Humphrey Statham

“ In this view the uncle, a practical old north-countryman, coincided; the young people could not marry upon the income which Mr. Humphrey possessed; they had plenty of life before them; and when the young man came back and proved that he had carried out his promise, no obstacle should be made by Emily's friends.
Humphrey Statham returned to London, and wrote at once to his father, telling him that he had seen the errors of his youth, and was prepared to apply himself to any sort of business which his father could place in his way. ”

“ Under such circumstances, an ordinary man would have fallen into a fury, and burst out into wild lamentation or passionate invective; but Humphrey Statham was not an ordinary man. He knew himself guiltless of the crime of which by Emily's friends and neighbours he was evidently suspected, but he also knew that the mere fact of her elopement, or at all events of her quitting her home without consulting him on the subject, showed that she had no love for him, and that therefore he had no right to interfere with her actions. ”

“ Day-dreaming was surely in favour of the nautical young gentleman's theory. When Humphrey Statham, after giving strict orders that he was not to be disturbed, no matter who might want him, threw himself back in his chair, and burying his hands in his trousers' pockets, indulged in a long reverie, his thoughts reverted not to any business transactions in which he might have been engaged, but to the day when he first went to Rose Cottage in the assumed character of a charity agent, and to the person with whom he had the interview there. ”

“ A tall, strongly-built man, and good-looking after his fashion, with a fringe of dark-brown hair round his bald crown, large regular features, piercing hazel eyes, somewhat overhanging brows, a pleasant mobile mouth, and a crisp brown beard.
Humphrey Statham was a ship-broker, though, from a cursory glance at his office, it would have been difficult to guess what occupation he pursued, furnished as it was in the ordinary business fashion. ”

“ Foiled at this point, Humphrey Statham secretly took the advice of old Mr. Morrison, the chief clerk in his father's office, a kindly as well as a conscientious man, who had endeavoured to soften the young man's lot during the few weeks he had passed in the dull counting-house, and at his recommendation Humphrey established himself as a ship-broker, and for two years toiled on from morning till night, doing a small and not very remunerative business, but proving to such as employed him that he possessed industry, energy, and tact. ”

“ I insist upon knowing!"
"In Hendon churchyard, sir," said Mr. Tatlow quietly; "that's where the young woman is now."
Humphrey Statham bowed his head, and remained, silent for some few moments; then, without raising his eyes, he said: "Tell me about it, Mr. Tatlow, please; I should like to have all details from first to last."
"Don't you think," said Mr. Tatlow kindly--"don't you think I might look in some other time, sir?--you don't seem very strong just now; and it's no use a man trying his nerves when there is no occasion for it." ”

“ Humphrey Statham fell back in his chair; his lips parted, but no sound came from them.
'It is right that you should hear all now,' said Martin in a dull low tone; 'though until this instant I never knew who was the man whom I had wronged so deeply; never, of course, suspected it was you. She told me that there was a gentleman far above her station in life who intended to marry her; but she never mentioned his name. I was on a visit to a college friend when I first saw Emily and fell in love with her. ”

“ A grave, plain-mannered man in his business--somewhat over cautious and reserved they thought him at Lloyd's--Humphrey Statham, when away for his holiday, had the high spirits of a boy, and never was so happy as when he had thrown off all the ordinary constraints of conventionality, and was leading a life widely different from that normally led by him, and associating with persons widely different from those with whom he was ordinarily brought into contact. ”

“ The people hiding behind the wire-blinds in the physician's dining-room, waiting their turn for an audience, looked out with envy at his trim figure and brisk activity, and turned back in disgust to refresh themselves with the outside sheet of the Times, or to stare with feeble curiosity at their fellow-victims. But, however bright may have been his personal appearance, it is certain that he was in a state of great mental disquietude, and when he ascended the dingy stairs leading to Humphrey Statham's office his heart was beating audibly. ”

“ Calverley's sudden death.'
'It is in connection with that event that I have come to you. You are a man of the world, I know, and a thorough good fellow into the bargain, while in all matters requiring tact and decision I am lamentably deficient.'
'Merely the manner of bringing up, my good friend,' said Humphrey Statham. 'I am practical and hard-headed: you are theoretical and large-hearted. What the wine-merchants call a 'blending' of the qualities of both of us would make, I suppose, the right sort of fellow. ”

“ An allowance of two hundred pounds a year would be paid to him during his father's lifetime, and would be bequeathed to him in his father's will; he must never expect to receive anything else, and Mr. Statham broadly hinted, in conclusion, that it would be far more agreeable to him if his son would take up his residence anywhere than in Russell-square, and that he should feel particularly relieved if he never saw him again.
This arrangement suited Humphrey Statham admirably. Two hundred a year to a very young man, who has never had any command of money, is an important sum. ”

“ Tatlow promptly; 'Mrs. Claxton goes in for that hot and heavy--so they told me down there; and if you were to go as the agent of a society and pitch a good tale, she'd be sure to see you.'
'Poor creature!' said Humphrey Statham to himself, after the detective had departed. 'Charity, eh?--they frequently do that, I believe. It is the only way in which any remnant of good that may be left in them can find vent. ”

“ He was engaged in some wild speculations just at that time, and it was while careering over the country with Tom Durham in search of a capitalist to float some marvellous invention of that fertile genius, that Humphrey Statham met with an adventure which completely altered the current of his life. ”

“ On the death of his father-in-law, poor Statham became possessed of a very small freehold estate: the produce of which is, however, so trifling, that were it not for the occasional assistance of benevolent persons, and his little magazine walk, the wants of nature could not be supplied. He uses every exertion within his power to increase his weekly pittance ”

