_ CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. OLD ENGLAND REACHED AT LAST--CONCLUSION
The ship was standing towards us. We had now no doubts of her being a large English merchantman. She was a new ship, too, apparently. Presently she was hove to. A boat was lowered, and with rapid strokes pulled towards us. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" asked some one in the boat as we lowered our sails.
"Our answer would be a long one, friend," said Mr Sedgwick. "We are English people escaping from a burning mountain."
"You will be welcome aboard our ship at all events," was the answer. "Here, catch hold of this rope, and we will tow your raft alongside."
A rope was hove to us over the stern of the boat, and without further words we were towed away towards the ship. I eyed her with pleasure. I had often thought that if I once got ashore I should never wish to go to sea again. On looking, however, at her fine proportions and trim rigging, I felt that I should be proud to be an officer of such a craft.
Of course we did not move quickly. It was some time before we were alongside. "Come, we must now take you on board," said the officer in the boat. "The ladies first, I conclude." The Frau, Emily, and Grace were handed in. "We can take more, though. Here you, young man, and one of you gentlemen." Mr Hooker followed him into the boat.
An accommodation ladder was let down, as the sea was as smooth as in a sheltered harbour. The Frau was helped up the side first, and the two girls followed. Suddenly I heard a loud shriek of astonishment, and presently whose face should I see but that of my old friend Captain Davenport appearing at the gangway. In another instant he had his daughter Grace in his arms.
"My mother! where is my mother?" exclaimed Grace.
"Here, here, my child!" and Mrs Davenport received her daughter from her husband's arms. Both held her, gazing anxiously at her face.
"You are restored to us, my child," said Mrs Davenport.
"And Emily, our second daughter!" exclaimed the old captain, taking Emily in his arms. She received almost as loving a welcome as Grace had done, and I had ample reason to be thankful for my reception.
I must make a long story short. We found that Captain and Mrs Davenport, after waiting at Singapore for some months, vainly expecting our return, and after having made every inquiry in their power for the missing _Dugong_, had at length given up the search, under the belief that we had been lost in a typhoon. A ship had touched at Singapore whose captain had died, and Captain Davenport having lost so much of his property in the _Bussorah Merchant_, had been compelled to accept the charge of taking her home. He had there been immediately appointed to the command of a new ship--the _Ulysses_. The offer he gladly accepted, as she was, after touching at Singapore, to proceed round the south coast of Borneo, and thus up through the Sea of Celebes to the Philippine Islands and Japan. He had faint hopes of finding us, but yet the opportunity was not to be lost.
Our meeting was indeed wonderful, and we had reason to be thankful that we had been saved the sufferings to which we might have been subjected, and that their anxiety was thus happily ended. I need scarcely say that Mrs Davenport and her husband suffered greatly at the supposed loss of their daughter, while I fully believe they mourned also greatly for us; indeed, they treated both Emily and I as if we were their own children, and nothing could exceed their kindness and attention. Captain Davenport offered to return to Singapore for the sake of landing Mr Hooker and our uncle; but they preferred remaining on board the ship, declaring that they must set to work to replace the treasures they had lost; and as the ship was to remain for several days at every place she touched at, they hoped in a limited degree to do so; but I could not help being amused sometimes at hearing them mourning the loss of their specimens--not, however, so much on their own account as on that of the scientific world in general.
"But surely, uncle," I said one day, "you have saved your note-books, and from them you may give a good deal of information."
"Of course, Walter," he answered. "That is my great consolation. Had it not been for that, I scarcely think I could have survived the terrible disaster."
We had reason to be thankful that we had fallen in with the _Ulysses_, for we had not been on board a couple of days when it came on to blow hard, and so heavy a sea got up, that I suspect our raft would scarcely have held together, or at all events we should probably have been washed off it. I must reserve the notes we made at the fresh places we visited for another occasion.
At length we were once more on our homeward voyage. The first mate of the ship having got appointed to the command of a vessel which had lost her master, Mr Thudicumb took his place. The boatswain also was taken ill, and Dick Tarbox became boatswain in his stead; while the other men entered as seamen on board the _Ulysses_.
