"Who comes, and on what errand?" he cried.

   "A skulker, and to burrow like a rabbit, or
jump from hole to hole, like a wharf-rat!" said
Manual, sulkily; "here have I been marching,
within half-musket shot of the enemy, without
daring to pull a trigger on their out-posts even,
because our muzzles are plugged with that uni-
versal extinguisher of gunpowder, called pru-
dence. 'Fore God! Mr. Griffith, I hope you
may never feel the temptation to do an evil deed
which I felt just now to throw a volley of small
shot into that dog-kennel of a place, if it were
only to break its windows and let in the night air
upon the sleeping sot who is dozing away the
fumes of some as good, old, south-side -- harkye,
Mr. Griffith, one word in your ear."

   A short conference took place between the two
officers, apart from the men, at the close of which,
as they rejoined the party, Manual might be heard
urging his plans on the reluctant ears of Griffith,
in the following words: --

   "I could carry the old dungeon without waking
one of the snorers; and, consider, we might get a
stock of as rich cordial from its cellars as ever
oiled the throat of a gentleman!"

   "'Tis idle, 'tis idle," said Griffith, impatiently;
"we are not robbers of hen-roosts, nor wine-gau-
gers, to be prying into the vaults of the English
gentry, Captain Manual, but honourable men,
employed in the sacred cause of liberty and our
country. Lead your party into the ruin, and let
them seek their rest; we may have work for them
with the dawn."

   "Evil was the hour when I quitted the line of
the army, to place a soldier under the orders of
an awkward squad of tarry jackets!" muttered

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Griffith heard this order with great inward dis-
gust; but as he anticipated the return of the
pilot before the light could arrive to render this weak
exposure of their situation apparent, he forbore ex-
ercising his power to alter the arrangement.
Manual had, therefore, the satisfaction of seeing
his little party quartered as he thought in a mili-
tary manner, before he retired with Griffith and
his men into one of the vaulted apartments of the
ruin, which, by its open and broken doors invited
their entrance. Here the marines disposed them-
selves to rest, while the two officers succeeded in
passing the tedious hours, without losing their
characters for watchfulness, by conversing with
each other, or, at whiles, suffering their thoughts to
roam in the very different fields which fancy
would exhibit to men of such differing characters.
In this manner, hour after hour passed, in listless
quiet, or sullen expectation, until the day had gra-
dually advanced, and it became dangerous to
keep the sentinels and picket in open view, where
they would be liable to be seen by any straggler
who might be passing near the wood. Manual
remonstrated against any alteration, as being en-
tirely unmilitary, for he was apt to carry his no-
tions of tactics to extremes whenever he came in
collision with a sea-officer, but in this instance

SMALL | MEDIUM

   The guns first fired from the Alacrity had been
distinctly audible, and were pronounced by Grif-
fith, whose practised ear detected the weight of
metal carried by the piece that was used, as not
proceeding from the schooner. When the rapid
though distant rumbling of the spirited cannonade
became audible, it was with difficulty that Grif-
fith could restrain either his own feelings or the
conduct of his companions within those bounds
that prudence and their situation required. The
last gun was, however, fired, and not a man had
left the vault, and conjectures as to the result of
the fight, succeeded to those which had been
previously made on the character of the com-
batants during the action. Some of the ma-
rines would raise their heads from the fragments
of the building, that served them as pillows on
which they were seeking disturbed and stolen
slumbers, and after listening to the cannon, would
again compose themselves to sleep, like men who
felt no concern in a contest in which they did not
participate. Others, more alive to events, and less
drowsy, lavishly expended their rude jokes on
those who were engaged in the struggle, or lis-
tened with a curious interest to mark the progress
of the battle, by the uncertain index of its noise.
When the fight had been concluded some time,
Manual indulged his ill-humour more at length --

   "There has been a party of pleasure, within a
league of us, Mr. Griffith," he said, "at which, but
for our present subterraneous quarters, we might

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "There is but little wealth to be gleaned from
the capture of a king's cutter," returned Griffith,
"and there would be less honour were Barnstable
encumbered with our additional and useless num-
bers."

   "Useless!" repeated Manual; "there is much
good service to be got out of twenty-three well-
drilled and well-chosen marines; look at those
fellows, Mr. Griffith, and then tell me if you
would think them an encumbrance in the hour of
need?"

   Griffith smiled, and glanced his eye over the
sleeping group, for when the firing had ceased the
whole party sought their repose, and he could not
help admiring the athletic and sinewy limbs that
lay scattered around the gloomy vault, in every
posture that ease or whim dictated. From the
stout frames of the men, his glance was directed
to the stack of fire-arms, from whose glittering
tubes and polished bayonets, strong rays of light
were reflected, even in that dark apartment. Ma-
nual followed the direction of his eyes, and
watched the expression of his countenance, with
inward exultation, but he had the forbearance to
await his reply before he manifested his feelings
more openly.

   "I know them to be true men," said Griffith,
"when needed, but -- hark! what says he?"

   "Who goes there? what noise is that?" re-
peated the sentinel who was placed at the en-
trance of the vault.

   Manual and Griffith both sprang from their
places of rest, and stood, unwilling to create the

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "'Tis the pilot; his hour has been long
passed."

   The words were hardly spoken, when the clash-
ing of steel in fierce and sudden contact was
heard, and at the next instant the body of the sen-
tinel fell heavily along the stone steps that led to
the open air, and rolled lifelessly at their feet,
with the bayonet that had caused his death pro-
jecting from a deep wound in his breast.

   "Away, away! sleepers away!" shouted
Griffith.

   "To arms!" cried Manual, in a voice of
thunder.

   The alarmed marines, suddenly aroused from
their slumbers at these thrilling cries, sprang on
their feet in a confused cluster, and at that fatal mo-
ment a body of living fire darted into the vault,
which re-echoed with the reports of twenty mus-
kets. The uproar, the smoke, and the groans
which escaped from many of his party, could
not restrain Griffith another instant; his pistol
was fired through the cloud which concealed the
entrance of the vault, and he followed the leaden
messenger, trailing a half-pike, and shouting to
his men --

   "Come on! follow, my lads; they are no-
thing but soldiers."

   Even while he spoke, the ardent young seaman
was rushing up the narrow passage, but as he
gained the open space, his foot struck the writhing
body of the victim of his shot, and he was pre-
cipitated headlong into a group of armed men.

   "Fire! Manual, fire!" shouted the infuriated

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Ay, fire, Mr. Manual," said Borroughcliffe,
with great coolness, "and shoot your own officer;
hold him up, boys! hold him up in front; the safest
place is nighest to him."

   "Fire!" repeated Griffith, making several
desperate efforts to release himself from the grasp
of five or six men; "fire, and disregard me."

   "If he do, he deserves to be hung," said
Borroughcliffe; "such fine fellows are not suffi-
ciently plenty to be shot at like wild beasts in
chains. Take him from before the mouth of the
vault, boys, and spread yourselves to your duty."

   At the time Griffith issued from the cover, Ma-
nual was mechanically employed in placing his
men in order, and the marines, accustomed to do
every thing in concert and array, lost the moment
to advance. The soldiers of Borroughcliffe re-
loaded their muskets, and fell back behind differ-
ent portions of the wall, where they could com-
mand the entrance to the vault with their fire,
without much exposure to themselves. This
disposition was very coolly reconnoitred by
Manual in person, through some of the cre-
vices in the wall, and he hesitated to advance
against the force he beheld, while so advanta-
geously posted. In this situation several shot
were fired by either party, without effect, until
Borroughcliffe, perceiving the inefficacy of that
mode of attack, summoned the garrison of the
vault to a parly.

   "Surrender to the forces of his majesty, King
George the Third," he cried, "and I promise
you quarter."

   "Will you release your prisoner, and give us
free passage to our vessels?" asked Manual;

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Inadmissible," returned Borroughcliffe, with
great gravity; "the honour of his majesty's arms,
and the welfare of the realm, forbids such a
treaty; but I offer you safe quarter, and honoura-
ble treatment."

   "Officers to retain their side-arms, your pri-
soner to be released, and the whole party to return
to America, on parole, not to serve until ex-
changed?"

   "Not granted," said Borroughcliffe. "The
most that I can yield, is a good potation of the
generous south-side, and if you are the man I
take you for, you will know how to prize such
an offer."

   "In what capacity do you summon us to
yield? as men entitled to the benefit of the laws
of arms, or as rebels to your king?"

   "Ye are rebels all, gentlemen," returned the
deliberate Borroughcliffe, "and as such ye must
yield; though so far as good treatment and good
fare goes, you are sure of it while in my power;
in all other respects you lie at the mercy of his
most gracious majesty."

   "Then let his majesty show his gracious face,
and come and take us, for I'll be -- "

   The asseveration of the marine was interrupted
by Griffith, whose blood had sensibly cooled, and
whose generous feelings were awakened in behalf
of his comrades, now that his own fate seemed
decided.

   "Hold, Manual," he cried, "make no rash
oaths; Captain Borroughcliffe, I am Edward
Griffith, a lieutenant in navy of the United
American States, and I pledge you my honour, to
a parole -- "

   "Release him," said Borroughcliffe.

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Griffith advanced between the two parties, and
spoke so as to be heard by both --

   "I propose to descend to the vault and ascer-
tain the loss and present strength of Captain Ma-
nual's party; if the latter be not greater than I
apprehend, I shall advise him to a surrender on
the usual conditions of civilized nations."

   "Go," said the soldier; "but stay; is he a
half-and-half -- an amphibious -- pshaw! I mean a
marine?"

   "He is, sir, a captain in that corps -- "

   "The very man," interrupted Borroughcliffe;
"I thought I recollected the liquid sounds of his
voice. It will be well to speak to him of the good
fare of St. Ruth's, and you may add, that I know
my man; I shall besiege instead of storming him,
with the certainty of his surrendering when his
canteen is empty. The vault he is in holds no
such beverage as the cellars of the abbey."

   Griffith smiled, in spite of the occasion and his
vexation, and making a slight inclination of his
head, he passed into the vault, giving notice to
his friends, by his voice, in order to apprize them
who approached.

   He found six of the marines, including the
sentinel, lying dead on the ragged pavement, and
four others wounded, but stifling their groans, by
the order of their commander, that they might
not inform the enemy of his weakness. With the
remainder of his command Manual had intrenched
himself behind the fragment of a wall that inter-
sected the vault, and regardless of the dismaying
objects before him, maintained as bold a front,
and as momentous an air, as if the fate of a
walled town depended on his resolution and in-
genuity.

   "You see, Mr. Griffith," he cried, when the
young sailor approached this gloomy but really

SMALL | MEDIUM

formidable arrangement, "that nothing short of
artillery can dislodge me; as for that drinking
Englishman above, let him send down his men by
platoons of eight or ten, and I'll pile them up on
those steps, four and five deep."

   "But artillery can and will be brought, if it
should be necessary," said Griffith, "and there
is not the least chance of your eventual escape;
it may be possible for you to destroy a few of the
enemy, but you are too humane to wish to do it
unnecessarily."

   "No doubt," returned Manual, with a grim
smile; "and yet methinks I could find present
pleasure in shooting seven of them -- yes, just
seven, which is one more than they have struck
off my roster."

   "Remember your own wounded," added Grif-
fith; "they suffer for want of aid, while you pro-
tract a useless defence."

   A few smothered groans, from the sufferers, se-
conded this appeal, and Manual yielded, though
with a very ill grace, to the necessity of the case.

   "Go, then, and tell him that we will surrender
as prisoners of war," he said, "on the conditions
that he grants me my side-arms, and that suitable
care shall be taken of the sick -- be particular to
call them sick -- for some lucky accident may yet
occur before the compact is ratified, and I would
not have him learn our loss."

   Griffith, without waiting for a second bidding,
hastened to Borroughcliffe with his intelligence.

   "His side-arms!" repeated the soldier, when
the other had done; "what are they, I pray thee,
a marlingspike! for if his equipments be no bet-
ter than thine own, my worthy prisoner, there is
little need to quarrel about their ownership."

   "Had I but ten of my meanest men, armed
with such half-pikes, and Captain Borroughcliffe

---

-22-

SMALL | MEDIUM
with his party were put at deadly strife with su,"
retorted Griffith, "he might find occasion to va-
lue our weapons more highly."

   "Four such fiery gentlemen as yourself would
have routed my command," returned Borrough-
cliffe, with undisturbed composure; "I trembled
for my ranks when I saw you coming out of the
smoke like a blazing comet from behind a cloud,
and I shall never think of somersets without
returning inward thanks to their inventor. But
our treaty is made; let your comrades come forth
and pile their arms."

   Griffith communicated the result to the captain
of marines, when the latter led the remnant of his
party our of his sunken fortress into the open air.

   The men, who had manifested throughout the
whole business that cool subordination and un-
yielding front, mixed with the dauntless spirit that
to this day distinguishes the corps of which they
were members, followed their commander in sullen
silence, and stacked their arms, with as much re-
gularity and precision as if they had been ordered
to relieve themselves after a march. When this
necessary preliminary had been observed, Bor-
roughcliffe unmasked his forces, and our adventu-
rers found themselves once more in the power of
the enemy, and under circumstances which ren-
dered the prospects of a speedy release from their
captivity nearly hopeless.

---

-23-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 2

CHAPTER II.

     "If your Father will do me any honour, so;
If not, let him kill the next Percy himself;
I look to be either Earl or Duke, I can assure you."


Falstaff.

   Manual cast several discontented and sullen
looks from his captors to the remnant of his own
command, while the process of pinioning the lat-
ter was conducted, with much discretion, under
the directions of Sergeant Drill, when meeting, in
one of his dissatisfied glances, with the pale and
disturbed features of Griffith, he gave vent to his
ill-humour, by saying --

   "This results from neglecting the precautions
of military discipline. Had the command been
with me, who, I may say, without boasting, have
been accustomed to the duties of the field, proper
picquets would have been posted, and instead of
being caught like so many rabbits in a burrow,
to be smoked out with brimstone, we should have
had an open field for the struggle, or we might
have possessed ourselves of these walls, which I
could have made good for two hours at least,
against the best regiment that ever wore King
George's facings."

   "Defend the outworks before retreating to the
citadel!" cried Borroughcliffe; "'tis the game of
war, and shows science; but had you kept closer
to your burrow, the rabbits might now have all

---

-24-

SMALL | MEDIUM
been frisking about in that pleasant abode. The
eyes of a timid hind were greeted this morning,
while journeying near this wood, with a passing
sight of armed men, in strange attire, and as he
fled, with an intent of casting himself into the sea,
as fear will sometimes urge one of his kind to do,
he luckily encountered me on the cliffs, who hu-
manely saved his life, by compelling him to con-
duct us hither. There is often wisdom in sci-
ence, my worthy contemporary in arms, but
there is sometimes safety in ignorance."

   "You have succeeded, sir, and have a right to
be pleasant," said Manual, seating himself
gloomily on a fragment of the ruin, and fastening
his looks on the melancholy spectacle of the life-
less bodies, as they were successively brought
from the vault and placed at his feet; "but these
men have been my own children, and you will
excuse me if I cannot retort your pleasantries.
Ah! Captain Borroughcliffe, you are a soldier,
and know how to value merit. I took those very
fellows, who sleep on these stones so quietly, from
the hands of nature, and made them the pride of
our art. They were no longer men, but brave
lads, who ate and drank, wheeled and marched,
loaded and fired, laughed or were sorrowful,
spoke or were silent, only at my will. As for
soul, there was but one among them all, and that
was in my keeping! Groan, my children, groan
freely now; there is no longer a reason to be si-
lent. I have known a single musket-bullet cut
the buttons from the coats of five of them in a
row, without raising the skin of a man. I could
ever calculate, with certainty, how many it would
be necessary to expend in all regular service, but
this accursed banditti business has robbed me of
the choicest of my treasures. You `stand at ease'

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-26-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "That are not weakened by undue bur-
thens of this nature," interrupted his captain,
significantly; "if we let the news of this affair
reach the ears of those hungry dragoons, they
would charge upon us, open mouthed, like a pack
of famished beagles, and claim at least half the
credit, and certainly all the profit."

