FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78  
79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   >>  
yard arm, and taken down and round the deck, so that every man may help to pull. Bang! A great gun is fired from the flagship. The sound thrills through every heart, and every eye is turned towards the _Marlborough's_ cat-head. The rope trembles, is tightened, and finally--there is an end. The mutiny is nipped in the bud, and the fleet is saved. But thus it must ever be. Mutiny is a monster that must be crushed by the iron heel of force, ere yet it is fully hatched. * * * * * Jack was not sorry when all was over and the boats returned to their respective ships. To relieve his mind he went to see Murray. The poor boy smiled feebly, and held out his white worn hand to clasp that of Jack. "I've been thinking of home, and my little sweetheart, sir." "Have you a little sweetheart?" "Yes; look!" He took out a miniature from his breast--one of the sweetest young faces Jack had ever seen. "That is why I don't want to die, sir." Jack heaved a sigh. But after this all the spare time he had he passed by the side of young Murray's cot. And now came the terrible bombardment of Cadiz. CHAPTER XV. BEFORE CADIZ. "For honour, glory, and the laws, Is native courage given; And he who fights his country's cause, Fights in the cause of Heaven."--DIBDIN. It may be doubted whether the awful bombardment of Cadiz was a necessity of war. A bombardment is always a cruel undertaking, and often seems positively cowardly. But Sir John had one particular reason of his own, independent of exigency, for this cannonade. There was still a smouldering fire of disaffection among the seamen of the fleet, and he therefore determined to keep the sailors busy. Busy with a terrible busy-ness surely, for day and night, night and day, the firing went on, while many a daring cutting-out expedition was organized; and in some of these, deeds of heroism were accomplished that the British nation may well be proud of, even till this day. In one of these, during a boat action, Nelson himself was overpowered, and narrowly escaped being slain. But for his coxswain, who twice or thrice interposed his own body betwixt the swords of the assailants and the commodore, the battle of the Nile would never have been fought.[C] [C] This man was for his gallantry promoted to be a gunner, and not long afterwards was killed at his gun. In the cutting-out expeditions and boat a
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78  
79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   >>  



Top keywords:

bombardment

 

cutting

 

terrible

 
Murray
 
sweetheart
 

reason

 
gallantry
 

independent

 

positively

 

cowardly


Nelson
 

exigency

 

disaffection

 

fought

 

overpowered

 
smouldering
 

cannonade

 

undertaking

 

Fights

 
Heaven

DIBDIN

 
killed
 

country

 

courage

 

expeditions

 

fights

 

promoted

 
necessity
 

doubted

 

gunner


seamen

 

heroism

 

coxswain

 

thrice

 

expedition

 

organized

 

native

 

accomplished

 

escaped

 

narrowly


British

 

nation

 

interposed

 

daring

 

sailors

 

action

 
determined
 

surely

 

betwixt

 

swords