We arrived in England after a prosperous voyage. I told Captain Davenport that I hoped he would allow me to accompany him again to sea, trusting that I might soon obtain a berth as mate on board his ship.
"I should be very glad to have you, Walter," he said; "but I have received some information which will make it your duty, I suspect, to remain on shore. When I was last in England, I saw an account in the newspapers of the death of the surviving children of your father's elder brother, and now he himself has followed them to the grave. As far, therefore, as I can learn, you are heir-at-law to the title and estates of Lord Heatherly."
I almost lost my breath as I listened to this information. I could scarcely indeed believe it.
"I think you must be mistaken, my dear sir," I answered. "I never even heard my father say that he was likely to succeed to the title."
"Probably not," said Captain Davenport, "as your eldest uncle had two children, and Lord Heatherly had a younger brother; but as all four have since been removed by death, I believe that there is no other heir than yourself."
This information he gave me at his house at Poplar, where Emily and I were residing with him. That very afternoon our uncle, Mr Sedgwick, arrived. He, too, had just heard of the death of my uncle, Mr Heathfield, though he was not aware that all his children were also dead.
"I see that I must bestir myself, Walter, for your and Emily's interests," he observed. "Captain Davenport is right, I am sure, in supposing that you are the heir-at-law to Lord Heatherly, besides which you have inherited some property which would have been your mother's."
My uncle, though an enthusiastic naturalist, was also a man of action. He proposed immediately setting off to visit Lord Heatherly, and to see whether he would acknowledge my claims.
"I was once well acquainted with his lordship," he observed, "and I think he will attend to my representations. If he does not, we must see how far the law can help us. I have, however, little doubt that he will be ready to acknowledge you as his heir."
The next day a postchaise arrived at the door, when my uncle and I started in it for Hampshire, in which county Lord Heatherly resided. As we neared the house, I observed the sadly dilapidated condition of numerous cottages we passed; indeed, the whole property seemed to wear an air of neglect very unusual, I must say, about an English estate. On arriving at the house, the servant who opened the door said that Lord Heatherly was very ill, and could not possibly see strangers.
"But I am not a stranger," said Mr Sedgwick; "and this young gentleman is a relation of his lordship,--indeed, the nearest he has; and probably Lord Heatherly would be glad to see one who will some day succeed to his name and estates."
The manner of the servant immediately changed. "Lord Heatherly, sir, is, I am afraid, dying," he answered; "but I will let his lordship know who has come, and possibly he may be ready to do as you wish. At the same time, pray understand, sir, that it will not be my fault if he refuses to see the young gentleman."
"Of course not, my good man," said Mr Sedgwick.
In a short time the servant returned, saying that Lord Heatherly would see us. We found the old lord lying on a stately bed in a handsome room, a harsh-featured nurse by his side, while a footman stood at the foot of the bed ready to receive orders.
"Mr Sedgwick, I remember you," he said. "Your sister married my cousin.--And so this lad claims to be my heir? Let me look at him. I remember Walter Heathfield's features well. Yes, I can believe that you are his son. I have made no will. All my estates are entailed, and if you can prove that you are next of kin, you will succeed. It matters not to me, though I should prefer that they were inherited by one who has been brought up as a gentleman. I do not wish to dispute your rights, if you are really my heir. The doctors say I am dying. They may be right. I have lived a number of years, and I am pretty well tired of life. You think, young gentleman, that you are about to succeed to a noble inheritance; but let me tell you that an estate like this entails many cares and responsibilities. The responsibilities I have ignored. Of the cares I have had enough. If you follow in my footsteps, you will find but little satisfaction in the property. It is somewhat heavily encumbered; and if my brother Jack had succeeded, it would in a short time have been still more so. There, I have given you a few hints; it will be your own fault if you do not take them. Speaking so much has wearied me. You and Mr Sedgwick are welcome to remain in the house as long as you please. If I am alive to-morrow morning I shall be happy to see you again. You will find dinner prepared for you. And now, good afternoon."
My cousin, who was propped up with pillows, made an inclination with his head, but did not even attempt to hold out his hand. My uncle bowed, and I followed his example as we left the room. We found the servants arranged in the hall, and with many bows they ushered us into the drawing-room. Soon afterwards the housekeeper made her appearance, and begged to learn my commands. I declined, however, giving any, saying that we were but guests in the house of Lord Heatherly, and would trust to her to act as she thought fit. I asked Mr Sedgwick whether he wished to remain.
