CHAPTER IV.

ON THE ATLANTIC.

The Steerage.--Pilot Boats.--Tommy meets Rough Weather.--His Letter and Postscript.--Queer Passengers.--Games and Story-telling.--Story of Joan of Arc.--Signalling at Sea.--Land!

An ocean steamer! Though a speck upon the waters, what a world it seems! What symmetry, what strength, what a triumph of human skill! What a cheerful sense of security one feels as one looks upon the oak and the iron, and hears the wind whistle through the motionless forest of cordage! There society in all its grades is seen, and human nature in all its phases.

The cool upper deck of the steamer was more inviting to our tourists than the hot streets and hotels of New York, and early in the afternoon they met on the North River Pier, and went on board of their ocean home. First, they examined the elegant saloons, then their snug state-rooms, and at last the steerage apartment, where George and Leander were to have their quarters.

The steerage was not a wholly uninviting apartment. It was a plain cabin, amidships, well lighted and ventilated, and very clean. A stanch-looking pair of stairs led down to it. On each side were bunks in little rooms; those on the right hand for women, and on the left for men. These were lighted and aired by port-holes. Each passenger provided his own bedding and eating utensils.

"I like this," said Tommy Toby to the steward. "Are the passengers here more likely to be sick than in the first cabin?"

"No," said the steward. "This is the steadiest part of the ship."

"Then what is the difference between the cabin and the steerage?"

"Well, the difference is in the folks, and the furniture, and the way you eat your victuals."

The steerage passengers were allowed the freedom of the decks, but not of the grand saloons. Master Lewis and the boys seated themselves in a group on the upper deck, when they had well visited the different parts of the ship.

Early in the evening, the immense ship moved slowly and steadily away from the sultry wharves into the calm sea and cool air. The great city with its gleaming spires seemed sinking in the sea, and the hills of Neversink to be burying themselves in the shadows.

Pilot boats several times crossed the track of the steamer, with their numbers conspicuously painted on their sails.

"Why does a captain, who navigates a ship across the ocean," asked Frank of Master Lewis, "need the assistance of pilots and pilot-boats when he is in sight of land?"

"It is because the harbor is more dangerous than the open ocean, and pilots make these dangers the study of their lives.

"See yonder pilot-boat skimming with the grace of a sea-bird along the sea. It has the stanchness of a ship built for the longest voyages. It is doubtless made of the best oak, is sheathed with the best copper, and may have cost twenty thousand dollars."

"The life of a pilot must be an adventurous one," said Frank, "and there must be also much pleasure in it."

"It requires special education and hard training to become a pilot. It is expected that the candidate for the position shall have been an apprentice four years, during which he shall have performed all the duties of a common sailor, even to the washing of the decks and the tarring of the rigging. This is his college life. If he is an apt student, he then obtains a certificate of qualification from a board of commissioners by whom he has been rigidly examined.

"The pilot-boats themselves are exposed to great dangers in foggy weather. A calm comes on, and they cannot move. In this situation, they are liable to be struck by one of the great iron vessels or ocean steamers. During the last twenty-five years, some thirty pilot-boats have been lost on this coast."

The night was beautiful, calm, cool, starry. In the morning, the sun rose red from the sea. Land had disappeared. The boys all met on the deck, in fine health and spirits.

Towards evening, the sea grew rough, and there were premonitions of sea-sickness among the passengers. Tommy Toby, in an amusing letter which he wrote to his parents, gave a stereoscopic pen-picture of the condition of our travellers at this period of the voyage. He afterwards added a characteristic postscript. We give Tommy's letter and postscript entire:--

My Dear Parents:

If I can only get safely back to Boston, I will never start on a voyage again.

I knew it would be so. I have been seasick.

The first night and day we had very pleasant weather and a light sea.

On the evening of the second day, I was on deck with the boys.

All at once the boat gave a great lurch. Then another. Then another.

"We are getting into rough water," said Master Lewis.

