JOHN GRAY A REMINISCENCE. (From the Austraiasian)

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 114, 28 January 1873, Page 3

JOHN GRAY A REMINISCENCE. (From the Austraiasian)

Victoria is already beginning to write the history of her past and the saddest chapter w ill be that which tells of those who have prematurely fallen by the way on the road of life, leaving us'who roniaui to count the stages of the journey by the memorial stones of the dead. Aim ' they are becoming nioro thickly clustered on our patli as wo draw near the end, Mid the last one bears the name of the brave and good John Gray— the f imous captain of the famous Great Britain It is twenty years since I first touched his broad palm, en I looked into Ins honest grey eves Perhaps the recollection of some incidents i i Ins 1 f • may be interesting to the readeri of The Australasian, and recall to the thousands who knew him something less painful than the imago left on the mind b\ the awful story of his death. It was a bright afternoon in November, 1852. The grand old »lnp was at anchor off the dumpy lighthouse at Williarastown—long eineo rcp'accd by the lightship. The bay wai tt ]; ve w ith shipping and boats ; for in those days theiv were no pie" at either Saiulridgc or Williamstown, save the miserable little town jetties at each place— as yet railways and telegraphs were not. The passengers o^er sea were bundled nshorc bag and baggage to flounder up to Melbourne as best tliev could o^er Governor Lalrobe's ti-tree road They paid 5s for the privilege of horsing Liardet's coach through the swamps if they preferred to ride Quiet people, »uth "as the present Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, who elected to camp at St Kikla, landed on the bare beach nnd left their pianos there until the genial Moonoy of the Itoj al could spare them a horse and dray to move their traps \ip to the canvm roof-tree of their Australian hem d The cargoes crawled up the slimy Yarra in lighters at the tail of two or three pulling and snorting little steamers, the crews whereof appeared to wash themselves in colza oil and to live on sardines and JDK Z., most probably plundered from the cargoes aforesaid. E\ery few hours the signal would be seen flying at " the point " for the arrival of another vessel, repeated from the water-police guardship to the semaphore on the Flagstaff-hill, at West Melbourne. As many as 2000 people were arriving in one day, aud the wildest confusion reigned But on board the Great Britain there was the marked contrast of a ship in perfect discipline. She had disgorged her three or four hundred passengers, and her cool broad decks were delightful to look upon— her four masts a wonder. It was as though one had tun ed out of the roar and turmoil of Fleet-street into the silent and peaceful Temple Church. In the groat saloon, sitting at the head of the table, was good old Captiin Mathews, her commander, with his face beaming all over with smiles, strangely reminding one of Pluhpon's picture of " la poire," which was so obnoxious a likene=s to Louis Philippe. Near to him sat Regpy B , one of the cadets of the house which owned the "noble ship— then a bright handsome stripling, with a real English face. Twenty years have sprinkled s«me grey in his hair, and left some lines in the pkceof the dimples. To us enters a fine stalwart man, about 30 years of age, with great shoulders Bnd broad open brow, high in the temples, keen grey eyes, giving one the impression that they could pierce the wrack of a thousaud storms, and a firm-set mouth and jaw ; the whole face and figure speaking "Norseman" as plain as a pikestaff, and giving the world assurance of a man. Kemoving his cap— which he wore very much on the back of his head— he reported to the sailing captain that there were "15 fathoms of the port, and 25 fathoms of the starboard chain" ranged— or some such piece of duty , and so for the first time I came to know John Gray, for Captain Mathews and his officers were one family. Memory recalls the rare smile of the stern face — that smile which made all women who knew John Gray love him— that smile which made lovers, husbands, and fathers in after years trust their dear ones to his care. Pass to the next remembrance. It is Friday, tho 18th. Ai gust, 1854, nnd blowing bard, when th? stately old ship comes up the Bay to her old anchorage A cloud of Govei n ment boats are lying on their oars to fasten like mosquitoes on her rusty old sides ; there is Charlie B.— comrade of those days, and the ictive immifiration officer of that anxious time now a "beak" in New Zealand; there is Mac. of the Customs ; there is John, the doctor (John has built himself a bi" house in Collins Street since then) ; there is C , The Argus reporter, who lives on board a big hulk all by lnm«clf, hke a lonely port admiral, and goes on duty in a slashing whaleboat. You can meet him at all times of the day and night; you can recall the long sweep of his oars coming down the night breeze, "llard work?" "Ah! the hardest day was never then too hard," as poor Gordon sang, and among the crowd waiting for the Britain there were many vho have done good service. Presently she stop 3 her war, nnd thore, perched on her bulwark, conspicuous amongst hundreds, stands John Grar, now her captain, with his cap J very much on the back of his head indeed. And well it maybe, for when the ladder s low e-ed, D • IT , the h-alth officer at the Heads, trips down it, and informs us that the Britain