"Yes, Walter," he said; "I think it will be the best thing to do. If his lordship publicly acknowledges you it will be nine-tenths of the law in your favour; and, indeed, as I cannot learn who else claims to be the heir, I trust that you will have no competitor."
I had never in my life seen a better entertainment than was in a short time put before my uncle and me. I felt very shy when sitting down at table with so many attendants, and was very glad when dinner was over and they retired. My uncle and I then drew our chairs towards the fire, and talked over my prospects. Certainly the change seemed very great, when I reflected that not a year ago I was living a solitary being, cast away on an island in the Eastern Seas, and that I was now heir to a title and a large estate.
During the night I was awaked by hearing the sound of footsteps moving along the passage, and soon afterwards there was a rap at the door. I jumped out of bed, and asked who it was. It was the butler, who entered the room and lighted the candles.
"His lordship is very much worse, sir," he said; "and if you wish to see him alive, you should come immediately."
I hurried on my clothes, and, accompanied by Mr Sedgwick, who had also been roused, repaired to Lord Heatherly's room. The doctor was by his side. He made a sign to us to come forward. The dying man opened his eyes and fixed them on me. "He is my heir," he said. "In a few minutes he will be Lord Heatherly, and I shall be dust."
Scarcely had he uttered these words when I saw a fearful alteration take place in his countenance. The medical man held his pulse, and presently I saw him lean forward and close my cousin's eyes, whose last gaze had been fixed on me.
"He is gone," said the doctor, "and I can be of no further service. Probably the young Lord Heatherly and you, sir," he added, turning to Mr Sedgwick, "will give such directions as you may think fit. You, I conclude, are acquainted with the late Lord Heatherly's wishes."
Strange were the sensations which came over me. I had scarcely realised till then my position. I felt, indeed, utterly unfit to think or act for myself, and was very glad when I once more found myself in my own room and in bed.
As may be supposed, I slept but little for the remainder of the night; and the next morning when the servants addressed me as "your lordship," I almost felt as if they were mocking me; indeed, I was not a little annoyed by the constant repetition of the expression. At length I begged my uncle to come with me to the study, giving directions to the servants that we should be left alone. However, we were soon interrupted by persons who came to take orders for the funeral, and I found myself at once with numberless responsibilities on my shoulders. The first moment of quiet I could find I sat down to write to Emily, and to send messages to our kind friends. Mr Sedgwick undertook to come back as soon as various necessary arrangements were made, and to bring her to Heatherly Hall. I begged that he would invite Grace to accompany her, requesting that, after the funeral, Captain and Mrs Davenport would come also.
I will pass over the account of the funeral, which was attended, I am sorry to say, with very few real mourners, though all the families in the neighbourhood sent their carriages, and a few gentlemen who had been more intimately acquainted with the late lord came themselves.
In a short time another claimant appeared; but as I had been acknowledged in the presence of sufficient witnesses by the late lord, he soon withdrew his claim, and I was left in undisputed possession of the title and property. I remembered Lord Heatherly's remarks with regard to the responsibilities of my position, and I considered well what they were. He acknowledged that he had reaped but poor enjoyment from his wealth. "That also may be my case," I said to myself; "but one thing I will do, I will pray for guidance from above, and will endeavour to fulfil to the best of my power the responsibilities cast on me." My uncle had an old friend, a clever and honest lawyer, whose services I immediately engaged; and with his aid, and that of the steward of the estate, I set to work to ascertain what incumbrances existed, and what was most required to be done on the property. The cottages of the poor tenants were in a sadly dilapidated state. My first care was to have a number built in a style best suited to their wants, with four or more rooms in each, and with various conveniences for their comfort. They were well drained, and had an ample supply of good water. For their spiritual wants I engaged an experienced missionary, who might constantly go among them; and while he preached the glad tidings of salvation, might ascertain who were sick or suffering, and report to me accordingly, that I might relieve them.