   "But, your honour, there was not a man of
them even -- "

   "No matter, Drill; I've known troops that
have been engaged, and have suffered, cheated
out of their share of victory by a well-worded
despatch. You know, fellow, that in the smoke
and confusion of a battle, a man can only see
what passes near him, and common prudence re-
quires that he only mention in his official letters
what he knows can't be easily contradicted. Thus
your Indians, and, indeed, all allies, are not enti-
tled to the right of a general order, any more
than to the right of a parade. Now, I dare say,
you have heard of a certain battle of Blenheim?"

   "Lord! your honour, 'tis the pride of the
British army, that and the Culloden! 'Twas
when the great Corporal John beat the French
king, and all his lords and nobility, with half his
nation in arms to back him!"

   "Ay! there is a little of the barrack readings
in the account, but it is substantially true; know
you how many French were in the field, that day,
Mister Drill?"

   "I have never seen the totals of their muster,
sir, in print, but judging by the difference be-
twixt the nations, I should suppose some hundreds
of thousands."

   "And yet, to oppose this vast army, the duke
had only some ten or twelve thousand well-fed
Englishmen! You look astounded, sergeant!"

   "Why, your honour, that does seem rather an

---

-27-

SMALL | MEDIUM
over-match for an old soldier to swallow; the
random shot would sweep away so small a force."

   "And yet the battle was fought, and the vic-
tory won! but the Duke of Marlborough had a
certain Mr. Eugene, with some fifty or sixty
thousand High-Dutchers, to back him. You
never heard of Mr. Eugene?"

   "Not a syllable, your honour; I always
thought that Corporal John -- "

   "Was a gallant and great general; you
thought right, Mister Drill. So would a certain
nameless gentleman be also, if his majesty would
sign a commission to that effect. However, a
majority is on the high road to a regiment, and
with even a regiment a man is comfortable! In
plain English, Mister Drill, we must get our pri-
soners into the abbey with as little noise as possi-
ble, in order that the horse may continue their
gambols along the coast, without coming to de-
vour our meal. All the fuss must be made at the
war-office. For that trifle you may trust me; I
think I know who holds a quill that is as good in
its way as the sword he wears. Drill is a short
name, and can easily be written within the folds
of a letter."

   "Lord, your honour!" said the gratified hal-
berdier, "I'm sure such an honour is more -- but
your honour can ever command me."

   "I do; and it is, to be close, and to make your
men keep close, until it shall be time to speak,
when, I pledge myself, there shall be noise
enough." Borroughcliffe shook his head, with a
grave air, as he continued -- "It has been a devil
of a bloody fight, sergeant! look at the dead and
wounded; a wood on each flank -- supported by
a ruin in the centre. Oh! ink! ink! can be
spilt on the details with great effect. Go, fel-
low, and prepare to march."

   Thus enlightened on the subject of his com-

---

-28-

SMALL | MEDIUM
mander's ulterior views, the non-commissioned
agent of the captain's wishes proceeded to give
suitable instructions to the rest of the party, and
to make the more immediate preparations for a
march. The arrangements were soon completed.
The bodies of the slain were left unsheltered, the
seclusion of the ruin being deemed a sufficient
security against the danger of any discovery,
until darkness should favour their removal, in
conformity with Borroughcliffe's plan, to monopo-
lize the glory. The wounded were placed on
rude litters, composed of the muskets and blankets
of the prisoners, when the conquerors and van-
quished moved together in a compact body from
the ruin, in such a manner as to make the former
serve as a mask to conceal the latter from the
curious gaze of any casual passenger. There was
but little, indeed, to apprehend on this head, for
the alarm and the terror consequent on the exag-
gerated reports that flew through the country, ef-
fectually prevented any intruders on the usually
quiet and retired domains of St. Ruth.

   The party was emerging from the wood, when
the cracking of branches, and rustling of dried
leaves, announced, however, that an interruption
of some sort was about to occur.

   "If it should be one of their rascally patroles!"
exclaimed Borroughcliffe, with very obvious dis-
pleasure; "they trample like a regiment of ca-
valry! but, gentlemen, you will acknowledge
yourselves, that we were retiring from the field of
battle when we met the reinforcement, if it should
prove to be such."

   "We are not disposed, sir, to deny you the glory
of having achieved your victory single handed,"
said Griffith, glancing his eyes uneasily in the
direction of the approaching sounds, expecting
to see the pilot issue from the thicket in which he

---

-29-

SMALL | MEDIUM
seemed to be entangled, instead of any detach-
ment of his enemies.

   "Clear the way, Cæsar!" cried a voice at no
great distance from them;" "break through the
accursed vines, on my right, Pompey! -- press for-
ward, my fine fellows, or we may be too late to
smell even the smoke of the fight."

   "Hum!" ejaculated the captain with his phi-
losophic indifference of manner entirely re-esta-
blished, "this must be a Roman legion just
awoke from a trance of some seventeen centuries,
and that the voice of a Centurion. We will halt,
Mister Drill, and view the manner of an ancient
march!"

   While the captain was yet speaking, a violent
effort disengaged the advancing party from the
thicket of brambles in which they had been en-
tangled, when two blacks, each bending under a
load of fire-arms, preceded Colonel Howard
into the clear space where Borroughcliffe had
halted his detachment. Some little time was ne-
cessary to enable the veteran to arrange his dis-
ordered dress, and to remove the perspiring effects
of the unusual toil from his features, before he
could observe the addition to the captain's num-
bers.

   "We heard you fire," cried the old soldier,
making, at the same time, the most diligent appli-
cation of his bandanna, "and I determined to
aid you with a sortie, which, when judiciously
timed, has been the means of raising many a
siege; though, had Montcalm rested quietly within
his walls, the plains of Abram might never have
drunk his blood."

   "Oh! his decision was soldierly, and according
to all the rules of war," exclaimed Manual, "and
had I followed his example, this day might have
produced a different tale!"

---

-30-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Why, who have we here!" cried the colonel
in astonishment; "who is it that pretends to cri-
ticise battles and sieges, dressed in such a garb!"

   "'Tis a dux incognitorum, my worthy host,"
said Borroughcliffe, "which means, in our Eng-
lish language, a captain of marines in the service
of the American Congress."

   "What! have you then met the enemy! ay!
and by the fame of the immortal Wolfe you have
captured them!" cried the delighted veteran;
"I was pressing on with a part of my garrison to
your assistance, for I had seen that you were
marching in this direction, and even the report
of a few muskets were heard."

   "A few!" interrupted the conqueror; "I know
not what you call a few, my gallant and ancient
friend; you may possibly have shot at each other
by the week in the days of Wolfe, and Abercrom-
bie, and Braddock, but I too have seen smart
firing, and can hazard an opinion in such mat-
ters. There was as pretty a roll made by fire-
arms at the battles on the Hudson, as ever rattled
from a drum; it is all over, and many live to
talk of it; but this has been the most desperate
affair, for the numbers, I ever was engaged in!
I speak always with a reference to the numbers.
The wood is pretty well sprinkled with dead, and
we have contrived to bring off a few of the des-
perately wounded with us, as you may perceive."

   "Bless me!" exclaimed the surprised veteran,
"that such an engagement should happen within
musket shot of the Abbey, and I know so little of
it! My faculties are on the wane, I fear, for the
time has been when a single discharge would
rouse me from the deepest sleep."

   "The bayonet is a silent weapon," returned
the composed captain, with a significant wave of
his hand; "'tis the Englishman's pride, and every

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-32-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "The Cacique is a man of discretion," ob-
served the captain, with his usual dryness of
manner, "and will doubtless recollect his obliga-
tions to posterity and himself, though he be found
entangled in the mazes of a combat. But I mar-
vel that he does not return, for some time has
now elapsed since the schooner struck her flag,
as my own eyes have witnessed."

   "You will pardon me, gentlemen," said Grif-
fith, advancing towards them with uncontrollable
interest; "but I have unavoidably heard part of
your discourse, and cannot think you will find it
necessary to withhold the whole truth from a dis-
armed captive; say you that a schooner has been
captured this morning?"

   "It is assuredly true," said Borroughcliffe,
with a display of nature and delicacy in his man-
ner that did his heart infinite credit; "but I for-
bore to tell you, because I thought your own
misfortunes would be enough for one time. Mr.
Griffith, this gentleman is Colonel Howard, to
whose hospitality you will be indebted for some
favours before we separate."

   "Griffith!" echoed the colonel, in quick reply,
"Griffith! what a sight for my old eyes to wit-
ness! -- the child of worthy, gallant, loyal Hugh
Griffith a captive, and taken in arms against his
prince! Young man, young man, what would
thy honest father, what would his bosom friend,
my own poor brother Harry, have said, had it
pleased God that they had survived to witness
this burning shame and lasting stigma on thy re-
spectable name?"

   "Had my father lived, he would now have
been upholding the independence of his native
land," said the young man, proudly; "I wish to
respect even the prejudices of Colonel Howard,
and beg he will forbear urging a subject on which
I fear we never shall agree."

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-34-

SMALL | MEDIUM
like yours," returned Griffith; "this war must
soon terminate."

   "This war!" echoed the Colonel, shaking
loose the grasp which Griffith held on his arm;
"ay! what of this war, young man? Is it not
an accursed attempt to deny the rights of our
gracious sovereign, and to place tyrants, reared
in kennels, on the throne of princes! a scheme
to elevate the wicked at the expense of the good!
a project to aid unrighteous ambition, under the
mask of sacred liberty and the popular cry of
equality! as if there could be liberty without or-
der! or equality of rights, where the privileges of
the sovereign are not as sacred as those of the
people!"

   "You judge us harshly, Colonel Howard,"
said Griffith --

   "I judge you!" interrupted the old soldier,
who, by this time, thought the youth resembled
any one rather than his friend Hugh; "it is not
my province to judge you at all; if it were! but
the time will come, the time will come. I am a
patient man, and can wait the course of things;
yes, yes, age cools the blood, and we learn to
suppress the passions and impatience of youth;
but if the ministry would issue a commission of
justice for the colonies, and put the name of old
George Howard in it, I am a dog, if there should
be a rebel alive in twelve months. Sir," turn-
ing sternly to Borroughcliffe, "in such a cause,
I could prove a Roman, and hang -- hang! yes, I
do think, sir, I could hang my kinsman, Mister
Christopher Dillon!"

   "Spare the Cacique such an unnatural eleva-
tion, before his time," returned the captain, with
a grave wave of the hand; "but, sir," pointing
towards the wood, "there is a more befitting sub-

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-36-

SMALL | MEDIUM
prudent to halt; nay, by heaven, they counter-
march to the rear. Holla! Colonel Howard,
my worthy host, fall back on your reinforce-
ments; the wood is full of armed men; they
cannot escape us; I only wait for the horse to
cut off the retreat."

   The veteran, who had advanced to within a short
distance of the single man, who thus deliberately
awaited the attack, halted at this summons, and,
by a glance of his eye, ascertained that he stood
alone. Believing the words of Borroughcliffe to
be true, he slowly retired, keeping his face man-
fully towards his enemy, until he gained the sup-
port of the captain.

   "Recall the troops, Borroughcliffe!" he cried,
"and let us charge into the wood; they will fly
before his majesty's arms like guilty scoundrels,
as they are. As for the negroes, I'll teach the
black rascals to desert their master at such a mo-
ment. They say Fear is pale, but d -- e, Bor-
roughcliffe, if I do not believe his skin is black."

   "I have seen him of all colours; blue, white,
black, and party-coloured," said the captain; "I
must take the command of matters on myself,
however, my excellent host; let us retire into the
Abbey, and trust me to cut off the remainder of
the rebels."

   In this arrangement, the colonel reluctantly
acquiesced, and the three followed the soldier to
the dwelling, at a pace that was adapted to the
infirmities of its master. The excitement of the
onset, and the current of his ideas, had uni-
ted, however, to banish every amicable thought
from the breast of the Colonel, and he entered
the Abbey with a resolute determination of seeing
that justice was dealt to Griffith and his compa-
nions, even though it should push them to the
foot of the gallows.

---

-37-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   As the gentlemen disappeared from his view,
among the shrubbery of the grounds, the Pilot
replaced the weapon that was hanging from his
hand, in his bosom, and, turning with a saddened
and thoughtful brow, he slowly re-entered the
wood.

---

-38-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 3

CHAPTER III.

-- "When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say,
These are their reasons, -- They are natural;
For, I believe they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon."


Casca.

   The reader will discover, by referring to the
time consumed in the foregoing events, that the
Ariel, with her prize, did not anchor in the bay,
already mentioned, until Griffith and his party,
had been for several hours in the custody of their
enemies. The supposed capture of the rebel
schooner, was an incident that excited but little
interest, and no surprise, among a people who
were accustomed to consider their seamen as in-
vincible; and Barnstable had not found it a diffi-
cult task to practise his deception on the few
rustics whom curiosity induced to venture along-
side the vessels during the short continuance of
daylight. When, however, the fogs of evening
began to rise along the narrow basin, and the
curvatures of its margin were lost in the single
outline of its dark and gloomy border, the young
seaman thought it time to apply himself in earnest
to his duty. The Alacrity, containing all his
own crew, together with the Ariel's wounded,
was gotten silently under way, and driving easily
before the heavy air that swept from the land, she
drifted from the harbour, until the open sea lay
before her, when her sails were spread, and she

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-40-

SMALL | MEDIUM
told him that he was a `know-nothing,' and asked
him if the Dutchman was a more unlikely thing,
than that there should be places where the inhabi-
tants split the year in two watches, and had day
for six months, and night the rest of the time, the
green-horn laughed in my face, and I do believe
he would have told me I lied, but for one thing."

   "And what might that be?" asked Barnsta-
ble, gravely.

   "Why, sir," returned Tom, stretching his bo-
ny fingers, as he surveyed his broad palm, by the
little light that remained, "though I am a
peaceable man, I can be roused."

   "And you have seen the Flying Dutchman?"

   "I never doubled the east cape; though I can
find my way through Le Maire in the darkest
night that ever fell from the heavens; but I have
seen them that have seen her, and spoken her
too."

   "Well, be it so; you must turn flying Yan-
kee, yourself, to-night, Master Coffin. Man your
boat at once, sir, and arm your crew."

   The cockswain paused a moment, before he
proceeded to obey this unexpected order, and,
pointing towards the battery, he inquired, with
infinite phlegm --

   "For shore-work, sir? Shall we take the cut-
lashes and pistols? or shall we want the pikes?"

   "There may be soldiers in our way, with their
bayonets," said Barnstable, musing; "arm as
usual, but throw a few long pikes into the boat,
and harkye, Master Coffin, out with your tub
and whale-line; for I see you have rigged yourself
anew in that way."

   The cockswain, who was moving from the
forecastle, turned short at this new mandate, and,
with an air of remonstrance, ventured to say --

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-42-

SMALL | MEDIUM
and may suggest something advantageous." The
gratified midshipman swelled with the conscious
pleasure of possessing his commander's confidence,
and followed to the taffrail, over which Barnstable
leaned, while he delivered the remainder of his
communication. "I have gathered from the
'long-shore-men who have come off, this evening,
to stare at the vessel which the rebels have been
able to build, that a party of seamen and marines
have been captured in an old ruin near the Abbey
of St. Ruth, this very day."

   "'Tis Mr. Griffith!" exclaimed the boy.

   "Ay! the wit of your cousin Katherine is not
necessary to discover that. Now, I have propo-
sed to this gentleman with the Savannah face,
that he should go into the Abbey, and negotiate
an exchange. I will give him for Griffith, and
the crew of the Alacrity for Manual's command
and the Tigers."

   "The Tigers!" cried the lad, with emotion;
"have they got my Tigers, too! would to God
that Mr. Griffith had permitted me to land!"

   "It was no boy's work they were about, and
room was scarcer in their boat than live-lumber.
But this Mr. Dillon has accepted my proposition,
and has pledged himself that Griffith shall return
within an hour after he is permitted to enter the
Abbey: will he redeem his honour from the
pledge?"

   "He may," said Merry, musing a moment,
"for I believe he thinks the presence of Mr.
Griffith under the same roof with Miss Howard,
a thing to be prevented, if possible; he may be
true in this instance, though he has a hollow
look."

