FOR OUR BOYS & GIRLS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 276, 22 November 1890, Page 3 (Supplement)

FOR OUR BOYS & GIRLS.

EDITED BY

MRS FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

[All Rights Reserved.]

Some Hot Bails,

A STORY ABOUT SOME BRAVE EOYS,

By Katherink B. Foot, Contributor to 'Youth's Companion,' ebc,

It was bright and fair that thirtieth day of May, 1814, in lovely Newport—never more lovely than at that season and in that long ago time when ib was a quiet) rural town, with its lanes and quiet roads full of wild luxuriance of the leaf and blossom of the early summer. A lot of boys were playing on the green about the old stone mill -when eeddenly one stopped in the very act of throwing a hall to one of the others, and said, ' Wfaab'e that ?' And he turned his head quickly toward the beach road and lifted his hand with a gesture for silence. Every boy stopped yelling , , and a doad silence reigned for two seconds, when John Shaw, the boy who had first spoken, said: ' There, there.' Hoav it ? There's a ship's gun. Come on, boys! , and every one of them tore down the beach road as fast as his legs would carry him, and that was very fa&b. As they ran, others ran also—men and women—and presently a man on horseback galloped by them, and the men and boys shouted, 'It's tho Commodore—it's Perry ! There's a fight!' and they gave a wild hurrah as well as they could, when thoy wore using all tho breath they had, and kept on running until thoy reached the turn, where the beach and harbour lay bofore them. Commodore Ferry checked his horse a moment, and then turned and galloped back the way he had como, shouting to someone, ' I'm coming back.' There were two vessels in sight, one was evidently in distress and tho other as evidently pursuing. ' It's a British vessel—it's a brig—shos trying to capture the other one? What's her name? Where's she from? Is the one she's after one of our vessels ? Hang the old red-coats !' were a few of the exclamations. A dignified old gentleman jusb then drove up in his sulky and took up a spyglass and got out that he might use ib to hotter advantage. • It's—it's—let me see—' he muttered, as the others crowded aboub ; ' I can't see the name quite distinctly, bub she's a foreigner. Ha ! shea gone ashore ! That's a British brig beyond, I know by her looks—confound her, they're lowering boats !' Every one ran to the beach, and ib was then plain that the foreign vessel was ashore, and the boats from the other ship were pulling towards her. The vessels flew pignals'of distross and tho people on shore fairly howled with rage, to see, as they thought, the vossel taken by the enemy before their very eyes, while they were helpless. But presently a great shout came and Perry, followed by a party of seamen—from tho flotilla anchored on the other side of the island—and dragging a six-pounder, came hurrying down to the beach. The wheels aank deep into the eand, bub scores of hands grasped at the ropes, and strong and willing arms pushed and pulled, and presently the gun tvae in position and Commodore Perry sighted and fired it. 'Ha !' ho exclaimed, ' that was near,' as the smoke cleared, for the two boats sent off from the British brig were evidently alarmed, and had stopped rowing. 'We'll stop them yet, my boys,' cried Perry, in hia clear, ringing voice, ' I can always trust my Newport boys.' And the crowd cheered and cried, ' Yes, yes, you can trusb the Newport boys !' A few more shots were fired, and finally the boats turned and went back to their ship. By this time several of the officers of the flotilla had reached the beach, and John Shaw, who was standing near Commodore Perry, heard him say to one of them, ' This isn't the last of it, for the poor brig is stranded—we want to try to got her off.' < What is the British brig ?' •I think it's the Nimrod,' said the Commodore ; ' ehe's been cruising in these waters, I learned yesterday, on the lookout for any vessel trying to get into the bar- ' She is standing off,' said the officer, and John looked and saw thab she waa. He did not hear the Commodore's answer, and presently be galloped away, after giving some directions to his men. After two hours the British ship had sailed out of sight, and many men in boats rowed out to try to help get the brig off. Bub it was oi no use—the tide was falling fast and they knew they must wait for the flood tide before there was any possibility of getting her off. She proved to be a Swedish brig wilh some name that no Yankee tongue could manage, probably as no record was kept of it. Men watched on the beach all day. to help if needed, and men from the flotilla were sent on board, bub flood tide came and the vessel did not budge an_ inch. Again the tide went oufc, and in the early morning the enemy's brig came in sight again and etood in for the harJoiin Shaw could hardly be persuaded to go to bed that nighty and was on the beach again at the very earliest streak of dawn. He ran up to one of the seamen, whom he knew, and said ; ' Isn't tho Britisher standing in ? «She is that—and fast, too, and she'llknock the Swede to pieces if she ain'b stopped, too." Ju3t then Commodore Perry came riding down and saw John and beckoned to him. •John,' he said, 'you run and tell your father to call oub the militia and tell him to brin? the two twelve-pounders and plenty of shot. Hurry up, now—you understand '!' ' Yes, 3ir,' said John, and he took off his cap, 'I'll doit, sir,'and he was oft'like a deer. He burst into the old house opposite the mill like a cannon ball himself. ' Father father !' he shouted, ' the Commodore sent me to tell you to call oub the militia and to bring tho twelve-pounders and plenty of shob.' •What?' said Mr Shaw, as he jumped out of bed, only half awake, ' did the Commodore nay thab ?' ' Yes, he did, and he told me to hurry, too—and the British brig is standing in fast.' ' Je-ru-aalem !' said Mr Shaw, captain of the militia—and that meant a greab deal. ' If the Commodore said hurry, there's need of it.' He hurried so much that in half an hour the company of militia—very much mixed as to uniform, it must be confessed —were on the beach with their two twelvepounders. . ' I thought so !' cried the Commodore, when a puff of smoke came from the side of the Nimrod, ' that hit, too. . And he sighted one of the guns and fired, but the British vessel was oub of range, and the