Among my first guests was Oliver Farwell. He took an eager interest in what was going forward, and greatly assisted the missionary in his labours. I asked Oliver what profession he purposed following, whether he wished again to go to sea.
"I should probably have done so," he answered; "but Mr Hooker has proposed that I should go to college, and my tastes certainly lead me to adopt one of the learned professions. I delight in study, and should like to choose the one by which I might the most benefit my fellow-creatures. Had I my free choice, I should wish to become a minister of the gospel, for I am sure to no more honourable or important calling can man devote the energies and talents with which his Maker has endowed him."
"I am thankful to hear that, Oliver," I answered. "You and I have been like brothers so long, that you must allow me to treat you as a younger brother, and bear your college expenses. I have, too, I understand, two livings in my gift, the incumbents of which are at present old men, and I gladly promise to present you to the first which becomes vacant, should you by that time have been ordained."
"I will tell Mr Hooker of your kind intentions," he answered; "and indeed, Lord Heatherly, I am truly grateful to you for them."
It sounded very odd to hear Oliver calling me Lord Heatherly. "Call me Walter, as before, my dear Oliver," I said. "You and I must always be Oliver and Walter to each other."
As soon as a number of decent cottages had been put up, I offered them to the tenants at the same rents that they had paid for the ruinous ones, which I then had pulled down, as I found they were utterly unfit to be repaired. On their sites, after the ground had been drained, I erected others; and in the course of two or three years, no one would have recognised the place. Three or four wretched public-houses or beerhouses had existed in the village. I declined renewing the leases of the tenants of these, and got a respectable man to take a new and decent inn, which I had built for the purpose. That part of the parish had been noted for poachers, and the number of other disorderly characters it contained. These either left the place or took to better callings.
One of my earliest undertakings was to have a good school-house erected, with a residence for the master and mistress, in the most central position I could fix on. By giving rewards and encouragements to the pupils, in a short time there was not a child on the property who did not attend school.
I consulted Emily, as also my uncle and Mr Hooker, as to how I could best prove my gratitude to Captain and Mrs Davenport. They managed to place a sum to his credit at his banker's, in a way which prevented him from suspecting from whom it came. Shortly afterwards I found, from the way he spoke of the satisfactory addition to his fortune, he had no idea that I was the donor.
"Our great wish had been to give our dear Grace a finished education," observed Mrs Davenport. "She is already as well informed as most girls of her age, but probably a few accomplishments would be advantageous to her. With our increased income we can now afford to send her to a first-rate school. I have heard of one where the mistress is not only an accomplished lady, but a pious woman, who watches over the most important interests of her pupils, and from the account I have heard from the young ladies under her charge, I feel sure that Grace cannot fail to benefit by spending two or three years with her."
When Emily found that Grace was to go to school, she begged to accompany her. I had too many duties to perform to allow me to go to college, which I should otherwise have done, though already rather old, I fancied, for commencing a university career. I, however, through Mr Hooker, found a first-rate tutor, and during the time my sister and Grace were at school, I read hard every day with him. I found also his advice of great assistance in my efforts to improve the condition of the people committed to my charge.
Captain Davenport had not given up the sea entirely; but after making two or three successful voyages, he so improved his means, that he was able to retire and live on shore, where he obtained a lucrative employment.
He had some time before presented me with Merlin, who soon made himself at home in the house, though he never went far from it, evidently considering it, as the ship had been, under his especial charge. Whenever he heard me narrating our adventures, he pricked up his ears, as if he understood what was said, and wished to corroborate my account. He lived to extreme old age, amiable and faithful to the last.
Emily, at length, having left school, came to reside with me, and preside over my establishment. I should have said that it was far less difficult to manage than in my cousin's time, as I had dismissed several of the footmen and grooms, as well as other useless hangers-on, who, I felt sure, benefited neither themselves nor me, by living lives of idleness. As may be supposed, Emily, who had grown into a beautiful young woman, had no want of admirers; but, to my surprise, she refused several excellent offers in succession.
"Why should I leave your house, my dear brother?" she answered, when one day I gently expostulated with her on the subject. "When you have a wife of your own, it will be time enough for me to do so; unless she wishes me to remain."