has small-pox on board ' So, wining hurried adieur, they all pull foot for tho shore "to report" to the multitudinous "heads of departments" which then existed In nn hour the police had orders to row an armed gua-d r mnd the old ship— until the chiefs had made up their minds Meant imo, Dr H. had contrived, with a wisdom beyond his \cirs (and for which ho nearly got promoted"}, to leave Ihe ( ship and return to the Heads in the Lady Jooclyn steamer i So also two pilots had returned to the bosom of their families linagmo the consternation! Mr John Vesey Fitzgerald j Foßtcr, the Colonial Secretary, spoilt a sheet of foohc^p at once, nnd ordered health officer, pilots, and ship into quarantine at Point Nepenn. But before all this could be done it was Sunday morning How clearly I recall the talk from the deck to the guard-boat. It was in the thick of the war with Russia, and Sebastopof was still closely blockaded— Sir Charles Napier had sailed towards Cronstidt on the famous "sharpen your cutlasses expedition," and a change in the Colonial Ministers and the opening of the Crystal Palace aftorded plenty of topics for discourse. But the face of the captain was very gruesome as the hours sped away : discourse on no subject pleased him. He knew very well that his owners were thinking of investing £800.000 in a line of steamers to Melbourne, and that quarantine meant a loss of £6000 or £7000 on the tiip. Another cause of anxiety arose— the Lightning, commanded by "Schomberg" Forbes, was to sail next morning, and what would they say in England if no letters were allowed to be sent by her. Poor Aspiuall, who was a passenger, used to come to the taftrail and rave about this, as well as ho might. However, after further communication with the "heads of departments " this was put right, the Britain's letter bag was passed down, carried ashore, fumigated, and placed on board. Daylight, Sunday morning. Boom I Boom!; Two shotted guns from H M s. Fantcum across the how of the Lightning. "What's all this?" "Only a difficulty i w ith Captain Forbes, who won't pay the wages of some men who have joined H M s." "No ; but really old fellow (for the hundredth time), are our letters all right ?" ' ' Hands up anchor ! " and away goes the Fantome down to the Heads after the Lightning, where the little difficulty is arranged. And presently the screw of the ] Britain revolves, and she goes dow n to the Heads, where they lie in quarantine for 18 days — » watching the crisping ripples on the beach, And tender curved lines of creamy spray." When not engaged in lotos-eating (and over-worked Melbourne editors used to envy them), they fire off tremendous letters to Melbourne papers— Aspm all especially. He is very wrath with Dr McCrea, the chief Medical officer — their ship's doctor had committed " what appears in Australia to be tho mistake" of telling the truth— all tho blame lies with Dr McCrea, "who shouted his orders from a boat alongBide, and almost rendered his directions unintelligible by tho exce'is of lozenges he was shovelling into his mouth, presumably to prevent infection." "Is a dead man a mile and a half from the ship more convalescent than a live one ? It w ill take them 41 years and eight months for them all to have the disease in turn," and so forth. How brilliant poor Fred Sinnett't leaders used to be about the whole matter." Tho scene changes to the "battle of Melbourne." It is nine o'clock, and a fino moonlight night. There are nearly 500 vessels of all classes in the bay, but everything is quiet. Suddenly, whiz goes a rocket from a ship a few miles down, nnd again another, and then a gun. The sounds might well startle tho mild revellers at Mr Grnncs's party in Melbourne, for with one shout, and on the instant, every ship gave forth » )oj ful welcome to John Gray on his hauling down his Yellow Jack— such a tintinabulation of tho bells. The sky was aglow with rocket*, and the air sulpurous with bad pow der— lumps of pork wero rammed well home, and fired with vigorous delight by one ship into the other, regardless both of expense and con eqnences. 1 wish I had space to quote the clever drama in three acts which was written übout it— Melbourne waß in alarm— the Russians were upon us The Colonial Secretary careered madly down to Sandndge on horseback, clad in a swallowtail and white cra\at, put as he had left the party — one man "knew the sound of •hotted guns too well." "The JUectra was jard-arm and -,ard-arm with a Ru«sinn frigate (the Stickcmupandrunoff) Certain emissaries of the CVar, disguised as tallow merchant", were known to be in the colony." " Nonsense," paid the othen. " Grimes had set the Vi rra on fire." " No," exclaimed the third, " a pilot's lady had loved her lord to the extent of twins" and this was how they rejoiced over tho event in Ilobson's Bay ' "My dear Captain Gray, jou really must not— it's against the regulations inside the port." He did not reply as tho boldier docs in the " Grand Duchess," but I hear his clear rinijing tones now — 1 Are you all ready forward ?" " A>e, aje, sir." "Then fire'" * # * ,j* +■ ' * * * And so let us end with a joke. What he did for this colony will prooiMj meet some substantial recognition from the thousands hf has brought hither. If it takes the form of a tablet to his memory, no finer inscription could bo pl«?ed on it than a verso of an old sea song — " Hii form was of the manlic»t beauty, His heart whs kind and soft, 1 Faithful brioche did luaduty,! And now he's gone Aloft."

