The Nobelist. A TON OF GOLD! OR, THE NARRATIVE OF EDWARD CREWE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2093, 18 September 1875, Page 4

The Nobelist. A TON OF GOLD! OR, THE NARRATIVE OF EDWARD CREWE.

By W. M. B.

A Tale of Local Interest.

MY PREFACE.

In the' course of an eventful and active life, durinp a long residence at the Antipodes, it had often been my lot or necessity to turn my hand to very many occupations and callings (I can assure my readers that a list thereof would nearly equal the übiquitous handicraftism of a Jonathan-of-all-trades); and since my return to England, finding myself with " nothing to do," I determined to add that of an author to the number. I have been much encouraged thereto, by seeing the thousands upon thousands of uasaleable and 'unreadable volumes cumbering the shelves of our great circulating libraries ; and being animated by the laudable ambition of knowing that' The Narrative of Mr Edward Crewe ' would be carried forth on loan .by dainty ladies issuing from the above mentioned repositories of books, the rest appeared easy. Like Sinbad, my hero should tell the story of his many voyages, and, also after the manner of that veracious traveller, he should not relate all his adventures at one sitting.

Mr Edward Crewe was at the Antipodes eighteen years, and then in— — ah ! well, I shall begin with New Zealand, and if my readers want to hear of other lands where he made a home, why they must say so. One word more. Those running j down the range of life may not see any fun \ in half-savage life, or care to listen to the adventures of one who was himself half a savage. The autocrats of the opinions of the future (the rising generation) will possibly be more indulgent: to them I dedicate the following pages. i W.M. B. | Yoek, April 1874

Chapter T. Travellers ne'er did lie, ■ •. • Though fools at home condemn them." Tub Tbmpest That most egotistical old Florentine, Benvenuto Cellini, commences his admirable autobiography by observing that a man at forty and thereabouts, if he has seen anything remarkable in his voyage through life, would then be most fitted to relate his experiences, being, in fact, neither too old Dor yet too young. Without for one moment comparing myself in any way with that illustrious artist, I think I may venture to take the above "leaf out of his book." I wish, before I get fairly started, to impress upon my reader the perfect veracity of this my narration ; for, to my mind, half the .pleasure to be got out of a boo V—a novel, or even a fairy tale—is to believe every word of it if you can. Certainly, in these times it is difficult to know what truth is, more so, I fancy that when Pilate asked what it was, for the thousand and one: things that our ancestors thought to be incontrovertible are now in the nineteenth century considered to be mere moonshine.

I like to be exact as to matters of detail at the beginning of my story, and also have a kind of prejudice in favour of birthdays, easy to remember, as, for example, May 7th, which is a date easily borne in mind. Notice the designation of the month — M-a-y — only a monosyllable. You will perceive also that there is but one numeral to mark the day, namely, 7 ! a number famous. Why, it would not take so very clever a fellow to write a book upon the'fortunate symbol, whereas some persons' birthdays are notoriously ha^d to renvmber. They may not, I will admit, forget their own natal day, but who of all their dear relations, barring their mother, would ever have a little present ready as the day came round. On this subject John Chinaman is far in advance of Europeans. Taking care to avail themselves of lucky days on their way through life, and even after death, their friends will keep the body above ground until a propitious day turns up. It was my fortune tp.be born with a pedigree, that is, the " Crewes" could trace their ancestry back through, many generations of esquires who "had; rusted out their quiet lives on a certain estate not far from York, near enough indeed to that ancient city to hear the Minster clock strike the hour on a very still day. About two hundred years since, however, one of the' family was knighted for great seWice to the state, and was member of Parliament for York. In his day the " Habeas Corpus" and many other acts of importance were passed, and it is recorded of him that, as an advanced and liberal thinker, he had much to say from ,his place in Parliament on the great subjects of those times. I am a believer in "birth" and have a proper pride in having sprung, myself, from a goo.d old stock. In my opinion, to be well born in the.-c bur times is something so remarkable, when the greater portion of gentlemen have no knowledge of who was their great-grandfather, that it is right to regard " blood "for its rarity with all the respect which is due to something which can- ot be bought. My brothers and myself, as we became old enough"} were sent first to a private school and afterwards to Rugby. At the latter seat ot learning we acquired—first, truthfulness, ever scorning to tell a lie ; secondly, the ways of gentlemen; and lastly, a skilful acquaintance with the noble games of cricket and football Some boys learned their lessons, but I rarely'did so, and suffered frequently in consequence. I have never thought my school days the happiest portion of my life, as many people assert theirs were. The constant dread of being "floored" and the after disagreeable results of '• lines " to write or learn, kept me always in an unenviable state of mind ; even ■when at cricket the phantom of the next day's lessons would be "an inseparable." i

I was like those unfortunates afflicted with a hopeless malady, who never, even in their most hilarious moments, forget its fatal presence.

