Thomas Henry Huxley - "This is Essay #4 from Science and Hebrew Tradition"

William Kirby - "Le Chien d'Or"

John Finley - "The French in the Heart of America"

Various - "Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 10, 1892"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Under Wellington\'s Command

G >> G. A. Henty >> Under Wellington\'s Command




The man turned a key, went in and, bringing out two candles,
lighted them at the lamp; and they then went into the room. The
Maire seated himself in an armchair at the table. The minor
functionary placed the two suspected persons on the side facing
him, and took his place standing by their side.

As they were going in, Terence whispered:

"If there is trouble, I will take this fellow, and you manage the
Maire."

"Now," that functionary said, "let me see your papers.

"Why," he exclaimed, looking at the names, "you are not Frenchmen!"

"No," Terence said quietly. "We do not pretend to be but, as you
see, we are sailors who have done service on board a French
privateer."

"But where is this privateer?"

"I don't know, Monsieur le Maire. We were not satisfied with our
treatment, so we left her at Brest."

"This is very serious," the Maire said. "You are Spaniards. You
have deserted your ship at Brest. You have travelled a hundred and
fifty miles through France, and now what are you doing here?"

"We are, as you say, monsieur, travelling through France. We desire
to see France. We have heard that it is the greatest country in the
world. Frenchmen visit Spain in large numbers. Why should not
Spaniards visit France?"

The tone of sarcasm in which Terence spoke was not lost upon the
Maire, who rose from his seat, purple with anger.

"You will take these men into custody," he said to his assistant.
"This is a very grave business."

"Now, Dick!" Terence exclaimed and, turning to the man who stood
next to him, he grasped him suddenly by the throat.

At the same moment Ryan caught up a heavy inkstand and threw it
across the table at the Maire, striking that functionary in the
stomach, and doubling him completely up. Then he ran round the table
and bound the man--who had not yet recovered his breath--tightly in
his chair, and thrust his handkerchief into his mouth.

The man whom Terence was holding had scarcely struggled. Terence,
as he gripped him, had said, "Keep quiet or I will choke you!" and
the prisoner felt that his assailant could do so in a moment, if he
chose.

His hands were fastened tightly behind him, with his own belt, by
Ryan. A short ruler was thrust between his teeth, and fastened
there by a handkerchief going round the back of his head.

"So far so good, Dick. Now look round for something with which we
can bind them more firmly."

Several hanks of red tape lay upon the table. With a portion of one
of these, the back of the chair in which the Maire sat was lashed
to the handle of a heavy bureau. Then his feet were fastened to the
two legs of the chair, so that he could neither kick nor upset
himself. The other man was then fastened as securely. This done
they blew out the candles, left the room, locked the door behind
them--taking the key--and then sallied out into the street.

"That was a good shot of yours with the inkstand," Terence said.

"I had my eye on it, all the time he was speaking," Ryan replied.
"I saw that, if I were to move to get round the table at him, the
little man would have time to shout; but that if I could hit him in
the wind, it would be all right."

"Well, there must be no more stopping, now. I don't know whether
there is a Mrs. Maire; if not, there will certainly be no alarm
until morning. If there is, it depends upon what sort of woman she
is as to how long a start we shall get. If she is a sleepy woman
she is probably dreaming by this time, and may not discover until
morning that her lord and master is not by her side. If she is a
bad-tempered woman, she will probably lie for an hour or two,
thinking over what she shall say to him when he comes in. If she is
a nervous woman, she will get up and go downstairs.

"I left the lamp burning in the hall on purpose. Seeing it there,
she will naturally think that he has not come in, and will go
upstairs again for an hour or two; then she will probably call up
the servants, and may send them out to look for him; finally, she
may go to the police office and wake up a constable. It is not
probable there are any of them on night duty, in a quiet place like
this. Altogether, I calculate that it will be at least four hours
before they think of breaking open the door of the office, to see
if he is there; so at the worst we have got four hours' start; at
the best, ten hours.

"It is only half-past nine now. We shall be at the mouth of the
Sienne in three hours, or less. It does not look above nine or ten
miles on the map and, directly we get fairly out of the town, we
will go as quickly as we can, for every minute is of importance.

