Volume Three – Chapter Fifteen.
A Dinner-Party of Diggers
Our claim was at length completed, and we – the shareholders – with some of our friends determined to hold a little jollification. We engaged a private room in the hotel, where we had divided our gold; and, after settling all accounts, we sat down to as good a dinner, as the landlord could place upon his table.
After dinner, our pipes were lit; and the only business before us, was to find some amusement for the rest of the evening.
“Rule Britannia,” “The Red, White, and Blue,” and “The Flag that braved a Thousand Years,” were sung, and duly applauded. The poet of the company then gave us a song of his own composing, which, whatever may have been its merits, met with the approval of the company.
As it was understood that “the Elephant” and “Bill” were going to give up gold digging for good, and were to start for Melbourne the next day, one of the party came out with a proposal, warmly seconded by the rest.
“Elephant,” said the person thus proposing, “now that you and Bill have made your fortunes, and are going to give up the business, suppose you tell us all what you intend doing with your money – so that, when we have made our fortune, we shall have your example to guide us in spending it?”
The individual who made this request, had once been a convict in Tasmania. He was rather a good-looking man, about forty-five years of age, and went by the name of Norton. The little bird called “rumour,” had chirupped about the diggings many tales of his former achievements in crime – all of which, however, seemed to have been forgotten.
The reader may ask, why those of our company, who professed to be respectable men, should associate with one who had manifestly been a transported felon?
The answer is, that we were in circumstances very different from those who might think of putting such a question. Ten or twelve men were required for working a mine on the Gravel-pits; and where nearly all the people of the place were strangers to each other, a man could not very well make choice of his companions, at least not all of them. Norton had bought a share in the claim from one of the first holders of it; and all that the rest of us could require of him, was, that he should perform his share of the work.
On such an occasion as that of dividing the gold, he had as much right to be one of the company, as any other shareholder.
“I will agree to what you propose, on one condition,” responded the Elephant, to the proposal of Norton; “and I have no doubt but that my friend, Bill, will do the same. But in order that you should understand what I intend doing in the future, it will be necessary that you should be told something of my past. This I am willing to make known, if you, Norton, will give us a true account of the principal events of your life; and Bill will probably gratify your curiosity on the same terms?”
“Oh certainly,” said Bill; “if Norton will give us his history, I’ll give mine.”
The idea of an old convict giving us a true account of his misfortunes and crimes, was thought to be a very happy one; and the whole company were amused at the way the “Elephant” had defeated Norton’s attempt to gratify his curiosity: for they had no idea that the convict would make a “confession.” But to the surprise of all, he accepted the terms; and declared himself ready and willing to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Olliphant and Bill could not retreat from the position they had taken, and Norton was called upon to commence. The glasses were again filled, and the short black pipes relit.
The company kept profound silence – showing the deep interest they felt in hearing the life narrative of a man, with whose crimes rumour had already made them partially acquainted.
“I am,” began Norton, “the son of a poor man – a day labourer, and was born in the north of Scotland. Inspired by the hopes common to youth, I married early. In consequence, I had to endure the misery every man must meet, who is cursed with poverty, and blessed with a family he is unable to support.
“The mutual affection my wife and I entertained for each other, only increased our wretchedness. It was agony to see one who loved me, having to endure the privations and hardships to which our poverty subjected us.
“By almost superhuman exertions, and by living half-starved, I managed at last to scrape together a sufficient sum to take me to America – where I hoped to be able to provide a home for my wife and child.
“I had not the means to take them along with me, though I left enough to secure, what I thought, would be a permanent home for them until I should return.
“My wife had a brother – an only relative – who lived in a lonely house among the hills. He and his wife kindly agreed to give my old woman a home, until I should either return, or send for her.
“I will not weary you with the particulars of what I did in America – more than to state that I went to the copper mines near Lake Superior; and that I was not there a year, before I was so fortunate as to find a rich vein of ore, which I sold to a mining company for 6,000 dollars.
“I sent my wife a part of this money, along with the intelligence, that I would soon return for her. With the rest, I purchased a small farm in the southern part of the State of Ohio; and leaving a man in charge of it, I returned to Scotland for my family.
“I got back in the middle of winter – in December. It was a very cold morning, when I arrived in sight of the hovel, that contained all I loved most dear on earth. It was Christmas Day; and, in order to have the pleasure of spending it along with my wife, I had walked all the night before. When I drew near the house, I noticed that the snow – that had been falling for two days – lay untrodden around the door!
“I hurried up inside, when I saw, lying on the floor, and partly covered with rags, my wife and child. They were what men call —dead!
“The appearance of the hut, and of the dead bodies, told me all. They had died of cold and hunger.
