CHAPTER X.

The _Banterer’s_ Deck--An ugly Sight--Sad Thoughts--Saying their Say--Jack’s Opinion of the Admiral--The Killed and Wounded--What they killed each other for--The Forts again--Battering the _Banterer_--Long Tom--Woe to the _Nimrod_--The last Shot--Spare the Dead--In we go again--Chinaman’s Triumph--Night Work--The British Flag and Sam Collinson--Snarling Forts--Burning the _Plover_--The Admiral’s Thanks and Jack’s Growl--We return to Shanghai--Sham Sympathisers.

Shortly after sunrise I awoke and looked vaguely around me, but soon remembered all that had taken place, and rose and got a drink of water. What a scene presented itself! Many a one at home in England, I thought, might have learnt a useful lesson could he have seen the sight. Lying in groups round the deck were the seamen and marines, bedaubed with mud; their hair all tangled; some shoeless, some without caps; few had retained their belts, and all looked miserable even in sleep. And to match the heap of men, there lay in ugly confusion broken muskets, spoiled and wasted ammunition, belts, pouches, cutlasses, and all the disheartening signs of a retreat; while from below came the groans of the wounded, and in many cases dying.

Turning away from this painful scene, I leant over the gunwale of the vessel watching the turbid stream, and many and sad were the thoughts that passed through my mind. Above was the bright blue sky; not far away the sparkling waves of the gulf; all nature around was for the moment quiet and peaceful; in man the storm alone raged. He, amid all God’s creation, strove to make his littleness great by spreading bloodshed, desolation, and sorrow around.

When I turned again to look inboard, many of the men were up and talking of the past night, its terrible incidents, narrow escapes, and wondering what the upshot would be.

A general opinion was that the guns were fought by more than Chinamen; some asserted that they had seen Europeans dressed, and in their shirt-sleeves, walking from embrasure to embrasure; encouraging the Chinese to fight, and laying the guns; moreover, they had heard the word of command, and somebody sing out “More powder, Jack, for the English rascals.” If ’twasn’t renegade Russians who said this, who was it? “I don’t care who says there wasn’t, but I’m certain the Long-tails didn’t have all to do with the fighting!” says Curtis. “You’re right, too, Tom,” responded young Inwood; “and they played a good game with us, anyhow!” “They tell me the admiral’s going to have another slap at ’em as soon as the gun-boats is patched up a bit,” says old Fielding. “I don’t so much care if he does!” “Well, strike me lucky, he’d ought to be shot if he do. Ain’t there enough killed already?” “Well, let it be as ’twill, mandarins don’t wear white shirts and bob-tailed coats; and they don’t talk nohow like Russians,” rejoins another. The admiral was strongly blamed for having made too sure of taking the forts; but all hands acknowledged that he was all right in the matter of courage, and putting on a good face; and pluck is so admirable a quality in the eyes of English seamen, that had our party had to try the admiral, they would have acquitted him with three cheers. Did we not hear afterwards that though wounded dangerously in two places he would not allow himself to be removed, but ordered the men in his boat to pull him to the vessel nearest the forts. There were two or three, however, who thought the account of killed and wounded would be laid to his charge.

The crew of our ship, the _Highflyer_, suffered severely, having twenty-eight killed and wounded. I could hardly realise that the same men with whom I had eaten and drunk the day before, were now stiffened corpses in the mud of the Peiho. Many a bronzed and stolid face did I see bedewed with tears of real sorrow for the loss of some friendly messmate or shipmate: nothing hypocritical about it, but real, downright, heartfelt grief. And when after a while we heard the report--four hundred and sixty-four in all killed and wounded--how it rang in our ears, and how sickened we felt when the muster was called! And all this fearful scene and havoc was because John Bull wouldn’t go round to the Imperial Tea-merchant’s back-door.

As the day advanced most of us got a wash and a shift of clothing from our knapsacks which had been left on board the gun-boat in the lockers, and something to eat; the last being particularly acceptable after our long fast and hard work. We had not finished breakfast when the forts began giving us a few shots from their long-ranger which was mounted on the south battery; but they nearly all fell short, striking the water ahead of us. We could see by our glasses that _Yellow Jacket_ was very busy inside, patching up breaches, and remounting and replacing guns, as if in anticipation of another attack. By-and-by, however, the shots came too close to be pleasant; one struck us on the bow, making an ugly hole, and causing all who were sitting forward to jump up very suddenly to see whatever was the matter. Not relishing this, the _Banterer_ shifted her berth farther out of range of their mischievous Long Tom: a lengthy brass gun, which always when fired gave out a clear ringing sound like a bell.