Wyllys Wynn, who is a poet, was repeating some beautiful rhymes, when suddenly he grew white in the face, and said, "And so it goes on for several lines." He meant the poetry. Then he began to wander to and fro in search of the cabin and his state-room.

Frank Gray began to tell a story, but stopped short, and said, "The rest of it is like unto _that_!" He meant the rest of the story. Then he went to the cabin, "making very crooked steerage," one of the deck-hands said.

Ernest Wynn followed him, in the same strange gait.

"The Zigzag Club," said the deck-hand. He was a very sarcastic man.

The ship gave another dreadful lurch, and I began to feel very strange.

I went to my state-room. I felt worse on the way.

The ship seemed to have lost all her steadiness.

I cannot describe the night that followed. The ship creaked, and seemed just about to roll over after every lurch. Sometimes she went up. I was so dizzy, it seemed to me that she went up almost to the moon. Then she came down. She always came down. It seemed to me she must be going down to the bottom of the sea.

In the morning, the steward came.

"It 'as been a 'eavy blow, ruther."

"A heavy blow!" said I. "Did you ever know any thing like it in your life? Do you think we shall ever see land again?"

"Nothin' alarmin'," said the steward.

A dreadful day followed. I did not leave my room. I wished I had never left home. I felt like the Frenchman who said, "I would kees ze land, if I could only see any land to kees."

The next day I was better, only there was a light feeling in my head.

I went up on deck. The sun was shining. The wind blew, but the air was very refreshing.

This is the fourth day out. I have been able to eat to-day. I am feeling very hungry.

I find that all the boys have been obliged to keep their rooms, except George Howe, who is in the steerage.

How fearful I am we shall have another night like _that_! How glad I shall be to see land again! The land is the place, after all. I wish I were sure we would have good weather, when we return.

Your thoughtful son,

Thomas Toby.

P. S. Three days after. I am well now. I never felt so bright and happy in my life. The steward says that people are seldom sick twice during the same voyage. An ocean trip is just the thing, after all.

There were a few rather odd characters among the passengers: among them a portly, self-satisfied Englishman, returning from a tour of the States, with an increased respect for fine old English society; a glib-tongued Frenchman, who was delighted with "Ze States,--deelightéd!" and whose talk was like a row of exclamation points; and a sentimental Italian fiddler, in very poor dress, going back to the beauties of Naples and the dreamy airs and skies of "Etalee."

Tommy Toby seemed to gravitate towards these people, when his sea-sickness was over.

"I likes zis American poy," said the Frenchman. "Intelegent! Has ze activitee; agilitee; very great prom-ese!"

"Our country must be very different from yours," said Tommy, one day.

"Veery, veery different indeed! Wonderful countree,--delightful! What grand rivers! what waterfalls,--Niag-e-ra! what lakes! Room for all ze world! Hospitalitee for all ze nations!"

"The Frenchman says our country is the most wonderful in all the world," said Tommy to the portly Englishman.

The latter looked very solemn; seemed about to speak, then made a long pause as though the opinion he was about to utter was a very weighty one.

"Poverty to riches, riches to poverty; now up, now down, but the animating principle always the same,--riches, riches. Wonderful people! progress! each one living to outdo the other. To-day an alderman, to-morrow in the penitentiary; to-day my Lady of Lynne, to-morrow John o' the Scales's wife!"

Tommy had an idea of what his lugubrious acquaintance meant to say, though the latter's wisdom was rather above his intellectual stature.

"We have no castles in America," said Tommy.

"Castles! No; an American family could not keep a castle: it would be sold in five years for a mill."

Tommy's face was always very bright after talking with the Frenchman, but lengthened out during the interview with his English friend. He usually retired discomforted from the latter, to seek comfort in the steerage from the lively Italian's fiddle.

* * * * *

There was a bright girl on board, named Agnes,--the daughter of a Boston gentleman, who was going abroad for a year. She was a social miss; witty, yet polite; speaking to every one freely, without being intrusive.