“I afterwards learnt, that my brother-in-law had died some time before; and that his wife immediately afterwards had gone away from the hovel to join some of her own relatives, who lived near the border.
“My poor wife had disposed of every thing that would sell for a penny; and had in vain endeavoured to find employment. The distance of the hut from any neighbour, had prevented her from receiving assistance in the last hours of her existence: for no one had been aware of the state of destitution to which she had been reduced.
“During the severe storm preceding her decease, she had probably lingered too long in the hut to be able to escape from it; and had miserably perished, as in a prison.
“Neither she, nor the child, could have been dead for any length of time. Their corpses were scarcely cold; and it was horrible for me to think, that I had been walking in the greatest haste throughout all that stormy night, and yet had arrived too late to rescue them!
“When sitting by their lifeless forms, in an agony of mind that words cannot describe, I was disturbed by the arrival of a stranger. It turned out to be the post carrier, who stepping inside the hut, handed me a letter. At a glance, I saw it was the letter I had sent from America – enclosing a draft for twenty-five pounds.
“Why has this letter not been delivered before?” I inquired of the man, speaking as calmly as I could.
“He apologised, by saying that the letter had only been in his possession four days; and that no one could expect him to come that distance in a snow storm, when he had no other letter to deliver on the way!
“I took up an old chair – the only article of furniture in the house – and knocked the man senseless to the floor.
“His skull was broken by the blow; and he soon after died.
“I was tried, and convicted of manslaughter, for which I received a sentence of ten years transportation.
“At the end of three years, I obtained a ticket-of-leave for good conduct. And now, gentlemen, I have nothing more to tell you, that would be worth your listening to.”
At the conclusion of Norton’s narrative, several of the company, who seemed to be restraining themselves with great difficulty, broke into loud shouts of laughter. Norton did not appear to be at all displeased at this, as I thought, unseemly exhibition!
I afterwards learnt why he had taken it in such good part. It was generally known, that he had been transported for robbing a postman; and the cause of their mirth was the contrast between the general belief, and his own special account of the crime.
For my part, I could not join in their mirth. His story had been told with such an air of truth, that I could not bring myself to disbelieve it. If not true, the man deserved some consideration for the talent he had exhibited in the construction of his story: for never was truth better counterfeited, or fiction more cunningly concealed, under an air of ingenuous sincerity.
Volume Three – Chapter Sixteen.
The “Elephant’s” Autobiography
When tranquillity had been again restored, the “Elephant” was called on for his autobiography – which was given nearly as follows: —
“My father is a ‘squatter’ in New South Wales – where I was myself born.
“At the age of seventeen, I was sent to England to be educated; and, being well supplied with money, the design of those who sent me was not defeated: for I did learn a good deal – although the knowledge I obtained, was not exactly of the kind my parents had meant me to acquire.
“I possessed the strength, and soon acquired the skill, to defeat all my fellow students in rowing or sculling a boat. I was also the best hand amongst them with a bat. I became perfect in many other branches of knowledge, of like utility. During my sojourn in Europe, I made several trips to Paris – where I obtained an insight into the manners and customs of that gay capital.
“My father had a sister living in London – a rich widow, who had an only daughter. I called on them two or three times, as I could not well avoid doing so. I was not infatuated with my cousin, nor did my visits beget in my mind any great affection for my aunt.
“Her husband had been dead several years before that time. He had been related to a family of title, and on his death had left a fortune to his widow of about fifty thousand pounds.
“My father considered his sister a person of great consequence in the kingdom; and used to keep up a regular correspondence with her.
“When I was about twenty-two, I received a letter from him, commanding me forthwith to marry my cousin!
“He had made the match with my aunt, without consulting my wishes.
“The deluded man thought the plan he had formed for me, would make me a very great personage. But I could not regard the affair in the same light.
“Soon after receiving my father’s orders, my aunt sent me a note – containing a request for me to call upon her.
“I complied; and found that she considered the thing as quite settled, that I was forthwith to marry my cousin. In fact, my aunt at this interview had a good deal to say about preparations for the ceremony!
“My cousin was neither personally good-looking, nor interesting in any way. On the contrary, she had a disposition exceedingly disagreeable; and, to crown all, she was a full half-dozen years older than myself.
“Soon after that interview with my English relatives, I embarked for Sydney. I had been for some time anxious to return home. As I have told you, New South Wales is my native country; and I prefer it to any other. I had seen enough of Europe; and longed to gallop a horse over the broad plains of my native land.
“On my return home, and reporting that I had not married my rich cousin, my father flew into a great passion, and refused to have anything farther to do with me.
