The Pen is mightier than the sword.
What happened to the heir of Jeffery de Glasse, known as Jeffery de Glasse. was he a seafaring man sailing out of Sharpness?
The Pen is mightier than the sword.
What happened to the heir of Jeffery de Glasse, known as Jeffery de Glasse. was he a seafaring man sailing out of Sharpness?
'Tis true,
the heir apparrant, and last of the once great de Glass dynasty now moves as mysteriously as ever under the name Jeffrey Glasser. As you rightly surmised he was late of that lamented sea fareing university 'Vindicatrix' once berthed in that great sea port and gateway to the World, Sharpness, during the latter part of the year of our Lord, 1964.
Did you know 'sailors home' is back on air cong? I've just registered back on there. Do you wish that we should take over the afore mentioned site as before? Of course, not without Brian D.
Hi Folks ,sorry I have not been about this week,two Burns nights and a hell of workload has meant my time has been pretty well accounted for. As General Macarthur said "I shall return"
Meanwhile ,you can always leave a message on my blog, www.myspace.com-briandaley or call me on Skype.
Normal service will be resumed very soon ,only one more Burns night to go.
Now ,where were we..........aaah,yes.The Mudskipper is now alongside in Garstons new dock and............................................... ...
9
I have news that has shocked me. Upon return to my fathers offices when we had made fast the Mudskipper, he gave me notice of my dismissal as 3rd mate of the ship that had been my home these past months. I am to join a vessel that has been especially commissioned for the new South American beef trade. A steamship which will accomplish that which has been the dream of mariners since Magellans time ; to dispense with the vagaries of wind and weather to propel a ship across oceans. It is the Garstonia, a vessel of some 2000 tons nett ; powered by a triple expansion steam engine ,she will cut the journey time by half. She will be ready for service one month hence and I am to attend the School of Navigation in Grassendale to apprise myself of the different techniques of steam and sail.
I will apply myself with all diligence and also take opportunity to further my researches into the history of the Brotherhood.
Captain Aspinalls younger brother Julian has been given command of the Garstonia, an envied commission, Mr Brewer, will be his mate, our 2nd mate is a newcomer to the company , a Wilfred Liverbob, an unknown quantity, but he is reputed to be of good report. We will have the company of that new breed of seafarer,the Engineer, I have heard many tales of their eccentricities and have oft wondered if there is some truth to such stories. Steam can have addling effects upon the brain ,or so it is said .This vessel will also carry a totally new kind of human being , the sort that writers of lurid fictions have penned many tales; Electricians! The man who will do the devils work on this ship is a Mr Manderson, a Scotsman to boot , let us hope that he is not too in thrall to Satan upon our voyage.
The needs of the crew on this vessel promise to be well catered for ,my father informs me that the Garstonia has a galley that is capable of providing hot meals for the crew regardless of the weather conditions . The maestro in charges of our culinary needs is another Scot ,a Mr Kinghorn.
The Garstonia has the capacity to carry five passengers and has refrigerated hatches, which means that we can carry all manner of fresh produce as well as the beef from the Argentine.
And so I return to my journal of the history of the Brotherhood.
When King James the First of England (and sixth of Scotland ) gave sanction to the settlement of Colonies within the Americas , the Merchants of London financed a settlement to be founded in Virginia, this was after the disastrous settlement of Roanoake, a colony organised by the doomed Sir Walter Raleigh. Roanoake came to nought and no sight was ever found of the original settlers. Many tales abound about the fate of those poor benighted pioneers but no one knows what became of them.
The London settlement ,Jamestown ,however, was successful, the land was fruitful and limitless.
Our Grand Master was of the opinion that the Brethren should finance a settlement in the New World so that the Society should enjoy the riches that could be found therein.
After much discussion they embarked upon an expedition to settle the land to the south of Virginia. The Brethren would have no truck with the City and Guilds of London, they were not yet fully beholden to the Stuart King either.
A Portugese pilot was commissioned to undertake the navigation of this passage and it was estimated that, given the right winds , landfall would be made within the quarter year.
Three caravels were put under orders and were laden with all manner of provisions, lessons had been learned from the previous expeditions of the French and Hispanic attempts at colonisation.
