samuel-liasam

[samuel-liasam]

Hi everyone I am Samuel 18 years old from the Netherlands and this is a story I wrote two years ago and it has now finally been finished and fully edited.

Let me know what you think :)

       

The story of Charles Jacobs

 by Samuel Li-A-Sam

Introduction

The day was September 2st 1666 and there was a man who lived in Old London. His name was Charles Jacobs. He had two dogs Ipsy and Wipsy, and he was very fond of his dogs, two golden retrievers to be exact. To his great shock he found Ipsy on the street dead in 1666 when the terrible great fires of London went through the streets of Old and destroyed the streets of new. The next day burned and drowned corpses were found and they scattered around the city with burn marks all over their faces; Wipsy died two days later.

It was a terrible loss for him personally. He was at that time palpably depressed about the passing of his dog, but when he decided to write a story which won't be a diary; he had decided not to take out any explicit detail because otherwise the story won’t make sense. This book narrates the life of Charles Jacobs. 

This book is largely fictional and is made up by the writer such as his name. However some parts of the book has happened in the past and are fact-checked. 

Chapter 1: Cold feat warm head 

His name was Charles Jacobs and he was born on November 3rd 1646 which made him 19 years old at that time. He graduated from a school in Oxfordshire and he always wanted to go to Oxford University but his parents were hesitant if he actually did have the brains and discipline to go to such a prestigious school. School was tough for him, during his Primary years he got bullied by boys from high class parents who were owners of plantations and lavish merchants. Posh kids who knew nothing about anything other than their lavish lives.  He knew then that they were posh racist merchants who cared for no one, especially the black community or as we say here the ‘’negro community’’. Throughout his years, he had never found out what the exact reason was why he was bullied, was it his long feet, his big nose or his background?

Charles was taught to always be open and friendly to everyone, regardless of colour, background, or religion. Still in these days it is very common that coloured people were being discriminated. People were shocked to see how much respect they had to such a low class almost animal viewed community. They didn’t give a mouse that was trapped in your basement, it was just unfair; poor people and gipsies including Jews were also classed as a low-class animal viewed community.

His family had a history of miners and engineers. His dad was a coal miner in Manchester and his mother stayed at home taking care of him. His dad always encouraged him to do the same as he. Charles was however not at all interested in such things, he wanted to learn, to explore the world, to travel. So he had decided to get a job at the dockyard to become a sailor, because that was the only easy way back then to become a sailor.  He started to work 7 days a week for only a few pennies and it was alright at first but it got draining and the long hours carrying barrel after barrel after barrel made him sick of all the work. "Is this all worth it?" was his first initial thought. It was because, if he would have quit then this story wouldn't have been written. After all he did see some lovely ships coming pass Dover; brigs, schooners, frigates, and many more; but all that changed relatively fast a couple of weeks later. 

Chapter 2: From cleanboy to sailor

It was a warm summer day on July 3 1666. Charles woke up hearing crowds cheer and ships talk. He stood up, put his socks in his shoes and walked outside. There were a massive amount of people standing near the Dover dockyard clapping and cheering before an extraordinary ship; that is only viewable if you pull your neck to your back. It was King Charles ll with the Duke of Albemarle standing and waving at the crowds. He announced that the English are going to be fighting the Dutch in the English Channel today, as the Dutch were their enemies and their imperialism was as bad as ours! Oh wait…

As Charles saw the ships sail away, he was thinking to himself “I don't want to quite now I perhaps can get a job and work for the Royal Navy? Yes I should! I want to sail with my king and fight for my country! After two weeks of deep thinking, he had decided to sign up for the Royal Navy. At last, he got a job on board at the Royal Charles! Which was the biggest ship England had made at that time, and the king was also that ship.

Chapter 3: A wet sailor.

The day had come, it was July 5th 1666 and Charles Jacobs stood up with a smile on his face and excitement taking over his body.

The Royal Charles had five mortar cannons, 3 swivel guns and 18 cannons that located on the side of the ship. The British flag waved on top of the ship with all its glory. The wind was quieter than normal. The warmth was clingy and the sun was far off in the sky. A real quietness appeared on deck as our view dimmed and mist appeared. They couldn't see a thing and Charles was rather concerned they would end up against an iceberg or something apt to that. 

