The tables turned
page: 0 (TitlePage) [View Page 0 (TitlePage) ]797521 TilE ~11 / I TABLESS TURNED: V BEING AN INTERflSTING INCIDENT fl~ T~H~ L!VR Ot IA('K SMALL AND IllS COMPANIONS. *1 RICIIMONI), IND: ~LNTI{A[. B. AND T. COMMITThI~OF FRIENDS. 1865. page: 0[View Page 0] II ~\ .\ THE TABLES TURNED. O~ evening, not long since, a number of oh ship-masters chanced to meet at a social supper, and after the cloth was removed we went in for yarn spinning. And among our number was Captain Richard Nuttei~ and a finer man or better sailor, iiever trod a deck. At length it came his turn to tell a story, or, what we preferred-and what the rest of us ha(1 done-relate some mci- flent of experience in his own life. Well, boys," he said, as he rejected the wine, which was at that moment passed to him for the first time, "I will give you a bit of the early part of my ocean life, and it is a very }m- portant bit, too, for upon it I have built the whole of my subsequent nianliood." We l)repared to listen to Captain Nutter, with the most profound attention, for he was not only an old seaman, but one of the most successful commanders in our mercantile marine. We lis- tened, and his story was as follows: "I wi~ very yonn~ when I tlr~t entered on ship- ~o~r'1, md ~t the :~ge o~ t~tiiteen Iconsidered my~ page: 4-5[View Page 4-5] TABLES 'rt~R1~E$. 5 4 THE TABLES TURNED). self quite a sailor. When I was eighteen I wat shipped Ofl board an East Indianian, for a long voyage. There were six of us on board of about the same age, and we had about the same duties to perforq~. The ~hi-~ti~ pid Laqy l)unlftp-' was a large one, and our crew was large in pro~ portion, there being Ilfty-tvrO, all told. We 'boys,' as we were called, messed together, and In all o or respect were separate fr~xn the rest of the cr~ , just as much as the officers were. Our capteill was a noble~heartCd, honorable man. kind and g nerotiS, but yet very strict. Of course we young ers found plenty of occasion to find fault with him. atid very often were his decisions arraigned before our mess and decidedly con~ demited. In fact. we should have reversed many of his judghlentS Ii' we had had the power; but as he was t~he cotunnuidel',' and we only foremast hands-aild boys at that-he had his own way, and the luminous decisions we caine to were coa~ seqiiefltly of no avail, and lost to the world. "Now, we boys had learned, in the course of our tra~tels. to dritik our grog as well as any sailors. We could toss oft' a glas~ of ruin aud water with as much grace as any one, and we claimed the right so to do. not only as a privilege, but as an honor to which a life upon the ocean entitled us. But even In this respect our captain pretended to I differ from us. When we could get on shore, wo I \i~i .~,\ I nlge iii Oll1'CU~afldfldiiiI~.. free; ~iv x'oiihl ~\e eunie 611'. or '6 theiQ w:t. one did' izniilbbi' wiki itidd iVo~ i~e 1ndti~d to t teli ~i di'op di' aiiytihig ii~t6itcatiii~. iw~ :i;iii~i~ (~ii~ .J&tih ~4iiiafl. &iid he hePiiiged iii biib df the Iiitck tad'n~ 61 ~ J~4e~. Now, ;hi~k Sh~MI dot 6IIl~ i~f~iii64~eitir~I& 6in diidkjdg hinI~1df, l)ut 1~ ~u~&I ~rnetinies to us to let the sidft~ iildii&. lie g~v~ thi~it )6I 1I~. lIO'('Ci fOr w6 iiOtde ~hkch sp6it ot hiiii ~i~t ~'hid ~; i us aldiie. But our capt~dii I~(id Aflai~ eye~. dud it ~ ~ig befoi'e hie ~6~hI t~ ddt Jo ~hidw .J:wk Nuriall titvor~ which lie did tibt io{~' f6 us. lie wodid often taf~ Jack on ~hote ~vith hhii tb sp~nd the night; and such things as ti~~t. ~r1ii1~ ~'P were kept dii beaud the ship. Of eoutsd thi~ cleated a SOrt ot L'Z1V~ oh OiiL' part, and it OHd~ in a (heckled ill-~~1ll toward poot' Jack. Nhw. in truth, Jack was one ot the best fel- lows In the w~rId. He was kind, obliging, hoii~s~ ~lw~iys willing to lend a helping hand iii case ot distress, and tt~ true a friend as ever lived~onJ~ lid would n't (Irink with ni, that was all. No- th;it wa.4 n't all; lie tedrued faster th:tn w6 dld~ hi~ was a better sailor aui(I learned ftiore of naVl- ~iition. But this we tried to lay to the captain'~ paying hint the most attention, though we knei~ better at the time. for we h~id the nrii~i1 b~ 5 4 page: 6-7[View Page 6-7] TAnLIrS TURNED. 