True Blue | Page 7

fast, he played faster; when
they played loud, he played louder; for, as he used to boast, his
instrument was a very wonderful one, and there were not many which
could come up to it. The crowd of negroes who collected from every
side to stare at the procession, admired him amazingly, and cheered,
and shrieked, and laughed, and clapped their hands in gleeful
approbation of his performance.
Thus the procession advanced through the streets of Kingston till it

reached the church door, it wanted still some time to the
commencement of service, so the men were enabled to take their seats
at one end of the building without creating any disturbance. There was
plenty of room for them, for unhappily the proprietors, merchants and
attorneys, the managers of estates and other residents, were very
irregular attendants at places of worship. The few people who did
collect for worship stared with surprise at seeing so unusual a number
of sailors collected together; and more so when the service was over, to
see Paul Pringle, acting as best man, lead his friend Freeborn, and the
two nurses, and the rest of his shipmates, up to the font.
The clergyman had been warned by the clerk what to expect, or he
would have been equally astonished.
"What is it you want, my good people?" he asked.
"Why, bless your honour, we wants this here young chap, as belongs, I
may say, to the old Terrible, seeing as how he was born aboard of her,
made into a regular shipshape Christian."
"Oh, I see," said the minister, smiling; "I will gladly do as you wish.
You have got godfathers and a godmother, I suppose?"
"Oh, Lord bless your honour, there are plenty on us!" answered Paul,
feeling his bashfulness wear off in consequence of the minister's kind
manner. "There's myself, Paul Pringle, quartermaster, at your honour's
service; and there's Peter Ogle, captain of the foretop, and Abel Bush,
he's captain of the fo'castle; and then, d'ye see, we've each of us our
mates to take command if any of us loses the number of our mess; and
then as there's the two godmothers Nancy and Betty, right honest good
women, the little chap won't fare badly, d'ye see, your honour."
"Indeed, you come rather over-well provided in that respect," observed
the minister, having no little difficulty in refraining from laughing.
"However, I should think that you would find two godfathers and one
godmother, the usual number, sufficient to watch over the religious
education of the child."

"No, your honour," answered Paul quietly; "I'll just ax you what you
thinks the life of any one of us is worth, when you reflexes on the
round-shot and bullets of the enemy, the fever,--`Yellow Jack,' as we
calls him,--and the hurricanes of these here seas? Who can say that
one-half of us standing here may be alive this time next year? We
sailors hold our lives riding at single anchor. We know at any moment
we may have to slip our cable and be off."
The clergyman looked grave and bowed his head.
"You speak too sad a truth," he answered. "Now tell me, what name do
you propose giving to the child?"
"Billy, your honour," answered Paul at once.
"William?--oh, I understand," observed the clergyman.
"No, Billy, your honour," persisted Paul. "Billy True Blue, that's the
name we've concluded to give him. It's the properest, and rightest, and
most convenient, and it's the name he must have," he added firmly.
"But what is the father's name? What is your name, my man?" asked
the clergyman, turning to Freeborn.
Will told him.
"Oh, then I understand Billy True Blue is to be his Christian name?"
said the clergyman.
"Yes, your honour," answered Paul. "D'ye see, he'd always be called
Billy. That would be but natural-like. Then where's the use of calling
him William? And True Blue he is, for he was born at sea aboard a
man-o'-war, and he'll be brought up at sea among men-o'-war's men;
and he'll be a right true blue seaman himself one of these days, if he
lives, so there's an end on the matter."
The last remark was intended as a clincher to settle the affair. The
clergyman had no further objections to offer to the arguments brought

forward, and accordingly the child was then and there christened "Billy
True Blue," to the infinite satisfaction of all his friends.
On leaving the church, the party adjourned to various houses of
entertainment to drink their young shipmate's health. Much to their
credit, at the time appointed they reappeared on board, returning to the
quay in the style they had come, none of them the worse for liquor.
Captain Penrose had reason to be satisfied with his system of managing
his ship's company.
CHAPTER THREE.