“ With his hand in his pocket, clutching his pistol, but not exhibiting it so as to precipitate violence, he approached the French captain, and quietly told him that instant death was his portion on the smallest evidence of any attempt to capture the ship; then, hailing his own men, he bade them look sharp down from aloft, and the danger was averted in a few minutes. Nothing save undaunted courage, combined with absolute outward calm, could have saved the situation; had Hutchinson appeared alarmed or flustered he would have been lost ”

“ Being, of course, [Pg 225] strong partisans of Britannia, we rejoice with him, and hope his side will be in form with the bat.
The “gallery” is mustering rapidly. Nearly all the officers of the ship are on the ground; the captain strolls up, with two or three children and a happy dog; officers’ wives, and outside friends, make a goodly show on the seats along the terrace, half-way down the bank.
Time for Britannia to go in, and Engineer Lieutenants Benn and Smith are deputed to open the ball. Athletics, as is well known, are by no means neglected at the Engineers’ Training College ”

“ The cadets began to come up in twos and threes, their hands stuffed well into the pockets of their monkey jackets; soon, however, they were summoned to “bring ship to an anchor,” as the Britannia, with the Trafalgar still in close attendance, rounded the breakwater and approached her moorings, already laid down. Not even Captain Harris, however, would venture on the experiment of picking up moorings of this class under sail, in a three-decker, jury rigged, with her topsails on the cap ”

“ And so he went on board the Fleuron to surrender his sword and his privateer commission. The French captain was not as polite as he expected: "How dare you, sir," he asked, in excellent English, "in so small a ship, fire against a force like me?"
"Sir," replied Walker, "if you will look at my commission you will find I had as good a right to fight as you; and if my force had not been so inferior to yours I had shown you more civil treatment on board my ship"—which was a very good specimen of English politeness.
"How many men of yours have I killed?" demanded the Frenchman. ”

“ Scarcely had he spoken, keeping his glass upon the vessel, when simultaneously with the discharge of a broadside a pillar of smoke and flame shot up. "Good heavens, she's gone!" cried Walker. "Dottin and all his brave fellows are no more!" One of the officers suggested that it was merely the smoke of her last broadside. "It's a dreadful truth you tell," replied Walker, still looking through his glass, "for 'tis the last she will ever give!" And when the smoke cleared away there was no ship to be seen! ”

“ These, he says, should include rigging, from the lower masts upward, stowage of holds and magazines, laying out anchors, steam, a little gunnery, and, as a matter of course, navigation, geography, and drawing. This officer is evidently a “Collegian” of the old days, under Inman, for he refers to what they learnt in 1824 and 1825. In conclusion, he says, “No, sir, let us keep the education in our own hands; we know better than any schoolmaster what we want.”
An article in the Times of August 12th, 1882, condemns the whole system pretty severely ”

“ If the initials of the writer are genuine, his time in the training-ship goes back a long way, somewhere in the ’sixties. He appears to hold a poor opinion of the cadets of those days, and says the captains were as bad as the rest.
On October 14th Admiral Sir Nowell Salmon and [Pg 146] “Through the Mill” come to the rescue, and stoutly defend the Britannia, pointing out that, judging from the officers eventually turned out, the ship cannot be a sink of iniquity such as is represented, and that bullying will always go on to a certain extent among a number of boys. ”

“ His answer was, "It is impossible; she has too many men." During this time, for about half an hour, the enemy was lying a complete log, while our consorts had received no damage. However, at length all three of us made sail together for her again, and engaged her at a distance for about an hour. My wounded being in great agony, I shaped a course for Barbadoes, where we all arrived next evening.
"When we anchored I was visited by Captain Richardson, of his Majesty's ship Centaur, who immediately sent for a surgeon, Mr. ”

“ With this end in view he had recourse to a ruse, which is not very clearly set forth in the accounts; but in the end he enticed a frigate out of Malta and led her away from [Pg 234] his convoy, which he had left in charge of the Éclatant, though it involved a desperate running action with a vessel of superior force, in which he nearly came to grief.
Arriving at length at Marseilles, he found that the grain-ships had turned up safely, which was really a great triumph; but the wily merchants were too cunning for the simple seaman. ”

“ There are plenty of men—and a large proportion among the officers of the Navy—who have a natural capacity in this respect, which becomes apparent directly they get their opportunity; and there are others—in public schools as well as elsewhere—who have been managing boys all their lives, and have never done it decently.
These are truisms; but in reply to a man who will venture to hold up to ridicule, as a sort of bugbear with a big stick, [Pg 148] such men as Captain Digby and other captains of the Britannia, truisms appear to be necessary. ”

“ The captain of the Fleuron—who by this time had learned that his prisoner, though only captain of a privateer, was worthy of respect—discoursed to Walker in some bitterness on this subject, and added: "It is seldom any great accident happens from single causes, but by a chain or series of things; thus, if we be here overcome, our loss will be owing to the waspishness of a single frigate, which would not cease fighting so long as it had a sting in its tail"—a remark which, if somewhat bitter, was appreciative. ”

“ It became known in September that Captain Harris was to leave shortly, and the news came as a sort of shock, he was so completely identified with the institution. The report [Pg 69] turned out to be true, and on October 1st he was succeeded by Captain Richard Ashmore Powell. This officer had, in a letter to Captain Harris, dated May 27th of the same year, written as follows: “I am much pleased with the lads from the Britannia; they are well behaved, and are well grounded in the fundamental parts of their profession.” ”

“ They found the vessel, but she was hauled up on shore, and empty; seeing a small house near by, they imagined her cargo was stored there, and, running up to it, [Pg 82] helter-skelter, out came the enemy, mounted, each man lying along his horse and driving before them a double rank of unbacked horses, linked together. The Englishmen were quite powerless to resist, so they fled for their ship, which had grounded, the horsemen pursuing with guns and lassos. ”