4marning just as much as we had a mind to. The pnth of the matter was, we five loved the idea of being 'old salts.' better than we did anything else, ~nd we spent more time in watching for opportu- nities to have a spree than we did in learning to perfect ourselves in the profession we had chosen. ~.ft even got so at length, that Jack Small was called upon to take the deck sometimes, when the officers were busy, and he used to work out the reckonings at noon as regularly as did the captain. Yet Jack was in our mess, and he was a constant eye-sore. We saw that he ~vas reaching rapidly ahead of us in every useful particular, and yet we would n't open our eyes. We were cuivious of his good fortune. a~ive called It, and used to seIze every opportunity to tease and run him. But he never got angry in return. lie sometimes would laugh at us, and at others lie would so feelingly chide us that we would remain silent for awhile. "At length the idea entered our lread~ that Jack ~honld drink with us. We talked the matter over in the mess while Jack was absent, and ~ve mutu- ally pledged each other that we would make him Lb ink at the first opportunity. After tlii~ deter- mination was taken, we treated Jack more kindly, and he was happier than he. had been for some time. Once more we laughed and joked with him In the mess, and he in return helped us in out navigation. We were on our homeward-bouE~ TRR T&~L~5 TUJ~D. 7 ps~age. by the way of Brazil, and our ship stop ped ;it Rio .Janeiro, where we remain a week or so. One 1)leasant morning we six youngsters re- red i)~i'iiiission to go on shore and spend the whole day; and accordingly we rigged up in our best togs antI were carried to the landing. Now was our chance, and we put our heads t4)getlteI~ to see how it should be done. Jack's very tir~t desire, as soon as he got ashore, was to go Ill) :iiil examine the various things of interest in the citi'. lie wanted to visit the churches and sneh like places arid to please him we agreed to go ivithi hut, if Ito ivouki go and take dinner with us. lie agreed totiris at once, and we thought we had him sure. IVe planned that after dinner was eateit *we would have some light sweet wino brought on. and that we would contrive to get ruin ettoughi jitto what he drank to upset him, for nothi big on earth could please us more than to get J:u~k Small drumi k. and carry him on board in that shape, for thezi we fancied that the captain's Ihvot'itismn wouhi be at an end, and that he would no longer look upon out' rival with preference Over 011 eselves. We had the matter all arranged, 1111(1 pi time Itleamitimne IVO paid Jack all the atten- lion in Oil)' PoWer-So much so that he at length signified a willingness to go anywhere to pleaM us, P)'Oyided we wonhl not go into any bad place. "Dinner time came, and a most capital dinner page: 8-9[View Page 8-9] THE TABLES TURNED. we had~ We had selected one of th~ best lietels. fer.the prices were n~ itighet' there than at plares of lower re1pute~ and,,in t~et~ not so liig~. tor these IOW j~laees ticece a sailpr mo4t1uuiuereifulls. The ~ 75. WerI~,ispatcI~(l, ~y~t1i, becoming gusto, a Jie~ .th~ wine wa~ bro~jit~i~ 'Afr! what have you here? asked Jacl~; he- ~aying ~ uneasiness at the appearance of the glasses ~tnd b~tt~es. - ~ "'Only a ljt~le fl~9W iynie, I rerlie(l. a~ care- ~sIyasL5could. Mere juice of' the