The Voyages of the "Ranger" and "Crusader": And what befell their Passengers and Crews.Kingston, William Henry Giles
General
The Voyages of the "Ranger" and "Crusader": And what befell their Passengers and Crews.
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Seafaring life -- Juvenile fiction
At length the ship was ready, and the soldiers were seen approaching her
from Gosport. As they came up the side, they formed on deck, and each
man had his allotted berth shown him; so that, although there were two
hundred men, with a proportionate number of non-commissioned officers
and their wives and families, there was perfect order and regularity
observed. The "Ranger" had the honour of conveying Colonel Morley, who
commanded the regiment, and there was a Mrs and two Miss Morleys. Then
there was Captain Power, Captain Gosling, and Captain Twopenny; and
Lieutenants Dawson, Hickman, and Ward; with Ensigns Holt and Gonne.
There was a surgeon, David Davis, who hailed from Wales; and a
paymaster, who was the stoutest man on board. There were several
sergeants, but only one, Serjeant Rumbelow, whose name it is necessary
to record. He was accompanied by his wife, who was a person well
capable of keeping order, not only among the soldiers' wives, but among
the soldiers themselves. She was a woman of powerful frame and voice,
tall and gaunt, and of a dauntless spirit. The regiment had not been on
board many hours before Willy saw her go up to two young soldiers who
were quarrelling. Seizing them, she knocked their heads together.
"There, lads," she exclaimed; "make it up this moment, or the next time
I catch you at that work I'll knock them a precious deal harder."
Willy Dicey looked with a good deal of awe at Mrs Morley and her
daughters, who appeared to be very great people. They quickly made
themselves at home in their cabins, and had their work-boxes out, and a
number of things arranged, as if they had been living there for weeks.
Captain Newcombe made some remark on the subject. Mrs Morley replied,
laughing, "You need not be surprised, for this will be the tenth voyage
I have made, and you may suppose, therefore, that I am pretty well
accustomed to roughing it. This ship is like a royal yacht compared to
some vessels I have sailed in. My husband was not always a colonel, and
subalterns and their wives have to put up with rough quarters
sometimes."
Harry Shafto was glad to find that most of the officers were gentlemanly
men, and there appeared every prospect of their having a pleasant
voyage.
As soon as the troops were on board, the ship went out to Spithead, and
having taken in her powder and a few more stores, with a fair wind she
stood down Channel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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