   "He has bad-looking light-houses, I will
own," said Barnstable; "and yet he is a gen-
tleman, and promises fair; 'tis unmanly to sus-

---

-43-

SMALL | MEDIUM
pect him in such a matter, and I will have faith!
Now listen, sir. The absence of older heads
must throw great responsibility on your young
shoulders; watch that battery as closely as if you
were at the mast-head of your frigate, on the
look-out for an enemy; the instant you see lights
moving in it, cut, and run into the offing; you
will find me somewhere under the cliffs, and you
will stand off and on, keeping the Abbey in
sight, until you fall in with us."

   Merry gave an attentive ear to these and divers
other solemn injunctions that he received from his
commander, who, having sent the officer next to
himself in authority in charge of the prize, (the
third in command being included in the list of the
wounded,) was compelled to intrust his beloved
schooner to the vigilance of a lad whose years
gave no promise of the experience and skill that
he actually possessed.

   When his admonitory instructions were ended,
Barnstable stepped again to the opening in the
cabin-hood, and for a single moment before he
spoke, once more examined the countenance of his
prisoner, with a keen eye. Dillon had removed
his hands from before his sallow features, and, as
if conscious of the scrutiny his looks were to un-
dergo, had concentrated the whole expression of
his forbidding aspect in a settled gaze of hopeless
submission to his fate. At least, so thought his
captor, and the idea touched some of the finer
feelings in the bosom of the generous young
seaman. Discarding, instantly, every suspicion
of his prisoner's honour, as alike unworthy of
them both, Barnstable summoned him, in a
cheerful voice, to the boat. There was a flashing
of the features of Dillon, at this call, which
gave an indefinable expression to his conntenance,
that again startled the sailor; but it was so very

---

-44-

SMALL | MEDIUM
transient, and could so easily be mistaken for a
smile of pleasure at his promised liberation, that
the doubts it engendered passed away almost as
speedily as the equivocal expression itself. Barn-
stable was in the act of following his companion
into the boat, when he felt himself detained by a
slight hold of his arm.

   "What would you have?" he asked of the
midshipman, who had given him the signal.

   "Do not trust too much to that Dillon, sir,"
returned the anxious boy, in a whisper; "if you
had seen his face, as I did, when the binnacle
light fell upon it, as he came up the cabin ladder,
you would put no faith in him."

   "I should have seen no beauty," said the gene-
rous lieutenant, laughing; "now, there is long-
Tom, as hard-featured a youth of two score and
ten as ever washed in brine, who has a heart as
big, ay, bigger than that of a kraaken. A
bright watch to you, boy, and remember, a keen
eye on the battery." As he was yet speaking,
Barnstable crossed the gunwale of his little vessel,
and it was not until he was seated by the side of
his prisoner, that he continued, aloud -- "Cast the
stops off your sails, Mr. Merry, and see all clear,
to make a run of every thing; recollect, you are
short-handed, sir. God bless ye! and d'ye
hear? if there is a man among you who shuts
more than one eye at a time, I'll make him, when
I get back, open both wider than if Tom Cof-
fin's friend, the Flying Dutchman, was booming
down upon him. God bless ye, Merry, my
boy; give 'em the square-sail, if this breeze
off-shore holds on till morning; shove off."

   As Barnstable gave the last order, he fell back
on his seat, and, drawing his boat-cloak around
him, maintained a profound silence, until they had
passed the two small headlands that formed the

---

-45-

SMALL | MEDIUM
mouth of the harbour. The men pulled, with
muffled oars, their long, vigorous strokes, and the
boat glided, with amazing rapidity, by the objects
that could be yet indistinctly seen along the dim
shore. When, however, they had gained the
open ocean, and the direction of their little bark
was changed to one that led them in a line with
the coast, and within the shadows of the cliffs,
the cockswain, deeming that the silence was no
longer necessary to their safety, ventured to break
it, as follows --

   "A square-sail is a good sail to carry on a
craft, dead afore it, and in a heavy sea; but if
fifty years can teach a man to know the weather,
it's my judgment that if the Ariel breaks ground
after the night turns at eight bells, she'll need her
main-sail to hold her up to her course."

   The lieutenant started at this sudden interrup-
tion to his musing, and casting his cloak from his
shoulders, he looked abroad on the waters, as if
seeking those portentous omens which disturbed
the imagination of his cockswain.

   "How now, Tom," he said, sharply, "have ye
turned croaker in your old age? what see you, to
cause such an old woman's ditty!"

   "'Tis no song of an old woman," returned
the cockswain, with solemn earnestness, "but the
warning of an old man; and one who has spent
his days where there were no hills to prevent the
winds of heaven from blowing on him, unless
they were hills of salt water and foam. I judge,
sir, there'll be a heavy north-easter setting in
upon us afore the morning watch is called."

   Barnstable knew the experience of his old mess-
mate too well, to feel no uneasiness at such an opi-
nion, delivered in so portentous a manner; but after
again surveying the horizon, the heavens, and the

---

-46-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ocean, he said, with a continued severity of man-
ner --

   "Your prophecy is idle, this time, Master
Coffin; every thing looks like a dead calm.
This swell is what is left from the last blow; the
mist over-head is nothing but the nightly fog,
and you can see, with your own eyes, that it is
driving seaward; even this land-breeze is nothing
but the air of the ground mixing with that of the
ocean; it is heavy with dew and fog, but it's as
sluggish as a Dutch galliot."

   "Ay, sir, it is damp, and there is little of it,"
rejoined Tom; "but as it comes only from the
shore, so it never goes far on the water. It is hard
to learn the true signs of the weather, Captain
Barnstable, and none get to know them well, but
such as study little else, or feel but little else.
There is only One who can see the winds of hea-
ven, or who can tell when a hurricane is to begin,
or where it will end. Still, a man isn't like a
whale or a porpoise, that takes the air in his nos-
trils, but never knows whether it is a south-easter
or a north-wester that he feeds upon. Look,
broad-off to leeward, sir; see the streak of clear
sky shining under the mists; take an old sea-
faring man's word for it, Captain Barnstable,
that whenever the light shines out of the heavens
in that way, 'tis never done for nothing; besides,
the sun set in a dark bank of clouds, and the
little moon we had was dry and windy."

   Barnstable listened attentively, and with in-
creasing concern, for he well knew that his
cockswain possessed a quick and almost unerring
judgment of the weather, notwithstanding the
confused medley of superstitious omens and signs
with which it was blended; but, again throwing
himself back in his boat, he muttered --

---

-47-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Then let it blow; Griffith is worth a heavier
risk, and if the battery can't be cheated, it can
be carried."

   Nothing further passed on the state of the wea-
ther. Dillon had not ventured a single remark
since he entered the boat, and the cockswain had
the discretion to understand that his officer was
willing to be left to his own thoughts. For near
an hour they pursued their way with diligence,
the sinewy seamen, who wielded the oars, urging
their light boat along the edge of the surf with
unabated velocity, and, apparently, with untired
exertions. Occasionally, Barnstable would cast
an inquiring glance at the little inlets that they
passed, or would note, with a seaman's eye, the
small portions of sandy beach that were scattered
here and there along the rocky boundaries of the
coast. One, in particular, a deeper inlet than
common, where a run of fresh water was heard
gurgling as it met the tide, he pointed out to
his cockswain, by significant, but silent ges-
tures, as a place to be especially noted. Tom,
who understood the signal as intended for his
own eye alone, made his observations on the spot,
with equal taciturnity, but with all the minute-
ness that would distinguish one long accustomed
to find his way, whether by land or water, by
land-marks, and the bearings of different objects.
Soon after this silent communication between the
lieutenant and his cockswain, the boat was sud-
denly turned, and was in the act of dashing upon
the spit of sand before it, when Barnstable check-
ed the movement by his voice --

   "Hold water!" he said; "'tis the sound of
oars!"

   The seamen held their boat at rest, while a
deep attention was given to the noise that had
alarmed the ears of their commander.

---

-48-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "See, sir," said the cockswain, pointing to-
wards the eastern horizon; "it is just rising
into the streak of light to seaward of us -- now
it settles in the trough -- ah! here you have it
again!"

   "By heavens!" cried Barnstable, "'tis a
man-of-war's stroke it pulls; I saw its oar-blades
as they fell! and, listen to the sound! neither
your fisherman nor your smuggler pulls such a
regular oar."

   Tom had bowed his head nearly to the water,
in the act of listening, and now, raising himself,
he spoke with confidence --

   "That is the Tiger; I know the stroke of her
crew as well as I do of my own. Mr. Merry
has made them learn the new-fashioned jerk, as
they dip their blades, and they feather with such
a roll in their rullocks! I could swear to the
stroke."

   "Hand me the night-glass," said his com-
mander, impatiently; "I can catch them, as they
are lifted into the streak. You are right, by eve-
ry star in our flag, Tom! -- but there is only one
man in her stern-sheets. By my good eyes, I
believe it is that accursed Pilot, sneaking from
the land, and leaving Griffith and Manual to die
in English prisons. To shore with you -- beach
her at once."

   The order was no sooner given, than it was
obeyed, and in less than two minutes, the impa-
tient Barnstable, Dillon, and the cockswain, were
standing together on the sands.

   The impression he had received, that his friends
were abandoned to their fate by the Pilot, urged
the generous young seaman to hasten the depar-
ture of his prisoner, as he was fearful every mo-
ment might interpose some new obstacle to the
success of his plans.

---

-49-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Mr. Dillon," he said, the instant they were
landed, "I exact no new promise -- your honour
is already plighted" --

   "If oaths can make it stronger," interrupted
Dillon, "I will take them."

   "Oaths cannot -- the honour of a gentleman
is, at all times, enough. I shall send my cock-
swain with you to the Abbey, and you will either
return with him, in person, within two hours, or
give Mr. Griffith and Captain Manual to his
guidance. Proceed, sir; you are conditionally
free; there is an easy opening by which to as-
cend the cliffs."

   Dillon, once more, thanked his generous cap-
tor, and then proceeded to force his way up the
rough eminence.

   "Follow, and obey his instructions," said
Barnstable to his cockswain, aloud.

   Tom, long accustomed to implicit obedience,
handled his harpoon, and was quietly following
in the footsteps of his new leader, when he felt
the hand of the lieutenant on his shoulder.

   "You saw where the brook emptied over the
hillock of sand?" said Barnstable, in an under
tone.

   Tom nodded assent.

   "You will find us there, riding without the
surf -- 'twill not do to trust too much to an ene-
my."

   The cockswain made a gesture of great signi-
ficance with his weapon, that was intended to
indicate the danger their prisoner would incur,
should he prove false; and, applying the wooden
end of the harpoon to the rocks, he ascended the
ravine at a rate that soon brought him to the side
of his companion.

---

-50-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV.

     "Ay, marry, let me have him to sit under:
He's like to be a cold soldier."


Falstaff.

   Barnstable lingered on the sands for a few mi-
nutes, until the footsteps of Dillon and the cock-
swain were no longer audible, when he ordered
his men to launch their boat once more into the
surf. While the seamen pulled leisurely towards
the place he had designated, as the point where he
would await the return of Tom, the lieutenant
first began to entertain serious apprehensions
concerning the good faith of his prisoner. Now,
that Dillon was beyond his control, his ima-
gination presented, in very vivid colours, se-
veral little circumstances in the other's con-
duct, which might readily excuse some doubts
of his good faith, and, by the time they had
reached the place of rendezvous, and had cast a
light grapnel into the sea, his fears had rendered
him excessively uncomfortable. Leaving the
lieutenant to his reflections, on this unpleasant
subject, we shall follow Dillon and his fearless
and unsuspecting companion, in their progress
towards St. Ruth.

   The mists, to which Tom had alluded, in his
discussion of the state of the weather with his
commander, appeared to be settling nearer to the
earth, and assuming, more decidedly, the ap-

---

-51-

SMALL | MEDIUM
pearance of a fog, hanging above them, in
sluggish volumes, but little agitated by the air.
The consequent obscurity added deeply to the
gloom of the night, and it would have been dif-
ficult for one, less acquainted than Dillon with
the surrounding localities, to have found the path
which led to the dwelling of Colonel Howard.
After some little search, this desirable object was
effected, and the civilian led the way, with rapid
strides, towards the Abbey.

   "Ay, ay!" said Tom, who followed his steps,
and equalled his paces, without any apparent ef-
fort, "you shore-people have an easy way to find
your course and distance, when you get into the
track. I was once left by the craft I belonged to,
in Boston, to find my way to Plymouth, which is
a matter of fifteen leagues, or thereaway; and,
so finding nothing was bound up the bay, after
lying-by for a week, I concluded to haul aboard
my land tacks. I spent the better part of ano-
ther week in a search for some hooker, on board
which I might work my passage across the coun-
try, for money was as scarce then with old Tom
Coffin as it is now, and is likely to be, unless the
fisheries get a good luff soon; but it seems that
nothing but your horse-flesh, and horned cattle,
and jack-asses, are privileged to do the pulling
and hauling in your shore-hookers; and I was
forced to pay a week's wages for a birth, besides
keeping a banyan on a mouthful of bread and
cheese, from the time we hove-up in Boston, 'till
we came-to in Plymouth town."

   "It was certainly an unreasonable exaction,
on the part of the stage-owners, from a man in
your situation," said Dillon, in a friendly, sooth-
ing tone of voice, that denoted a willingness to
pursue the conversation.

---

-52-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "My situation was that of a cabin passenger,"
returned the cockswain; "for there was but one
hand forward, beside the cattle I mentioned -- that
was he who steered -- and an easy birth he had
of it; for there his course lay a-tween walls of
stone, and fences; and, as for his reckoning, why,
they had stuck up bits of stone on-end, with his
day's work footed up, ready to his hand, every
half league or so. Besides, the land-marks were
so plenty, that a man, with half-an-eye, might
steer her, and no fear of getting to leeward."

   "You must have found yourself, as it were, in
a new world," observed Dillon.

   "Why, to me, it was pretty much the same as
if I had been set afloat in a strange country,
though I may be said to be a native of those
parts, being born on the coast. I had often
heard shore-men say, that there was as much
'arth as water in the world, which I always set
down as a rank lie, for I've sailed with a flowing
sheet months an-end, without falling in with as
much land or rock as would answer a gull to lay
its eggs on; but I will own, that a-tween Boston
and Plymouth, we were out-of-sight of water for
as much as two full watches."

   Dillon pursued this interesting subject with
great diligence, and, by the time they reached the
wall, which enclosed the large paddock that sur-
rounded the Abbey, the cockswain was deeply
involved in a discussion of the comparative mag-
nitude of the Atlantic Ocean and the Continent
of America.

   Avoiding the principal entrance to the build-
ing, through the great gates which communicated
with the court in front, Dillon followed the wind-
ings of the wall until it led them to a wicket,
which he knew was seldom closed for the night,
until the hour for general rest had arrived. Their

---

-53-

SMALL | MEDIUM
way now lay in the rear of the principal edifice,
and soon conducted them to the confused pile
which contained the offices. The cockswain fol-
lowed his companion, with a confiding reliance
on his knowledge and good faith, that was a good
deal increased by the freedom of communication
that had been maintained during their walk from
the cliffs. He did not perceive any thing ex-
traordinary in the other's stopping at the room,
which had been provided as a sort of barracks
for the soldiers of Captain Borroughcliffe. A
conference which took place between Dillon and
the sergeant, was soon ended, when the former
beckoned to the cockswain to follow, and, taking
a circuit round the whole of the offices, they en-
tered the Abbey together, by the door through
which the ladies had issued, when in quest of the
three prisoners, as has been already related.
After a turn or two among the narrow passages
of that part of the edifice, Tom, whose faith in
the facilities of land navigation began to be a
little shaken, found himself following his guide
through a long, dark gallery, that was termina-
ted at the end to which they were approaching,
by a half-open door, that admitted a glimpse into
a well-lighted and comfortable apartment. To this
door, Dillon hastily advanced, and, throwing it
open, the cockswain enjoyed a full view of the
very scene that we described, in introducing Col.
Howard to the acquaintance of the reader, and
under circumstances of great similitude. The
cheerful fire of coal, the strong and glaring
lights, the tables of polished mahogany, and the
blushing fluids, were still the same in appear-
ance, while the only perceptible change was in
the number of those, who partook of the cheer.
The master of the mansion, and Borroughcliffe,
were seated opposite to each other, employed in

---

-54-

SMALL | MEDIUM
discussing the events of the day, and diligently
pushing to and fro the glittering vessel, that
contained a portion of the generous liquor they
both loved so well; a task which each moment
rendered lighter.