Several notable families from the town made applications for the passage and our aldermen, under the guidance of the Brethren, made scrupulous audits of the said families to ensure that they would contribute to the general well being of the venture.
On the fifteenth of April sixteen hundred and seven , the Argosies set forth upon the Mersey, bound for the New World , fifteen families were numbered aboard those vessels, comprising fifty two souls. The crews would be returning with any prizes that might be found ,gold was rumoured to be underfoot but no credence was placed upon this sailors tale. Our intrepid pioneers were charged to make a township on the shores of this unknown coast, to find furs and timbers, to make a plantation and to bring forth the fruits of this new land to enrich the backers of this venture.
Their voyage to the New World was one that took great toll upon their number, mal de mer caused a half dozen children to die. The constant retching and the inability to take sustenance caused their little bodies to fade to naught. The constant tossing and turning of the vessels caused two souls to seek solace in the depths of the sea.
The overwhelming relief of the sight of land brought great joy to all aboard the fleet. On the twenty first of July landfall was made at the mouth of a river that later became called The Catawber ,after the name of the tribe that inhabited its banks..
White men were not unknown to the Catawbers, the Portugese had fished these waters for a century or more and had traded with the different tribes along the coast. It was here that they caught the cod ,or bacalhau as they termed it. They would dry it on the American shores and had good relations with these Red men.
As such , our Portugese seamen were able to give us some knowledge of our new neighbours. They had advised our masters of the trade goods we should take to make overtures to the tribes, metal goods we had in plenty. We did not wish to suffer the problems that had befallen previous expeditions.
So ,our prospects for good fortune augured well, the elders of the Catawber tribe welcomed us and made a great feast in celebration of our arrival ;many gifts were exchanged and we began our preparations for the creation of a New Garston with the coming of a new dawn.
As we went to our slumbers our children remarked upon how much bigger the sky seemed in this new land.
It will also be noted that due to his exemplary work as Tiger and saviour to that maritime rogue and sot, Captain Aspinall, young Glasser has been requested to sign on as Tiger to the young Captain Julian Aspinal, a devout follower of the Temperence beliefs.
Also in his favour is young Glasser's knowledge of steam engines, gathered whilst working ashore between ships, in the 'Wang Kong' Chinese laundry in old Lime House, one of the more seedy areas of old London town, an area where he oft had to go to retrieve the old Captain Aspinal when he would frequent the Opium dens that were to be found there.
I well remember that horrific voyage on the steam ship `Garstonia`.
The engines operated by steam from the boilers. I was engaged as Fireman watertender,. I am a decendent of Michael de Aspin, despatched in a horrible manner by one Jeffery de Glasse in the 17th century, I had fallen on hard times and the other distant relative, Julian, a decendent of Baron de Aspin, who ordered the termination of Michael , felt sorry for me and offered me a position on the `Garstonia`.
I was shovelling coal into fearsome furnaces, running back and forth to the coal bunkers, filling the barrow and running back to the plates then feed the ever hungry fires. I was working four hours on and four hours off with little sleep in the off periods. To make matters worse, the Second Engineer, a bully with a big iron fist, was driving us continously without a break.
One day in mid Atlantic, one of us Firemen broke down with the constant harrassment and bullying, and then he snapped. He swung his banjo, [shovel ], and smashed in the head of the bullying Second Engineer. We were shocked at this happening, and had to decide what we were going to do.
If the Master had found out we would all have been charged with murder on the High Seas and then would be dancing on the end of a rope.
It was decided to feed him into the furnace that he wanted feeding, we picked him up and fed him feet first into the fires and there he was quickly consumed.
We all swore that we had never seen him during the watch and it was presumed that he may have fallen overboard.
At the end of the watch we raked and sliced to make sure the bones were broken up and then discharged overboard in the Ash Can.
That voyage gave me nightmares for many years after.
Michael Aspin
Last edited by captain kong; 01-25-2009 at 04:27 PM.
Oh yes, what a voyage that was! Little did you know that I was privvy to you and your fellow engine room cohorts' terrible deed concerning the demise of that scurrilous swine of a second engineer. You should be aware that a good steward always knows of gossip doing the rounds, and if none was known, could be sure to make some up!
