HMS Kent

“ His surviving brothers, William George Carlile and Henry, are commanders in the royal navy [1] ; another, John, late first lieutenant of the Thais frigate, died at Stonehouse, after a lingering illness of fourteen months, occasioned by over-exertion in his professional duties, Jan. 27th, 1816 [2] . One of his cousins, Bartholomew Kent, first lieutenant of the Goliath 74, Captain (afterwards Sir Charles) Brisbane, was killed in a boat affair, under the batteries of Sable d’Ollone, in 1803; and another, Lieutenant Mark Kent, R.N., died at sea in 1828. ”

“ These are to certify my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that Lieutenant Henry Kent, when serving on the Lakes of Canada, was appointed by Commodore Sir James L. Yeo senior lieutenant of H.M. ship Princess Charlotte, under my command, then on the stocks, and his exertions in aid of completing the building of that ship – in preparing her rigging and stores – in launching and fitting her for service – were of the most officerlike, active, unremitting, and strenuous nature; and mainly contributed to enable the ship to join the expedition to Oswego, in May 1814 ”

“ There was an intense stillness in the room as they eyed each other, Kent inflexible, the king distressed, and the chancellor open-mouthed at such uncompromising words. The old baron was the most affected and stood as if stupefied with astonishment. For a pregnant time he met Kent's stare and then suddenly chuckled in his throat with a queer, wise acceptance. He turned to the king and exploded, much as an explorer might have done on announcing a discovery. "Why, Karl! You've got a friend who is a man! By Saint Dominique! This is a man!" ”

“ The modern Kent carries as her main armament 6-inch quick-firing steel guns, each firing 100-pounder shot and shell, and able to discharge, each piece in half a minute, heavier metal than the whole broadside (270 lb.) of the original Kentish. The old ship, of course, was built of wood, oak timber; most of which, as a curious fact, seems to have been cut on the confiscated estates of delinquent Royalists in the County of Kent. The new Kent, built of steel, and with 4-inch Krupp armour along her water line, cost to complete for sea upwards of three-quarters of a million sterling ”

“ The Kent of King Edward’s fleet was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on the 12th of February, 1900, as a first-class armoured cruiser, and launched on Wednesday, the 6th of March, 1901, Lady Hotham, the wife of the Admiral Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, naming the ship in the orthodox way, with wine grown and produced within the British Empire, and specially presented for the ceremony by the Agent General of South Australia. The Kent was the first to be launched of our modern set of County Cruisers. She was also the first to hoist the pennant and join the fleet at sea. ”

“ West nor'west," she added to the man at the wheel.
"Three cheers for Miss Captain Kent!" cried one of the men, and they were given with a will. Two days later the bark Bunker Hill went up the Swash Channel behind a tug, and dropped anchor off Quarantine, where the ship-news reporters learned of her remarkable story and filled the papers with Mary's fame. In the following summer Mary was granted a master's license, and when Captain Kent went to rest in the old churchyard, his daughter took command of his ship, and was one of the few women sea-captains in the world. ”

“ Kent's jaws were set until the muscles of his cheeks shone in knots and his eyes were aflame.
"Let me kill him! For God's sake, don't interfere!" Ivan shouted, and then, pleading for the privilege of destroying Provarsk, was toppled over, breathing hoarsely, and looking up into Kent's face. Slowly the red flame burned out of his eyes, as he recovered control of himself. The pistol fell from his hand, and the princess, with a spring as graceful as a leopard's seized it and retreated to a safe distance. ”

“ On the second day of his march from Presque Isle, Lieutenant Kent had a severe fall on the ice, by which he broke the bone of the fore finger of his right hand, between the knuckle and the wrist, so that for five weeks he had his hand in splints; nor did the bone unite until after his arrival at Kingston. At the subsequent attack of Oswego, the official account of which is given in Suppl. Part. II. p. 215, et seq., he commanded the Princess Charlotte in the absence of her gallant captain, who was dangerously wounded while in the act of storming the Yankee fort, at the head of 200 seamen. ”