On the evening of the sixth day, nearly all the passengers were in the saloon. Agnes was asked to sing. She winningly said,--

"I will do my best, if agreeable to all." She asked to be excused a moment, and presently returned with a broad-rimmed hat and a basket, and wandering carelessly up and down the saloon sang "The Beggar Girl."

"Over the mountain, and over the moor, Hungry and barefoot I wander forlorn. My father is dead and my mother is poor, And she grieves for the days that will never return.

Pity, kind gentlefolk, Friends of humanity, Keen blows the blast and night's coming on; O give me some food For my mother, for charity; Give me food for my mother, and I will be gone."

Agnes presented her basket to one and another of the passengers, as if to solicit contributions as the song went on. All were pleased with the diversion, and it was proposed to have some other amusements during the evening.

Agnes arranged some impromptu charades: one on _Ingratiate_ (in grey she ate); another on _Cowhiding_ (cow hiding, in which she personated a milk-maid calling "Co boss, co boss!" and afterwards the same maid cowhiding a boy for hiding her cow). Agnes selected Tommy Toby to assist her in this last amusing tableau.

Agnes next appeared as a mind-reader. Before this last rôle, however, she was observed having a confidential chat with Tommy Toby.

"Now," said she, "if any of you are interested in clairvoyance, I shall be pleased to give an exhibition of the science. You may not know I am a mind-reader."

"She probably has been reading Master Toby's mind already," said her father, smilingly looking over his paper.

"Oh, father!"

"If each of you will write a word on a slip of paper, I will have the slips collected and put on my forehead; and I will take them from my forehead one by one, but before I take each one down, I will tell what is written upon it."

All wrote some word.

"Will some one collect the slips?" she asked.

"I will," said her father.

"I think as Thomas Toby is _spry_, I shall have to ask him to do me the favor."

"How I wish I were _spry_!" said her father.

The slips were collected. Tommy put them all on her forehead. She put up her fingers and held them there, and Tommy took a seat with his friends.

Agnes seemed in reverie. Then she said emphatically,--

"On the first slip is written 'Boston!' Who wrote that?"

"I," said Tommy Toby.

"Then it is correct?"

"Yes."

She took the slip from her forehead and laid it in her lap, saying as she did so,--

"It is not written very plainly, either."

So one by one she read all the slips. Each passenger acknowledged the writing of each announced word, after it had been correctly given by Agnes. First, the correct readings awakened wonder, then positive excitement. The experiment was repeated at the request of all, with the same wonderful result.

The diversion was reproduced on the following evening, and even Master Lewis failed to see how the girl read the slips. It was noticed, however, that Tommy Toby always collected the slips, and acknowledged writing the first word. Agnes also examined each slip closely as she took it down, as if to verify the results of her very penetrating mind.

The secret of the trick was that Tommy always placed what he had written at the bottom of the slips, or last; but he acknowledged to have written what was taken from the forehead first. This gave Agnes the opportunity of reading each slip as she laid it in her lap, and of announcing what she read as though it were written on the _next_ slip on her forehead.

One evening, when Master Lewis and the boys were talking of the historical places they expected to visit, Agnes approached pleasantly and said, "I have a conundrum for you."

"What is it?" asked Master Lewis.

"What was Joan of Arc made of?"

The boys were unable to guess.

"Suppose you tell us the story of Joan of Arc, Master Lewis," said Wyllys. "Then, perhaps, we will be able to decide."

"Yes, please," said Agnes. "I should be delighted to hear the story."

"As we expect to visit Rouen, where the Maid of Orleans"--

"I think she was Maid of"--said Tommy Toby. "I will tell you after the story."

Then Master Lewis related the story of the unfortunate shepherd girl.

STORY OF JOAN OF ARC.

"Jeanne d'Arc, known in history as the Maid of Orleans, was born in the pleasant village of Domremi, near the borders of Lorraine. Her parents were peasants, and Jeanne was their fifth child. Her education was very limited, and she spent her early years as a shepherdess.