   "If Kit would but return," exclaimed the
veteran, whose back was to the opening door,
"bringing with him his honest brows encircled,
as they will be, or ought to be, with laurel, I
should be the happiest old fool, Borroughcliffe, in
his majesty's realm of Great Britain!"

   The captain, who felt the necessity for the
unnatural restraint he had imposed on his thirst,
to be removed by the capture of his enemies, point-
ed towards the door with one hand, while he grasp-
ed the sparkling reservoir of the "south side"
with the other, and answered --

   "Lo! the Cacique himself! his brow inviting
the diadem -- ha! who have we in his highness'
train? By the Lord, sir Cacique, if you travel
with a body guard of such grenadiers, old Fre-
deric of Prussia himself will have occasion to
envy you the corps! a clear six-footer in nature's
stockings! and the arms as unique as the armed!"

   The colonel did not, however, attend to half of
his companion's exclamations, but turning, he be-
held the individual he had so much desired, and
received him with a delight proportioned to the
unexpectedness of the pleasure. For several
minutes, Dillon was compelled to listen to the
rapid questions of his venerable relative, to all of
which he answered with a prudent reserve, that
might, in some measure, have been governed by
the presence of the cockswain. Tom stood with
infinite composure, leaning on his harpoon, and
surveying, with a countenance where wonder was
singularly blended with contempt, the furniture
and arrangements of an apartment that was far

---

-55-

SMALL | MEDIUM
more splendid than any he had before seen. In
the mean time, Borroughcliffe entirely disregard-
ed the private communications that passed be-
tween his host and Dillon, which gradually be-
came more deeply interesting, and finally drew
them to a distant corner of the apartment, but
taking a most undue advantage of the absence of
the gentleman, who had so lately been his boon
companion, he swallowed one potation after an-
other, as if a double duty had devolved on him,
in consequence of the desertion of the veteran.
Whenever his eye did wander from the ruby tints
of his glass, it was to survey, with unrepressed
admiration, the inches of the cockswain, about
whose stature and frame there were numberless
excellent points to attract the gaze of a recruiting
officer. From this double pleasure, the captain
was, however, at last summoned, to participate in
the councils of his friends.

   Dillon was spared the disagreeable duty of re-
peating the artful tale he had found it necessary
to palm on the colonel, by the ardour of the vete-
ran himself, who executed the task in a manner
that gave to the treachery of his kinsman, every
appearance of a justifiable artifice and of unshaken
zeal in the cause of his prince. In substance,
Tom was to be detained as a prisoner, and the
party of Barnstable were to be entrapped, and of
course to share a similar fate. The sunken eye
of Dillon cowered before the steady gaze which
Borroughcliffe fastened on him, as the latter lis-
tened to the plaudits the colonel lavished on his
cousin's ingenuity; but the hesitation that lingered
in the soldier's manner vanished, when he turned
to examine their unsuspecting prisoner, who was
continuing his survey of the apartment, while he
innocently imagined the consultations he witnessed

---

-56-

SMALL | MEDIUM
were merely the proper and preparatory-steps to
his admission to the presence of Mr. Griffith.

   "Drill," said Borroughcliffe, aloud, "advance
and receive your orders." The cockswain turned
quickly, at this sudden mandate, and, for the first
time, perceived that he had been followed into the
gallery by the orderly, and two files of the re-
cruits, armed. "Take this man to the guard-
room, and feed him; and see that he dies not of
thirst."

   There was nothing alarming in this order, and
Tom was following the soldiers, in obedience to a
gesture from the captain, when their steps were
arrested in the gallery, by the cry of "Halt."

   "On recollection, Drill," said Borroughcliffe,
in a tone from which all dictatorial sounds were
banished, "show the gentleman into my own
room, and see him properly supplied."

   The orderly gave such an intimation of his
comprehending the meaning of his officer, as the
latter was accustomed to receive, when Borrough-
cliffe returned to his bottle, and the cockswain
followed his guide, with an alacrity and good
will that were not a little increased by the repeat-
ed mention of the cheer that awaited him.

   Luckily for the impatience of Tom, the quar-
ters of the captain were at hand, and the promised
entertainment by no means slow in making its
appearance. The former was an apartment that
opened from a lesser gallery, which communicated
with the principal one already mentioned; and
the latter was a bountiful but ungarnished supply
of that staple of the British isles, called roast
beef; of which the kitchen of Colonel Howard
was never without a due and loyal provision.
The sergeant, who certainly understood one of
the signs of his captain to imply an attack on the
citadel of the cockswain's brain, mingled, with his

---

-57-

SMALL | MEDIUM
own hands, a potation, that he styled a rummer of
grog, and which he thought would have felled
the animal itself that Tom was so diligently mas-
ticating, had it been alive, and in its vigour.
Every calculation that was made on the infirmity
of the cockswain's intellect, under the stimulus
of Jamaica, was, however, futile. He swallowed
glass after glass, with prodigious relish, but, at
the same time, with immoveable steadiness; and
the eyes of the sergeant, who felt it incumbent
to do honour to his own cheer, were already
glistening in his head, when, happily for the credit
of his art, a tap at the door announced the pre-
sence of his captain, and relieved him from the
impending disgrace of being drunk blind by a
recruit.

   As Borroughcliffe entered the apartment, he
commanded his orderly to retire, adding --

   "Mr. Dillon will give you instructions, which
you are implicitly to obey."

   Drill, who had sense enough remaining to
apprehend the displeasure of his officer, should
the latter discover his condition, quickened his
departure, and the cockswain soon found himself
alone with the captain. The vigour of Tom's
attacks on the remnants of the sirloin was now
much abated, leaving in its place that placid quiet
which is apt to linger about the palate, long after
the cravings of the appetite have been appeased.
He had seated himself on one of the trunks of Bor-
roughcliffe, utterly disdaining the use of a chair,
and, with the trencher in his lap, was using his own
jack-knife on the dilapidated fragment of the ox,
with something of that nicety with which the fe-
male goule, of the Arabian Tales, might be supposed
to pick her rice with the point of her bodkin.
The captain drew a seat nigh the cockswain,
and, with a familiarity and kindness infinitely coft-

---

-58-

SMALL | MEDIUM
descending, when the difference in their several
conditions is considered, he commenced the fol-
lowing dialogue:

   "I hope you have found your entertainment to
your liking, Mr. -- I must own my ignorance of
your name."

   "Tom," said the cockswain, keeping his eyes
roaming over the contents of the trencher;
"commonly called long-Tom, by my shipmates."

   "You have sailed with discreet men, and able
navigators, it would seem, as they understand lon-
gitude so well," rejoined the captain; "but you
have a patronymick -- I would say, another
name?"

   "Coffin," returned the cockswain; "I'm called
Tom, when there is any hurry, such as letting go
the haulyards, or a sheet; long-Tom, when they
want to get to windward of an old seaman, by
fair weather; and long-Tom Coffin, when they
wish to hail me, so that none of my cousins of
the same name, about the islands, shall answer;
for I believe the best man among them can't mea-
sure much over a fathom, taking him from his
head-works to his heel."

   "You are a most deserving fellow," cried Bor-
roughcliffe, "and it is painful to think to what a
fate the treachery of Mr. Dillon has consigned
you."

   The suspicions of Tom, if he ever entertained
any, were lulled to rest too effectually by the
kindness he had received, to be awakened by this
equivocal lament; he, therefore, after renewing
his intimacy with the rummer, contented himself
by saying, with a satisfied simplicity --

   "I am consigned to no one, carrying no cargo
but this Mr. Dillon, who is to give me Mr. Grif-
fith in exchange, or to go back to the Ariel him-
self, as my prisoner."

---

-59-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Ah! my good friend, I fear you will find,
when the time comes to make this exchange, that
he will refuse to do either."

   "But I'll be d -- d if he don't do one of
them; my orders are to see it done, and back he
goes; or Mr. Griffith, who is as good a seaman,
for his years, as ever trod a deck, slips his cable
from this here anchorage."

   Borroughcliffe affected to eye his companion
with great commiseration; an exhibition of com-
passion that was, however, completely lost on the
cockswain, whose nerves were strung to their
happiest tension, by his repeated libations, while
his wit was, if any thing, quickened by the
same cause, though his own want of guile rendered
him slow to comprehend its existence in others.
Perceiving it necessary to speak plainly, the cap-
tain renewed the attack in a more direct man-
ner --

   "I am sorry to say that you will not be per-
mitted to return to the Ariel, and that your com-
mander, Mr. Barnstable, will be a prisoner with-
in the hour; and in fact, that your schooner will
be taken, before the morning breaks."

   "Who'll take her?" asked the cockswain, with
a grim smile, on whose feelings, however, this
combination of threatened calamities was begin-
ning to make some impression.

   "You must remember, that she lies immediate-
ly under the heavy guns of a battery that can
sink her in a few minutes; an express has already
been sent to acquaint the commander of the work
with the Ariel's true character; and as the wind has
already begun to blow from the ocean, her escape
is impossible."

   The truth, together with its portentous conse-
quences, now began to glare across the faculties of
the cockswain. He remembered his own prognos-

---

-60-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tics on the weather, and the helpless situation of
the schooner, deprived of more than half her crew,
and left to the keeping of a boy, while her com-
mander himself was on the eve of captivity. The
trencher fell from his lap to the floor, his head
sunk on his knees, his face was concealed be-
tween his broad palms, and in spite of every effort
the old seaman could make to conceal his emo-
tion, he fairly groaned aloud.

   For a moment, the better feelings of Bor-
roughcliffe prevailed, and he paused, as he wit-
nessed this exhibition of suffering in one whose
head was already sprinkled with the marks of
time; but his habits, and the impressions left by
many years passed in collecting victims for the
wars, soon resumed their ascendancy, and the re-
cruiting officer diligently addressed himself to an
improvement of his advantage.

   "I pity, from my heart, the poor lads whom
artifice or mistaken notions of duty may have
led astray, and who will thus be taken in arms
against their sovereign; but, as they are found in
the very island of Britain, they must be made ex-
amples to deter others. I fear, that unless they
can make their peace with government, they will
all be condemned to death."

   "Let them make their peace with God, then;
your government can do but little to clear the log-
account of a man whose watch is up for this
world."

   "But, by making their peace with those who
have the power, their lives may be spared," said
the captain, watching, with keen eyes, the effect
his words produced on the cockswain.

   "It matters but little when a man hears the
messenger pipe his hammock down for the last
time; he keeps his watch in another world, though

---

-61-

SMALL | MEDIUM
he does not here. But to see wood and iron, that
has been put together after such moulds as the
Ariel's, go into strange hands, is a blow that a
man may remember long after the purser's books
have been squared against his name for ever. I
would rather that twenty shot should strike my
old carcass, than one should hull the schooner
that didn't pass out above her water-line."

   Borroughcliffe replied, somewhat carelessly,
"I may be mistaken, after all; and, instead of
putting any of you to death, they may place you
all on board the prison-ships, where you may
yet have a merry time of it, these ten or fifteen
years to come."

   "How's that, shipmate!" cried the cockswain,
with a start; "a prison-ship, d'ye say? you may
tell them that they can save the expense of one
man's rations, by shooting him, if they please,
and that is old Tom Coffin."

   "There is no answering for their caprice; to-
day, they may order a dozen of you shot for re-
bels; to-morrow they may choose to consider
you as prisoners of war, and send you to the
hulks for a dozen years."

   "Tell them, brother, that I'm a rebel, will ye?
and ye'll tell 'em no lie -- one that has fout them
since Manly's time, in Boston bay, to this hour.
I hope the boy will blow her up! it would be the
death of poor Richard Barnstable, to see her in
the hands of the English!"

   "I know of one way," said Borroughcliffe,
affecting to muse, "and but one, that will cer-
tainly avert the prison-ship; for, on second
thoughts, they will hardly put you to death."

   "Name it, friend," cried the cockswain, rising
from his seat in evident perturbation, "and if it
lies in the power of man, it shall be done."

---

-62-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Nay," said the captain, dropping his hand fa-
miliarly on the shoulder of the other, who lis-
tened with the most eager attention, "'tis easily
done, and no dreadful thing in itself; you are
used to gun-powder, and know its smell from otto
of roses?"

   "Ay, ay," cried the impatient old seaman; "I
have had it flashing under my nose by the hour;
what then?"

   "Why, then, what I have to propose will be
nothing to a man like you -- you found the beef
wholesome, and the grog mellow?"

   "Ay, ay, all well enough; but what is that to
an old sailor?" asked the cockswain, uncon-
sciously grasping the collar of Borroughcliffe's
coat, in his agitation; "what then?"

   The captain manifested no displeasure at this
unexpected familiarity, but smiled, with suavity,
as he unmasked the battery, from behind which
he had hitherto carried on his attacks.

   "Why, then, you have only to serve your
King, as you have before served the Congress --
and let me be the man to show you your co-
lours."

   The cockswain stared at the speaker intently,
but it was evident he did not clearly comprehend
the nature of the proposition, and the captain
pursued the subject --

   "In plain English, enlist in my company, my
fine fellow," he added, "and your life and liber-
ty are both safe."

   Tom did not laugh aloud, for that was a burst
of feeling in which he was seldom known to in-
dulge, but every feature of his weather-beaten
visage contracted into an expression of bitter,
ironical contempt. Borroughcliffe felt the iron
fingers, that still grasped his collar, gradually
tightening about his throat, like a vice, and, as the

---

-63-

SMALL | MEDIUM
arm slowly contracted, his body was drawn, by a
power that it was in vain to resist, close to that of
the cockswain, who, when their faces were with-
in a foot of each other, gave vent to his emo-
tions in words: --

   "A messmate, before a shipmate; a shipmate,
before a stranger; a stranger, before a dog; but
a dog before a soldier!"

   As Tom concluded, his nervous arm was sud-
denly extended to the utmost, the fingers relin-
quishing their grasp at the same time, and, when
Borroughcliffe recovered his disordered faculties,
he found himself in a distant corner of the apart-
ment, prostrate among a confused pile of chairs,
tables, and wearing apparel. In endeavouring
to rise from this humble posture, the hand of the
captain fell on the hilt of his sword, which had
been included in the confused assemblage of arti-
cles produced by his overthrow.

   "How now, scoundrel!" he cried, baring the
glittering weapon, and springing on his feet;
"you must be taught your distance, I perceive."

   The cockswain seized the harpoon which lean-
ed against the wall, and dropped its barbed ex-
tremity within a foot of the breast of his assail-
ant, with an expression of the eye that denoted
the danger of a nearer approach. The captain,
however, wanted not for courage, and, stung to
the quick by the insult he had received, he made
a desperate parry, and attempted to pass within
the point of the novel weapon of his adversary.
The slight shock was followed by a sweeping
whirl of the harpoon, and Borroughcliffe found
himself without arms, completely at the mercy of
his foe. The bloody intentions of Tom vanish-
ed with his success; for, laying aside his wea-
pon, he advanced upon his antagonist, and seized
him with an open palm. One more struggle, in

---

-64-

SMALL | MEDIUM
which the captain discovered his incompetency
to make any defence against the strength of a
man who managed him as if he had been a child,
decided the matter. When the captain was passive
in the hands of his foe, the cockswain produced
sundry pieces of sennit, marline, and ratlin-
stuff, from pockets, which appeared to contain as
great a variety of small cordage as a boatswain's
store-room, and proceeded to lash the arms of the
conquered to the posts of his bed, with a coolness
that had not been disturbed since the commence-
ment of hostilities, a silence that seemed inflexi-
ble, and a dexterity that none but a seaman could
equal. When this part of his plan was executed,
Tom paused a moment, and gazed around him as
if in quest of something. The naked sword
caught his eye, and, with this weapon in his
hand, he deliberately approached his captive,
whose alarm prevented his discovering, that the
cockswain had snapped the blade asunder from
the handle, and that he had already encircled the
latter with marline.

   "For God's sake," exclaimed Borroughcliffe,
"murder me not in cold blood!"