Captain Julian was first alerted to something being amiss, when the 'Garstonia' surged ahead to a bulkhead splitting speed of three knots. Calls where made immediately to the engine room as to where the sudden increase in power could have come from, The Chief engineer being on duty, could offer no explanation, but I, lurking in the shadows of the bridge with cocoa for his Sirness, knew that it was at the very same moment that the second engineers lifeless body was fed into the ravenous glowing maw of the furnace. I guessed that the 2nd Engineer's body was, as usual, 95% rum. It would have been this that caused the awesome burst of energy.
As you say, it was presumed that he had fallen overboard whilst under the influence of that which the Captain hated most, the dreaded alchohol.
Captain Julian never persued the matter, feeling that the drunken swine had got his come uppence, and I felt it best kept to myself to be used later as some form of blackmail.
After the disposal of the Second Engineer the Third took over the running of the stoke hold. He tried to be as bad and as tough as The Second. He ddid not know the fate of the Second, so after a few bad watches under his bullying, Coalhouse Kelly got a grip of him and lashed him to a stantion facing the furnaces and left him for the complete four hours of the watch, He was screaming for the heat was too much for him, he wanted water, no chance, he would never give us time off for water, let him know what it was like in front of the furnaces for four hours. At the end of the watch we released him and he collapsed, we carried him up on deck and he died due to the dehydration, The Captain not knowing what had happened, thought he must have had a heart attack or something. and logged it as such , The Captain praised us for our efforts to get him up from down below. He was given over to the Sailors and they stitched him up in canvas with a couple of fire bars in to keep him company and to weigh him down in the sea, so he would not return.
We had a mournful service on the poop, read by the Captain, Julian Aspinall, and then he was slid over the stern and disappeared in a trail of bubbles. Two down.
The Chief Steward, Mr. Kinghorn, could be next if he did`nt come up with some proper victuals, After three days at sea we were on our Pound and Pint, as per Merchant Shipping Act 1844, All we got was 6 ounces of salt junk, per man, per day, perhaps, and 6 ounces of brackish water, per man, per day, perhaps.
We had to call in at the Azores, to get fresh water, stores and more coalbunkers.
The crowd went ashore and found a tavern with some old wenches who were long past the bloom of youth, they were made use of as a way of relieving the tension of the voyage so far.
Look,what does it take to stop the characters writing their own story?
Now if you bits of fiction don't stop jigging around with this tale ,I'm gonna have to get a big rubber and............................................... ...........
I have to pick up where I left off and I ain't about to be side tracked so step aside or be erased.
The Author
P.S. Did you read that tale where the characters come in search of the author to wreak their revenge on being written so badly.I forget the title but it was quite a spooky tale. Hmmmmm, could write one about the author bumping off his characters.Now there's an idea!!
Tried erasing it for you, Brian, but I've now got so much tipex on my screen I can't see a feckin thing!
Now I believe a certain Mr Twize Daley is Third Mate on this `ere vessel,
I think he had better look over his shoulder on this voyage, its not over yet
New Garston
22nd July 1607
We were awakened by the sound birdsong ,so loud and tuneful that it seemed to be unworldly. This truly was a heaven sent morn, as the families emerged from their makeshift shelters we found a bounteous array of fruits and fowl that lay upon great bark sheets. A further gift from our new neighbours?
Our leader ,Jonathan Heald , summoned us together and called for us to give thanks to our maker for delivering us into a land so friendly and full of welcome.
After we broke our fast the Elders sat in council and made plans for the building of our new town , our trade goods would enable us to negotiate with the Catawba for food and timber, we were conversant enough with the propriety of the customs of these people for our Portugese pilot had versed us in all such matters on our voyage here. These people were not a warlike race ,they were farmers and lived in settlements of great age. The name they give themselves is Yeh-Wah h?reh ,the People of the River.
We have so much in common, the shore of their river is rich in clay and they are traders in that very commodity. Like our shore at home ,they have kilns upon it and there they fire pottery of such consummate artistry that it would grace the tableboard of any gentlemans home.
Strange to relate ,they do not build their houses of brick, but of wood which is plentiful.The houses are round and have bark roofs extended families live in each dwelling and a palisade fence encloses the settlement.
At the centre of the settlement is a large plaza and this is used for tribal celebrations and the games that the men play,a kind of stickball.