grape.' '~tit i~ wine, neyet'th~l~ss~', pursup~d lie. ,~,"' Itis n~t wined' cried Sam Pratt, who was one of Qh~i.destflh1tSOl~lNCpt1Ii~9 (WCI' craclW(l. '~o,' chimed in Tim Black~ aothei' 01' about t~ie sai~ie stamp. It's only a little sigusle juice. (nw~ boys, fill up.' "The glasses was accordingly filled, Sam Pratt perfQrmiug thixt duty, aiid he took good eni that ,Jaek's glass had a good quantity of sweetened 111111 in it. "'No,' said Jack, as, the glass was moved toward bini; 'ifyou arc going to commence thus, I will !e~p your coinpa~iy with water while you renmili ord~ly, but I will iiot touch wine.' " 1'his was sjokcn very mildly, and with a kind smile, but yet it ~vas spoken firmly, and we could see that our plan was about being knocked in the head. We. urged him to drink ~vit~ us-only one 'iIJE TABUO4 TURNED. glass. if 110 more. We told him how innoeeiit It W:is. :tiid hio~v happy his social glass ivoutd idake t15~ lint we could ztbt 111010 him. - Tht~ii '~t rd~ go!' erhkl Tim, who had ahi'ead~ ihank sonic. in fact, ali of u.~ bitt Jit~~k had drairk or le~s (luring the for~no6u. 'Let huh gd, ~'t' ~ho'it't.wju~ the hnea'ii tN1o~v with us!' Thi~it's it.' added Sam. with it hitter 'off b~ gIll's. If' he's to6 'mod to drink with his ship- rn:ttes we (10 n't wihit hnu.' lott iiUs1tlid~rsta11(l Bile,' said Jack, in a toixe of' ~~til1. I am not too good to (Irilik ivith y~u~ in ih~~ seiise in which you 'vohld take W. Bdt I (In hot ~~'lsIi to drink at ~il1.~ 'Ton stlngy-4hiit's all,' said I (letCrmin~d W make liii drink if I could. But Jack looked at 110' so i'e roaclifully as I sidd this tliht I wislhd I h~d not. spoken us I (lid. It you ~~'is1i to enjoy yoni* ~Vine, iliessiflates,' fJiill ,Miiiitll. at the smiie tuOc rising troni his chair, 'you can' ~Io so. but [ b(.o' you will excuse fliC. I will pay my share 01' the expense for the (hIllier.' 'And for your share of' the wine,' said Tim, for we o1'(leI'Qd it for YOU.' No,' returned Juck, 'I can nbt pay for any ot the wltw.~ Mews!' cried two or three at a breath. "'No, no. measmates', not rean. I Will pay for page: 10-11[View Page 10-11] TIlE TABLES TURNED. the whole of the dinner-for every article you and I have had in the house, save the wine.' "And as h~ spoke he rang the bell, lie asked the Waiter who entered what the bill was for the company, without the wine, and after the amount had been s~atefl, he took out his purse to pay i~ when Sam Pratt, wh~was our acknowledge4 leader. caught his arm. "'N6-not so,' said Sam. 'You shall not pay for It, for we will not eat at the expense of one who will sneak out of a scrape in this way. We want nothing more to do with you unless you take a glass of wine with us.' "'Very well,' said Jack; and as he spoke 1 could see that his lip quivered, and that he dared not speak more. "He turned toward the door then, but before tic reached it Tim Black ran and caught him, at the tame time exclaiming "'May I be blessed if you go off so, any way. You've commenced and now you '~e got to stick it out.' "This was the signal for us to commence again, and once more we tried and urged Jack to drink the wine and ~vhen we found that urging would not do we commenced to abuse and scoff. We ac- cused him of trying to step over us on board time ship, and of all other bad things of which we could thlm4c. For awhile the poor fellow seemed in~ TJIE TAJiLES TURNED. 