   The silver hilt entered his mouth as the words
issued from it, and the captain found, while the line
was passed and repassed, in repeated involutions
across the back of his neck, that he was in a con-
dition to which he often subjected his own men,
when unruly, and which is universally called, be-
ing `gagged.' The cockswain now appeared to
think himself entitled to all the privileges of a
conqueror; for, taking the light in his hand, he
commenced a scrutiny into the nature and quality
of the worldly effects that lay at his mercy.
Sundry articles, that belonged to the equipments
of a soldier, were examined, and cast aside, with
great contempt, and divers garments of plainer

---

-65-

SMALL | MEDIUM
exterior, were rejected as unsuited to the frame of
the victor. He, however, soon encountered two
articles, of a metal that is well understood by
all. But the uncertainty as to their use appeared
greatly to embarrass him. The circular prongs
of these curiosities were applied to either hand,
to the wrists, and even to the nose, and the little
wheels, at their opposite extremity, were turned
and examined with as much curiosity and care,
as a savage would expend on a watch, until the
idea seemed to cross the mind of the honest sea-
man, that they formed part of the useless trap-
pings of a military man, and he cast them aside,
also, as utterly worthless. Borroughcliffe, who
watched every movement of his conqueror, with
a good humour that would have restored perfect
harmony between them, could he but have ex-
pressed half what he felt, witnessed the safety of a
favourite pair of spurs, with much pleasure, though
nearly suffocated, by mirth that was unnaturally
repressed. At length, the cockswain found a pair
of handsomely mounted pistols, a sort of weapon,
with which he seemed quite familiar. They were
loaded, and the knowledge of that fact appeared
to remind Tom of the necessity of departing,
by bringing to his recollection the danger of his
commander and the Ariel. He thrust the wea-
pons into the canvass belt that encircled his body,
and, grasping his harpoon, approached the bed,
where Borroughcliffe was seated in duresse.

   "Harkye, friend," said the cockswain, "may
the Lord forgive you, as I do, for wishing to
make a soldier of a sea-faring man, and one who
has followed the waters since he was an hour old,
and one who hopes to die off soundings, and to
be buried in brine. I wish you no harm, friend,
but you'll have to keep a stopper on your conver-
sation 'till such time as some of your messmates

---

-66-

SMALL | MEDIUM
call this way, which I hope will be as soon after I
get an offing as may be."

   With these amicable wishes, the cockswain de-
parted, leaving Borroughcliffe the light, and the
undisturbed possession of his apartment, though
not in the most easy or the most enviable situa-
tion imaginable. The captain heard the bolt of
his lock turn, and the key rattle as the cock-
swain withdrew it from the door -- two precau-
tionary steps, that clearly indicated that the van-
quisher deemed it prudent to secure his retreat,
by insuring the detention of the vanquished, for
at least a time.

---

-67-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 5

CHAPTER V.

     "Whilst Vengeance, in the lurid air,
Lifts her red arm, expos'd and bare: --
Who, Fear, this ghastly train can see,
And look not madly wild, like thee?"


Collins.

   It is certain that Tom Coffin had devised no
settled plan of operations, when he issued from
the apartment of Borroughcliffe, if we except a
most resolute determination to make the best of
his way to the Ariel, and to share her fate, let it
be either to sink or swim. But this was a resolu-
tion much easier formed by the honest seaman,
than executed, in his present situation. He
would have found it less difficult to extricate a
vessel from the dangerous shoals of the " De-
vil's-Grip," than to thread the mazes of the
labyrinth of passages, galleries, and apartments,
in which he found himself involved. He remem-
bered, as he expressed it to himself, in a low so-
liloquy, "to have run into a narrow passage from
the main channel, but whether he had sheered
to the starboard or larboard hand," was a mate-
rial fact, that had entirely escaped his memory.
Tom was in that part of the building that Colo-
nel Howard had designated as the "cloisters,"
and in which, luckily for him, he was but little
liable to encounter any foe; the room occupied by

---

-68-

SMALL | MEDIUM
Borroughcliffe being the only one in the entire
wing, that was not exclusively devoted to the
service of the ladies. The circumstance of the
soldier's being permitted to invade this sanctua-
ry, was owing to the necessity, on the part of
Colonel Howard, of placing either Griffith, Ma-
nual, or the recruiting officer, in the vicinity of his
wards, or of subjecting his prisoners to a treatment
that the veteran would have thought unworthy
of his name and character. This recent change
in the quarters of Borroughcliffe operated doubly
to the advantage of Tom, by lessening the
chance of the speedy release of his uneasy cap-
tive, as well as by diminishing his own danger.
Of the former circumstance he was, however, not
aware, and the consideration of the latter was a
sort of reflection to which the cockswain was, in
no degree, addicted.

   Following, necessarily, the line of the wall, he
soon emerged from the dark and narrow passage
in which he had first found himself, and entered
the principal gallery, that communicated with all
the lower apartments of that wing, as well as
with the main body of the edifice. An open
door, through which a strong light was glaring,
at a distant end of this gallery, instantly caught
his eye, and the old seaman had not advanced
many steps towards it, before he discovered that
he was approaching the very room which had so
much excited his curiosity, and by the identical
passage through which he had entered the Abbey.
To turn, and retrace his steps, was the most ob-
vious course, for any man to take, who felt anx-
ious to escape; but the sounds of high convivia-
lity, bursting from the cheerful apartment, among
which the cockswain thought he distinguished
the name of Griffith, determined Tom to advance
and reconnoitre the scene more closely. The

---

-69-

SMALL | MEDIUM
reader will anticipate that when he paused in the
shadow, the doubting old seaman stood once more
near that threshold which he had so lately crossed,
when conducted to the room of Borroughcliffe.
The seat of that gentleman was now occupied by
Dillon, and Colonel Howard had resumed his
wonted station at the foot of the table. The
noise was chiefly made by the latter, who had
evidently been enjoying a more minute relation
of the means by which his kinsman had entrap-
ped his unwary enemy.

   "A noble ruse!" cried the veteran, as Tom
assumed his post, in ambush; "a most noble and
ingenious ruse, and such a one as would have
baffled Cæsar! he must have been a cunning
dog, that Cæsar; but I do think, Kit, you would
have been too much for him; hang me, if I don't
think you would have puzzled Wolfe himself, had
you held Quebec, instead of Montcalm! Ah!
boy, we want you in the colonies, with the er-
mine over your shoulders; such men as you,
cousin Christopher, are sadly, sadly wanting
there to defend his majesty's rights."

   "Indeed, dear sir, your partiality gives me
credit for qualities I do not possess," said Dillon,
dropping his eyes, perhaps with a feeling of con-
scious unworthiness, but with an air of much
humility; "the little justifiable artifice -- "

   "Ay! there lies the beauty of the transaction,"
interrupted the colonel, shoving the bottle from
him, with the free, open air of a man who never
harboured disguise; "you told no lie; no mean
deception, that any dog, however base and un-
worthy, might invent; but you practised a neat,
a military, a -- a -- yes, a classical deception on
your enemy; a classical deception, that is the
very term for it! such a deception as Pompey,
or Mark Antony, or -- or -- you know those old

---

-70-

SMALL | MEDIUM
fellows' names better than I do, Kit; but name
the cleverest fellow that ever lived in Greece or
Rome, and I shall say he is a dunce, compared
to you. 'Twas a real Spartan trick, both simple
and honest."

   It was extremely fortunate for Dillon, that the
animation of his aged kinsman kept his head and
body in such constant motion, during this apos-
trophe, as to intercept the aim that the cock-
swain was deliberately taking at his head, with
one of Borroughcliffe's pistols; and perhaps
the sense of shame, which induced him to sink
his face on his two hands, was another means
of saving his life, by giving the indignant old
seaman time for reflection.

   "But you have not spoken of the ladies," said
Dillon, after a moment's pause; "I should hope,
they have borne the alarm of the day like kins-
women of the family of Howard."

   The colonel glanced his eyes around him, as if
to assure himself they were alone, and dropped
his voice, as he answered --

   "Ah! Kit, they have come to, since this rebel
scoundrel, Griffith, has been brought into the
Abbey; we were favoured with the company of
even Miss Howard, in the dining-room, to-day.
There was a good deal of `dear uncleing,' and
`fears that my life might be exposed by the quar-
rels and skirmishes of these desperadoes who
have landed;' as if an old fellow, who served
through the whole war, from '56 to '63, was afraid
to let his nose smell gunpowder, any more than if
it were snuff! But it will be a hard matter to
wheedle an old soldier out of his allegiance!
This Griffith goes to the Tower, at least, Mr.
Dillon."

   "It would be advisable to commit his person
to the civil authority, without delay."

---

-71-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "To the constable of the Tower, the Earl Corn-
wallis, a good and loyal nobleman, who is, at
this moment, fighting the rebels in my own native
province, Christopher," interrupted the colonel;
"that will be what I call retributive justice;
but," continued the veteran, rising with an air of
gentlemanly dignity, "it will not do to permit
even the constable of the Tower of London, to
surpass the master of St. Ruth, in hospitality and
kindness to his prisoners. I have ordered suitable
refreshments to their apartments, and it is incum-
bent on me to see that my commands have been
properly obeyed. Arrangements must also be
made for the reception of this Captain Barnsta-
ble, who will, doubtless, soon be here."

   "Within the hour, at farthest," said Dillon,
looking uneasily at his watch.

   "We must be stirring, boy," continued the
colonel, moving towards the door that led to the
apartments of his prisoners; "but there is a
courtesy due to the ladies, as well as to these un-
fortunate violators of the laws -- go, Christopher,
convey my kindest wishes to Cecilia; she don't
deserve them, the obstinate vixen, but then she is
my brother Harry's child! and while there, you
arch dog, plead your own cause. Mark Antony
was a fool to you at a `ruse,' and yet Mark was
one of your successful suitors, too; there was
that Queen of the Pyramids -- "

   The door closed on the excited veteran, at
these words, and Dillon was left standing by
himself, at the side of the table, musing, as if in
doubt, whether to venture on the step that his
kinsman had proposed, or not.

   The greater part of the preceding discourse
was unintelligible to the cockswain, who had
waited its termination with extraordinary pa-
tience, in hopes he might obtain some informa-

---

-72-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tion that he could render of service to the cap-
tive officers. Before he had time to decide on
what was now best for him to do, Dillon, sud-
denly, determined to venture himself in the clois-
ters; and, swallowing a couple of glasses of wine
in a breath, he passed the hesitating cockswain,
who was concealed by the opening door, so close-
ly as to brush his person, and moved down
the gallery with those rapid strides, which men,
who act under the impulse of forced resolutions,
are very apt to assume, as if to conceal their
weakness from themselves. Tom hesitated no
longer, but, aiding the impulse given to the door
by Dillon as he passed, so as to darken the pas-
sage, he followed the sounds of the other's foot-
steps, while he trod, in the manner already descri-
bed, the stone pavement of the gallery. Dillon
paused an instant at the turning that led to the
room of Borroughcliffe, but whether irresolute
which way to urge his steps, or listening to the
incautious and heavy treads of the cockswain, is
not known; if the latter, he mistook them for
the echoes of his own footsteps, and moved for-
ward again, without making any discovery.

   The light tap which Dillon gave on the door
of the withdrawing-room of the cloisters, was
answered by the soft voice of Cecilia Howard
herself, who bid the applicant enter. There was
a slight confusion evident in the manner of the
gentleman as he complied with the bidding, and
in its hesitancy, the door was, for an instant, ne-
glected.

   "I come, Miss Howard," said Dillon, "by
the commands of your uncle, and, permit me to
add, by my own -- "

   "May heaven shield us!" exclaimed Cecilia,
clasping her hands in affright, and rising involun-

---

-73-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tarily from her couch; "are we, too, to be im-
prisoned and murdered?"

   "Surely Miss Howard will not impute to me" --
but Dillon, observing that the wild looks, not only
of Cecilia, but of Katherine and Alice Duns-
combe, also, were directed at some other object,
turned, and, to his manifest terror, he beheld the
gigantic frame of the cockswain, surmounted by
an iron visage fixed in settled hostility, in pos-
session of the only passage to or from the apart-
ment.

   "If there's murder to be done," said Tom, af-
ter surveying the astonished group with a stern
eye, "it's as likely this here liar will be the one
to do it, as another; but you have nothing to fear
from a man who has followed the seas too long,
and has grappled with too many monsters, both
fish and flesh, not to know how to treat a help-
less woman. None, who know him, will ever
say, that Thomas Coffin ever used uncivil lan-
guage, or unseaman-like conduct, to any of his
mother's kind."

   "Coffin!" exclaimed Katherine, advancing
with a more confident air, from the corner, into
which terror had driven her with her compa-
nions.

   "Ay, Coffin," continued the old sailor, his
grim features gradually relaxing, as he gazed on
her bright looks; "'tis a solemn word, but it's a
name that passes over the shoals, among the isl-
ands, and along the cape, oftener than any other.
My father was a Coffin, and my mother was a
Joy; and the two names can count more flukes
than all the rest in the island together; though
the Worths, and the Gar'ners, and the Swaines,
dart better harpoons, and set truer lances, than
any men who come from the weather-side of the
Atlantic."

---

-74-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Katherine listened to this digression in honour
of the whalers of Nantucket, with marked com-
placency, and, when he concluded, she repeated,
slowly --

   "Coffin! this, then, is long-Tom!"

   "Ay, ay, long-Tom, and no sham in the name
either," returned the cockswain, suffering the
stern indignation that had lowered around his
hard visage, to relax into a low laugh, as he ga-
zed on her animated features; "the Lord bless
your smiling face and bright black eyes, young
madam; you have heard of old long-Tom, then?
most likely, 'twas something about the blow he
strikes at the fish -- ah! I'm old and I'm stiff,
now, young madam, but, afore I was nineteen, I
stood at the head of the dance, at a ball on the
cape, and that with a partner almost as hand-
some as yourself -- ay! and this was after I had
three broad flukes logg'd against my name."

   "No," said Katherine, advancing in her ea-
gerness a step or two nigher to the old tar, her
cheeks flushing while she spoke, "I had heard of
you as the instructer in a seaman's duty, as the
faithful cockswain, nay, I may say, as the devo-
ted companion and friend of Mr. Richard Barn-
stable -- but, perhaps, you come now as the bear-
er of some message or letter from that gentle-
man."

   The sound of his commander's name sudden-
ly revived the recollection of Coffin, and with it,
all the fierce sternness of his manner returned.
Bending his eyes keenly on the cowering form of
Dillon, he said, in those deep, harsh tones, that
seem peculiar to men, who have braved the ele-
ments, until they appear to have imbibed some
of their roughest qualities --

   "Liar! how now? what brought old Tom
Coffin into these shoals and narrow channels?

---

-75-

SMALL | MEDIUM
was it a letter? ha! but by the Lord that maketh
the winds to blow, and teacheth the lost mariner
how to steer over the wide waters, you shall
sleep this night, villain, on the planks of the
Ariel; and if it be the will of God, that beautiful
piece of handicraft is to sink at her moorings,
like a worthless hulk, ye shall still sleep in her;
ay, and a sleep that shall not end, 'till they call
all hands, to foot up the days'-work of this life,
at the close of man's longest voyage."

   The extraordinary vehemence, the language,
the attitude of the old seaman, commanding in
its energy, and the honest indignation that shone
in every look of his keen eyes, together with the
nature of the address, and its paralyzing effect on
Dillon, who quailed before it like the stricken
deer, united to keep the female listeners, for many
moments, silent, through amazement. During
this brief period, Tom advanced upon his nerve-
less victim, and lashing his arms together behind
his back, he fastened him, by a strong cord, to
the broad canvass belt that he constantly wore
around his own body, leaving to himself, by this
arrangement, the free use of his arms and wea-
pons of offence, while he secured his captive.

   "Surely," said Cecilia, recovering her recol-
lection the first of the astonished group, "Mr.
Barnstable has not commissioned you to offer
this violence to my uncle's kinsman, under the
roof of Colonel Howard? -- Miss Plowden, your
friend has strangely forgotten himself, in this
transaction, if this man acts in obedience to his
orders!"

   "My friend, my cousin Howard," returned
Katherine, "would never commission his cock-
swain, or any one, to do an unworthy deed.
Speak, honest sailor; why do you commit this
outrage on the worthy Mr. Dillon, Colonel How-

---

-76-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ard's kinsman, and a cupboard cousin of St.
Ruth's Abbey?"