“I tried to reason with him; but it was of no use. It ended by his turning me out of his house; and telling me to go and earn my own living. This I did for some time, by driving a hackney coach through the streets of Sydney.
“My father, on finding that I was man enough to take care of myself, without requiring any assistance from him, began to take a little interest in my affairs. In doing so, he discovered something else – that caused him quite as much displeasure as my refusal to marry my English cousin.
“He learnt that I was making serious love to a poor, but honest girl, who, with her mother, scarce earned a subsistence, by toiling fourteen hours a day with her needle.
“To think I should let slip a woman with fifty thousand pounds – and who could claim relationship with a family of title – and then marry a poor sewing girl, was proof to my father that I was a downright idiot; and, from that hour, he refused to acknowledge me as his son.
“When gold was discovered in these diggings, I gave up my hackney business, took an affectionate leave of my girl; and came out here.
“I’ve been lucky; and I shall start to-morrow for Sydney. I shall find the one I love waiting for me – I hope, with some impatience; and, if I don’t miscalculate time, we shall be married, before I’ve been a week in Sydney.
“I am young, and have health and strength. With these advantages, I should not consider myself a man, if, in a new world like this, I allowed my warmest inclinations to be subdued by the selfish worldly influences, that control the thoughts and actions of European people.”
I believe the company were a little disappointed in the “Elephant’s” story. From the remarkable character of the man, and the evidence of superior polish and education – exhibited both in his bearing and conversation – all had expected a more interesting narrative – something more than the tale he had told us, and which was altogether too simple to excite their admiration. Some of them could not help expressing their surprise – at what they pronounced the silliness of the “Elephant,” in “sacking” a fine lady with fifty thousand pounds, and an aristocratic connection, for a poor Sydney sempstress. To many of them, this part of the story seemed scarce credible, though, for my part, I believed every word of it.
Reasoning from what I knew of the character of the narrator, I felt convinced that he was incapable of telling an untruth – even to amuse his audience; and I doubted not that he had refused his rich English cousin; and was really going to marry the poor sewing girl of Sydney.
In judging of the Elephant – to use his own words – I did not allow my “inclinations to be subdued by the selfish worldly influences, that control the thoughts and actions of European people.”
Volume Three – Chapter Seventeen.
Sailor Bill’s Life Yarn
As the autobiography of the “Elephant,” had been of too common-place a character to create any excitement, there was but little interruption in the proceedings; and Sailor Bill, according to the conditions, was next called upon to spin the yarn of his life.
Without any formality, he at once responded to the call.
“When a very small boy,” began he, “I was what is called a gutter urchin, or ‘mud lark,’ about the streets and docks of Liverpool. It was not exactly the business for which I had been intended. When very young, I had been bound apprentice to a trade I did not much like, and to a master I liked still less. In fact, I hated the master so much, as to run away both from him and his trade; and became a ragged wanderer in the streets.
“The profits of this profession were not so great, as to allow me to contract habits of idleness, though, somehow or other, I managed to live by it for nearly a year.
“I was one day overhauling some rubbish, that had been thrown into a gutter, when a man ran against me; and his feet becoming entangled in the rags that composed my costume, he was tripped up, and fell into the mud.
“He immediately got to his feet again; and shook me, until he was so exhausted and agitated, that he could do so no longer.
“While he was doing so, I was not idle. With my nails, teeth, and feet, I scratched, bit, and kicked him – with all the energy passion could produce.
“My desperate resistance, instead of further provoking, seemed to make a favourable impression on the mind of the man: for, as soon as he had ceased shaking me, he declared that I was ‘a noble little wretch,’ a ‘courageous little vagrant,’ and many other pet expressions equally conflicting.
“Then taking me by the hand, he led me along by his side, at the same time questioning me about my home and parents.
“Having satisfied himself, that he had as good a right to me as anybody – and perhaps a better by my being in his possession – he continued to drag me onward, all the while muttering to himself, ‘Dirty little vagabond! give him in charge to the police. Spirited boy! give him in charge of my steward.’
“Favourably impressed with the general expression of his features, I offered no resistance to his taking me where he liked. The fact is, I did not care what became of me, for I was independent of either fortune or circumstances.
“I was finally carried on board of a ship; and handed over to the care of her steward, where, for the first time in three years, I had my body covered with a complete suit of clothes.
“The man who had thus taken possession of me, was a good-natured, eccentric old bachelor, about fifty years of age; and was master and owner of the ship, that traded between Liverpool and Kingston, Jamaica.
“I remained with this man seven years; and under his tuition, I obtained something of an education. Had I been his own son, he could not have shown more zeal, or taken greater pains to teach me.
