in answer to the summons of the boatswain, "all hands, attend lecture, ahoy!" both ships' companies assembled in the steerage of the young america. the arbuckles had seats near the foremast, on which the professor displayed his maps, diagrams, and other illustrations of his teachings. these lectures were received with different degrees of favor by various students. while such as paul kendall, shuffles, gordon, and tremere regarded them as very valuable privileges, others considered them as intolerable bores. some were interested in a portion of the descriptions and historical details, others closed their ears to the whole, though all listened to anything that could be considered a story.
the runaways were among those who regarded the present lecture—since they did not expect to visit germany—as an intolerable nuisance. they were careful to select places where they could listen or not, without attracting the attention of the professor. herman and perth had seated themselves near one of the gangways before the boatswain sounded the call. the latter held a very doubtful position on board. although he wore the white ribbon of the order of the faithful, it was a problem whether he was in sympathy with the objects of the institution. he had declined to serve as a seaman in place of the mutineers; but in spite of his refusal, he took his place at the capstan, and went aloft when the order was given to shake out the topsails. he did not like the idea of being alone, and if he did not formally recant in so many words, he did so by his actions. no fault could be found with him, so far as the faithful discharge of his duty was concerned; still his position was not altogether satisfactory.
not only the faculty and the officers were in doubt in regard to his standing, but also his former associates. he had done nothing to indicate his regret for the past, on the one hand, and nothing to assure his runaway friends that he was still in sympathy with them. the principal did not know where to put him, and, consequently, was unable to decide whether or not he should be relieved from the penalty of his transgressions in the josephine, and be permitted to accompany the party to germany.
"are you going to the rhine with the rest of the fellows, perth?" asked herman, as they seated themselves at the opening of gangway b.
"that's more than i know; but i suppose not, for i am considered too wicked," replied the master, lightly.
"i thought you had joined the lambs."
"nicht viel!"
"what do you mean by that?"
"not much!"
"we all thought so. you have hardly spoken a word to one of our fellows since you went into the cabin," added herman.
"well, i've prayed for you all the same. i declined to take a seaman's place when you fellows in the steerage slopped over, and wouldn't come to time."
"you didn't, though!"
"i did, though; but i couldn't stand alone, and i sort of backed out, just as the rest of you did, and went to work at the braces and buntlines."
"then you really are not a lamb?"
"not if i know myself! i didn't do anything to get into the cabin; so it isn't my fault that i'm there. whether i go to the rhine or not, i suppose it is certain enough that the rest of our fellows will not."
"no; we have spoiled all our chances."
"there's no doubt of that," laughed perth.
"but we are going to paris," added herman, in a whisper. "we have the wires all laid down."
"are you, though?" said perth, deeply interested in the communication. "i should like to go with you."
"but we are not going in a bunch; only two or three in a squad. don't say anything to any of our fellows about it."
"i never says nothing to nobody," laughed perth. "but i want to know more about it."
"the arrangements are all made, and i don't think there is any chance to fail."
"good!"
but the professor commenced his lecture at this point, and the steerage was hushed, so that it was not prudent even to whisper. the students were all required, at these lectures, to be prepared with paper and pencils, so that they could take notes, especially of dates and statistics.
"our party consists of little, ibbotson and myself," herman wrote on his paper, which he placed so that perth could read it.
"have you any stamps?" perth wrote.
"no; but ibbotson has a letter of credit on which he can raise some."
"my uncle, in glasgow, sent me twenty pounds—four five-pound notes—at the request of my father. i got it at havre," wrote perth. "i will join you in paris if i go to germany; if not, i will start with you. pop. n. ger., 28 mill.; s. ger., 12.5 mill.; total, 40.5 mill.; about equal to pop. of france."
the sudden change in the style of the second master's notes is accounted for by the fact that the principal entered the steerage at the moment indicated by the break in the conversation between the two runaways. they were in the rear of all the other students, and were fully exposed to mr. lowington's gaze as he passed out of the main cabin. perhaps he did not think it was quite natural for such students as perth and herman to be engaged so industriously in taking notes; or it may be that his practised eye fully comprehended at a glance the nature of their occupation. the instant the door opened, herman slyly slipped off the sheet on which he had been writing, and thrust it into his pocket. perth had written over one of his small pages of note paper, and begun upon a second. he had, when his companion had read what he wrote upon it, slipped the first sheet into the atlas, which served as a desk for him.
mr. lowington walked to the vicinity of gangway b, and paused there. perth turned down the upper part of the sheet, on which he had written the last part of his message to herman, so that nothing objectionable appeared on it, even if the principal took it into his head to look over his shoulder. perth was not at all flurried—he was too old a rogue to commit himself by any weakness; and when he had written down the statement of the professor, he paused and looked at the speaker, as though he was wholly and entirely absorbed in the lecture. the entrance of mr. lowington caused many of the students to look behind them, as boys will do in school, on the smallest pretence. mr. mapps insisted upon the students' attention, and he paused till his hearers had gratified their curiosity.
mr. lowington did not appear to be quite satisfied with the conduct of perth, and, reaching over the shoulder of the second master, he took the paper from the atlas. of course this act produced a sensation among the boys; the most insignificant event creates a sensation in the school-room. mr. mapps lowered the pointer, and intimated by his actions that he did not intend to proceed till order was restored. perth was confounded this time, if he never was before.