"Her soul was full of romance and poetic inspiration, and she led a dreamy life among the flocks.

"The neighborhood of Domremi abounded in superstitions. Stories of fairies and demons, beautiful legends of the Virgin, and the mediæval traditions of the saints were the themes of fireside hours, and Jeanne drank deeply into the spirit of these wonderful myths.

"At the age of thirteen, she began to see visions and to dream dreams. She fancied that angel voices whispered in her ear, and that celestial lights flashed before her eyes.

"'At the age of thirteen,' she said, in her defence before the judge who condemned her to death, 'I heard a voice in my father's garden at Domremi, proceeding from the right on the side of the church, accompanied with a great light. At first I was afraid, but presently found that it was the voice of an angel, who has protected me ever since, who has taught me to conduct myself properly, and to frequent the church. It was Saint Michael.'

"She continued to hear strange voices. Her father said,--

"'Heed them not, Jeanne, it is but a fancy.'

"In this state of enthusiasm, she passed some five years among the vine-clad hills of Domremi, her heart estranged from worldly affections, and seeking for loving companionship from the beautiful beings that filled her dreams.

"France, at this period, was rent asunder by civil dissension; the people of the interior acknowledging Henry VI. of England as their rightful sovereign, and those of the remoter provinces, Charles VII. of France. The people of Lorraine adhered to the cause of Charles, and Jeanne became a politician in girlhood, and aspired to chivalrous deeds.

"When eighteen years of age, she fancied that celestial voices told her that she was called to deliver her country from English rule, and to place the young French king upon the throne of his fathers.

"Her father said,--

"'I tell thee, Jeanne, it is a fancy.'

"Leaving her rustic home, the unlettered girl sought an audience of Captain de Baudricourt, who commanded for Charles at Vaucoleurs. In this she was successful, and, although he at first treated her as an idle enthusiast, he was finally so impressed by the recital of her inspirations and visions, that he sent her to Chinon, where Charles held his court, to consult with the king.

"'None in the world,' she said to Baudricourt, 'can recover the kingdom of France, there is no hope but in me.' She added, 'I would far rather be spinning beside my poor mother; but I must do this work, because my Lord wills it.'

"'Who is your lord?' asked the general.

"'The Lord God!'

"'By my faith,' said Baudricourt, 'I will take you to the king.'

"She obtained an interview with Charles, whom she claimed to have recognized in a promiscuous company by a sudden inspiration, accompanied by celestial light. The story of her divine appointment deeply moved the king; and, his cause becoming desperate, he accepted the services of the fair prophetess, clad her in armor, and placed her at the head of an army of ten thousand men.

"There was something in her very appearance that inspired awe. Her mien was noble and commanding; her form was tall and elegant. She controlled her charger with wonderful grace and skill. By her side was a consecrated sword, found buried in the old church of St. Catherine de Fierbois, the existence of which she claimed to have discovered by a special revelation from above; and in her hand she carried a banner emblazoned with angels and consecrated to God.

"The English troops, with the French allies of Henry, were besieging Orleans, a famous old city, and one of the strongholds of Charles. Thither Jeanne led her army. She soon inspired her soldiers with the conviction that she held a commission from on high; and, when they arrived before Orleans, they were wrought up to the highest pitch of enthusiasm.

"Jeanne attacked the English, and in several engagements displayed superior generalship and won brilliant victories. The confidence of the French troops in her now became implicit, and they received her commands as from a messenger of celestial truth.

"The English soldiers, too, were infected by the superstition, and a panic ensued whenever she appeared. Jeanne was at last completely victorious, and, although once severely wounded, raised the siege of Orleans, and entered the city in triumph.

"The French kings for a long period had received their crowns at Rheims. The city was a great distance from Orleans, and the approaches to it were held by the English. Thither mysterious voices directed Jeanne. Charles, yielding to her influence, set out on the long and perilous journey, to be crowned in the ancient fane where his ancestors of the house of Valois had received their diadems.

