Washed Ashore | Page 2

with a small
well-battered valise. Didn't the old shipmates talk as they sat together
during their supper! Many a battle they fought over again, and
Commander Askew had besides to talk of his own doings since last
they parted. He told his friend how in lashing the enemy's bowsprit to
the mizen-mast of his own ship, his leg had been shattered, and how he
held on to the task till he had done it, and then sank fainting on the
deck. He did not utter an expression like a boast, though he thoroughly
possessed the characteristics of the true-hearted naval officers of the
old school, who feared God, did their duty like lions, and said very
little about it. He spoke, too, of a promise he had made to a brother

officer, who lay dying in the cot next to him, and how he had fulfilled it
(the request was common in those days), "Jack, you'll keep an eye on
my wife and little girl, I know you will."
"Cheer up, Tom, don't be cast down about that matter, God knows that
I'll try and do the best I can for them."
That was all that passed. John Askew did do his best. He found his late
friend's widow dying, and the orphan girl, not a child, but a young
woman, without a friend in the world besides him. He looked about to
find a husband for her. To those eyes who could only see the pure
bright loving spirit beaming through her countenance, she appeared
plain. In vain Jack looked for what he sought. "Why don't you marry
her yourself?" said a friend.
Jack said that he was much too old for Margaret Treherne. However, he
put the matter before her. Her heart leaped with joy as she thought how
she should now be able to devote her life to the comfort of her generous
benefactor. A truly happy couple were Captain and Mrs Askew. He had
lately got his promotion to the rank of Commander, and was now in
search of a house in sight of the ocean he loved so well, where he might
live a retired life and bring up the two children God had given him.
"Fit up Stormount Tower," said his friend, half in a joke, "the rent will
be nominal, and you'll have as much of the sea as you can desire."
The next day the two brother officers walked over to inspect the tower.
The captain decided that he could soon make it comfortable, and
accordingly went on to see the proprietor, Mr Ludlow. Mr Ludlow,
who resided on his somewhat extensive but barren estate, was glad to
find a tenant willing to help to keep the old walls from tumbling down,
and who might also prove a pleasant neighbour. In a short time the old
tower, under the captain's directions, was put into a habitable condition,
and well caulked, as he observed, when he surveyed the work. The
furniture was of a modest description, for the captain's means were
small. When all was ready, he went away and returned with his wife
and two children--one a boy, four years old, and the other a little girl.
The boy was named after his father, John, though he was generally

known as Jack Askew; the daughter was called Margaret, but more
frequently spoken of as Margery Askew. An old follower of the
captain's came with him-- Tom Bowlby was a sailor of the old school,
and knew as little of the shore as a whale does of the inside of Saint
Paul's. He loved the captain as a father, and would have been ready to
die to save his life. He had saved it once, by interposing his own arm,
which he lost in consequence, and Captain Askew resolved that, should
he ever have a home, Tom should share it with him.
Jack Askew grew up a fine bold, generous-hearted boy, and what was
better still, fearing and loving God as did his father and mother. In his
childhood's days, when not with his parents, he was under Tom's entire
charge; but as he grew older the old sailor found it impossible to follow
him in his distant rambles, and Jack, who was of a sociable disposition,
soon made the acquaintance of every individual of the surrounding
population.
While Lieutenant Cumming remained at the revenue station, Jack was
constantly out with him and his men in their boats; he was equally
intimate with a class of men living on the coast, who, though they
professed to be fishermen, either made smuggling their chief business,
or were ready on all occasions to help the smugglers. Tom knew very
little about their proceedings; indeed, brought up as he had been, had he
done so, it is not