"what kind of a lecture are you delivering, mr. mapps?" asked the principal, with a smile.
"a lecture on germany, such as i have usually given on these occasions."
"as this young gentleman writes it down, it seems to me rather a singular lecture. i will read it."
perth wanted to drop through into the hold.
"'i will join you in paris if i go to germany; if not, i will start with you. population north germany, twenty-eight millions; south germany, twelve and a half millions; total, forty and a half millions; about equal to population of france.' the latter part seems to be a little more germane than the first part. 'i will join you in paris if i go to germany,' is rather paradoxical, and i conclude that the young gentleman has not correctly reported this part of your lecture."
"i think not, sir," laughed mr. mapps. "i do not remember saying anything about going to paris."
"well, mr. perth, i recommend that you take a seat nearer to the professor, so that you can understand him better; for certainly you make very bad work of taking notes," added mr. lowington, as he pointed to a seat near the foremast.
perth walked forward, and took the place indicated. mr. mapps proceeded with the lecture; but it is doubtful whether the second master understood him any better than before, he was so completely absorbed by the consideration of the little difficulty into which he had so heedlessly plunged himself. after all, the situation was not so bad as it might be. the principal could make nothing of the sentence he had read, and as nothing had been found upon herman, he could trust to his ingenuity to explain away the meaning of it. so he used his brain in trying to devise a solution of the sentence which would satisfy the principal, instead of attending to the lecture, which he feared would have no practical value to him.
a large majority of the students were deeply interested in the remarks of the professor, and as they were to be in germany in a few days, even the dry statistics were considerably valued. as it would not be civil to report the professor's lecture from the middle, where it was interrupted by the entrance of the principal, it is necessary to return to the commencement of it.
"what is the german for germany?" asked the professor, as he picked up his pointer.
"deutschland."
"the french?"
"allemagne."
"germany can hardly be called a nation, though in some respects it is similar to the united states. it is a confederation of nations, though the people speak the same language, and are united by many other common ties of manners and customs, as well as of contiguity of territory. but it is peculiar in some respects, as, prussia is a nation, under its own king and laws; but only a portion of it belongs to germany. austria[1] is an empire, under its own emperor; but only a part of his dominions are represented in the germanic confederation. its several states are united for some specific purposes, such as the collection of certain taxes, and mutual defence. in other respects its empires, kingdoms, duchies, &c., are independent nations, making their own laws, and regulating their own affairs."
"i don't exactly understand the relations of austria and prussia to the germanic confederation," said paul kendall. "how can part of them belong to the confederation without the whole?"
"very easily," replied the professor; "though, if you ask me why a part, and not the whole, of prussia or austria should be included in the germanic confederation, i cannot tell you, unless it be to preserve 'ancient landmarks.' the province of prussia proper was not german; and that may be a very good reason why it never should be. germany is a league of the several sovereignties into which the old german empire had fallen. the archduchy of austria was, and hungary was not, german, in the reign of the emperors. holstein-lauenburg[2] belongs to denmark, but belongs, at the same time, to germany. of the eight provinces of prussia, two are not included in the confederation. of the twenty-one states or provinces which constitute the austrian empire, eleven are german.
"i can see no good reason why, if the germanic league is of any service, the provinces of prussia and posen should not be admitted, as well as the other six divisions of the kingdom of prussia. we take the fact as we find it. germany, then, is simply a union of states for certain purposes. it is not, in any proper sense, a nation. it does not send representatives to foreign countries, and it can make laws and regulations only to cover the purposes of the league.
"in 1863 there were thirty-four states represented in the confederation. the empire of austria cast four votes in the general convention; the kingdoms of prussia, bavaria, saxony, hanover, and würtemburg, also four each; other states, grand duchies, duchies, electorates, principalities, landgraviates, and free cities, from one to three, according to their size and importance. these representatives meet at frankfort, which is the capital of germany. the population of northern germany is about twenty-eight millions; of southern germany, twelve and a half millions; making about forty and a half millions, or about equal to that of france.