"The English troops retired, and the cause of Charles received a new impetus wherever the young prophetess and her army appeared. The journey was a continued triumph for Charles, and when he reached Rheims, the fame of his success rekindled the fires of patriotism in every town and province of France.

"'It was a joyous day in Rheims of old,' when the glittering retinue, led by the young king and the peasant child, marched to the thronged cathedral. The coronation services were wonderfully impressive and inconceivably splendid. The holy unction was performed with oil said to have been brought from heaven by a dove, to King Clovis. By the side of the young monarch stood Jeanne in full armor, holding in her hand her consecrated banner. Triumphant music pealed forth, and the plaudits of the people made the old cathedral tremble. When the ceremony was over, Jeanne threw herself at the feet of the king, embraced his knees and wept.

"She felt now that her mission was accomplished. She resolved to return to her home, and to pass her days among the simple peasants of Domremi.

"But fame was too dazzling, and ambition tempted her to new exploits. She was taken prisoner at last by her enemies, the Burgundians, was delivered over to the English, put upon trial as a sorceress, pronounced guilty, and condemned to death.

"She wept over her hard fate. 'I would rather be beheaded than burned,' she said, when she reflected on the manner of her death, which was to be burned at the stake. 'Oh, that this body should be reduced to ashes!'

"She wept for her country.

"'O Rouen, Rouen!' she said, 'is it here that I must die? Here shall be my last resting-place.'

"A huge pile of fuel was made in the ancient market place in Rouen, and the Maid of Orleans was placed upon it; and in the presence of a vast concourse of citizens, soldiers and ecclesiastics, she was burned. Her last words were expressive of inward triumph. The lamentable event occurred on the last day of May, 1431. Her ashes were cast into the Seine, and carried to the sea.

"Joan of Arc was no wilful impostor. She fully believed that she beheld faces of departed saints, and heard the voices of beings from the unseen world. The result of her wonderful career was that Charles ultimately won back to the royal house of Valois the whole kingdom of France.

"An imposing mausoleum in the city of Orleans perpetuates her memory; but her name stands above mortality, independent of marble or bronze. Apart from her character as a visionary, Jeanne was a most noble girl. The French still cherish an enthusiastic attachment for her memory, and a yearly fête is given in honor of her deeds in the City of Orleans."

* * * * *

"I think," said Tommy Toby, "that I can answer Agnes's conundrum. Joan of Arc was Maid (made) of Orleans."

"Right," said Agnes. "What an agreeable company the Zigzag Club is!"

One afternoon the man on the lookout called the attention of those around him to a distant object: it seemed like a mere speck in the horizon. He presently said,--

"It is a ship."

The news spread. Every one came upon deck. Even the cooks in the galley left their pots and kettles.

As she drew near, the British ensign was seen fluttering at the stern. As she drew still nearer, she hoisted five small flags.

Then one of the quartermasters on our own ship brought several small flags and a signal-book from the wheel-house. He opened the book to a page of colored pictures of small flags, five of which corresponded to those raised by the ship in view. Opposite each flag was a figure. The figures combined in order made the number 94,362.

The quartermaster turned to another page, and opposite this number appeared the name and port of the ship.

The ship hoisted another set of flags, which was answered by our own ship.

"She asks to know our reckonings," said the quartermaster.

"Can a ship meeting another ask other questions in this way?" inquired George Howe.

"Oh, yes; two vessels miles apart can carry on a long conversation with each other. Ships have a regular alphabet of signal flags."

"What are signals of distress?" asked George.

"That flag," said the quartermaster, pointing to a picture in the book, "means a fire or a leak. (1)

"This means a want of food. (2)

"And that, aground. (3)

"Here is one that signifies, 'Will you take a letter from me?'" (4)

This dialogue between the two ships was the most pleasing and exciting episode of the voyage, until land began to appear as a dim streak upon the horizon.