"If we can get hold of a boat at once, we ought to be at Jersey
soon after daybreak; although I am not very sure of that, for I
believe there are all sorts of strong currents along this coast. I
remember one of the officers saying so, as we came down the Channel
on the voyage out. Of course, it will make a difference whether we
can get a boat with a sail, or not. If we cannot find a boat, we
shall have to hide up; but you may be sure that there will be a hot
search for us in the morning, and we must get off tonight, if we
can. Most likely there is a fishing village somewhere near the
mouth of the river."

As soon as they were out of the town they broke into a trot; which
they continued, with scarcely any intermission, until they
approached a small village.

"I expect this stands on the bank of the river," Terence said.
"There is no chance of anyone being up, so we can go through
fearlessly."

A couple of hundred yards farther they reached the river. A large
ferry boat was moored here. Keeping along the bank to the left,
they were not long before they came upon several boats hauled up on
the shore; while three or four others lay at their moorings, a
short distance out.

"Thank goodness," Terence exclaimed. "We shall have no difficulty,
now!"

They selected the boat lying nearest the water's edge. The moon was
half full, but was now sinking towards the west. Its light,
however, was of some assistance to them. There was a mast and sail
in the boat, as well as a pair of oars.

At first they were unable to move her down to the water but,
getting some oars out of the other boats, they laid them down as
rollers and, with these, managed after great exertions to get her
afloat.



Chapter 8: A Smart Engagement.


After pushing the boat out into the stream, Terence and his
companion allowed it to drift quietly for some distance; and then,
getting out the oars, rowed hard until they were beyond the mouth
of the river. The tide was, they thought, by the level of the water
where they had embarked, within an hour or two of flood. They
therefore determined to shape their course to the north of the
point where they believed Jersey to lie, so that when tide turned,
it would sweep them down upon it. The wind was too light to be of
any assistance, but the stars were bright, and the position of the
north star served as a guide to the direction they should take.

It had taken them some considerable time to launch the boat, and
they calculated that it was nearly midnight when they left the
mouth of the river. There was no occasion to row hard for, until it
became daylight and they could see the island of Jersey, they could
not shape their course with any certainty; and could only hope that
by keeping to the north of it they would not find, in the morning,
that the tide had taken them too far to the south.

"We are very lucky in our weather," Terence said as, after
labouring at the heavy oars for a couple of hours, they paused for
a few minutes' rest. "If it had been a strong wind, it would never
have done for us to have started. I believe in bad weather there
are tremendous currents about the islands, and desperately rough
water. A fog would have been even worse for us. As it is, it seems
to me we cannot go very far wrong. I suppose the tide is about
turning now; but if by daylight we find that we have been carried a
long way past the island, we shall soon have the tide turning
again, which will take us back to it.

"I am more afraid of falling in with a French privateer than I am
of missing the island. There are sure to be some of them at
Granville, to say nothing of Saint Malo. I don't suppose any of
those at Granville will put out in search of us, merely to please
the Maire; but if any were going to sea, they would be sure to keep
a lookout for us."

"If they did see us, we should have no chance of getting away,
Terence. This boat is not so big as the one we stole at Bayonne,
but it rows much heavier."

"There is one thing--even a privateer could not sail very fast in
this light wind and, if it freshens in the morning, we can get up
the sail."

"Then I hope it will get up a bit," Ryan said, "for after another
five or six hours' rowing, with these beastly oars, my hands will
be raw; and I am sure my back and arms will be nearly broken."

"We must risk that, Dick. We calculated fifteen miles in a straight
line across to Jersey, so that we must jog along at the rate of a
couple of miles an hour to get far enough to the west. Now then,
let us be moving again."

The night seemed interminable to them; and they felt relieved,
indeed, when morning began to break. In another half hour it would
be light enough for them to see for a considerable distance.
Unshipping their oars, they stood up and looked round.

"That must be Jersey," Terence exclaimed, pointing to the north.
"The current must have taken us past it, as I was afraid it would.
What time is it, Dick?"

"Nearly eight."

"Then tide must be turning already. The island must be six miles
away now. If we row hard we shall know, in half an hour, whether we
are being carried north or south."

"But we must be going north if tide has turned, Terence?"

