sink into my soul, its vastness, and its playful charms. When you are aboard a small boat, sailing only by the power of wind, you leave all traces of modern life behind you, which allows you to become conscious of all those that have sailed these same waters before you. It was effortless to imagine forsaking my own age, and if at that moment I had seen a Spanish galleon crest one of the great waves in the far distance to port, I would have felt that its presence here was more natural than my own. I am no antiquarian, but I felt a primeval pull from this small island adrift in the midst of the great Atlantic. My greatest puzzlement was that the Spanish refused to settle these idyllic shores. Did they know something that we had failed to recognize, or had their primitive superstitions been washed away by the march of science and progress? I turned my face to the dashing spray of the sea and wondered what other curiosities I might encounter upon that day.
§
CHAPTER IV
THE GLOBE HOTEL
The Caliber retraced its course back out into the Great Sound, and when it reached Spanish Point, it turned to the east and began to sail along the lovely North Shore of the island. The coastline was composed entirely of tapering limestone cliffs, with green vegetation sprouting from every crevice and which generally ran all the way down to the lapping waters. In some rare spots, curves and hollows in the rock created tiny coves where lovely pink-hued sand gathered to make splendid beaches from which to invitingly plunge into the crystal clear shallow ocean.
Henry leaned forward and yelled to me over the wind. “That is the Admiralty House,” he pointed to a large building high upon a wooded bluff. “From there, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane planned the invasion and burning of Washington, the United States’ capital city, in 1814.” Henry smiled roguishly. “But nowadays, it is more famous for the so-called ‘Admiral’s Cave’ down below in Clarence Cove. Over a decade ago, one of our illustrious commanders – I will not besmirch his name – diverted some of the convicts from their assigned task of building the Dockyard in order to dig a cave and series of tunnels there. Ostensibly, it was envisioned to serve as a place to land naval stores and a subterranean shelter for his flagship. But rumors have it that the tunnels were actually intended to function as a discreet method by which a certain lady could access the grounds of the Admiralty House for a secret rendezvous with the Admiral.” I raised my eyebrows in response to this scandalous detail, but Henry only laughed. “From what I hear of the Admiral’s wife, the expense was entirely justified.”
“And you, Henry, have you found a potential mate here among the charming ladies of Bermuda?”
He shook his head violently. “No, the marrying life is not for me. Women have always been your specialty, Ham. I am afraid it will be up to you to carry on the family name.”
With this unintentionally-cruel comment, thoughts of Violet Devere flooded back into my brain. My mood turned solemn, but Henry failed to take notice. He pointed again to another stretch of land. “Along there is the Black Watch Well.”
“Any relation to the Royal Highlanders?”
“Aye. In 1849, there was a long drought on Bermuda. This island is remarkable in that there is no source of fresh water on the surface. That is the reason for the unique stepped white roofs that you see on every house, which they use to collect rainwater. But in a drought, times grow very hard round here. In that year, the cattle were dying, as people had to reserve every drop of water for themselves. The Governor ordered the soldiers based in Bermuda at the time to seek a fresh water supply for the suffering people of this part of the island. The Black Watch was the first regiment to step forward and they did such a fine job that the well continues to be used to this
§
CHAPTER IV
THE GLOBE HOTEL
The Caliber retraced its course back out into the Great Sound, and when it reached Spanish Point, it turned to the east and began to sail along the lovely North Shore of the island. The coastline was composed entirely of tapering limestone cliffs, with green vegetation sprouting from every crevice and which generally ran all the way down to the lapping waters. In some rare spots, curves and hollows in the rock created tiny coves where lovely pink-hued sand gathered to make splendid beaches from which to invitingly plunge into the crystal clear shallow ocean.
Henry leaned forward and yelled to me over the wind. “That is the Admiralty House,” he pointed to a large building high upon a wooded bluff. “From there, Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane planned the invasion and burning of Washington, the United States’ capital city, in 1814.” Henry smiled roguishly. “But nowadays, it is more famous for the so-called ‘Admiral’s Cave’ down below in Clarence Cove. Over a decade ago, one of our illustrious commanders – I will not besmirch his name – diverted some of the convicts from their assigned task of building the Dockyard in order to dig a cave and series of tunnels there. Ostensibly, it was envisioned to serve as a place to land naval stores and a subterranean shelter for his flagship. But rumors have it that the tunnels were actually intended to function as a discreet method by which a certain lady could access the grounds of the Admiralty House for a secret rendezvous with the Admiral.” I raised my eyebrows in response to this scandalous detail, but Henry only laughed. “From what I hear of the Admiral’s wife, the expense was entirely justified.”
“And you, Henry, have you found a potential mate here among the charming ladies of Bermuda?”
He shook his head violently. “No, the marrying life is not for me. Women have always been your specialty, Ham. I am afraid it will be up to you to carry on the family name.”
With this unintentionally-cruel comment, thoughts of Violet Devere flooded back into my brain. My mood turned solemn, but Henry failed to take notice. He pointed again to another stretch of land. “Along there is the Black Watch Well.”
“Any relation to the Royal Highlanders?”
“Aye. In 1849, there was a long drought on Bermuda. This island is remarkable in that there is no source of fresh water on the surface. That is the reason for the unique stepped white roofs that you see on every house, which they use to collect rainwater. But in a drought, times grow very hard round here. In that year, the cattle were dying, as people had to reserve every drop of water for themselves. The Governor ordered the soldiers based in Bermuda at the time to seek a fresh water supply for the suffering people of this part of the island. The Black Watch was the first regiment to step forward and they did such a fine job that the well continues to be used to this
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