The Adventures of Roderick Random
entrails, and he fell flat on my breast. This accident entirely bereft
me of all discretion; I redoubled my cries, which were drowned in the
noise of the battle; and, finding myself disregarded, lost all
patience, and became frantic. I vented my rage in oaths and
execrations, till my spirits, being quite exhausted, I remained quiet,
as insensible of the load that oppressed me.
The engagement lasted till broad day, when Captain Oakum, finding he
was like to gain neither honour nor advantage by the affair, pretended
to be undeceived by seeing their colours; and, hailing the ship whom he
had fought all night, protested he believed them Spaniards; and the
guns being silenced on each side, ordered the barge to be hoisted out,
and went on board the French commodore. Our loss amounted to ten
killed, and eighteen wounded, most part of whom afterwards died. My
fellow-mates had no sooner despatched their business in the cock-pit,
than, full of friendly concern, they came to visit me. Morgan,
ascending first, and seeing my face almost covered with brains and
blood, concluded I was no longer a man for this world; and, calling to
Thompson with great emotion, bade him come up, and take his last
farewell of his comrade and countryman, who was posted to a better
place, where there were no Mackshanes nor Oakums to asperse and torment
him. “No,” said he, taking me by the hand, “you are going to a country
where there is more respect sown to unfortunate shentlemen, and where
you will have the satisfaction of peholding your adversaries tossing
upon pillows of purning primstone.” Thompson, alarmed at this
apostrophe, made haste to the place where I lay, and sitting down by
me, with tears in his eyes inquired into the nature of my calamity. By
this time I had recollected myself so far as to be able to converse
rationally with my friends, whom, to their great satisfaction, I
immediately undeceived with regard to their apprehension of my being
mortally wounded.
After I had got myself disengaged from the carnage in which I wallowed,
and partaken of a refreshment which my friends brought along with them,
we entered into discourse upon the hardships we sustained, and spoke
very freely of the author of our misery; but our discourse being
overheard by the sentinel who guarded me, he was no sooner relieved
than he reported to the captain every syllable of our conversation,
according to the orders he had received. The effect of this information
soon appeared in the arrival of the master-at-arms, who replaced Morgan
in his former station, and gave the second mate a caution to keep a
strict guard over his tongue, if he did not choose to accompany us in
our confinement. Thompson, foreseeing that the whole slavery of
attending the sick and wounded, as well as the cruelty of Mackshane,
must now fall upon his shoulders, grew desperate at the prospect, and,
though I never heard him swear before, imprecated dreadful curses on
the heads of his oppressors, declaring that he would rather quit life
altogether than be much longer under the power of such barbarians. I
was not a little startled at his vivacity, and endeavoured to alleviate
his complaints, by representing the subject of my own, with as much
aggravation as it would bear, by which comparison he might see the
balance of misfortune lay on my side, and take an example from me of
fortitude and submission, till such time as we could procure redress,
which I hoped was not far off, considering that we should probably be
in a harbour in less than three days, where we should have an
opportunity of preferring our complaints to the admiral. The Welshman
joined in my remonstrance, and was at great pains to demonstrate that
it was every man’s duty as well as interest to resign himself to the
divine will, and look upon himself as a sentinel upon duty, who is by
no means at liberty to leave his post before he is relieved. Thompson
listened attentively to what he said, and at last, shedding a flood of
tears, shook his hand, and left us without making any reply. About
eleven at night he came to see us again with a settled gloom on his
countenance, and gave us to understand that he had undergone excessive
toil since he saw us, and in recompense had been grossly abused by the
doctor, who taxed him with being confederate with us, in a design of
taking away his life and that of the captain. After some time spent in
mutual exhortation, he got up, and squeezing me by the hand with
uncommon fervour, cried, “God bless you both!” and left us to wonder at
his singular manner of parting with us, which did not fail to make a
deep impression on us both.
Next morning, when the hour of visitation came round, the unhappy young
man was missing, and, after strict search, supposed to have gone
overboard in the night; and this was certainly the case.
CHAPTER XXX
We lament the fate of our companion—the Captain offers Morgan his
liberty, which he refuses to accept—we are brought before him and
examined—Morgan is sent back into custody, whither also I am remanded
after a curious trial
The news of this event affected my fellow prisoner and me extremely, as
our unfortunate companion had justly acquired by his amiable
disposition the love and esteem of us both; and the more we regretted
his untimely fate, the greater horror we conceived for the villain who
was undoubtedly the occasion of it. This abandoned miscreant did not
discover the least symptom of concern for Thompson’s death, although he
must have been conscious to himself of having driven him by ill usage
to the fatal resolution, but desired the captain to set Morgan at
liberty again to look after the patients. Accordingly one of the
corporals was sent up to unfetter him, but he protested he would not be
released until he should know for what he was confined; nor would he be
a tennisball, nor a shuttlecock, nor a trudge, nor a scullion, to any
captain under the sun. Oakum, finding him obstinate, and fearing it
would not be in his power to exercise his tyranny much longer with
impunity, was willing to show some appearance of justice and therefore
ordered us both to be brought before him on the quarter-deck, where he
sat in state, with his cleric on one side, and his counsellor Mackshane
on the other. When we approached, he honoured us with this salutation:
“So, gentlemen, d—n my blood! many a captain in the navy would have
ordered you both to be tucked up to the yard’s arm, without either
judge or jury, for the crimes you have been guilty of; but, d—n my
blood, I have too much good nature in allowing such dogs as you to make
defence.” “Captain Oakum,” said my fellow-sufferer, “certainly it is in
your power (Cot help the while) to tack us all up at your will, desire,
and pleasures. And perhaps it would be petter for some of us to be
tucked up than to undergo the miseries to which we have been exposed.