The _Nimrod_ also shifted, and just as she was turning ahead to steam out, a savage ball came screaming and hissing through the air, all of us watching where it would pitch, not thinking it would reach the shipping, when crash--it burst through the _Nimrod’s_ waist, and we knew by the piercing shriek which immediately followed, that it had done mischief. And so it had, for three were killed and seven wounded.

This was the Chinaman’s last harmful shot: fearfully and fatally had it told.

The enemy, taking courage from our shifting, came out on the mud in front of the forts, and were soon busily engaged picking up all the arms and equipments which had been dropped in the retreat, or thrown away for self-preservation. A rich harvest they must have made of it. But not content with the plunder, they must needs abuse the lifeless bodies of our shipmates. We couldn’t stand that, so our vessel and the _Janus_ hove up anchor, steamed right up under the batteries, and sent a bouquet of three or four ten-inch shell amongst the mob of plunderers; to which they replied by a spirited discharge of ginjalls. The forts presently took up their cause; whereupon we had recourse to our muskets, and blazed away for about a quarter of an hour, till the Chinese, being tired or frightened, fled to their cover. Then away we steamed again out of range, the forts sending one or two harmless shots after us. Then parties came and made prizes of some of our boats, which, having been abandoned, had drifted in under the batteries; and with evident triumph they rowed away towards the river, shouting derisively.

So passed the 26th. When night came, Captain Willes, taking a boat’s crew from the different vessels, went to try and recover some stores from the sunken despatch-boat _Cormorant_, and the two gun-boats _Lee_ and _Plover_. This enterprise was repeated for several nights afterwards. One night they got up steam in the _Cormorant_, but after the engines had turned once they stopped, and never moved afterwards; so the engines were smashed, to make sure that she should not prove any great catch to the Celestials, for, besides her damaged machinery, she had been hit by forty-seven shot between wind and water.

After this the Chinese came to see what they could grab from the unlucky vessel. One of the things they took was the ensign which had been nailed to the _Cormorant’s_ main, to make them believe she was not abandoned; and we saw them present it to some fellow with a feather in his cap, perhaps the commandant of the forts, or Sangkolinsin himself, whom our men called “Sam Collinson,” declaring that he was a marine who had deserted from one of our ships and joined the enemy. The flag was received by this worthy very graciously, and they had it hoisted on the fort out of bravado.

Night was the favourite time with those snarlers for firing, and we used to sit and watch them, although what they wasted their powder and ball for was a mystery to our side: it could not be to harm us, for we were out of range entirely. Probably they did it to let us see they were quite ready for us at any time we should be condescending enough to oblige them. One of their nightly jobs was to set fire to the _Plover_. At first she burned but slowly, and was smouldering all next day; but in the evening she blazed up high and fiercely, and it appeared as though she were engaged, when her shells exploded one by one. The glare of the burning vessel lighted up the forts, and we could see the battlements swarming with soldiers, who evidently enjoyed the spectacle. Gradually the boat burnt down to the water’s edge; flickered up fitfully for a moment; and then all was again darkness.

After remaining before the forts till the 4th of July, we returned with the gun-boats to the fleet, and right glad was I to get on board my own ship again. We could not be jolly, however, for we had lost shipmates, and our captain was badly wounded in the foot.

Shortly after this a letter of thanks from the admiral was read to us from the quarter-deck. The gallant chief deplored the failure of the attack; it had not, he said, pleased Almighty God to grant us the blessing of success, yet neither he nor our country would think any the worse of us on that account; and he wound up with an expression of his hearty thanks.

Well! all this was very gratifying, although to some a guinea to spend in drink and dissipation would have been far more preferable. “Oh, hang the letter of thanks! what good ’ll that do a fellow! What say you, Charlie?” “Why, I hope the old ’un ’ll be superseded in the command. He an admiral! why my big sister u’d make a sight better one than he!” “Well now, look here,” says Tommy, “you’re all talking about what you can’t eat. I say the admiral acted well as far as ever he knowed how! Yes! and I’m blessed if any man could ever have set his people a better example than he did! I say make him red at the main: ’tain’t no more nor he ought to have!” But these opinions were not delivered without a good sprinkling of naval interjections. The fleet in China swore as roundly as ever the army did in Flanders.

The _Highflyer_ sailed from the Gulf on the 10th of July, and arrived without any incident of importance, and after a sixteen days’ run, at Shanghai. As soon as we dropped anchor our ship was besieged by newsmongers, all eager to hear about the Peiho, and very eager to condole with such as had been wounded; but not practically; the theoretical way suited them best. I set them down as belonging to the sounding brass and tinkling cymbals sort.