Soon after this, Oliver Farwell, who had generally spent his vacation with me, was ordained, and the incumbent of the chief living belonging to the property having died, I presented him to it, and he commenced a career of sympathising care over the flock committed to him, which soon endeared him to them, while he gained the love and respect of people of all denominations in the parish.
"It is a long time since the Davenports paid us a visit," I said to Emily one day. "Will you write and invite them? I am sure that you will be glad to have your old friend Grace with you."
I had not seen Grace for a long time, and I somehow or other always thought of her as the little girl who had been Emily's friend, and the daughter of our kind protector during our adventures in the Eastern Archipelago. I could scarcely believe my eyes when an elegant and refined young lady stepped out of the carriage which brought Captain and Mrs Davenport to my house. I had never thought of marrying; indeed, I had not been attracted by any of the young ladies in my immediate neighbourhood. When I saw Grace, however, and found her sweet, and amiable, and well-instructed, and refined, and right-minded, possessed indeed of all the qualities which should adorn a woman, new thoughts and feelings took possession of me, and I became convinced that no lady in the world was more calculated to add to my happiness than she was. Still, I could not tell how her own feelings might be engaged. Perhaps Emily saw how things were going on, for one day she said to me--
"I do not think you need be afraid, Walter; and if you ask her, I shall be very much surprised if she refuses you."
Thereon, before many hours had passed away, I spoke to Grace, and found that there was every prospect of all my hopes of happiness being realised.
"And, Emily," I said to her the next day, "will you confide to me the reason why you have refused so many good offers of marriage? I do not wish to get rid of you, and I am very certain that you would add greatly to Grace's happiness if you remain here."
"In that case," she answered, "I think it will be my duty, as well as pleasure, to remain your guest."
"That is not a categorical answer," I remarked. "Come, Emily, tell me, is there no one for whom you have more regard than for those unhappy gentlemen whom you refused?" I saw a gentle blush rise to her cheek. "Well," I said, "I shall ask Oliver Farwell to come and stay here. He keeps away far more than there is any necessity for, as he can easily ride across the park to his vicarage, and equally well attend to his duties as he can when residing there."
"If Mr Farwell keeps away, he has probably good reason for doing so," answered Emily; "though, of course, you are welcome to ask him to come over here, if you like to do so. I greatly respect him, and I am sure whatever he does is from a right motive."
The following day I rode over to the vicarage, and pressed Oliver to come and stay with us, and help to entertain Captain and Mrs Davenport. I saw he hesitated somewhat. Though he congratulated me sincerely on my prospect of marriage, he uttered an involuntary sigh as he ceased speaking. "I hope, my dear Oliver, that you may enjoy the same happiness yourself," I said. "I am very certain that the usefulness of a clergyman is greatly increased by the assistance of a suitable wife-- one who will sympathise with him in his unavoidable trials and disappointments, and who will attend to many of the cases of distress which he may find it difficult to manage." He looked grave, and then I thought he gave an inquiring glance up at my face. "Yes, Oliver," I said; "and I am sure if you can find a woman possessed of the qualities you desire, and her heart is disengaged, she is not likely to refuse to share your fortunes."
Before I left, Oliver had promised to come over that day to the hall. Whatever Emily had intended to do, somehow or other before long Oliver found out that, should he make her an offer, she was not likely to refuse him.
The two marriages took place on the same day, and among those who were present were Dick Tarbox, Roger Trew, Potto Jumbo, and our old friend Macco--Merlin wearing a huge favour on this occasion. Macco, indeed, was installed soon afterwards as a butler at the vicarage; while Potto Jumbo became under-cook in my establishment, and soon, by his intelligence and attention, rose to be head-cook. Dick Tarbox and Roger Trew promised, when they gave up the sea, to come and settle down on my estate, and I pointed out the site where I would build two cottages for their accommodation.
My friends and I had gone through many trials and dangers together, and I believe we had all learned an important lesson from them,--to put implicit trust in a merciful God who watches over his creatures, who allows not a sparrow to fall to the ground unknown to him, who desires the happiness of all, and who has made the way plain and simple, having given us the most minute directions by which that happiness may be obtained.
[THE END]
William H. G. Kingston's Novel: In the Eastern Seas
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