When at home for tl c holidays we, in winter, followed the hounds on our ponies when the " meet was near, or were allowed the gun when we had attained fifteen years of, age, or often when;there was a frost had some splendid skating on the "Ings."

The summer holidays were not amiss, but did not come up to Cbristmas time. We were often carpentering and turning on a lathe there was at home, spoiling much timber and wasting many pounds' weight of nails. My second brother had fitted up a miniature lathe in his study atßugby. This I inherited when he left the school. No other boy possessed, or perhaps cared to possess, such a treasure, oui of the three or four hundred who were there in my time. My father had often told me that I must" be something," that I should have to earn my own living, but I was never put into the way of doing so. There was now and then a little talk on this subject in the old Hall, when my mother would ask me what I would wish to be, and Law, Physic, and Divinity would be mentioned, as also the Army and Navy. They never seemed to think that there was any other occupation fit for a gentleman excepting the above. .

After leaving Hugby I was sent to a private tutor, a married clergyman in a country -village. Both Mr and Mrs Alban were estimable people, and with them I lived on the best of terms for a year and a half. Yet, although the poor gentleman tried his best, I do not remember that I learnt very much whilst under his roof, and he must have thought me, rather a failure, as in truth I was. My teachers might have seen that my forte did not lie in acquiring Greek or Latin ; it always appeared to me that they would not or could not impart any other knowledge to "us boys," although many of us wished to hear of other matters.

I understand that they are beginning, now-a-days at our public schools, to see the error of wasting so much time in driving' the " humanities " into into unwilling youth, and now teach sciences unknown or ignored by* the doctors of my day. Whilst residing with Mr Alban I fell in love, and, as usual with the very young in such casesj the object of" my affections was several years my senior. However, nothing came of this affaire dn ccsur, for before long the young lady was married to some one older, whom she preferred, I suppose, to her more youthful lover. You must not be curious, dear young ladies, to hear more of this juvenile episode; really, I cannot, must not add any particulars to the above bare statement.

After some considerable thought on the subject as to what profession I should choose, I came to the conclusion that " Physic," was the very thing. Yes, I would go to Edinburgh and study. Certainly I had an inward monitor that told me I should never mate a good surgeon, lacking that kind of nerve that can look upon wounds and .suffering without much disquietude. One morning a cottager, not far from the Eectory, whilst cutting a cabbage with a penknife, not only accomplished his purpose but stuck the blade deep into the calf of his leg, serving the " posterior tibial" artery. Of course he rushed to his house, bleeding like a pig all the way, and would have infallibly met his death but for the presence of mind displayed by the village blacksmith, who quietly covered the hole in the poor fellow's leg with his thumb. A doctor was soon procured who treated bis patient " secundum artem," pouring brandy down the man's throat and otherwise mending his leg.

Some two or three hours after the event I accompanied the rector to the invalid's cottage. We saw it all'—the cabbage' stalk, the track of blood along the path, on the steps up into the house, and spatterings and stains upon the floor. The sight made me so sick and* queer I nearly fainted, and from that day I gave up all idea of becoming a doctor. A friend of mine in this village, the carpenter, an exceedingly clever man at his trade, could make anything he pleased out of a piece of wood. Being a pretty constant visitor at his shop, I perfected myself in the art of " how to set about the construction" of many kinds of work that he turned out.

In making anything in wood, iron, or what not, much depends upon knowing the most approved methods used in its construction, and even if the workmanship is inferior, the chances are that the article will be serviceable if " set out" and put together in the usual manner. It was thought at home upon my leaving my tutor, that my education was complete, the only difficulty now lay in the choice of a profession ; however, no new light coming in upon us on that subject, and nothing turning up after two or three months, at the old Hall, I was sent into the EastLothians, near Edinburgh, to a large and skilful farmer there, who took pupils in, to teach them agriculture. My mother, always more sangaine than my father, would say, "What a nice thing it would be for Edward if lie could only get the appointment of agent to some nobleman," and then this knowledge of agriculture I was to acquire from the Scotch would come in so haudy, and she would always wind up by saying, that " Stewards to the great nobility were certainlygentlemen." Returning from'the Eothians after more, than a year's residence at the farm above mentioned, aDd still nothing turning up, I; found' myself again at the old Halldoing nothing towards making a startin life—farming was- evidently not my forte. r .' „