"I don't know--I remember that the mate of the Sea Horse said that,
in the Channel, the course of the current did not change at high
and low water; so there is no saying what way we are going, at
present. Well, there is a little more wind, and I suppose we had
better get up our sail. There is Jersey, and whether we get there a
little sooner or a little later cannot make much difference. I am
sure we are both too tired to row her much faster than we can
sail."

Terence agreed, and they accordingly stepped the mast and hoisted
the sail. At first the boat moved but slowly through the water, but
the wind was freshening and, in half an hour, she was foaming
along.

"Tide is against us, still," Terence said presently. "I don't think
we are any nearer Jersey that when we first saw it."

"Look there!" Ryan exclaimed, a few minutes later, "there is a
lugger coming out from the direction of Granville."

"So there is, Dick, and with the wind behind her, she won't be very
long before she is here. I should say that she is about six or
seven miles off, and an hour will bring her up to us."

"I will get out an oar, Terence. That will help us a bit. We can
change about, occasionally."

Terence was steering with the other oar, while he held the sheet.
The boat was travelling at a good rate, but the lugger was fast
running down towards them.

"There is a schooner coming out from Jersey!" Terence exclaimed,
joyously. "If she is a British privateer we may be saved yet. I had
just made up my mind that we were in for another French prison."

Ryan looked over his shoulder.

"She is farther off than the lugger," he said.

"Yes, but the current that is keeping us back is helping her on
towards us. It will be a close thing; but I agree with you, I am
afraid that the lugger will be here first.

"Change seats with me. I will have a spell at the oar."

He was a good deal stronger than Ryan, and he felt comparatively
fresh after his hour's rest, so there was a perceptible increase in
the boat's speed after the change had been effected. When the
lugger was within a mile of them, and the schooner about double
that distance, the former changed her course a little, and bore up
as if to meet the schooner.

"Hurrah!" Ryan shouted. "The Frenchman is making for the schooner
and, if the Jersey boat don't turn and run, there will be a fight."

"The lugger looks to me the bigger boat," Terence said, as he
stopped rowing for a moment. "However, we are likely to be able to
slip off while they are at it."

Rapidly the two vessels approached each other and, when within a
mile, a puff of smoke broke out from the lugger's bow; and was
answered almost instantly by one from the schooner. Running fast
through the water, the vessels were soon within a short distance of
each other. Terence had ceased rowing, for there was no fear that
the lugger, which was now abeam of them, would give another thought
to the small boat.

The fight was going on in earnest, and the two vessels poured
broadsides into each other as they passed; the lugger wearing round
at once, and engaging the schooner broadside to broadside.

"The Frenchman has the heavier metal," Terence said. "I am afraid
the schooner will get the worst of it. The lugger is crowded with
men, too. What do you say, Dick? Shall we do our best to help the
schooner?"

"I think we ought to," Ryan agreed, at once. "She has certainly
saved us, and I think we ought to do what we can."

Accordingly he brought the boat nearer to the wind. The two vessels
were now close-hauled, and were moving but slowly through the
water. The boat passed two or three hundred yards astern of the
lugger, sailed a little farther; and then, when able to lay her
course for the schooner, went about and bore down towards her. Just
as they did so, the halliards of the schooner's mainsail were shot
asunder, and the sail ran down the mast. There was a shout of
triumph from the lugger, and she at once closed in towards her
crippled adversary.

"They are going to try and carry the schooner by boarding," Terence
exclaimed. "Keep her as close as she will go, Dick," and, seizing
his oar again, he began to row with all his might.

By the time they came up, the two vessels were side by side. The
guns had ceased their fire, but there was a rattle of pistol shots,
mingled with the clash of arms and the shouts of the combatants.
Running up to the schooner's side, Terence and Ryan clambered on
the channel and sprung on to the deck of the schooner.

A desperate fight was going on forward, where the two vessels
touched each other. There was no one aft. Here some fifteen or
twenty feet of water separated the ships, and even the helmsmen had
left the wheel to join in the fight. About half of the lugger's
crew had made their way on to the deck of the schooner, but the
Jersey men were still fighting stoutly. The rest of the lugger's
crew were gathered in the bow of their own vessel, waiting until
there should be a clear enough space left for them to join their
comrades.