All amusing correspondent of the Ohnstchurch Press, whose contributions are headed " The Loafer in the street," relates the following: — "Did you ever keep an hotel. Landlords are occasionally let m like eveiy body else as the following true story will show —A certain Boniface, residing not many miles from the centre of the city, was, tho other day, ' had' beautifully. A gentleman whom tho said Boniface had known in Australia, m affluent ciicumstances, came down and took up Ins abode in the hotel in question. Slopkaddle was lm name. For several weeks Slopkaddle lived on the fat of the land. He ate and drank, and drank and ate with the greatest punctuality, but paid not. Ilia bill at last amounted to something like half a century. One must draw a line soinewhero, and Mis Boniface thought she would draw it at this paiticul.u juncture. Aceoulingly in spite of the remousti ances of her husband who was of a more enduring disposition, she did her level best to dun Slopkaddle out of the house. She went even the length of locking him out of his bedroom. Annoyed at the persecutions his guest -n as suffering at the hands of his wife, Boniface arrived at the grand solution of the difficulty, lioniface was to lend Slopkaddle £10, which amount he was to present to Mrs B in pait payment Slopkaddle accepted the £10. The following day Mis Boniface observed to her better-half that she had been mistaken in her estimate of Slopkaddle, that he in fact was not the unpuncipled loafer she hiul taken him to be, for he had paid that day a sum of money on account. ' Oh, indeed, indeed !' said her husband, ' how much ">' 'Fn c pounds,' sajs Mrs B. Boniface's feelings may .bo more easily imagined than desci ibed " A SciKNUFic Srouw— A professor's wife, who occupied liemelf sometimes with Assisting her huabniK-l in tuivLtng casts of interesting objects of geology and natural histon, says the Manufacturer and Builder, aUo for her own pliasure made sometimes flowers and fruits, of v»i und otlu r materials, and notwithstanding bhe had boomc guile a successful expert in this line, she found that almost always her efforts were criticized hy her friends. One* 1 at a tea party s'ie handed a large apple around, and stated her confidence that this time she had been quite successful in her mutation of Nature's product ; but her frtcuds were as usual not. of her opinion ; one criticised the shape, sa)iug that it would be more natural if it was not so globular ; another criticized the colours, and said that it was better than other imitations, but she had not quite hit that natural mdescribiblo I peculiarity winch distinguishes the natural apples from mere imitations ; almost every one had some fault to find. After tho apple had passed round and came in her hands again, she ate it, without saung anything Hor friends had been criticizing a real apple, but never afterwards criticized her imitations of fruit. The Messrs. Miller and Anderson, of Coat bridge, have invented and made a coal-cutting machine, for Messrs. William Baird and Co., which is now at work at tho No. 3 Pit, Gartsherrie, near Glasgow, and which is about to be supplemented by six other machines of similar construction. This machine cuts 330 feet of coal per shift of eight hours, yielding seventy-five tons, or equal the united turn out of forty men, though it only requires two to attend it, being driven by compressed air at a pres&ure of 431b to the square inch, brought in oast-iron pipes some .300 fathoms from the shaft. The seven machines, allowing two men toeucli, will thorcfore do the work of 2GG colliers, and with an immense reduction in cost. Dr McElroy, of New York, being about to marry his fourth wife, some one asked his daughter who was going to perform the ceremony 9 She replied • " I don't know, but presume that it will be Dr Spring. He generally marries father."

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