Amongst other friends and neighbours' of my father and mother, there was a certain family, living some four miles from the Hall, a notable member of which was a half-pay military gentleman, and at his door the blame lies, if blame there be,fof approving my half-formed desire to emigrate. It is needless to relate why I was a frequent caller at this house, often staying to theiv early dinner, and afterwards helping the major to. discuss part of a bottle of port. ■:" •. . '

I fancy I can see the little dining room •—the table iv the centre, and almost filling the apartment, only allowing space at one end for the waiting-maid to pass. But the ladies have retired, and my military friend is talking about a profession ; he speaks much in favour of the colonies, mentioning friends of his who had gone out to Canada, and other notabilities of his acquaintance residing in London, from whom he could easily pro cure letters of introduction, for me to governors, bishops, commanders of forces, and other great guns, so that upon my arriving at the scat of government, in New Zealand (I had pitched upon thai colouy

in preference to Canada, the Cape, or Australia), I should on presenting my letters to the governor immediately " have the run "of the Government House. Truly, I never believed in any such a halcyon consummation, but was only too glad lo urge my parents to let me go a voyage to the Antipodes. Fully six months elapsed after this, to me eventful conversation with the major, before I could persuade my father and mother to allow me to try my fortune so very far from Old England. During this interval I devoted myself to studying geography, and reading all the books I could borrow from our neigbours, or select from the circulating library, especially those relating to travels. My father prophesied all sorts of mischances as likely to happen, and I cannot remember that any one gave me the least encouragement or information except an uncle, who had been to India in his youth, whose only advice was to swing a cot in my cabin, which I did not follow, the »aid cabin being too small for such a luxury and my friend the major who procured me some half-dozen letters to the great people at Auckland, which letters by the way were worse than useless, as 1 soon found out; one or two I'still possess, never having presented them, being so hurt with the result produced by the other four.

I was just twenty years three months and two days old when I sailed away from Gravesend, in the barque Sir Edward Pa</6t, for Auckland, on the morning of the 19th of August, 1850. An old diary which I have preserved, tells me how that, day by day, we sailed over so many knots, and names the latitude and longitude as, week after week, we slowly altered our position on the chart. Truly, the old " Tea Waggon," fotsuch she had been in her youth, was a dull sailer; we were 128 days from land to land, and met with fair, though light winds, and propitious weather the greater part of the way. _ In those times clirper ships were only just coming into fashion, partly, I fancy, to meet the demand for a quick passage round Cape Horn to California. A clipper is more pleasant to look at than to go a voyage in ; spars, ropes, and canvas, had need to be the very best and strongest. The deck in heavy weather, and indeed in that which is not bo very heavj' either, is domed over at times by a world of spray, shot from the top of a sea that has just curled at the wrong moment; under foot the water swills from side to side with every roll—no ! defend me from a long voyage in a clipper, at all events, one that is matched against time, whose course is just one continual " carry on." Why ! I knew an instance in which the captain of such a ship racing from China, was so worn out after keeping the deck many consecutive days and nights, without proper rest; that mind and body being overstrung, strong man as he was, he just died nearly at the end of his voyage, in the channel off Beachy Head.

It was a long time to be at sea, and certainly a trifle dull to some of the passengers, who have nothing to do but eat and sleep, and sleep and eat again. When nature would allow of it, some of us, however, managed better, and found the time to pass almost quickly, with the aid of books and lessons in navigation. Moreover two or three of us learnt from an expert taxidermist how to skin a bird and set him up scientifically, an accomplishment tbat. afterwards enabled me to cure, and send home quite a museum of feathered creatures.

On board ship there is always something going on that tends to break the monotony, more than a stranger to^ se^voyaging would suppose. Ten days' sail ironi the Land's End and not very far from the island of Maderia, we fell in with north-east trade-winds, and for fifteen days after that they slowly and gently carried us on to latitude Bdeg. 42min., longitude 20deg. 26min. 30sec. west, when we lost them. What a shame it is that land is wanting in so beautiful and genial a climate, just the very place to live in ! Where, oh, Plato! was the island of Atlantis anchored in your time ? Was it anywhere hereaways, or over near the American coast, where the famous gulf weed (Sargasso) performs its ceasless and extended gyrations ? Some one has suggested that this weed with its little crustacean inhabitants and its nest-building fish are the sole survivors of a submerged continent or large island. I think he must have been an Irishman. We met with many ships, and was it not" jolly " when near enough to " speak " one. Then our captain bellows out, " What ship is that ? " and their captain, who has not so strong a voice as our, yells out something that we make out to mean, " The Jenny Lind." Then we, that is our captain, tells them we are so many days out; and. afterwards at dinner we compliment our captain on his good lungs, which commendation he receives half modestly, half jokingly, remarking, with a passing wink at the first mate, that he at most times can " make himself heard." To he continued.