Moments later the Royal Charles was off for the English Channel. The captain shouted ‘’Full sail’’ and the Royal Charles took off with speed and with cross wind to support the speed.

After about four hours later sitting ducks at sea with low visibility in the far distance, the captain noticed a white and orange flag it were the Dutch!

He warned the crew and then the low visibility went away and they didn't see anything else but ships and ships.

"And guess what?" they saw ships x34. It were actually about 27 of them but that's not the point. 

“How did they find us?" said the captain 

They prepared the cannons, the mortars, and the swivel guns to take out the enemy frigate.

‘’All loaded!’’ he heard from the front deck.

‘’Fire ! ’’ shouted the captain and 18 cannons fired simultaneously at the Dutch frigate; it sank right away.

Then hell came for the British sailors. It were schooners, brigs, frigates and the most terrifying of all, the ship from Michiel de Ruyter. The ship sailed so close to them that they didn’t have the chance to sail away. BAM. The ship of Michel de Ruyter crashed into their ship and wood flew into the channel. Fire broke out and it was utter chaos. You see the ship that Charles Jacobs was on was a ship that was left on his own, after there were no spare ships left. The British Navy had decided to scout the seas for one more time that day, with great regret as a result. The faces of the Dutch sailors were ugly and horrific to look at. Not even a murderer in Highland Street would look so terrifying and deranged. Their faces and their sabres pointed in their direction. Their sabres were sharpened in a way that the sun was reflected on the sabres. So sharp if you would touch it; you would be nearly skinned!

And that’s was all what Charles had remembered from that night when he woke up in the morning.

Charles woke up with shells of cannon in his left leg, when he realised that he was on a Dutch ship with his hands tight and his legs tight as well.

Paranoia kicked in pretty early on when he heard a terrifying scream. 

It turned to be him, and when he looked down, he saw his leg bleeding horribly as pain excruciated.

He started to get his way out of the ropes, fighting his way out when a sailor came asking what the meaning is of this.

He grabbed his lead slapped him in his face and made it even tighter than it already was. Charles cried “Please bandage me, I will bleed out!!”. “I will die! the Sailor said “Gyt zult niet bevrijdt worden, Gyt zult sterven!”. He walked out and he was full of confusion and anger. “What in God’s name was he uttering?!”.

Chapter 4: Rotten Things

The next morning Charles woke up hearing the sound of leather boots on the wooden floor, what now?

It was one of the soldiers who treated him horribly the previous day. He looked at him with full of anger and despise. If he had the chance to kill him, he would do it right here and quick so no one would see it. He said that he would be replaced in another prison. He had no time to act, as he had left the room already. Charles just laid there on the cold wooden floor of the Dutch frigate and stared at empty barrels. He tried to get up and after two tries he manged to stand. Charles was curious so he inspected the room.

Imagine a room with fishing lead hanging on the walls and one wooden door in the right corner, with a very small metal barrier between it. That is the closest I can get to describe how his room was, it was in fact a long time ago.

Charles was lucky that he had the opportunity to see what happened on the outside, by having a very small window, which was only reachable by stepping on large barrels with important nothing in it. It is not as easy as it sounds; at first you fail because the sides of the barrels are sharp because their spears were once used there to catch fish, until it becomes blunt and useless. Simply undoubtedly useless to take out the spears. After your first try, you try it again but you cut yourself and turn it bleeds for a second. It's a would now because of the sharpness of the barrel. You succeed the third time because you realise that life isn’t easy as it may seem. "It will take time to succeed, perhaps days; months, years hell, even a decade if necessary! But you will eventually succeed in your task, just believe in the task and don’t change the task either", as his mother always said. And that little speech put Charles quite at ease, so he just stopped trying to reach the window and played with his pocketwatch in the meantime. 

In the evening there was a huge knock on the door. Two soldiers grabbed him fiercely and dragged him out of the brig. When he got out, the lights suddenly turned on for him. Fresh air and birds in the skies filled up his senses, for a moment only. Charles saw the dams near the waters of Amsterdam. In the harbour fish rotted; people rotted and there was dump on the streets wasted by the civilians themselves.

Although it might sound odd to you that Charles was enjoying rotten smells, but you have to realise that when Charles got captured he had himself and himself only on that ship. For him the only odor he smelled was himself! But to feel a cold breeze and to smell food at all was something that he cherished at that time.