shob fell short. The officers of the Nimrod saw that the guns were of no use, and fired rapidly, nob only ab bhe disabled vessel, bub ab bhe crowd ; ,on shore. Bub the range waa a long one, and when the shot struck the beach their force was spent, and the boys, who had collected in a large number—for every boy in town was there —ran to catch the shob as they struck. John ran with the rest and was lucky enough to catch two balls, but one was just spent and camo down on his shoulder with such force that he was knocked over. He and another boy, who was only 11 years old, and who with John helped bhe men to servo with the guns, caught more balls than any one else. The Nimrod fired faster and faster with telling effect, and ab lasb evory one on the beach gave a great groan, for the boats of the Swedish vessel were lowered and the crew and the men from bhe flotilla jumped in, and lifted others in, and pushed off, and ab the very same moment boats were lowered from tho Nimrod and were pulled toward the disabled vessel, while the ship's guns fired over their heads. The crew and the seamen reached tho beach. They broughb with them several men who wero wounded, and they were quickly carried up into the town, and one of the seamen said sadly: 'We letb one of our mess dead on the deck.' The boats from the Nimrod reached tho ship about the same time that the crew got ashore, and their men jumped on board . bub Perry's twelve-pounders were ablo to carry as far as the stranded vessel and he openod fire upon ib, and presently the men from the Nimrod pushed off. and almost instantly a great tongue of name burst up from the dock of the ship. The captain stood an tho beach, stamping with rago and grief, and Commodore Parry went up and spoke to him ; but ho was so wild with his various emotions that he did not soem to understand him, but tho Commodore pointed toward tho northeast and he turned and looked and so did all tho people. John locked, too, and in another moment came a great cry in which he heard his own voice, of ' The gunboats !' Commodore Perry had senb round two gunbonte through the ' Stone Bridge,' and for some reason John never knew they wero behind time. They began to fire on the Nimrod as soon as they wore in sight of her, and soon weighed anchor and stood out to sea. In the meantimo the seamen and crew and many of the men from Nowporb went and pub oub the fire on tho brig, and as soon as bho gunboate came back— which was very soon, as they only wished to drive the Nimrod away—all hands sot to word to geb the vessel off and get her into the harbour, and ab the nexb floodtide she floated and was brought up to the wharf. The boys who had captured the balls lugged them homo with triumph, and for years after they were shown to their children and grandchildren ob war trophies. The little boy who had shown such bravery in catching the balls was sent for, a few days after, by Commodore Perry, and he asked him if he would like to be a midshipman, and at ho was very anxious to be one and hie family wero willing, Commodoro Perry gave him an appointment. He died quite young of yellow fever in some foreign port. In after years no atory of old time co delighted the children of this generation as the story of ' hob balls' on Newport Beach, and for many years a cannon ball lay on either side of an oldfashioned chimney just within the jambs, and littlo feet pushed them about and littlo people wished that they, too, hnd lived in such delightful times. But tho whitehaired old man would say : ' Theso aro bettor times, when we are all at peuce.' And bo say we all of us.