"Things look bad," Terence exclaimed. "The French crew are a great
deal stronger. Lend me a hand to turn two of these eight-pounders
round. There are plenty of cartridges handy."

They drew the cannon back from their places, turned them round,
loaded them with a charge of powder, and then rammed in two of the
bags of bullets that were lying beside them. The schooner stood
higher out of the water than the lugger, and they were able to
train the two cannon so that they bore upon the mass of Frenchmen
in the latter's bow.

"Take steady aim," Terence said. "We are only just in time; our
fellows are being beaten back."

A moment later the two pieces were fired. Their discharge took
terrible effect among the French, sweeping away more than half of
those gathered in the lugger's bow.

"Load again!" Terence exclaimed. "They are too strong for the
Jersey men, still."

For a moment the French boarders had paused; but now, with a shout
of fury, they fell upon the crew of the schooner, driving them back
foot by foot towards the stern. The cannon were now trained
directly forward and, when the crowd of fighting men approached
them, Terence shouted in French to the Jersey men to fall back on
either side.

The captain, turning round and seeing the guns pointing forward,
repeated the order in a stentorian shout. The Jersey men leapt to
one side or the other, and the moment they were clear the two
cannon poured their contents into the midst of the French; who had
paused for a moment, surprised at the sudden cessation of
resistance.

Two clear lanes were swept through the crowd; and then, with a
shout, the captain of the schooner and his crew fell upon the
Frenchmen. Ryan was about to rush forward, when Terence said:

"No, no, Ryan, load again; better make sure."

The heavy loss they had suffered, however, so discouraged the
French that many at once turned and, running back, jumped on to the
deck of the lugger; while the others, though still resisting, were
driven after them.

As soon as the guns were reloaded they were trained, as before, to
bear on the lugger's bow and, as the French were driven back, they
were again fired. This completed the discomfiture of the enemy and,
with loud shouts, the Jersey men followed them on to the deck of
their own ship.

Terence and Ryan now ran forward, snatched up a couple of
cutlasses, and joined their friends; and were soon fighting in the
front line. But the French resistance was now almost over. Their
captain had fallen and, in five minutes, the last of them threw
down their arms and surrendered; while a great shout went up from
the crew of the schooner. The French flag was hauled down and, as
soon as the prisoners had been sent below, an ensign was brought
from the schooner, fixed to the flag halliards above the tricolor,
and the two hoisted together.

The captain had already turned to the two men who had come so
opportunely to his assistance.

"I do not know who you are, or where you come from, men, but you
have certainly saved us from capture. I did not know it was the
Annette until it was too late to draw off, or I should not have
engaged her; for she is the strongest lugger that sails out of
Granville, and carries double our weight of metal, with twice as
strong a crew; but whoever you are, I thank you most heartily. I am
half owner of the schooner, and should have lost all I was worth,
to say nothing of perhaps having to pass the next five years in a
French prison."

"We are two British officers," Terence said. "We have escaped from
a French prison, and were making our way to Jersey when we saw that
lugger coming after us, and should certainly have been captured had
you not come up; so we thought the least we could do was to lend
you a hand."

"Well, gentlemen, you have certainly saved us. Jacques Bontemps,
the captain of the Annette, was an old acquaintance of mine. He
commanded a smaller craft before he got the Annette, and we have
had two or three fights together.

"So it was you whom I saw in that little boat! Of course, we made
out that the lugger was chasing you, though why they should be
doing so we could not tell; but we thought no more about you after
the fight once began, and were as astonished as the Frenchmen when
you swept their bow. I just glanced round and saw what looked like
two French fishermen, and thought that you must be two of the
lugger's crew who, for some reason or other, had turned the guns
against their own ship.

"It will be a triumph, indeed, for us when we enter Saint Helier.
The Annette has been the terror of our privateers. Fortunately she
was generally away cruising, and many a prize has she taken into
Granville. I have had the luck to recapture two of them, myself;
but when she is known to be at home we most of us keep in port, for
she is a good deal more than a match for any craft that sails out
from Saint Helier.