The guards took him on the streets where there were crowds throwing their waste on his clothes making the smell even worse! They looked angry and despiteful and were shouting things at him that he couldn’t understand at all. Then there was one man who shouted profoundly “Wanker! ”; at that point Charles had some idea what they were saying.

He was dragged into a new prison in the Hague where prisoners of war were put. Charles entered the building while guards pushed him forward with their lancers. The guards pushed him into a cell but this time he wasn't alone, he had companion. In the end time in prison was not that bad, it could have been worse. During his time in captivity good and bad things happened.

He made new friends, new enemies, learned new things and tried to forget about the old things.

He had understood the meaning of survival and the meaning of friendship. And wondering why people do what they do and why we have wars in our day and age?

Chapter 5: New friends, new troubles

In his new prison, two men who were in different ships when the Dutch attacked them were members of the Royal Anglian Navy Corps, one of the best actually.

The first gentleman was called Christopher Macketerre, he was originally born in France but moved to England in 1660. He was 30 years old.

The second man was from Yorkshire, named Dicken Yogumato originally from Japan and moved to England in 1663. He is 32 years old.

They were kind men from very different backgrounds then he was, so it wasn't always easy understanding each other. 

There were often spats about culture, politics, war, women you know the standard topics men talk about 

May 24 1667 11:00

It is his 20st birthday today and Charles was still captive in The Hague.

He woke up hearing the screams of seagulls and dogs, trying to talk to the humans on the streets.

Dicken was writing 14 lines on the wall, showing how long he had been in captivity. Christopher was staring between the bars that had limited him from the outside world.

Charles hadn’t shut an eye in over 5 days; his mind reminded him of the horrors he had seen. The sight of the dead laying on the decks floating in the sea of inhumanity were the sea rested in his peace. Memories, thoughts and words all sank away. Burned bodies, burned ships; fires that intense and that deadly there wasn’t any escape for anybody.

The smell of gunpowder that hit the men on the decks and the clouds of smoke that rose from the ships. Death was in the air, so was pain and savagery.

Everything was burned, even minds of the sailors who were in sheer luck to survive it all. Thinking straight was hard for him as it is for anybody going through these experiences.

Charles can definitely say that he is a man now, his quick-tempered, impulsive and naive young mind rested in the memories of his youth. He was now starting to become a man, as a man has to control its feelings and should decide in his life rather than doing it without thinking. After all Charles was very blessed that he made it to 20 and that he was still alive 

But that didn’t make it all easier. The cells were gruesome as if 100 men went to the toilet at the same time and fiecies laid everywhere. It was a smell that apt the environment. A smell that stays in your nose. A smell that you don't want to smell as it made about everyone throw up who thought about it. 

Letters did arrive in the cells and from what he knew, he was the only one who survived the battle. The remains of his fellow sailors were deep down somewhere in the English Channel, where the fish don’t talk and where deepness of the sea is pitch black. Bodies rotted there and so did the sea who absorbed it all. 

July 31st 1667

It was a hot summer day and Charles woke up hearing metals doors open and seeing other captivators walking out of their cells.  They looked up and saw two guards standing firmly in front of them. They told them the war was over and that they could go home. We all cheered, cried and were saddened to some extent that they won’t see each ever again. Charles thought "The world is small and big at the same time, even though travelling might cost days, nae months to meet someone; you somehow have found each other in this small space we call earth". 

Charles and his new inmate friends did in the end bond in the cell and became comrades. We hugged and smiled to each other and said "Cheerio". 

For Charles looking back it was a day he won’t ever forget, because it was a day where his life began.

Chapter 6: The lady with the silver roses

7th January 1668.

In London near Buckingham Palace, Charles sat down opposite of the Palace and next him he saw a beautiful girl. It was love at first sight; her smile, eyes and her personality got him falling for her as a block of stone. Her hair was curled up and eyes were as green as the the English country land.

Charles introduced himself, shook her hand and said "Nice to meet you ma'am I'm Charles, Charles Jacobs, what's your name?"

She replied incoherently:

"Lydia" 

"Pardon ?" 