The ideas of savages are dispelled with each passing hour ,these people are clothed and shod in wonderful manner. The men in breeches and jerkins of colourfully patterned hide,their feet are enclosed in hardy leathern shoes. The womenfolk are similarly attired and nary a beggar nor starvling was to be seen. We have a lot to learn here..
Those of us Brethren who are here as settlers are determined to to marry our knowledge with theirs to the enrichment of both our peoples.
With the aid of our Catawban speaking pilot ,we made arrangement for a meeting of our Elders and their Elders to draw up a treaty to mark out our settlement. I was not privy to this meeting and worked with the rest of our menfolk at unloading those stores necessary to commence work at building structures of a permanent nature. Our shipmen were to bide with us the while until we had made quarters for all of the families. When that outcome would be depended upon any agreements that could be struck with the Catawba.
The council lasted many hours and night had fallen before Bro,Heald brought the Elders back into our midst. The tidings they brought were joyful, the Catawba granted us land from the seashore to 10 miles in radius from our point of landing. This was more than we could ever have hoped for and the morrow would be spent in surveying our new land so that it could be parcelled out into equitable plots for living and farming.
As we went our slumbers we were filled with such dreams , what futures our children would have in this land of milk and honey!
21st July 1612.
We had our craftsmen in our number,carpenters ,wainwrights , wheelwrights , potters , bakers, brickmakers , and all manner of handicraftsmen. As soon as the allotments of land had been made we would set to in a communal spirit ,all would labour at the building of our homes. We would be building to designs that that had been drawn up by the master builders in our hometown. There would be no hovels in this Eden, there was space a plenty for us to house ourselves so that each family could grow enough for provender to meet family needs and that of the community.. We had our seeds but there was also the native provender that would meet our needs and then some.
The parcels of land were allotted to families according to their ability to manage them . Large families were given bigger tracts and so on .None were disappointed. Industry would be our watchword and Mistress Heald designed a coat of arms which was a beehive resting on a stack of bricks under which was the legend Industria . This was to be our watchword, we would earn our bread by the sweat of brow for many years to come.
We had many people in our settlement now, families had rapidly multiplied and many of our kinfolk from home had joined us now. The Catawba were still our friends but had engaged themselves in war with fierce peoples called Cherokee,Iriquois and Shawnee. We were glad that they were our friends for we heard from travellers of how those other tribes made war on our compatriots in other parts of this great continent.
We had built a harbour at the river front, it was a poor rude affair ,but as the years have passed we have made constant improvements so that we can now accommodate two large vessels at the same time for the shipment of imports and exports. We have warehouses along the embankment and we have been trading in tobacco and furs as well as the rich timber in which this land abounds.
As you stroll up from the waterfront you pass the ships chandlers,the sail lofts, the block and tackle manufacturer ,and all those allied craft shops that are needed to keep our merchantmen in good repair and our fishing fleet fit for he worst of weathers. We have the occasional Dutchman or Frenchie come asheltering from the hurricanes that sometimes blow, but ,for the most part our sojourn has been placid.
We have our own grouping of the Brethren here, our Master is of the Keegan blood and is of very great age, how old is not known,but he has seen many years more than is mans natural span. The medicinal properties of the Oglet clay are said to be his saving . This knowledge is known only to very few. The Catawba view him as one with ages, a man of no time, they venerate him.
I must cease my scribing for I hear horsemen approaching and the hour is late.
Sorry about nicking your story space Brian, but alehouse and I get bored if you do'nt continue the tale quick enough!
See what happens when you take your eye off the ball. I have little sympathy, for it was brought on, by your own admission, due to your pigging out over the New Year.
Anyway, alehouse started it!
Last edited by Jeff Glasser; 01-28-2009 at 03:40 PM.
What a tell tale tit you are.Jeff. I will see you off on that voyage, done two engineers already. your next. Or maybe you`ll hang.
Eh kid ,I'm still pigging it ,had another two invitation today and then next week I've got the 40th celebrations to look for ward to. But,but ,but , I an still continuing with my tale, the plot will get deeper and there will many Byzantian twists.Bear with me ,any way you and the Cap'n have got a wonderful rapport going and I think you could create a tale of your own capers between you. "The Captain and the Tiger" A libidinous tale of Debauchery on the High Seas..................................go on you can do it!!!
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