eye of defiance and scorn as he turns towards the enemy. His advice was disregarded; but he does his duty proudly and cheerfully. He is as cool and unconcerned as if he were watching the flying fish as they rise from the bows of the ship, when running down the tropics, instead of the enemy’s shot, as they splash in the water alongside, or tear open the timbers of the vessel, and the bodies of his crew. The men still ply their half-manned guns ”

“ We next find Mr. King commanding the Cuvarra merchant ship; and at the renewal of hostilities he was appointed to a gun-brig, which vessel he gave up in order to become Sir Home Popham’s first Lieutenant, in the Diadem 64. By that officer he was successively appointed Commander of l’Espoir brig, and Captain of the Diadem; but these and other unauthorised acts of the Commodore during and subsequent to the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope, in 1805 and 1806, were highly disapproved of by the Admiralty, and consequently never confirmed. ”

“ The captain of that ship is not worth his salt. It would be politic to let him live, and continue to command. His ship will always be ours, when we want it; and in the event of a general action, he would make a gap in the enemy’s line, which might prove of the greatest importance. Now, sir, without drawing the parallel any further,—without taking into consideration the value of the respective officers and men,—I must take the liberty of observing, that, on your account alone, England will be no gainer by the loss of both vessels and crews. ”

“ The King won the affection of both officers and men by his urbane and kind manners whenever he came on board. He used to call us up, and talk to us, lieutenants, midshipmen, and seamen alike, in the most familiar manner, taking an interest in our private histories, and all we had to say for ourselves. No wonder, then, that officers and men were loyal to the back-bone. Our captain, too, from the day he commissioned the ship, had, by his justice and kindness, done still more to make the officers and men love him. ”

“ Five minutes to say good—by to Lisa—fiddlesticks! That wasn’t it; the captain had it in for him, and took this as an excuse to get rid of him. King understood that very well; and, without bawling out the captain or any one else, he meant to word that resignation so that the captain would read his real meaning between the lines.
Kicked out of the service—that was what it practically amounted to. A woman—even the sweetest little girl in the world, he made haste to pay mental tribute—surely does play hob with a man’s life. If she would marry him, he’d take her away. ”

“ After acting for a short time in the Jewel of 48 guns [1] , Captain King was appointed, June 2, 1809, to the Jason 32, which ship had the honor of bearing the flag of the Duke of Clarence, when H.R.H. escorted Louis XVIII. to the French shore, in April, 1811. She subsequently conveyed the Emperor Alexander, the King of Prussia, and the Duchess of Oldenburgh, to Calais, on their return from England. ”

“ There was a mad dash of fear-crazed [Pg 185] men for the boats, discipline and duty both forgotten.
Over the first officer's prostrate form they sprang at the "falls" of the sternmost—the longboat, a huge, bearded seaman in the lead. The captain, with fury in his eye, leaped in the way, shouting blasphemy and orders to go back, and was knocked flat with a single blow. The brawny hand had seized the swaying tackle and three seamen were already scrambling into the swinging craft when a revolver cracked; the big leader threw up his hands with a yell of agony and toppled headlong upon the deck. ”

“ One man had the audacity to come within musket-shot, a-head of the ship; and, after slinging several stones at us, he waved Captain Cook’s hat over his head, whilst his countrymen on shore were exulting, and encouraging his boldness. Our people were all in a flame at this insult, and coming in a body on the quarter-deck, begged they might no longer be obliged to put up with these repeated provocations; and requested me to obtain permission for them, from Captain Clerke, to avail themselves of the first fair occasion of revenging the death of their commander. ”

“ When he signs articles, he’s bound to obey orders; and as everybody must be aware, especially those in the seafaring line, the captain is king on board his ship when once at sea—king, prime minister, parliament, judge and jury, and all the rest of it. ”

“ Yes, you speak truly,’ said he, brushing a tear from his eye, ‘fame must be my future mistress; I can love no other.’
At this moment a light knock at the cabin door was heard, and the lieutenant of the Dolphin announced, as he had been instructed to do by the captain, that they were just passing into Boston harbor. The captain appearing on deck soon discovered that the King’s fleet had sailed, and that the American flag floated from the town. Observing this, he came to the very correct conclusion that the English army had evacuated the town during his cruise off the coast. ”

“ Then a lithe figure vaulted over the longboat's gunwale. One after another three seamen came tumbling out abashed and overawed. The captain regained his feet and senses. The boat was lowered by cooler hands until it danced in safety on the waves, and one after another the women were carefully passed down to the care of him whose stern, clear-headed sense and instant action had proved their sole salvation—a landsman, Loring of the Engineers. ”