11 dined to let his anger get the upper hands; buc at length he calmed himself and stepping back to his chair, he said: Shipmates, will you listen to me for a mo. nient?' "Silence gave consent, and in a moment; more he resumed: "'Since mattel's have come to this pass, I have resolved to tell you what I had meant to keep locked up in my bosona.' "We had always thought from Jack's manner, that there was something peculiar connected with his early life. aud we were all attention in a mo- uJ~nt. My story is but a very short one,' he contin- ne(l, 'and 1 can tell it Ii) a very few words. From the time of my earliest childhood I never knew what it was to have a happy home. My father was a drunkard ! Onco he had been a good man. and a good husband, but mum ruined all his man- hood, aII(l made a brute of him. I can remember how cold and chaee~'less was the first winter of my lit'9 to which nay memory leads nay mind. We md ito tire, no food. no clothes, no joy, no noth- big, nothing but misery and woe! My poor another used to clasp inc to her bosom to keep me warm, and once, once I remember, ~vlmemm her very tears froze on my check! 0, how my mother prayed to God for her husband; and I, who could page: 12-13[View Page 12-13] 12 Th1~ ~mats TURN1~D. btitJutsli ifl'attle, learned to pray. too. And I ns~t) M~ ti~a~ husband ~nd father 1'etUI'H tO i~ home an(I I remember how my poor hiothe* cued aiel tren~bl~d. "' When I grew older 1 had to go out aIr~l be~ ft'r biead. All ~o1d and shivering I' ~ndvd throug~the deep snow, ~vith my clothes in tattt'r~ and rhy freezing feet almost bare. And I snw ~th~r children dressed warm atul corn thrt~hIe~ and I knew they ~vere happy, for they laughed~ruid sang as they bounded along toward geijool. Those ~$ys had sober fathers. I knew that their fathets were no better than mine had been otwe, for rn~' mother had told me how noble my own father could be if the accursed demon llZW were not in his 1~ray. But the fatal power was. upon him and though he ot~ten promised, and though he often tried, he could not escape. '~'Time passel on mid I was eight years old, and those eight years had been years of such sor- so~v and suffering as I pray God I may never sec i~nother experience. At length one cold morning~ lii the dead of winter, my father was not at horne~ He had not been at home through the night. My mother gent me to th~ tavern to see it' I could tind him~ I had gone half the way when I saw sonic- thing in the snow by the side of the road. I stop- ped, and a shudder ran through me, for It 1oo~~d like a hnman form. I went up to it ~and turned TIEIU T4BI4C~ RN~. W the head over and brushed the snow from the face T~ was 'my Iflther, and h~e was slI~ and cold! I laid ~y I~41(1 upon his pale brpw, and it wa~s like splid ip~4de. J~e w~ ~le~4 1 ~bPoor Jae~c stopped a mopeut ~nd wiped his eyes. Not ou~ of ~s sppke, t'o~ we h~ci b~ec9rne too deeply moved. J~L~t 1143 SQQ4 wea4 oi~. '~'1 we'4 t9 the tavern an4 told the people there wh4 I had found, and the landlord sent two of hfr men to carry the frozen body of my fathe~. home. 0, shipmates, I can not tell you how my niotber wept and groaned. She sank (lown upon l~er knees and clasped the icy corpse to her bosom, as though she would have given it life froar the warmth of her own breast. She loved her hus. band through all his errors, and her love was all powerful now. The two men went away anti let~ the body still on the floor., My mother ~vished m~ to come and kneel by her side. I did so. My child,' she said to me, and the big tears were rQl- ling down her~ cheeks,' you know 'what has cau.5ed all this. This inaui was once as noble, and happy, and true, as man can be. but oh, see how he ha~ been stricken W.wn. Promise me, my child, U, promise. here, before God and yorr dead father1 and your broken hearted mother, that you will never, never, touch a single drop of the fata poison that has wrought for us all this misery.' "'0, shipmates, I did promise, then and there. page: 14-15[View Page 14-15] 14 TRY ABLB5 ~OR~CD all that my mother asked, and God knows that ~ this moment that promise has never been broken. Ify father was buried, and some good kind neigh. bors