“ Indeed there was but one person visible after Kent's hasty departure for the Market Place who did not seem anxious, that person being the chancellor himself. He strolled languidly into Kent's office within three minutes after the American had passed out, and looked for the King's Remembrancer. Not seeing him, he smiled slyly, took a seat, waited a few minutes, and then rang the bell that summoned Kent's secretary. That astute and well trained young gentleman entered the room and stood like a statue of respectful attention. ”

“ The splendid strength of arms and shoulders which Brian Kent had acquired by his months of work with his ax on the timbered mountain-side sustained him now in his need. With tremendous energy, he breasted the might of the furious river. To the watchers it seemed at times that it was beyond the power of human muscles to endure the terrific strain. Then he gained the boat, and they saw him striving with desperate energy to drag it toward the opposite shore and so into the currents that would carry it past the menacing point of the cliff and perhaps to the safety of the quiet water below. ”

“ Kent? Whatever else Mr. Kent is, he is a man. No matter if he has made mistakes, and is a money lender, and all that, he is still a real man and unafraid. Who are you, to talk about having him shot?"
She faced her brother as if her last contemptuous gibe at Provarsk had been her final one for him, and saw that her brother's eyes were fixed on the door and that Von Glutz also stared in that direction with a look of relief. She also turned and saw that the American had entered the room and was now coming gravely toward her. ”

“ One of the lounging soldiers of fortune inside even assisted the visitor up the wide marble steps and along the corridor where drowsy men fell back to give space.
Inside the room Ubaldo, Provarsk's captain at arms, sat beside the table talking to two other men, and his face, that had been perturbed, cleared when he saw the American ushered in. He stared at the door through which Kent and Ivan entered, as if expecting the usurper to follow them, and betrayed disappointment that this expectation was not fulfilled. ”

“ He stared in a kindly way at the king for a moment, as if expecting the latter to dispute, and then added, grimly, "If I were in your place, I'd not let this man Provarsk win so easily. I'd fight!"
"I would, if I knew how!" The king spoke impetuously.
"But you must have some friend who can assist you," suggested Kent. "Some man you can depend upon." ”

“ Ivan, without relaxing his hold, looked at his employer's lips.
"Don't kill him! For heaven's sake, don't kill him!" Kent muttered.
"I've got to choke his teeth loose. He has set them in the palm of my hand," the giant replied; but was saved from executing the baron, who at that moment dropped back inert, his face purple, and his eyes dazed with threatened unconsciousness. Unnoted by either Kent or the baron, an automobile horn had been tooting lustily outside, its mellow notes playing a trumpet tune that swept vigorously through the open windows. ”

“ Second, That the said Lieutenant Kent, having returned with the said ship to Port Jackson, and received a written order from the said W. Bligh, then being such senior officer, dated on or about the 30th day of July, 1808, to hoist and wear his broad pendant on board His Majesty’s ship Porpoise, he did, on or about the 1st day of November, 1808, without any order from the said William Bligh, who was then such commodore and senior officer, strike such pendant, and again sail from the said port with the said ship, and quitted his station there. ”

“ It was Kent himself who put this vow to the test. He called at the Minot place the very next evening. It was early, only seven o'clock; Judah, having begged permission to serve an early supper because it was "lodge night," had departed for Liberty Hall, where the local branch of the Odd Fellows met; and Sears Kendrick was sitting on the settee in the back yard, beneath the locust tree, smoking. Kent came swinging in at the gate and again the captain felt that twinge of envy and rebellion against fate as he saw the active figure come striding toward him. ”

“ Kent took it, twisted it into a knot, and with thumb and finger flipped it into the air. For a moment they looked at each other, Provarsk alert and with increasing insolence, the American humorously, and secretly pleased.
"Why, do you know," he said suddenly, almost as if speaking to himself and expecting no reply, "you are a lot more interesting and much smarter than I gave you credit for being? Somehow or another, though, I don't believe you are going to put it through. You don't dare to ruin a kingdom. You've called my bluff and now I call yours!"
The baron sneered. ”

