When London Burned

l returned to John Wilkes, who wa

, as he joined him. "Who do y

e that they are men of importance by

rt; the other is the Duke of Albemarle. And the Prince

he ladder the last time he stepped forward and said to me, 'You must be well-nigh spent, man. I will go up this time.' However, I said that I would finish the work, and so, without more ado, I shook off the hand he had placed on my arm, and ran up after you. Well, it is a stroke of

though, indeed, I have thought of taking the title again when I embark on foreign service, as it may help me somewhat in obtaining promotion. But do not say anything about it at home. I am Cyril Shenstone, and have been fortunate enough to win the friendship of Captain Dave, and I should not be so comfortable were ther

s had been effectually stayed. The crowd had already begun to scatter, and as they walked eastward the streets were full of people making t

t business," John whispered,

ter evening in every way than those fruit

y of the fire was told, a

ls you saved, Cyr

nyone to ask. Most of the people were too busy to talk to, and the rest were spectators who h

they l

them, and I should not know them if I met them to-day; and, besides, when you only

ined in t

uses in the Savoy are almost all the property of noblemen, and you might h

her children; besides, even had it been otherwise, it was merely by chance that I helped them out. It was John who tied the ladders together and who carried the girls down, one by one. If I had been alone I should only have had time to save the youngest, for I am not accustomed to running up a

e said. "I am afraid we shall be losing you, for he will, I shou

lty would, no doubt, be sufficient. At any rate, it is a great thing indeed to have so powerful a friend at Court. It may be that, at the end of another two years, we may be at war with some other foreign power, and that I may be able to enter our own army instead of seekin

ell you, it is a deal better to walk the decks as captain than it is to be serving on shore with twenty masters over you; and there is money to be made, too. A captain is always allowed to take in a certa

t seems to me that my inclinations turn rather towards the plan that my father recommended, and that, for

ad friends in Wapping and had got three days' leave ashore, as the cargo we expected had not come on board the ship. We had kept it up a bit, and it was latish when I was making my way down to the st

he back of the head. The next thing I knew was, I was lying in the hold of a ship, and, as

I. 'What port is this

oard the Tart

e Tartar was the receiving hulk

n down to Gravesend, and there put, in batches of four or five, into the ships of war lying there. It chanc

was that

ips of war, and six fire-ships, was in the Downs, and felt so muc

n the fight of t

the 31st of July, wh

all about

was no time for looking about, I can tell you, and if there had been time there was nothing to see. It was like being in a big thunderstorm, with thunderbolts falling all round you, and a smashing and a grinding and a ripping that would have made your hair stand on end if you had only had time to think of it. But we hadn't time. It was 'Now then, m

y ships

on board our ship, and in the very first broadside the Dutch fired a chain-shot, and pretty well cut Admiral Deane in two. I was close to him at the time. Monk, who was sta

n so, Deane's flag would have been hauled down and all the Fleet would have known of hi

wed them for some hours, they making a sort of running fight of it, till one of their big ships blew up, about nine in the evening, when they laid in for shore. Blake came up in the night with eighteen ships. The Dutch tried to draw off, but at eight o'clock we came up to them, and, after fighting for four

he Dutch had sent to England to ask for terms of peace. However, we were wrong, and, to give the Dutchmen their due, they showed resolution greater than

r and sailed south, thinking Van Tromp had gone that way; but, instead, he had sailed north, and in the morning we found he had picked up De Ruyter's fleet, and was ready to fight. But we had other things to think of besides fighting that day, for the wind blew so hard that it was as much as we could do to keep

fire-ships came down before the wind, and it was as much as we could do to avoid them. They did, indeed, set th

t ship after ship came up to engage us, seeming bent upon lowering Monk's flag. Three Dutch Admirals, Tromp, Evertson, and De Ruyter, as I heard afterwards, came up in turn. We did not know who they were, but we knew they were Admirals by their flags, a

re towed out of the line. How the day would have gone if Van Tromp had continued in command of the Dutch, I cannot say, but about noon he was shot through the body by a musket-ball, and

ach for himself, and in no sort of order. Some of our light frigates, that had suffered less than the line-of-battle ships, followed them u

n the plight we were in. Anyhow, at night their ships got into the Texel, and our vessels, which had been following them, anchored five or six leagues out, being a

being unfit for further contention until repaired, we returned to England, and I got my d

nstead of, as they say, the Duke of York. Although he is called General, and not

d still their cargoes in the hold, and Monk, thinking that it was likely the captains would think more of saving their ships and goods than of fighting the Dutch, changed the captain

st, with my mind intent upon working the gun, and paying no heed to the roar and confusion around, scarce even noticing when one beside me was struck down. You will be up on the poop, having naught to do b

I will think of what you have said, and will try and prevent myself from getting either dazed or stupid; though,

eat care of yourself, Cyr

John Wilkes both

he to stoop down with his head below the rail, or to screw himself up on the leeward side of a mast? No, no, lass; each man