“ Only lightly laden, the stanch little craft had well-nigh "jumped out of her [Pg 146] boots," as the jovial skipper expressed it, and now, all brine and beaming satisfaction after his long hours of stormy vigil, he clapped Loring on the shoulder, complimented him on his possession of a "sea stomach" and ordered coffee served forthwith. They were steaming slowly along at half-speed now, taking a breathing spell before attempting the next round, and the captain waxed confidential. ”

“ King was not in favour with the powers that were, although to do him justice he was a very fine21 seaman. On one occasion on the passage from Auckland to Adelaide it became necessary to call all hands to shorten sail, and it happened that King was in charge, neither the mate nor captain being on deck. It was necessary to take in the mainsail, and he did it successfully by taking up the lee side first, in opposition to the dictum laid down in Falconer’s Shipwreck that—
“He who seeks the tempest to disarm
Will never first embrail the lee yardarm.” ”

“ In the beginning of King William’s War, Captain Kid commanded a Privateer in the West-Indies, and by several adventurous actions acquired the reputation of a brave man, as well as an experienced seaman. ”

“ The moon did seem to shine out twice as strong as ever, as if just to bother us; because, do ye see, if it hadn’t been so very light, the night mist that always hangs about the sea and shores here, would have hid us from the enemy. But hardly had the lugger got under weigh, before the cruiser was again discovered, lying nearly mid-way between the English and Irish coast, in the very course that the Dolphin must steer. The captain of our lugger was calm and collected as a parson, and the men, seeing this, were all quite courageous, too, and didn’t care a fig for the King’s ship. ”

“ Captain West advanced to meet me, and before our outstretched hands touched, before his face broke from repose to greeting and the lips moved to speech, I got the first astonishing impact of his personality. Long, lean, in his face a touch of race I as yet could only sense, he was as cool as the day was cold, as poised as a king or emperor, as remote as the farthest fixed star, as neutral as a proposition of Euclid. And then, just ere our hands met, a twinkle of—oh—such distant and controlled geniality quickened the many tiny wrinkles in the corner of the eyes; ”

“ When a man enters His Majesty’s service, his life is no longer to be considered his own; it belongs to his king and country, and is at their disposal. If we are lost, there will be no great difficulty in collecting another ship’s company in old England, as brave and as good as this. Officers as experienced are anxiously waiting for employment; and the Admiralty will have no trouble in selecting and appointing as good, if not a better captain. ”

“ Loring, by George! I haven't laid eyes on him since the night he backed me up in restoring order and discipline on my ship. That man ought to have been a sailor! Where'll I find him?" he concluded abruptly, staring round at the circle of somewhat embarrassed faces.
"We heard some rumor about this, captain," said the General. "Suppose you come into my office and tell me the whole story?"
"Why not right here where they can all hear?" was the instant answer. "I'm told that more'n one man has been at work trying to rob him of the credit, and as for Mr. ”

“ Hope you will make yourself comfortable, and call for everything you want. Boy, take this trunk down into the state cabin. Happy to see you, gentlemen, and beg you will consider yourselves quite at home—at the same time beg to observe that I’m ‘Captain of my own ship.’”
“So you ought to be,” replied Captain M—, smiling, “if your ship was no larger than a nutshell. I’m captain of my own ship, I can assure you.”
“Very glad we agree upon that point, Captain M—. Young gentleman,” continued he, addressing himself to Courtenay, “you’ll oblige me by not coming to an anchor on my hen-coops. ”

“ This officer is a son of the late William King, of Southampton, Esq., and a brother of Captain Andrew King, R.N. He first went to sea in the Director of 64 guns, commanded by Captain Thomas West, in June 1789 ”

“ Then Russia became strengthened in her tyranny, as America had in her independence. Catherine offered to her Admiral places which would have more than satisfied the rapacity of a courtier, honors which would have overwhelmed the ambitious, estates which would have consoled a deposed king for the loss of his dominions; but it was the deck of his ship, it was the sea with its combats and its tempests, it was the boundless immensity of ocean for which yearned the heart of our adventurous and poetic seaman. ”

“ They had learnt from Pitt while yet in Port Royal of their Captain's danger, and whilst as ready as he to throw over the King's service which had been thrust upon them, yet they resented the manner in which this had been rendered necessary, and they marvelled now at Blood's restraint where Bishop was concerned. The Deputy-Governor looked round and met the lowering hostile glances of those fierce eyes. Instinct warned him that his life at that moment was held precariously, that an injudicious word might precipitate an explosion of hatred from which no human power could save him. ”