"My name is Lydia Refferton" 

So the conversation started. She was a history geek and fascinated by old paintings and architecture from before yesterday. Her biggest fascination was Julius Caesar who was the Emperor of Rome during the Roman age. After a while she started to tell me that she had gone through a divorce last spring. Charles tried to comfort her but she denied his comfort. I guess she didn’t feel like trusting anyone, quite understanding to be honest. She excused herself and left. Charles felt troubled and went home.

His mind was constant dazzling and thinking what he could have said differently that day. But in the end its all in the past and if you don't learn from your mistakes the past will repeat itself and it will make a present problem. 

December 31 1668

New Year’s Eve, a day that will enlighten the First British Empire. The first new years in about 5 years without the sounds of cannons and pirates ravaging the country lands, no there was finally; at last, peace.

Charles was walking on the streets of London when he saw Lydia again only with someone who looked like her father. They were walking towards the St James’s Palace and left his sight.

Then Charles started to wander what went through her head. Her thoughts, beliefs and her initial way of how she views the aspects of life.  Lydia was an dainty woman. Beautiful green eyes and brown hair that waved in the cold English winter wind. Her smile was invigorating and enchanting, as if magic appeared every time she smiled.

Suddenly, she appeared again without that man next her and they met as if they hadn't left each other sighted. 

She was so eloquent in her brevity, that Charles really had to pay attention how he was speaking to her. He couldn't stop smiling at her and she couldn't stop smiling at him. As her eyes met his he felt a warmth in his heart and an opening in that heart for one special person. And when their lips touched each other, love appeared and anxiety disappeared. 

They were in love all summer and it was finally time to meet her parents who lived out of the city in Devon. They took the carriage and went to Devon. Her father was indeed the strange man who walked next her that time in London. He was a stern looking man wearing a black hat with a black suit, black trousers and yes brown shoes. He tipped his hat and introduced himself. 

They went in to get some tea and talked for hours about anything that wasn't politics, women, war and other male topics as it is not polite to talk about these topics so explicitly with a lady at the table. His dad didn't approve of their love as he was Catholic and she was protestant. They had no choice but to break up and not see each other again. 

Charles and Lydia were heartbroken and said goodbye in a melancholy way hoping that she gets her independence once she turned 25. 

September 7th 1669

Charles finally had something in his life where he could be proud of. He joined Oxford University! In his childhood his parents were hesitant about sending him to this brilliant school, but now since he had left the Royal Navy he was accepted immediately. It was like a dream come true for him. Charles studied Physics, History and Geography; all the subjects that interested him and that actually correlated to his time in the Navy.  His professor who taught him History was called Sir Rodrick Brighton; he was knighted by the King and he was the smartest man of the First British Empire. He was dressed in a smart suit, with it; brown shoes that were neatly tied in a double knot. His hat slept on the coat hanger and his long legs were the ones that surprised him the most as he had never seen such a man with long legs.

He spoke in the poshest accent anyone had heard. He explained all about the history of the British Empire. The seminar took 2 hour 30 minutes. It was the most interesting and educating seminar he had ever heard.

The next morning, he had his physics class and the morning after that his Geography class. The school was beautiful and placed in the richest area of London, North London. For him as a non-posh person brought up by middle class parents, he felt so isolated in this area of genius. Every person whom you looked at were smarter than you and had rich parents. Charles always tried to avoid to talk about his past and his parents. When he did, he got laughed at and simply embarrassed; though in this case it seemed like he embarrassed himself there. Even though he made friends in a cell back in the Dutch Empire he felt rather left out and shy. Therefore, unfortunately Charles made no friends at the University and had never been this lonely in his life before. After some time he became very hesitant about asking his parents whether he should leave the school or just simply meet a doctor as his social abilities were non-existent.

He knew that his dad would have been easier about it than his mother. His dad was always the quiet one in comparison to his mother who was very strict with almost everything. Even though his mum was very strict on him she always supported him and cares for him forever. In this case as his mum had done so much for him financially and mentally, he couldn’t ask it; not now.

A letter of despair

The morning came and the daily papers had been delivered by the deliveryman and the papers all looked differently as they normally are. Charles looked at the papers and didn’t say a word but a whistle.

His whistle came to a stop when he read a note that was delivered by the British government.