"of the early history of germany there is no authentic record. the ancient romans had no knowledge of the people north of the danube and east of the rhine, except as the barbarous tribes who made incursions into their territory. when gaul came into the possession of the romans, they learned more of the barbarians of the north, who were called germani—a word which is probably derived from ger, a spear, indicating their warlike character. among these tribes were the teutons, the saxons, the franks, the goths, the vandals, the gauls, whose names are common in history. clovis, the ancient sovereign of the frankish empire, and his successors, conquered these tribes, and incorporated their territory in the empire of the west, which reached the height of its glory under the reign of charlemagne. his son louis was too weak to rule so vast a realm, and in 843 the empire was divided into three parts, and given to his three sons. france became the portion of charles the bald; italy, of lothaire; and germany, of louis. at this time the german kingdom extended from the rhine to the elbe, and from the german ocean to the danube.
"during the succeeding century, germany was partitioned into three smaller divisions, became a part of france again, and the throne was subverted by the nobles, who elected the kings. portions of italy, and other territory beyond the elbe, were conquered. i will not weary you even by mentioning the line of kings who followed. their dominions were torn by dissensions, while they struggled to increase their power. in 1273, count rudolph of hapsburg was elected emperor, and, after a fierce struggle with the unruly barons, succeeded in establishing his authority, and in obtaining possession of the dukedom of austria, and several other provinces. the house of hapsburg has to the present time retained the throne of austria.
"jealous of the growing power of the hapsburgs, the nobles elected adolph, count of nassau, emperor of germany; but albert, rudolph's son and successor, wrested the crown from him. the hapsburgs had possessions in switzerland, when the house obtained its power in austria, and they held them as dependencies upon the dukedom. the swiss revolted in the reign of albert, and their long and severe struggle for independence was commenced at this time.
"during the reign of sigismund, one of the successors of albert, john huss, the reformer, was burned at the stake at constance, whither he had gone with the safe-conduct of the emperor. his martyrdom caused the hussite war, in which several severe battles were fought, including one at prague. in 1593, maximilian i. succeeded to the throne; and in his reign the reformation by luther began. charles v., the grandson of maximilian,—of whom i spoke to you in giving the history of holland and belgium,—united the crowns of spain, germany, the netherlands, and naples, and the empire became the leading power of europe. the reformation produced fierce dissensions and savage contests. charles was obliged, sorely against his will, to grant privileges to his lutheran subjects. but he was disgusted with power, and resigned his crown. he was succeeded by his brother, ferdinand i., as emperor of germany, and by his son, philip ii., as king of spain; to whom, also, he gave his possessions in the netherlands. the dissensions in the empire enabled france on the west and turkey on the east to wrest valuable possessions from it. the successors of charles v. were unable to breast the storm of progress successfully, and the imperial authority was completely shattered. the power of the petty rulers of small states increased and overshadowed that of the central authority.
"the emperors ferdinand and matthias treated the protestants with so much severity, committing the most flagrant outrages upon them, that it brought on the thirty years' war. when matthias died, the insurgents declared the throne vacant, and chose the elector frederick emperor. the protestant princes fought for him, while the catholic powers sustained ferdinand ii., archduke of austria. peace was established, by the treaty of westphalia, in 1648, by which germany lost a portion of her territory. after these events, the power of the emperors waned still more, until their title was little more than a surname of the rulers of austria. when prussia became a great protestant power, under frederick the great, she was a check upon austria, and prevented the latter from reëstablishing the ancient power of the german empire.
"the french revolution practically destroyed the empire. francis ii. of austria, overwhelmed by napoleon, ceded to him the country on the left bank of the rhine. when the rhenish confederation of napoleon was formed, in 1806, francis resigned the crown of the german empire, which was thus formally dissolved. many changes in territorial limits were made, and the free cities lost their independence. the country was either actually or virtually subject to napoleon, who dictated its policy, and levied heavy contributions upon it.
"as it was not possible for all these small states to maintain their separate independence unaided, when the allied powers had driven napoleon from europe, and restored the nations to their original condition, it became necessary to regulate the affairs of germany. prussia objected to an independent empire, whose power might endanger her safety and progress; and a confederation of the states was formed in 1815, which exists at the present time."[3]
the professor continued to describe the country, and to define the powers and duties of the federal diet; but as many changes have been made in the government and in the states, it is not necessary to transcribe his remarks to these pages. he promised, as occasion might offer on their travels, to give the students further explanations of the nature of the territory, governments, and local peculiarities of the several states they might visit. the boys were satisfied with this arrangement, and the session was closed. the boatswain immediately piped all hands to muster on deck.
"whom do you purpose to join in paris, if you go to germany?" asked mr. lowington, when perth appeared among the officers.