   "Nay, Katherine -- "

   "Nay, Cecilia, be patient, and let the stran-
ger have utterance; he may solve the difficulty
altogether."

   The cockswain, understanding that an expla-
nation was expected from his lips, addressed him-
self to the task, with an energy suitable both to
the subject and to his own feelings. In a very
few words, though a little obscured by his pecu-
liar diction, he made his listeners understand the
confidence that Barnstable had reposed in Dillon,
and the treachery of the latter. They heard him
with increased astonishment, and Cecilia hardly
allowed him time to conclude, before she exclaim-
ed --

   "And did Colonel Howard, could Colonel
Howard listen to this treacherous project?"

   "Ay, they patched it up among them," re-
turned Tom; "though one part of this cruise will
turn out but badly."

   "Even Borroughcliffe, cold and hardened as
he appears to be by habit, would spurn at such
dishonour," added Miss Howard.

   "But, Mr. Barnstable?" at length Katherine
succeeded in saying, when her feelings permitted
her utterance, "said you not, that soldiers were
in quest of him?"

   "Ay, ay, young madam," the cockswain repli-
ed, smiling with grim ferocity, "they are in
chase, but he has shifted his anchorage; and even
if they should find him, his long pikes would
make short work of a dozen red-coats. The
Lord of tempests and calms have mercy though,
on the schooner! Ah! young madam, she is as
lovely to the eyes of an old sea-faring man, as
any of your kind can be to human nature."

---

-77-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "But why this delay? -- away then, honest
Tom, and reveal the treachery to your com-
mander; you may not yet be too late -- why de-
lay a moment?"

   "The ship tarries for want of a pilot -- I could
carry three fathom over the shoals of Nantucket,
the darkest night that ever shut the windows of
heaven, but I should be likely to run upon
breakers in this navigation. As it was, I was
near getting into company that I should have had
to fight my way out of."

   "If that be all, follow me," cried the ardent
Katherine; "I will conduct you to a path that
leads to the ocean, without approaching the sen-
tinels."

   Until this moment, Dillon had entertained a
secret expectation of a rescue, but when he heard
this proposal, he felt his blood retreating to his
heart, from every part of his agitated frame, and
his last hope seemed wrested from him. Raising
himself from the abject, shrinking attitude, in
which both shame and dread had conspired to
keep him, as though he had been fettered to the
spot, he approached Cecilia, and cried, in tones
of horror --

   "Do not, do not consent, Miss Howard, to
abandon me to the fury of this man! your uncle,
your honourable uncle, even now, applauded and
united with me in my enterprise, which is no
more than a common artifice in war."

   "My uncle would unite, Mr. Dillon, in no pro-
ject of deliberate treachery, like this," said Ce-
cilia, coldly.

   "He did, I swear by -- "

   "Liar!" interrupted the deep tones of the
cockswain.

   Dillon shivered with agony and terror, while
the sounds of this appalling voice sunk into his in-

---

-78-

SMALL | MEDIUM
most soul; but as the gloom of the night, the
secret ravines of the cliffs, and the turbulence of
the ocean, flashed across his imagination, he again
yielded to a dread of the horrors to which he
should be exposed, in encountering them at the
mercy of his powerful enemy, and he continued
his solicitations --

   "Hear me, once more hear me -- Miss Howard,
I beseech you, hear me; am I not of your own
blood and country! will you see me abandoned
to the wild, merciless, malignant fury of this
man, who will transfix me with that -- oh! God!
if you had but seen the sight I beheld in the
Alacrity! -- hear me, Miss Howard, for the love
you bear your Maker, intercede for me. Mr.
Griffith shall be released -- "

   "Liar!" again interrupted the cockswain.

   "What promises he?" asked Cecilia, turning
her averted face once more at the miserable cap-
tive.

   "Nothing that will be fulfilled," said Kathe-
rine; "follow, honest Tom, and I, at least, will
conduct you in good faith."

   "Cruel, obdurate Miss Plowden; gentle, kind
Miss Alice, you will not refuse to raise your voice
in my favour; your heart is not hardened by any
imaginary dangers to those you love."

   "Nay, address not me," said Alice, bending
her meek eyes to the floor; "I trust your life is
in no danger, and I pray that he who has the
power, will have the mercy, to see you un-
harmed."

   "Away," said Tom, grasping the collar of the
helpless Dillon, and rather carrying than leading
him into the gallery; "if a sound, one quarter
as loud as a young porpoise makes, when he
draws his first breath, comes from you, villain,
you shall see the sight of the Alacrity over again.

---

-79-

SMALL | MEDIUM
My harpoon keeps its edge well, and the old arm
can yet drive it to the seizing."

   This menace effectually silenced even the hard,
perturbed breathings of the captive, who, with
his conductor, followed the light steps of Kathe-
rine, through some of the secret mazes of the
building, until, in a few minutes, they issued
through a small door, into the open air. Without
pausing to deliberate, Miss Plowden led the
cockswain through the grounds, to a different
wicket from the one by which he had entered the
paddock, and pointing to the path, which might
be dimly traced along the faded herbage, she bad
God bless him, in a voice that discovered her in-
terest in his safety, and vanished from his sight,
like an aerial being.

   Tom needed no incentive to his speed, now
that his course lay so plainly before him, but,
loosening his pistols in his belt, and poising his
harpoon, he crossed the fields at a gait that com-
pelled his companion to exert his utmost powers,
in the way of walking, to equal. Once or twice,
Dillon ventured to utter a word or two, but a
stern "silence," from the cockswain, warned him
to cease, until, perceiving that they were ap-
proaching the cliffs, he made a final effort to ob-
tain his liberty, by hurriedly promising a large
bribe. The cockswain made no reply, and the
captive was secretly hoping that his scheme was
producing its wonted effects, when he unexpectedly
felt the keen, cold edge of the barbed iron of the
harpoon pressing against his breast, through the
opening of his ruffles, and even rasing the skin.

   "Liar," said Tom, "another word, and I'll
drive it through your heart."

   From that moment, Dillon was as silent as the
grave. They reached the edge of the cliffs, with-
out encountering the party that had been sent in

---

-80-

SMALL | MEDIUM
quest of Barnstable, and at a point near where
they had landed. The old seaman paused an
instant on the verge of the precipice, and cast his
experienced eyes along the wide expanse of water
that lay before him. The sea was no longer sleep-
ing, but already in heavy motion, and rolling its
surly waves against the base of the rocks on
which he stood, and scattering their white crests
high in foam. The cockswain, after bending
his looks along the whole line of the eastern ho-
rizon, gave utterance to a low and stifled groan,
and then striking the staff of his harpoon vio-
lently against the earth, he pursued his way along
the very edge of the cliffs, muttering certain
dreadful denunciations, which the conscience
of his appalled listener did not fail to cause him
to apply to himself. It appeared to the lat-
ter, that his angry and excited leader sought the
giddy verge of the precipice with a sort of wan-
ton recklessness, so daring were the steps that he
took along its brow, notwithstanding the dark-
ness of the hour, and the violence of the blasts
that occasionally rushed by them, leaving behind
a kind of reaction, that more than once brought
the life of the manacled captive in imminent
jeopardy. But it would seem, the wary cock-
swain had a motive for his, apparently, inconside-
rate desperation. When they had made good
quite half the distance between the point where
Barnstable had landed, and that where he had
appointed to meet his cockswain, the sounds of
voices were brought indistinctly to their ears, in
one of the momentary pauses of the rushing winds,
and caused the cockswain to make a dead stand
in his progress. He listened intently, for a single
minute, when his resolution appeared to be taken.
He turned to Dillon, and spoke; but though his

---

-81-

SMALL | MEDIUM
voice was suppressed and low, it was deep and
resolute.

   "One word, and you die; over the cliffs. You
must take a seaman's ladder; there is footing,
on the rocks and crags, for your hands. Over the
cliff, I bid ye, or I'll cast ye into the sea, as I
would a dead enemy."

   "Mercy, mercy," implored Dillon; "I could
not do it in the day; I shall surely perish by this
light."

   "Over with ye," said Tom, "or I -- "

   Dillon waited for no more, but descended, with
trembling steps, the dangerous precipice which lay
before him. He was followed by the cockswain,
with a haste that unavoidably dislodged his cap-
tive from the trembling stand he had taken on the
shelf of a rock, who, to his increased horror, found
himself dangling in the air, his body impending
over the sullen surf, that was tumbling in, with
violence, upon the rocks beneath him. An invo-
luntary shriek burst from Dillon, as he felt his
person thrust from the narrow shelf, and his
cry sounded amid the tempest, like the screech-
ings of the spirit of the storm.

   "Another such call, and I cut your tow-line,
villain," said the determined seaman, "when no-
thing short of eternity will bring you up."

   The sounds of footsteps and voices were now
distinctly audible, and presently a group of armed
men appeared on the edges of the rocks, directly
above them.

   "It was a human voice," said one of them,
"and like a man in distress."

   "It cannot be the party we are sent in search
of," returned Sergeant Drill; "for no watch-
word that I ever heard sounded like that cry."

   "They say, that such cries are often heard, in

---

-82-

SMALL | MEDIUM
storms, along this coast," said a voice, that was
uttered with less of military confidence than the
two others; "and they are thought to come from
drowned seamen."

   A feeble laugh arose among the listeners, and
one or two forced jokes were made, at the ex-
pense of their superstitious comrade; but the
scene did not fail to produce its effect on even
the most sturdy among the unbelievers in the
marvellous; for, after a few more very similar
remarks, the whole party retired from the cliffs,
at a pace that might have been accelerated
by the nature of their discourse. The cock-
swain, who had stood, all this time, firm as the
rock which supported him, bearing up not only
his own weight, but the person of Dillon also,
raised his head above the brow of the precipice,
as they withdrew, to reconnoitre, and then
drew up the nearly insensible captive, and first
placing him in safety on the bank, he followed
himself. Not a moment was wasted in unne-
cessary explanations, but Dillon found himself
again urged forward, with the same velocity as
before. In a few minutes they gained the desi-
red ravine, down which Tom plunged, with a
seaman's nerve, dragging his prisoner after him,
and directly they stood where the waves rose to
their feet, as they flowed far and foaming across
the sands. The cockswain stooped, so as to
bring the crests of the billows in a line with the
horizon, when he discovered the dark boat play-
ing in the outer edge of the surf.

   "What hoa! Ariels there!" shouted Tom, in
a voice that the growing tempest carried to the
ears of the retreating soldiers, who quickened
their footsteps, as they listened to sounds that their
fears taught them to believe unnatural.

---

-83-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Who hails?" cried the well known voice of
Barnstable.

   "Once your master, now your servant," an-
swered the cockswain, in a watch-word of his
own invention.

   "'Tis he," returned the lieutenant; "veer
away, boys, veer away. You must wade into the
surf."

   Tom caught Dillon in his arms, and throwing
him, like a cork, across his shoulder, he dashed
into the streak of foam that was bearing the boat
on its crest, and before his companion had time
for remonstrance or entreaty, he found himself
once more by the side of Barnstable.

   "Who have we here?" asked the lieutenant;
"this is not Griffith!"

   "Haul out, and weigh your grapnel," said the
cockswain sternly; "and then, boys, if you love
the Ariel, pull while the life and the will is left
in you."

   Barnstable knew his man, and not another
question was asked, until the boat was without
the breakers; now skimming the rounded summits
of the waves, or settling into the hollows of
the seas, but always cutting the waters asunder,
as she urged her course, with amazing velocity,
towards the haven where the schooner had been
left at anchor. Then, in a few, but bitter sen-
tences, the cockswain explained to his command-
er the treachery of Dillon, and the danger of
the Ariel.

   "The soldiers are slow at a night muster,"
Tom concluded, "and from what I overheard,
the express will have to make a crooked course,
to double the head of the bay; so, that but for
this north-easter, we might weather upon them
yet; but it's a matter that lies altogether in the

---

-84-

SMALL | MEDIUM
will of Providence. Pull, my hearties, pull --
every thing depends on your oars to-night."

   Barnstable listened, in deep silence, to this
unexpected narration, which sounded to the ears
of Dillon like his funeral knell. At length, the
suppressed voice of the lieutenant was heard,
also, uttering --

   "Wretch! if I should cast you into the sea, as
food for the fishes, who could blame me? But
if my schooner goes to the bottom, she shall
prove your coffin."

---

-85-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 6

CHAPTER VI.

     "Had I been any God of power, I would
Have sunk the sea within the earth, ere
It should the good ship so have swallowed."


Tempest.

   The arms of Dillon were released from their
confinement, by the cockswain, as a measure of
humane caution against accidents, when they en-
tered the surf, and the captive now availed him-
self of the circumstance, to bury his features in
the folds of his attire, where he brooded over the
events of the last few hours with that mixture of
malignant passion and pusillanimous dread of the
future, that formed the chief ingredients in his
character. From this state of apparent quie-
tude, neither Barnstable nor Tom seemed dispo-
sed to rouse him by their remarks, for both were
too much engaged with their own gloomy forebo-
dings, to indulge in any unnecessary words. An
occasional ejaculation from the former, as if to
propitiate the spirit of the storm, as he gazed on
the troubled appearance of the elements, or a
cheering cry from the latter, to animate his crew,
were alone heard amid the sullen roaring of the
waters, and the mournful whistling of the winds,
that swept heavily across the broad waste of the

---

-86-

SMALL | MEDIUM
German ocean. There might have been an hour
consumed thus, in a vigorous struggle between
the seamen and the growing billows, when the boat
doubled the northern headland of the desired
haven, and shot, at once, from its boisterous pas-
sage along the margin of the breakers, into the
placid waters of the sequestered bay. The pass-
ing blasts were still heard rushing above the high-
lands that surrounded, and, in fact, formed the
estuary, but the profound stillness of deep night,
pervaded the secret recesses, along the unruffled
surface of its waters. The shadows of the hills
seemed to have accumulated, like a mass of
gloom, in the centre of the basin, and though
every eye involuntarily turned to search, it was
in vain that the anxious seamen endeavoured to
discover their little vessel, through its density.
While the boat glided into this quiet scene, Barn-
stable observed --

   "Every thing is as still as death."

   "God send it is not the stillness of death!"
ejaculated the cockswain; "here, here," he con-
tinued, speaking in a lower tone, as if fearful of
being overheard, "here she lies, sir, more to-
port; look into the streak of clear sky above the
marsh, on the starboard hand of the wood, there;
that long black line is her main-top-mast; I
know it by the rake; and there is her night-pen-
nant fluttering about that bright star; ay, ay,
sir, there go our own stars aloft yet, dancing
among the stars in the heavens! God bless her!
God bless her! she rides as easy and as quiet as
a gull asleep!"

   "I believe all in her sleep too," returned his
commander; "ha! by heaven, we have arrived
in good time; the soldiers are moving!"

---

-87-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   The quick eye of Barnstable had detected the
glimmering of passing lanterns, as they flitted
across the embrasures of the battery, and, at the
next moment, the guarded but distinct sounds of
an active bustle, on the decks of the schooner,
were plainly audible. The lieutenant was rubbing
his hands together, with a sort of ecstacy, that
probably will not be understood by the great ma-
jority of our readers, while long-Tom was actually
indulging in a paroxysm of his low, spiritless
laughter, as these certain intimations of the safety
of the Ariel, and of the vigilance of her crew, were
conveyed to their ears; when the whole hull and
taper spars of their floating home, became unex-
pectedly visible, and the sky, the placid basin, and
the adjacent hills, were illuminated by a flash as
sudden and as vivid as the keenest lightning.
Both Barnstable and his cockswain, seemed in-
stinctively to strain their eyes towards the schoon-
er, with an effort to surpass human vision, but
ere the rolling reverberations of the report of a
heavy piece of ordnance, from the heights, had
commenced, the dull, whistling rush of the shot
swept over their heads, like the moaning of a
hurricane, and was succeeded by the plash of the
waters, which was followed, in a breath, by the
rattling of the mass of iron, as it bounded with
violent fury from rock to rock, shivering and
tearing the fragments that lined the margin of the
bay.

   "A bad aim with the first gun, generally leaves
your enemy clean decks," said the cockswain,
with his deliberate sort of philosophy; "smoke
makes but dim spectacles; besides, the night al-
ways grows darkest, as you call off the morning
watch."

