Before leaving the ships of Thomas Beynon, I think I should relate the curious story of the Usk. This was one of Benyon's very early ships, and it was as far back as March, 1860, that she left Newport with a cargo of smithy coal for Valparaiso.
Her captain, Digby Mathias, was an extremely religious man. Before the Usk, he had commanded a ship called the Ocean Belle, and it is related that, whilst in the latter, he was once lying windbound in Penarth Roads, amongst a fleet of some hundreds of vessels, most of which, including the Ocean Belle, had been there for some weeks owing to continued westerly gales. At last, one Sunday morning the wind came fair, and all around the Ocean Belle the "klink, klink" resounded as her neighbours hove up their anchors in joyful haste. But not a movement took place aboard that ship. The day was Sunday and Captain Mathias would not allow his mate to turn the hands to.
To return to the Usk, this ship was down in the Horn seas when the captain suddenly came on deck during the middle watch and ordered the mate to put the helm up and square the yards, as he was going to return to England, explaining that whilst he was lying down in his cabin he had had a vision from God and was told that unless he turned and made his way back to Newport, ship, cargo, and crew would be destroyed by fire.
The mate stared in amazement and at once concluded that his skipper had gone mad. But though he tactfully raised every objection he could think of to carrying out the order, he was forced to obey. Captain Mathias acted sanely enough on deck, but firmly declared that he would put the first man who dared to disobey him into irons for mutiny. So the ship was actually put round and headed up the Atlantic for home!