“ Kent! Are you mad?" demanded the king. "Time! Time is against us. You don't know what is happening! What do you think of this?" he cried, thrusting a paper toward the American.
Kent took it, said, "Have a seat, Your Majesty," and read. It was a proclamation with all official seals and form, calling upon the inhabitants, and especially those employed in the manganese mines, to assemble in the Market Place at eleven o'clock of that day, where communications of the utmost importance to their welfare and the welfare of the state would be made. ”

“ Volunteers from the ships on the coast were called for to man them; and such an appeal to British sailors was not in vain, as will be seen by Lieutenant Kent’s account of his march from St John’s, New Brunswick, to Kingston, on Lake Ontario, dated at the latter place, June 20th, 1814:–
“We left Halifax in the Fantome, on the 22d January last, cheered by a large concourse of the inhabitants, and arrived at St. John’s on the 26th, making a passage of four days, the weather extremely bad: the brig appeared a complete mass of ice, it freezing as fast as the sea broke over us. ”

“ And, Ivan, be wary of him if you do have to come out. I don't believe that man likes you! 'Pon my word I don't! And if he could, he might try to hurt you. "
Ivan's mouth opened into a wide grin, as he went to Kent's dressing room and pulled the door carefully shut, save for a tiny crack. Kent paced restlessly about the room, pausing once to admire, absently, as he had done a hundred times before, the intricate carvings of a huge wooden screen, that formed a snug little corner. Time was moving and he wondered why Provarsk did not appear, for he confidently expected him. ”

“ Liggett nudged his side in the dim corridor, and Kent, looking down, saw dark splotches on its metal floor. Blood-stains! His suspicions strengthened. They might be from the bleeding of those wounded in the tube-explosions. But were they?
They reached the after-deck whose stair's head gave a view of the wrecked tube-rooms beneath. The lower decks had been smashed by terrific forces. Kent's practiced eyes ran rapidly over the shattered rocket-tubes.
"They've back-blasted from being fired too fast," he said. "Who was controlling the ship when this happened?" ”

“ Her face flushed, as if, in this turmoil, she had interpreted some hidden significance in his words; but she ran across the room, called the sentry from the corridor, and Kent heard her words.
"Send two men from the guard room at once to assist Mr. Kent. Then go—quickly—as fast as you can, and summon the court surgeon. Hurry! Mr. Kent asks you to. Go quickly!"
Ivan closed the door, dumbly, and the sound of her voice was cut off.
"Here, Ivan," Kent's lips moved as he turned his head toward his follower from the side of his own bed on which he had deposited the chancellor. ”

“ But by hard work on the part of the engineers and stokers of the Kent she was able, by five o'clock, to get within firing distance of the Nürnberg. By a strange trick of fate the Kent was sister ship to the Monmouth which had fallen victim to one of the Nürnberg's torpedoes in the battle off Coronel. Here, too, was a duel with human interest in it. In their desire for revenge, the men of the Kent made fuel of even her furniture in order to speed up her engines. Her 6-inch guns now began to strike the German ship, and soon a fire broke out aboard her. ”

“ Provarsk smiled at what he thought a sarcasm and asked the leading soldier if Kent had any weapons. On being assured that the American was unarmed the chancellor ordered the handcuffs removed.
"And let me caution you, Mr. Kent," he threatened, "that any attempt to escape or call for assistance may necessitate action on my part that I should regret to take. Furthermore it would be useless on your part, because there is no one in the palace who would attempt to assist you save the king and his royal sister, both of whom are now slumbering sweetly—with a guard outside their doors." ”

“ The falling of one of the beams of the ceiling could scarcely have proven more startling to the three refugees by the fireplace. The king pivoted in his chair and faced Kent with a look of consternation. The princess, aghast, opened her eyes widely, and the chancellor, bristling with annoyance, jumped to his feet and roared loudly, "What business have you listening? Do you know whom you are addressing?"
To a man who, throughout his life, had been accustomed to see his hearers quail when he vented that tremendous roar, the effect was more than disappointing. ”