helped us through the winter. When the next spring came I could work, and I earned something for my mother. At length I found a chance to ship and I did so. and every time I go home I have somc money for my mother. Not for the wealth of the whole world would I break the pledge I gave my mother and my God on that dark, cold morning. And even had I made no such pledge. I would not touch the fatal cup, for I know that I have a fond, doting mother who would be made miserable by my dishonor, and I would rather die than bring more sorrow upon her head. Perhaps you have no mothers; and if you have perhaps they do not look to you for~sup~ port, for I know you too well to believe that either of you would ever bring down a loving mother's gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. That is all, shipmates. Let me go now, and you may enjoy yourselves alone, for I do not believe that you will again urge the win cup upon me "As Jack thins spoke he turned toward the door, but Tin) Black stopped him. "'Hold on, Jack,' cried Tim, wiping his ey~ and starting up from his chair. "You shan't go alone. I have got a mother and I love her as ~i elI as you love yours, and your mother shall nei* bo T~Z TABLe. TURNJC1~. iS Bappier than inii~e, for by the love 'i bear her, I here swear that she shall never have a drunken gon. I will drink no more.' ~Oive us your hand, Tim,' cried Sam ~ratt; ['11 go with you.' "I waited no more, but quickly starting from my chair I joined the other two, and ere long the whole live of us joined ~vith Jack Small in his no. ble lire-plan. We called for pen, ink and l)al)er, and made Jack draw up a pledge. He signed it first and we followed him, and when the deed was done I kno~v we were far happier than we had beeu before for years. The wine upon the table was untouched, and the liquor we had drank du- ring the foreuoon was now all gone in its effect. ~'Toward evening we returned to the ship. There was a frown upon the captain's brow as we ume over the side, for he had never known us to come off from a day's liberty sober. But when we had all come over the sid~ and reported our- aelves to him his countenance changed. Lie could hardly give credit to the evidence of his own Senses. "Look here, boys,' he said after he had exam- lued us thorongidy, 'what does this mean?' "'Show him the paper,' whispered I. "Jack had our pledge, and without speaking h banded it to the captaju. He took it and read i~ and his face changed its exPression several times At len~tl I saw a tear start to his eye page: 16[View Page 16] ~AV TIflC ~'ABL~*I TI1INJCD~ "'y~l~e s~id, as he t~dded up the paper. 1$ a~ keep tl~is~ if yo~ stick 1;o you' ns~ble rcs~Iq ~on~6ii sijall never wa;4 ~t tri~iad while I live.' "Ws~ l~t th~e e~iptaii keep the paper. a~i~I wl'e he had jtu it hi his pock~L he cane ~LII~i ~9l~ q each i!~ t~tpi by ~"e hanil. lie was n~ueP ~ft~et~d ~4 I i~i~w ~e ct~nc(~ made ~ Froui that th~y our prospects brightened. Ja~ S~nni1 no longer 'l~a~i our envy, for lie ~o&k. t'9~ ~nd taught us uavig~tiou. and we were proijd.~ him. Oii th~ ne4 vo~ra~e we all six were fft§ j ~s able seamen~ and received full wages. aiul i~ J~eft not that i~oh1e-hearWd captain. until we ~ to ~eeowt~ 4)lt~cers on board other shuips1 one of the best masters the world) believee the rest ~f our party a~ aJ4l 4~l living. honored and respected men. years ago we ~tll met~the whole six of us-~at tt~ 4o' 1~otuse in New York. and not one of us J4 broke,) the pP~d~e which we ~ll~Lde in the hoWi ~ ~o. Four of us were then commainlera of goq~ *blp~. one as a merchant in New York, and ~ other wa cities in Mediterranean. out as~ American Consul t~ do not drinl wine witl~ you~ aqd of puree y~p will not urge it upon me~ uoi take my refusal a~ a i~ark of coldness or disrQ~