It stated:

Dear Charles Jacobs,

I want to talk to you on Monday morning in my office about your results. I can’t put in the words that will describe how I am feeling about in this letter but believe me in person you would have preferred it yourself in the end. 

Yours sincerely,

Professor R.E.Brighton

Charles stood still for a while and many thoughts went through his head which he couldn’t get out the whole week. He even felt ill for a while until the day arrived on Monday morning which he was half waiting for.

It became Monday afternoon and English weather appeared. His umbrella was soaked and his hair filled up with pomenade. He arrived early at campus and was twitching his fingers anxiously before the Professor arrived. In his mind, it lasted days when just minutes were passing away. Charles was really having a panic attack and nearly yearned for medical help.

The professor came and greeted him friendly with a handshake and a tip of his hat. Charles was extremely nervous and couldn’t resist, so he politely asked for the bathroom. After his little break Charles manned up with a big smile on his face. The professor asked him if he was okay and Charles politely answered;

“Yes, I am fine sir”

“Good, let’s begin”

“I want to tell you something that really shocked me in the first place when I saw it. It’s scary and remarkable at the same time. Let me tell you a story about how I was in your position one day and how I graduated from the school”

Charles looked frightened. 

“It was a long time ago. I can’t remember how long but I was studying here at this school as well. I was young about 20 years old and nobody even knew me. I got laughed at because of my poor choice of clothing and got more introverted every day. A bit like you, because you know you are not from a wealthy family as most boys are in this school. It’s odd but accepted by me though. Later on, … “

The Professor kept going and going and didn’t go to his point for a long while. It wasn't that bad for Charles in the end, but rescue came regardless. Someone knocked on the door and asked for the professor. The Professor went downstairs and Charles quickly opened the window and jumped out of it. Charles was in real trouble now. 

A few days later he ran into the Professor and apologised for the childish behaviour. The Professor to his suprise and for his status was awfully kind and said: "You didn't have to escape from my office as the only thing I wanted to tell is how good you're doing at the college. You didn't think I would give you a low mark right?" 

Charles nodded awkwardly and the Professor left. 

He was relieved. 

Chapter 6: A prisoner of the mind

12th  May 1670

Today the exams started and Charles had revised for it all night. He was terribly nervous about it. He felt his hand shaking and his legs as well. The exam took about 70 minutes and whoever was even one minute late, would not pass the exams. He got questions who he knew easily and to his surprise even some that were very easy. After the exams Charles went home and went straight to bed. Eyes closed, body closed and mind closed, the sleep was quick but sneaky. His mind was shut off and he felt like a prisoner of his mind. 

Chapter 7: A Reunion

It was one January morning in 1671 that Charles decided to revisit the country where he was held for over two years.  He revisited Amsterdam to discover that it wasn’t such a pitiful place at all, the rotten smell was quite gone as the ‘’burgermeester’’ (English: burgermeister) sorted the problem out and people were way happier too. He arrived by boat and visited many places such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. On January 23, exactly 7 years later after his capture, he got to see the signing of The Triple Alliance in the Hague. England, Netherlands and Sweden signed this alliance. This ended the war between the three nations and made them in twine. An alliance that was set to last for a lifetime. 

Charles went back to England that Spring. He entered a library shop and saw the girl who he hadn’t seen in three years: Lydia. She was still very eloquent in her brevity but this time Charles understood everything she said and asked her out for dinner. She happily accepted and Charles was over the moon by it. Many months later they moved into an appartment Spring Gardens which is just about the centre of Trafalgar Square. The apartment was rather big with only a dining room and a study on the eastern side overlooking the beautiful gardens. 

In the book shelf in the study there was a book that was Lydia's possession and was called the Isle of Pines by Henry Neville. It caught his interest when the book talked about how four explores who were women were shipwrecked on an idyllic island; very interesting story and worth the read. This book was the inspiration for Charles himself to write about his life and his experiences and therefore taking things off his mind that troubled him or even admired him. He got to know Lydia and their relationship deepened. With a beautiful lady by his side it ended Charles his story in 1729 when he turned 83 and died. A man who had lived for nearly two centuries but didn't complain once and lived it to the fullest and to his last breath. Lydia passed away two days later aged 91.They laid side by side peacefully in the grave near Oxfordshire where he grew up. It was a story of a man who loved until the afterlife. 

THE END

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