"my uncle," replied the second master, promptly.
"your uncle from glasgow, i suppose you mean."
"yes, sir. he wrote me that he should be in paris early this month."
"how happened you to be writing the sentence on your paper?"
"i was writing a letter which i intended to copy with ink, as soon as i had time."
"have you the rest of the letter?"
"no, sir; i tore it up just now."
"will you be kind enough to produce your uncle's letter?" said the principal, quietly.
"i don't keep my letters, sir; and i destroyed it as soon as i had read it."
"i suppose you did," replied mr. lowington, significantly. "but if you don't go to germany, what then? i think you wrote the words, 'i will start with you.'"
"yes, sir."
"start from where?"
"from here."
"i don't understand it."
"i was going to write to uncle donald, that, if i went to germany, i would see him in paris as we pass through that city. if i did not go, i wanted him to come here, and take me to paris with him."
"and you think this explains what you wrote upon your note paper?" inquired the principal.
"as i understand it, sir, it does."
"was herman expected to join your party?"
"no, sir."
"i observed that he seemed to be much interested in what you were writing, and that you took some pains to let him see your paper. your explanation is not satisfactory, and i should not dare to take you to germany, lest you should miss your uncle on the way. perhaps he had better come to brest himself. when do you expect him?"
"i don't know when he is coming, sir," replied perth, rather abashed to find his explanation had obtained so little consideration.
"have you any money, perth?" asked mr. lowington, suddenly.
"no, sir."
"not a few francs, even?"
"perhaps i have a few english pence."
"haven't you a few english pounds?"
"no, sir."
"just think a little, before you answer."
"if i had even a pound, i should be likely to remember it, sir."
"i should say you would; and twenty times as likely to remember it, if you had twenty pounds," added the principal.
"o, i haven't anything like that, sir."
"you have an astonishingly bad memory, perth. you received a letter from your uncle in glasgow, while you were at havre. do you remember that?"
"certainly i do, sir," replied perth, wondering what the principal could mean by such pointed questions.
was it possible that mr. lowington had read what he wrote on the first sheet of note paper? he thrust his hand into his pocket, and the sheet was there as he had taken it from the atlas.
"you do remember the letter?"
"to be sure i do, sir."
"and don't you remember that there were four five-pound notes in it, numbering from thirty-three thousand eight hundred forty-five to eight, inclusive? it is very singular, indeed, that you have forgotten this little circumstance."
perth was confounded by this revelation. he saw that he was caught, and that it was useless for him to say anything more; so he wisely held his peace.
"if your uncle has not changed his mind within three days, he has no more intention of coming to france than i have of going to glasgow. i received a letter from him to-day, since the ship came to anchor, forwarded from havre after we left. the writer was confined to the house with a severe attack of rheumatism. in the quiet of his chamber, he had an opportunity to consider whether he had done right to send you twenty pounds, even with the advice of your father, without informing me of the fact. he thought the sum was a large one for a young man to have, and he desires me to see that you make a proper use of it. i will trouble you to hand me the money, which shall be placed to your credit, and receipted for by the pursers."
"i haven't the money now, sir," replied perth, who was fully resolved to run away at the first convenient opportunity, and wanted the money to pay his expenses.
"where is it?"
"i sent it to a banker—"
"silence! don't blacken your soul with any more falsehoods, perth," interrupted the principal, sternly.
"you may search me, sir," replied the second master, throwing out his arms, as though he were ready to submit to the operation.
"i may, but i do not choose to do so at present. keep your eye on him, peaks," added the principal, as he walked forward to his usual stand on the hatch.
"you are foolish, master perth," said the old boatswain, shaking his head; for he had been the only person who had listened to the interview, and appeared to be present for a purpose.
perth put his hands in his pockets. he felt the paper on which he had written during the lecture. it would be a dangerous document in case he should be searched; for its contents would expose him, and implicate others. as slyly and as quickly as he could, he took it out, tore it into small bits, and threw it out the open port into the water.
"what's that?" demanded peaks, seizing him by the collar.
"you are too late," answered perth.
"what was it you tore up?"
"the five-pound notes."
"tell that to the marines!" exclaimed the old sailor.
"they are gone to davy jones's locker now," replied perth, shaking his head.
peaks instantly reported the matter to the principal, who, however, did not deem it necessary to take any immediate action. probably he did not believe the young wretch had destroyed the bills; or, if he had, it was his own loss. perth stood silent and sullen, while mr. lowington spoke to the students, announcing the arrangements for the excursion to the rhine. the delinquent was certain, by this time, that he was not to be one of the party; but he hoped, if he saved his money, that he should find an opportunity to escape from the squadron soon after his shipmates started on their journey.