So may the farmer hang his kids for his diversion, and amusement, and
mirth; but there is such a thing as justice, if not upon earth, surely
in heaven, that will punish with fire and primstone all those who take
away the lives of innocent people out of wantonness, and parparity
(look you). In the mean time. I shall be glad to know the crimes laid
to my charge, and see the person who accuses me.” “That you shall,”
said the captain; “here, doctor, what have you to say?” Mackshane,
stepping forward, hemmed a good while, in order to clear his throat,
and, before he began, Morgan accosted him thus: “Doctor Mackshane, look
in my face—look in the face of an honest man, who abhors a false
witness as he abhors the tevil, and Cot be judge between you and me.”
The doctor, not minding this conjuration, made the following speech, as
near as I can remember: “I’ll tell you what, Mr. Morgan; to be sure
what you say is just, in regard to an honest man, and if so be it
appears as how you are an honest man, then it is my opinion that you
deserve to be acquitted, in relation to that there affair, for I tell
you what, Captain Oakum is resolved for to do everybody justice. As for
my own part, all that I have to allege is, that I have been informed
you have spoken disrespectful words against your captain, who, to be
sure, is the most honourable and generous commander in the king’s
service, without asparagement or acception of man, woman, or child.”
Having uttered this elegant harangue, on which he seemed to plume
himself, Morgan replied, “I do partly guess, and conceive, and
understand your meaning, which I wish could be more explicit; but,
however, I do suppose, I am not to be condemned upon bare hearsay; or,
if I am convicted of speaking disrespectfully of Captain Oakum, I hope
there is no treason in my words.” “But there’s mutiny, by G—d, and
that’s death by the articles of war!” cried Oakum: “In the meantime,
let the witnesses be called.” Hereupon Mackshane’s servant appeared,
and the boy of our mess, whom they had seduced and tutored for the
purpose. The first declared, that Morgan as he descended the
cockpit-ladder one day, cursed the captain, and called him a savage
beast, saying, he ought to be hunted down as an enemy to mankind.
“This,” said the clerk, “is a strong presumption of a design, formed
against the captain’s life. For why? It presupposes malice
aforethought, and a criminal intention a priori.” “Right,” said the
captain to this miserable grub, who had been an attorney’s boy, “you
shall have law enough: here’s Cook and Littlejohn to it.” This evidence
was confirmed by the boy, who affirmed, he heard the first mate say,
that the captain had no more bowels than a bear, and the surgeon had no
more brain than an ass. Then the sentinel, who heard our discourse on
the poop was examined, and informed the court that the Welshman assured
me, Captain Oakum and Doctor Mackshane would toss upon billows of
burning brimstone in hell for their barbarity. The clerk observed, that
there was an evident prejudication, which confirmed the former
suspicion of a conspiracy against the life of Captain Oakum; for,
because, how could Morgan so positively pronounce that the captain and
surgeon would d—n’d, unless he had intention to make away with them
before they could have time to repent? This sage explanation had great
weight with our noble commander, who exclaimed, “What have you to say
to this, Taffy? you seem to be taken all a-back, brother, ha!” Morgan
was too much of a gentleman to disown the text, although he absolutely
denied the truth of the comment. Upon which the captain, strutting up
to him with a ferocious countenance, said, “So Mr. son of a bitch, you
confess you honoured me with the names of bear and beast, and
pronounced my damnation? D—n my heart! I have a good mind to have you
brought to a court-martial and hang’d, you dog.” Here Mackshane, having
occasion for an assistant, interposed, and begged the captain to pardon
Mr. Morgan with his wonted goodness, upon condition that he the
delinquent should make such submission as the nature of his
misdemeanour demanded. Upon which the Cambro-Briton, who on this
occasion would have made no submission to the Great Mogul, surrounded
with his guards, thanked the doctor for his mediation, and acknowledged
himself in the wrong for calling the image of Cot a peast, “but,” said
he, “I spoke by metaphor, and parable, and comparison, and types; as we
signify meekness by a lamb, lechery by a goat, and craftiness by a fox;
so we liken ignorance to an ass, and brutality to a bear, and fury to a
tiger; therefore I made use of these similes to express my sentiments
(look you), and what I said before Cot, I will not unsay before man nor
peast neither.”
Oakum was so provoked at this insolence (as he termed it,) that he
ordered him forthwith to be carried to the place of his confinement,