“During all that time, his ship was my only home; and I had nothing to tempt me away from it. It was all the world to me; and of that world I was not long in acquiring a knowledge.
“I was about twenty-one years of age, when I was made first officer of the ship. My father – for as such I had got to esteem the man who raised me from rags, and out of mud, to something like a human existence – was going to make one more voyage with me, and then lie by for the rest of his life – leaving me master of the ship.
“We were on our return from Kingston, very deeply laden, when we encountered a severe gale. For some time, we allowed the ship to run with the wind – in order that we might keep on our course; but the storm increased; and this could not be done with safety. We were preparing to lay her head to sea, when a wave rolled over the stern, and swept the decks fore and aft. The captain – my generous protector – and two of the sailors, were washed overboard; and we could do nothing to save them. All three were lost.
“I took the ship to Liverpool, where a wealthy merchant succeeded to the captain’s property. To make way for some friend of the new owner, I was discharged from the service – after receiving the few pounds due to me as wages.
“The commotion caused by the discovery of the Australian gold-fields, had then reached Liverpool; and seamen were shipping to Melbourne, asking only the nominal wages of one shilling a month! I was able to get a situation as second officer of a brig bound for that port.
“We had one hundred and twelve passengers; and amongst them was a bankrupt London merchant, emigrating with a large stock of pride, and a small stock of merchandise, to the golden land. He was accompanied by his wife, and a beautiful daughter. To me, this young lady appeared lovely, modest, intelligent; in short, everything that a young man – who for the first time had felt the tender passion, could wish its object to be.
“I had frequent opportunities of conversing with her – when she would be seated outside on the poop; and many of my happiest moments were passed in her society, in those delightful evenings one experiences while crossing the Line.
“I was at length made perfectly happy, by the knowledge that there was one being in the world who felt an interest in my welfare.
“I soon saw that my attentions to his daughter, were displeasing to the proud merchant; and I was told by the girl herself: that she had been commanded to discourage my addresses.
“I sought an interview with the father; and demanded from him his reasons for thus rejecting me. I was simply told: that the girl was his daughter, and that I was only a sailor!
“That same evening, when on duty, I was spoken to by the captain in a harsh and ungentlemanly manner. I was in no pleasant humour at the time: and to be thus addressed, in hearing of so many people – but more especially in the presence of her I loved – was a degradation I could not endure. I could not restrain myself, from making a sharp and angry reply.
“The captain was a man of very quick temper; and, enraged at my insolence, he struck me in the face with his open hand. For this insult, I instantly knocked him down upon the deck.
“The remainder of the voyage I passed in irons. On arriving at Williamston, I was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment – during which time I was confined on board a hulk anchored in Hobson’s Bay.
“I made an attempt to escape; and, being unsuccessful, I received a further sentence of two months’ hard labour on the hulk.
“When at length I received my liberty, I hastened to Melbourne. There I made inquiries for the merchant, in hopes of being able to obtain an interview with his daughter, who was then the only being on earth, for whom I entertained the slightest feeling of friendship.
“I succeeded in finding the young lady; and was conducted into the presence of her mother – who, somewhat to my surprise, received me in the most cordial manner!
“The old merchant was dead. He had died within a month after landing; and the goods he had brought with him to the colony – not being suited to the market – had been sold for little more than the freight out from England had cost. His widow and her daughter were living by their own industry – which, I need hardly tell you, was something they had never done before.”
Here Sailor Bill paused – as if he had got to the end of his story.
But his listeners were not contented with such a termination. They believed there must be something more to come – perhaps more interesting than anything yet revealed; and they clamoured for him to go on, and give them the finale.
“There’s nothing more,” said Bill, in response to the calls of the company; “at least nothing that would interest any of you.”
“Let us be the judges of that,” cried one. “Come, Bill, your story is not complete – finish it – finish it!”
“I’m sorry myself it’s not finished,” rejoined he. “It won’t be, I suppose, until I get back to Melbourne.”
“What then?” inquired several voices.
“Well then,” said Bill, forced into a reluctant confession, “I suppose it will end by my getting spliced.”
“And to the young lady, with whom you spent those pleasant evenings on the poop?”
“Exactly so. I’ve written to her, to say I’m coming to Melbourne. I intend to take her and her mother back to England – where they’ve long wished to go. Of course it would never do to make such a voyage, without first splicing the main brace, and securing the craft against all the dangers of the sea. For that reason, I’ve proposed to the young lady, that she and I make the voyage as man and wife; and I’m happy to tell you that my proposal has been accepted. Now you’ve got the whole of my yarn.”
And with this characteristic ending, Sailor Bill brought his story to a termination.