---

-88-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "That boy is a miracle for his years!" rejoin-
ed the delighted lieutenant; "see, Tom, the
younker has shifted his birth in the dark, and the
Englishmen have fired by the day-range they
must have taken, for we left him in a direct line
between the battery and yon hommoc! what
would have become of us, if that heavy fellow
had plunged upon our decks, and gone out below
the water-line!"

   "We should have sunk into English mud, for
eternity, as sure as our metal and kentledge
would have taken us down," responded Tom;
"such a point-blanker would have torn off a
streak of our wales, outboard, and not even left
the marines time to say a prayer! tend bow
there!"

   It is not to be supposed that the crew of the
whale-boat continued idle, during this interchange
of opinions between the lieutenant and his cock-
swain; on the contrary, the sight of their vessel
acted on them like a charm, and, believing that
all necessity for caution was now over, they had
expended their utmost strength in efforts, that had
already brought them, as the last words of Tom
indicated, to the side of the Ariel. Though eve-
ry nerve of Barnstable was thrilling with the
excitement produced, by his feelings passing
from a state of the most doubtful apprehension,
to that of a revived and almost confident hope of
effecting his escape, he assumed the command of
his vessel, with all that stern but calm authority,
that seamen find it most necessary to exert, in the
moments of extremest danger. Any one of
the heavy shot that their enemies continued to
hurl from their heights into the darkness of the
haven, he well knew must prove fatal to them,
as it would, unavoidably, pass through the slight

---

-89-

SMALL | MEDIUM
fabric of the Ariel, and open a passage to the wa-
ter, that no means he possessed could remedy.
His mandates were, therefore, issued, with a full
perception of the critical nature of the emergen-
cy, but with that collectedness of manner, and
intonation of voice, that were best adapted to en-
force a ready and animated obedience. Under
this impulse, the crew of the schooner soon got
their anchor freed from the bottom, and, seizing
their sweeps, they forced her, by their united ef-
forts, directly in the face of the battery, under
that shore, whose summit was now crowned with
a canopy of smoke, that every discharge of the
ordnance tinged with dim colours, like the faintest
tints that are reflected from the clouds toward a
setting sun. So long as the seamen were enabled
to keep their little bark under the cover of the
hill, they were, of course, safe; but Barnstable
perceived, as they emerged from its shadow, and
were drawing nigh to the passage which led into
the ocean, that the action of his sweeps would
no longer avail them, against the currents of air
they encountered, neither would the darkness
conceal their movements from his enemy, who
had already employed men on the shore to dis-
cern the position of the schooner. Throwing off
at once, therefore, all appearance of disguise, he
gave forth the word to spread the canvass of his
vessel, in his ordinary cheerful manner.

   "Let them do their worst now, Merry," he
added; "we have brought them to a distance
that I think will keep their iron above water, and
we have no dodge about us, younker!"

   "It must be keener marksmen than the mili-
tia, or volunteers, or fencibles, or whatever they
call themselves, behind yon grass-bank, to fright-
en the saucy Ariel from the wind," returned the

---

-90-

SMALL | MEDIUM
reckless boy; "but why have you brought Jonah
aboard us again, sir? look at him, by the light
of the cabin lamp; he winks at every gun, as if
he expected the shot would hull his own ugly,
yellow physiognomy. And what tidings have
we, sir, from Mr. Griffith, and the marine?"

   "Name him not," said Barnstable, pressing
the shoulder on which he lightly leaned, with a
convulsive grasp, that caused the boy to yield
with pain; "name him not, Merry; I want my
temper and my faculties at this moment undis-
turbed, and thinking of the wretch unfits me
for my duty. But, there will come a time! go
forward, sir; we feel the wind, and have a nar-
row passage to work through."

   The boy obeyed a mandate which was given
in the usual prompt manner of their profession,
and which, he well understood, was intended to
intimate, that the distance which years and rank
had created between them, but which Barnstable
often chose to forget while communing with
Merry, was now to be resumed. The sails had
been loosened and set; and, as the vessel ap-
proached the throat of the passage, the gale, which
was blowing with increasing violence, began to
make a very sensible impression on the light
bark. The cockswain, who, in the absence of
most of the inferior officers, had been acting, on
the forecastle, the part of one who felt, from his
years and experience, that he had some right to
advise, if not to command, at such a juncture,
now walked to the station which his commander
had taken, near the helmsman, as if willing to
place himself in the way of being seen.

   "Well, Master Coffin," said Barnstable, who
well understood the propensity his old shipmate
had to commune with him, on all important oc-

---

-91-

SMALL | MEDIUM
casions, "what think you of the cruise, now?
Those gentlemen on the hill make a great noise,
but I have lost even the whistling of their shot;
one would think they could see our sails against
the broad band of light which is opening to
seaward."

   "Ay, ay, sir, they see us, and mean to hit us,
too, but we are running across their fire, and that
with a ten-knot breeze; but when we heave in
stays, and get in a line with their guns, we shall
see, and, it may be, feel, more of their work than
we do now; a thirty-two an't trained as easily
as a fowling-piece or a ducking gun."

   Barnstable was struck with the truth of this
observation, but as there existed an immediate
necessity for placing the schooner in the very
situation to which the other alluded, he gave his
orders at once, and the vessel came about, and
ran with her head pointing towards the sea, in as
short a time as we have taken to record it.

   "There, they have us now, or never," cried
the lieutenant, when the evolution was comple-
ted; "if we fetch to windward of the northern
point, we shall lay out into the offing, and in
ten minutes we might laugh at Queen Anne's
pocket-piece; which, you know, old boy, sent a
ball from Dover to Calais."

   "Ay, sir, I've heard of the gun," returned the
grave seaman, "and a lively piece it must have
been, if the streights were always of the same
width they are now. But I see that, Captain
Barnstable, which is more dangerous than a
dozen of the heaviest cannon that were ever cast,
could be at half a league's distance. The water
is bubbling through our lee-scuppers, already,
sir."

   "And what of that? haven't I buried her guns

---

-92-

SMALL | MEDIUM
often, and yet kept every spar in her without a
crack or a splinter?"

   "Ay, ay, sir, you have done it, and can do it
again, where there is sea-room, which is all that a
man wants for comfort in this life. But when we
are out of these chops, we shall be embayed, with
a heavy north-easter setting dead into the bight;
it is that which I fear, Captain Barnstable, more
than all the powder and ball in the whole island."

   "And yet, Tom, the balls are not to be despised,
either; those fellows have found out their range,
and send their iron within hail, again; we walk
pretty fast, Master Coffin, but a thirty-two can
out-travel us, with the best wind that ever blew."

   Tom threw a cursory glance towards the bat-
tery, which had renewed its fire with a spirit that
denoted they saw their object, as he answered --

   "It is never worth a man's while to strive to
dodge a shot, for they are all commissioned to
do their work, the same as a ship is commission-
ed to cruise in certain latitudes; but for the winds
and the weather, they are given for a seafaring
man to guard against, by making or shortening
sail, as the case may be. Now, the headland to
the southward stretches full three leagues to wind-
ward, and the shoals lie to the north; among
which God keep us from ever running this craft
again!"

   "We will beat her out of the bight, old fel-
low," cried the lieutenant; "we shall have a leg
of three leagues in length to do it in."

   "I've known longer legs too short," returned
the cockswain, with a deep sigh; "a tumbling
sea, with a lee-tide, on a lee-shore, make a sad
lee-way."

   The lieutenant was in the act of replying to
this saying, with a cheerful laugh, when the

---

-93-

SMALL | MEDIUM
whistling of a passing shot was instantly suc-
ceeded by the crash of splintered wood, and at
the next moment the head of the main-mast, after
tottering for an instant in the gale, fell toward
the deck, bringing with it the main-sail, and the
long line of top-mast, that had been bearing the
emblems of America, as the cockswain had ex-
pressed it, among the stars of the heavens.

   "That was a most unlucky hit!" Barnstable
suffered to escape him, in the concern of the mo-
ment; then, instantly resuming all his collect-
edness of manner and voice, he gave his orders
to clear the wreck, and secure the fluttering
canvass.

   The mournful forebodings of Tom seemed to
vanish, at the appearance of a necessity for his
exertions, and he was foremost among the crew
in executing the orders of their commander.
The loss of all the sail on the main-mast forced
the Ariel so much from her course, as to render
it difficult to weather the point, that jutted, under
her lee, for some distance into the ocean. This
desirable object was, however, effected, by the
skill of Barnstable, aided by the excellent pro-
perties of his vessel; and the schooner, borne
down by the power of the gale, from whose fury
she had now no protection, passed heavily along
the land, heading, as far as possible, from the
breakers, while the seamen were engaged in
making their preparations to display as much of
the canvass of their most important sail, as the
stump of their mast would allow them to spread.
The firing from the battery ceased, as the Ariel
rounded the little promontory; but Barnstable,
whose gaze was now bent intently on the ocean,
soon perceived that, as his cockswain had pre-
dicted, he had a much more threatening danger

---

-94-

SMALL | MEDIUM
to encounter, in the elements. When their da-
mages were repaired, so far as circumstances
would permit, the cockswain returned to his
wonted station near the lieutenant, and after a
momentary pause, during which his eyes roved
over the rigging, with a seaman's scrutiny, he
resumed the discourse.

   "It would have been better for us that the
best man in the schooner had lost a limb, by that
shot, than that the Ariel should have lost her
best leg; a main-sail, close-reefed, may be
prudent canvass, as the wind blows, but it car-
ries a poor luff to keep a craft to windward."

   "What would you have, Tom Coffin!" re-
torted his commander; "you see she draws
ahead, and off-shore; do you expect a vessel to
fly in the very teeth of a gale, or would you
have me ware and beach her, at once?"

   "I would have nothing, nothing, Captain
Barnstable," returned the old seaman, sensibly
touched at his commander's displeasure; "you
are as able as any man who ever trod a plank to
work her into an offing; but, sir, when that sol-
dier-officer told me of the scheme to sink the
Ariel at her anchor, there were such feelings
come athwart me as never crossed me afore. I
thought I saw her a wrack, as plainly, ay, as
plainly as you may see the stump of that mast;
and, I will own it, for it's as natural to love the
craft you sail in, as it is to love one's self, I will
own that my manhood fetched a heavy lee-lurch
at the sight."

   "Away with ye, ye old sea-croaker! forward
with ye, and see that the head-sheets are trimmed
flat. But hold! come hither, Tom; if you
have sights of wrecks, and sharks, and other

---

-95-

SMALL | MEDIUM
beautiful objects, keep them stowed in your own
silly brain; don't make a ghost-parlour of my
forecastle. The lads begin to look to leeward,
now, oftener than I would have them. Go, sir-
rah, go, and take example from Mr. Merry, who
is seated on your namesake there, and is singing
as if he were a chorister in his father's church."

   "Ah! Captain Barnstable, Mr. Merry is a
boy, and knows nothing, so fears nothing. But
I shall obey your orders, sir; and if the men fall
astern, this gale, it shan't be for any thing they'll
hear from old Tom Coffin."

   The cockswain lingered a moment, notwith-
standing his promised obedience, and then ven-
tured to request, that --

   "Captain Barnstable would please to call Mr.
Merry from the gun; for I know, from having
followed the seas my natural life, that singing
in a gale is sure to bring the wind down upon a
vessel the heavier; for He who rules the tempests
is displeased that man's voice shall be heard,
when He chooses to send His own breath on the
water."

   Barnstable was at a loss, whether to laugh at
his cockswain's infirmity, or to yield to the im-
pression which his earnest and solemn manner
had a powerful tendency to produce, amid such a
scene. But, making an effort to shake off the
superstitious awe that he felt creeping around
his own heart, the lieutenant relieved the mind
of the worthy seaman so far as to call the care-
less boy from his perch, to his own side; where
respect for the sacred character of the quarter-
deck, instantly put an end to the lively air he had
been humming. Tom walked slowly forward,
apparently much relieved by the reflection that
he had effected so important an object.

---

-96-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   The Ariel continued to struggle against the
winds and ocean for several hours longer, before
the day broke on the tempestuous scene, and the
anxious mariners were enabled to form a more
accurate estimate of their real danger. As the
violence of the gale increased, the canvass of the
schooner had been gradually reduced, until she
was unable to show more than was absolutely
necessary to prevent her driving, helplessly, on the
land. Barnstable watched the appearance of the
weather, as the light slowly opened upon them,
with an intensity of anxiety, which denoted, that
the presentiments of the cockswain were no lon-
ger deemed idle. On looking to windward, he
beheld the green masses of water that were roll-
ing in towards the land, with a violence that
seemed irresistible, crowned with ridges of
foam; and there were moments when the air ap-
peared filled with sparkling gems, as the rays of
the rising sun fell upon the spray that was swept
from wave to wave. Towards the land, the view
was still more appalling. The cliffs, but a short
half-league under the lee of the schooner, were,
at times, nearly hid from the eye by the pyramids
of water, which the furious element, so suddenly
restrained in its violence, cast high into the air,
as if seeking to overstep the boundaries that na-
ture had affixed to its dominion. The whole
coast, from the distant head-land at the south, to
the well known shoals that stretched far beyond
their course, in the opposite direction, displayed
a broad belt of foam, into which, it would have
been certain destruction, for the proudest ship
that swam, to have entered. Still the Ariel
floated on the billows, lightly and in safety,
though yielding to the impulses of the waters,
and, at times, appearing to be engulphed in the

---

-97-

SMALL | MEDIUM
yawning chasms, which, apparently, opened be-
neath her to receive the little fabric. The low
rumour of acknowledged danger, had found its
way through the schooner, and the seamen, after
fastening their hopeless looks on the small spot of
canvass that they were enabled to show to the
tempest, would turn to view the dreary line of
coast, that seemed to offer so gloomy an alterna-
tive. Even Dillon, to whom the report of their
danger had found its way, crept from his place of
concealment in the cabin, and moved about the
decks, unheeded, devouring, with greedy ears,
such opinions as fell from the lips of the sullen
mariners.

   At this moment of appalling apprehension, the
cockswain exhibited the most calm resignation.
He knew that all had been done, that lay in
the power of man, to urge their little vessel
from the land, and it was now too evident to his
experienced eyes, that it had been done in vain;
but, considering himself as a sort of fixture in
the schooner, he was quite prepared to abide her
fate, be it for better or for worse. The settled
look of gloom that gathered around the frank
brow of Barnstable, was, in no degree, connected
with any considerations of himself, but proceed-
ed from that sort of parental responsibility, from
which the sea-commander is never exempt. The
discipline of the crew, however, still continued
perfect and unyielding. There had, it is true,
been a slight movement made by two of the old-
est seamen, which indicated an intention to drown
the apprehensions of death in ebriety; but
Barnstable had called for his pistols, in a tone
that checked the procedure instantly, and, al-
though the fatal weapons were untouched by him,
but were left to lie exposed on the capstern,

---

-98-

SMALL | MEDIUM
where they had been placed by his servant, not
another symptom of insubordination appeared
among the devoted crew. There was even, what
to a landsman might seem, a dreadful affectation
of attention to the most trifling duties of the ves-
sel; and the men, who, it should seem, ought to
be devoting the brief moments of their existence
to the mighty business of the hour, were con-
stantly called to attend to the most trivial details
of their profession. Ropes were coiled, and the
slightest damages occasioned by the waves, that at
short intervals, swept across the low decks of the
Ariel, were repaired, with the same precision and
order, as if she yet lay embayed in the haven
from which she had just been driven. In this
manner, the arm of authority was kept extended
over the silent crew, not with the vain desire to
preserve a lingering, though useless exercise of
power, but with a view to maintain that unity of
action, that now could alone afford them even a
ray of hope.

   "She can make no head against this sea, un-
der that rag of canvass," said Barnstable, gloom-
ily; addressing the cockswain, who, with folded
arms, and an air of cool resignation, was balan-
cing his body on the verge of the quarter-deck,
while the schooner was plunging madly into
waves that nearly buried her in their bosom;
"the poor little thing trembles like a frightened
child, as she meets the water."