"She only went into Granville yesterday, and I thought that there
was no fear of her being out again, for a week or so. When I saw
her, I took her for a smaller lugger that sails from that port, and
which is no more than a match for us. The fact is, we were looking
at her chasing you, and wondering if we should be in time, instead
of noticing her size. It was not until she fired that first
broadside that we found we had caught a tartar. We should have run,
if there had been a chance of getting away; but she is a
wonderfully fast boat, and we knew that our only chance was to
knock away one of her masts.

"And now, we will be making sail again. You must excuse me for a
few minutes."

In half an hour the main halliards had been repaired, and the sail
hoisted. When other damages were made good the captain, with half
his crew, went on board the lugger; and the two vessels sailed
together for Jersey. Terence and his companion had accompanied the
captain.

"Now, gentlemen, you may as well come down with me into the cabin.
It is likely enough that you will be able to find some clothes, in
Bontemps' chest, that will fit you. He was a dandy, in his way. At
any rate, his clothes will suit you better than those you have on."

They found, indeed, that the lugger's captain had so large a store
of clothing that they had no difficulty, whatever, in rigging
themselves out. While they were changing, the captain had left
them. He returned, presently, with a beaming face.

"She is a more valuable prize than I hoped for," he said. "She is
full almost to the hatches with the plunder she had taken in her
last cruise. I cannot make out what led her to come out of
Granville, unless it was in pursuit of you."

"I expect it was that," Terence said. "We were arrested by the
Maire of Granville, and had to tie him and one of his officials up.
He was a pompous little man; and no doubt, when he got free, went
down to the port and persuaded the captain of the lugger to put
out, at once, to endeavour to find us. I expect he told him that we
were prisoners of importance, either English spies or French
emigres.

"Well, Captain, I am glad that the capture has turned out well for
you."

"You certainly ought to share it," the captain said; "for if it had
not been for you, matters would have gone all the other way, and we
should have undoubtedly been captured."

"Oh, we don't want to share it! We have helped you to avoid a
French prison, but you have certainly saved us from the same thing,
so we are fairly quits."

"Well, we shall have time to talk about that when we get into port.
In the meantime we will search Jacques' lockers. Like enough there
may be something worth having there. Of course, he may have taken
it ashore, directly he landed; but it is hardly likely and, as he
has evidently captured several British merchantmen while he has
been out, he is sure to have some gold and valuables in the
lockers."

The search, indeed, brought to light four bags of money, each
marked with the name of an English ship. They contained, in all,
over 800 pounds; with several gold watches, rings, and other
valuables.

"Now, gentlemen," the captain said, "at least you will divide this
money with me. The Annette and the cargo below hatches are
certainly worth ten times as much, and I must insist upon your
going shares with me. I shall feel very hurt if you will not do
so."

"I thank you, Captain," Terence said, "and will not refuse your
offer. We shall have to provide ourselves with new uniforms, and
take a passage out to Portugal, which is where our regiments are,
at present; so the money will be very useful."

"And I see you have not a watch, monsieur. You had better take one
of these."

"Thanks! I parted with mine to a good woman, who helped me to
escape from Bayonne; so I will accept that offer, also."

In two hours the schooner entered the port of Saint Helier; the
lugger, under easy sail, following in her wake. They were greeted
with enthusiastic cheers by the crowd that gathered on the quays,
as soon as it was seen that the prize was the dreaded Annette--which
had, for some months past, been a terror to the privateers and
fishermen of the place--and that she should have been captured by
the Cerf seemed marvellous, indeed.

A British officer was on the quay when they got alongside. He came
on board at once.

"The governor has sent me to congratulate you, in his name, Captain
Teniers," he said, "on having captured a vessel double your own
size, which has for some time been the terror of these waters. He
will be glad if you will give me some particulars of the action;
and you will, when you can spare time afterwards, go up and give
him a full report of it."

"I owe the capture entirely to these two gentlemen, who are
officers in your army. They had escaped from a French prison, and
were making for this port when I first saw them this morning, with
the Annette in hot chase after them. It did not strike me that it
was her, for it was only last night that the news came in that she
had been seen, yesterday, sailing towards Granville; and I thought
that she was the Lionne, which is a boat our own size. I came up
before she had overhauled the boat and, directly the fight began, I
could see the mistake I had made. But as she was a good deal faster
than we were, it was of no use running. There was just a chance
that I might cripple her, and get away."

Copyright (c) 2007. topboookz.com. All rights reserved.