   Tom sighed heavily, and shook his head, be-
fore he answered --

   "If we could have kept the head of the main-
mast an hour longer, we might have got an offing,
and fetched to windward of the shoals; but, as
it is, sir, mortal man can't drive a craft to wind-
ward -- she sets bodily in to land, and will be in

---

-99-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the breakers in less than an hour, unless God
wills that the winds shall cease to blow."

   "We have no hope left us, but to anchor; our
ground tackle may yet bring her up."

   Tom turned to his commander, and replied,
solemnly, and with that assurance of manner,
that long experience only can give a man in mo-
ments of great danger --

   "If our sheet-cable was bent to our heaviest
anchor, this sea would bring it home, though no-
thing but her launch was riding by it. A north-
easter in the German ocean must and will blow
itself out; nor shall we get the crown of the gale
until the sun falls over the land. Then, indeed,
it may lull; for the winds do often seem to reve-
rence the glory of the heavens, too much to blow
their might in its very face!"

   "We must do our duty to ourselves and the
country," returned Barnstable; "go, get the
two bowers spliced, and have a kedge bent to a
hawser; we'll back our two anchors together,
and veer to the better end of two hundred and
forty fathoms; it may yet bring her up. See all
clear there for anchoring, and cutting away the
masts -- we'll leave the wind nothing but a naked
hull to whistle over."

   "Ay, if there was nothing but the wind, we
might yet live to see the sun sink behind them
hills," said the cockswain; "but what hemp can
stand the strain of a craft that is buried, half the
time, to her foremast in the water!"

   The order was, however, executed by the crew,
with a sort of desperate submission to the will of
their commander; and when the preparations
were completed, the anchors and kedge were
dropped to the bottom, and the instant that the
Ariel tended to the wind, the axe was applied to

---

-100-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the little that was left of her long, raking masts.
The crash of the falling spars, as they came,
in succession, across the decks of the vessel,
appeared to produce no sensation amid that
scene of complicated danger, but the seamen
proceeded in silence, in their hopeless duty, of
clearing the wrecks. Every eye followed the
floating timbers, as the waves swept them away
from the vessel, with a sort of feverish curiosity,
to witness the effect produced by their collision
with those rocks that lay so fearfully near them;
but long before the spars entered the wide border
of foam, they were hid from view by the furious
element in which they floated. It was, now, felt
by the whole crew of the Ariel, that their last
means of safety had been adopted, and, at each
desperate and headlong plunge the vessel took,
into the bosom of the seas that rolled upon her
forecastle, the anxious seamen thought they could
perceive the yielding of the iron that yet clung
to the bottom, or could hear the violent surge of
the parting strands of the cable, that still held
them to their anchors. While the minds of the
sailors were agitated with the faint hopes that
had been excited, by the movements of their
schooner, Dillon had been permitted to wander
about the vessel, unnoticed; his rolling eyes, hard
breathing, and clenched hands, exciting no obser-
vation among the men, whose thoughts were yet
dwelling on the means of safety. But, now, when,
with a sort of frenzied desperation, he would follow
the retiring waters along the decks, and venture
his person nigh the group that had collected
around and on the gun of the cockswain, glances
of fierce or of sullen vengeance were cast at him,
that conveyed threats of a nature that he was
too much agitated to understand.

---

-101-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "If ye are tired of this world, though your
time, like my own, is probably but short in it,"
said Tom to him, as he passed the cockswain in
one of his turns, "you can go forward among
the men; but if ye have need of the moments to
foot up the reck'ning of your doings among men,
afore ye're brought to face your maker, and
hear the log-book of heaven, I would advise you
to keep as nigh as possible to Captain Barnstable
or myself."

   "Will you promise to save me, if the vessel
is wrecked!" exclaimed Dillon, catching at the
first sounds of friendly interest that had reached
his ears, since he had been recaptured; "Oh! if
you will, I can secure you future ease; yes,
wealth, for the remainder of your days!"

   "Your promises have been too ill kept, afore
this, for the peace of your soul," returned the
cockswain, without bitterness, though sternly;
"but it is not in me to strike even a whale, that is
already spouting blood."

   The intercessions of Dillon were interrupted
by a dreadful cry, that arose among the men for-
ward, and which sounded with increased horror,
amid the roaring of the tempest. The schooner
rose on the breast of a wave at the same instant,
and, falling off with her broad side to the sea, she
drove in towards the cliffs, like a bubble on the
rapids of a cataract.

   "Our ground tackle has parted," said Tom,
with his resigned patience of manner undisturb-
ed; "she shall die as easy as man can make
her!" While he yet spoke, he seized the tiller,
and gave to the vessel such a direction, as would
be most likely to cause her to strike the rocks
with her bows foremost.

---

-102-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   There was, for one moment, an expression of
exquisite anguish, betrayed in the dark counte-
nance of Barnstable; but at the next, it passed
away, and he spoke cheerfully to his men --

   "Be steady, my lads, be calm; there is yet a
hope of life for you -- our light draught will let
us run in close to the cliffs, and it is still falling
water -- see your boats clear, and be steady."

   The crew of the whale-boat, aroused, by this
speech, from a sort of stupor, sprang into their
light vessel, which was quickly lowered into the
sea, and kept riding on the foam, free from the
sides of the schooner, by the powerful exertions of
the men. The cry for the cockswain was earnest
and repeated, but Tom shook his head, without
replying, still grasping the tiller, and keeping
his eyes steadily bent on the chaos of waters, into
which they were driving. The launch, the lar-
gest boat of the two, was cut loose from the
"gripes," and the bustle and exertion of the
moment rendered the crew insensible to the hor-
ror of the scene that surrounded them. But the
loud, hoarse call of the cockswain, to "look
out -- secure yourselves!" suspended even their
efforts, and at that instant the Ariel settled on a
wave that melted from under her, heavily on the
rocks. The shock was so violent, as to throw all
who disregarded the warning cry, from their feet,
and the universal quiver that pervaded the
vessel was like the last shudder of animated na-
ture. For a time long enough to breathe, the
least experienced among the men supposed the
danger to be past; but a wave of great height
followed the one that had deserted them, and
raising the vessel again, threw her roughly
still further on her bed of rocks, and at the
same time its crest broke over her quarter,

---

-103-

SMALL | MEDIUM
sweeping the length of her decks, with a fury that
was almost resistless. The shuddering seamen
beheld their loosened boat, driven from their
grasp, and dashed against the base of the cliffs,
where no fragment of her wreck could be traced,
at the receding of the waters. But the passing
wave had thrown the vessel into a position which,
in some measure, protected her decks from the
violence of those that succeeded it.

   "Go, my boys, go," said Barnstable, as the
moment of dreadful uncertainty passed; "you
have still the whale-boat, and she, at least, will
take you nigh the shore; go into her, my boys;
God bless you, God bless you all; you have
been faithful and honest fellows, and I believe
he will not yet desert you; go, my friends, while
there is a lull."

   The seamen threw themselves, in a mass of
human bodies, into the light vessel, which nearly
sunk under the unusual burthen; but when they
looked around them, Barnstable, and Merry,
Dillon, and the cockswain, were yet to be seen
on the decks of the Ariel. The former was
pacing, in deep, and perhaps bitter melancholy,
the wet planks of the schooner, while the boy
hung, unheeded, on his arm, uttering disre-
garded petitions to his commander, to de-
sert the wreck. Dillon approached the side
where the boat lay, again and again, but the
threatening countenances of the seamen as often
drove him back in despair. Tom had seated
himself on the heel of the bowsprit; where he
continued, in an attitude of quiet resignation,
returning no other answers to the loud and re-
peated calls of his shipmates, than by waving
his hand toward the shore.

   "Now hear me," said the boy, urging his re-

---

-104-

SMALL | MEDIUM
quest, to tears; "if not for my sake, or for your
own sake, Mr. Barnstable, or for the hopes of
God's mercy; go into the boat, for the love of
my cousin Katherine."

   The young lieutenant paused in his troubled
walk, and for a moment, he cast a glance of hesi-
tation at the cliffs; but, at the next instant, his
eyes fell on the ruin of his vessel, and he answer-
ed --

   "Never, boy, never; if my hour has come, I
will not shrink from my fate."

   "Listen to the men, dear sir; the boat will
be swamped along-side the wreck, and their cry
is, that without you they will not let her go."

   Barnstable motioned to the boat, to bid the
boy enter it, and turned away in silence.

   "Well," said Merry, with firmness, "if it be
right that a lieutenant shall stay by a wreck, it
must also be right for a midshipman; "shove off;
neither Mr. Barnstable nor myself will quit the
vessel."

   "Boy, your life has been intrusted to my keep-
ing, and at my hands will it be required," said
his commander, lifting the struggling youth, and
tossing him into the arms of the seamen. "Away
with ye, and God be with you; there is more
weight in you, now, than can go safe to land."

   Still, the seamen hesitated, for they perceived
the cockswain moving, with a steady tread, along
the deck, and they hoped he had relented, and
would yet persuade the lieutenant to join his
crew. But Tom, imitating the example of his
commander, seized the latter, suddenly, in his
powerful grasp, and threw him over the bulwarks,
with an irresistible force. At the same moment,
he cast the fast of the boat from the pin that held

---

-105-

SMALL | MEDIUM
it, and, lifting his broad hands high into the air,
his voice was heard in the tempest.

   "God's will be done with me," he cried; "I
saw the first timber of the Ariel laid, and shall
live just long enough to see it torn out of her
bottom; after which I wish to live no longer."

   But his shipmates were swept far beyond the
sounds of his voice, before half these words were
uttered. All command of the boat was ren-
dered impossible, by the numbers it contained, as
well as the raging of the surf; and, as it rose on
the white crest of a wave, Tom saw his beloved
little craft for the last time; it fell into a trough
of the sea, and in a few moments more its frag-
ments were ground into splinters on the adjacent
rocks. The cockswain still remained where he
had cast off the rope, and beheld the numerous
heads and arms that appeared rising, at short in-
tervals, on the waves; some making powerful and
well-directed efforts to gain the sands, that were
becoming visible as the tide fell, and others
wildly tossed, in the frantic movements of helpless
despair. The honest old seaman gave a cry of
joy, as he saw Barnstable issue from the surf,
bearing the form of Merry in safety to the sands,
where, one by one, several seamen soon appeared
also, dripping and exhausted. Many others of
the crew were carried, in a similar manner, to
places of safety; though, as Tom returned to his
seat on the bowsprit, he could not conceal, from
his reluctant eyes, the lifeless forms that were,
in other spots, driven against the rocks, with a
fury that soon left them but few of the outward
vestiges of humanity.

   Dillon and the cockswain were now the sole
occupants of their dreadful station. The for-
mer stood, in a kind of stupid despair, a witness

---

-106-

SMALL | MEDIUM
of the scene we have related; but as his cur-
dled blood began again to flow more warmly
through his heart, he crept close to the side of
Tom, with that sort of selfish feeling that makes
even hopeless misery more tolerable, when endu-
red in participation with another.

   "When the tide falls," he said, in a voice that
betrayed the agony of fear, though his words
expressed the renewal of hope, "we shall be
able to walk to land."

   "There was One, and only One, to whose
feet the waters were the same as a dry deck,"
returned the cockswain; "and none but such
as have his power will ever be able to walk
from these rocks to the sands." The old sea-
man paused, and turning his eyes, which exhibit-
ed a mingled expression of disgust and com-
passion, on his companion, he added, with reve-
rence -- "Had you thought more of him in fair
weather, your case would be less to be pitied in
this tempest."

   "Do you still think there is much danger?"
asked Dillon.

   "To them that have reason to fear death;
listen! do you hear that hollow noise beneath
ye?"

   "'Tis the wind, driving by the vessel!"

   "'Tis the poor thing herself," said the affected
cockswain, "giving her last groans. The water
is breaking up her decks, and in a few minutes
more, the handsomest model that ever cut a
wave, will be like the chips that fell from her
timbers in framing!"

   "Why, then, did you remain here!" cried
Dillon, wildly.

   "To die in my coffin, if it should be the will
of God," returned Tom; "these waves, to me,

---

-107-

SMALL | MEDIUM
are what the land is to you; I was born on them,
and I have always meant that they should be my
grave."

   "But I -- I," shrieked Dillon, "I am not ready
to die! -- I cannot die! -- I will not die!"

   "Poor wretch!" muttered his companion;
"you must go, like the rest of us; when the
death-watch is called, none can skulk from the
muster."

   "I can swim," Dillon continued, rushing, with
frantic eagerness, to the side of the wreck. "Is
there no billet of wood, no rope, that I can take
with me?"

   "None; every thing has been cut away, or
carried off by the sea. If ye are about to strive
for your life, take with ye a stout heart and a
clean conscience, and trust the rest to God!"

   "God!" echoed Dillon, in the madness of his
frenzy; "I know no God! there is no God that
knows me!"

   "Peace!" said the deep tones of the cock-
swain, in a voice that seemed to speak in the ele-
ments; "blasphemer, peace!"

   The heavy groaning, produced by the water,
in the timbers of the Ariel, at that moment,
added its impulse to the raging feelings of Dil-
lon, and he cast himself headlong into the sea.

   The water, thrown by the rolling of the surf
on the beach, was necessarily returned to the
ocean, in eddies, in different places, favourable to
such an action of the element. Into the edge of
one of these counter-currents, that was produced
by the very rocks on which the schooner lay, and
which the watermen call the "under-tow," Dil-
lon had, unknowingly, thrown his person, and
when the waves had driven him a short distance
from the wreck, he was met by a stream that his

---

-108-

SMALL | MEDIUM
most desperate efforts could not overcome. He
was a light and powerful swimmer, and the strug-
gle was hard and protracted. With the shore
immediately before his eyes, and at no great dis-
tance, he was led, as by a false phantom, to con-
tinue his efforts, although they did not advance
him a foot. The old seaman, who, at first, had
watched his motions with careless indifference, un-
derstood the danger of his situation at a glance,
and, forgetful of his own fate, he shouted aloud,
in a voice that was driven over the struggling
victim, to the ears of his shipmates on the sands --

   "Sheer to-port, and clear the under-tow!
sheer to the southward!"

   Dillon heard the sounds, but his faculties
were too much obscured by terror, to distin-
guish their object; he, however, blindly yielded
to the call, and gradually changed his direc-
tion, until his face was once more turned towards
the vessel. The current swept him diagonally by
the rocks, and he was forced into an eddy, where
he had nothing to contend against but the waves,
whose violence was much broken by the wreck.
In this state, he continued still to struggle, but
with a force that was too much weakened, to
overcome the resistance he met. Tom looked
around him for a rope, but not one presented
itself to his hands; all had gone over with the
spars, or been swept away by the waves. At
this moment of disappointment, his eyes met
those of the desperate Dillon. Calm, and inured
to horrors, as was the veteran seaman, he invo-
luntarily passed his hand before his brow, as if
to exclude the look of despair he encountered;
and when, a moment afterwards, he removed
the rigid member, he beheld the sinking
form of the victim, as it gradually settled

---

-109-

SMALL | MEDIUM
in the ocean, still struggling, with regular but
impotent strokes of the arms and feet, to gain
the wreck, and to preserve an existence that had
been so much abused in its hour of allotted
probation.

   "He will soon know his God, and learn that
his God knows him!" murmured the cockswain
to himself. As he yet spoke, the wreck of
the Ariel yielded to an overwhelming sea, and,
after an universal shudder, her timbers and
planks gave way, and were swept towards the
cliffs, bearing the body of the simple-hearted
cockswain among the ruins.

---

-110-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII.

"Let us think of them that sleep,
Full many a fathom deep,
By thy wild and stormy steep,
Elsinore!"


Campbell.

   Long and dreary did the hours appear to
Barnstable, before the falling tide had so far re-
ceded, as to leave the sands entirely exposed to
his search for the bodies of his lost shipmates.
Several had been rescued from the wild fury of
the waves themselves, and one by one, as the me-
lancholy conviction that life had ceased was
forced on the survivors, they had been decently
interred, in graves dug on the very margin of that
element on which they had passed their lives.
But still the form longest known and most be-
loved was missing, and the lieutenant paced the
broad space that was now left between the foot of
the cliffs and the raging ocean, with hurried
strides and a feverish eye, watching and following
those fragments of the wreck that the sea still
continued to cast on the beach. Living and
dead, he now found, that of those who had lately
been in the Ariel, only two were missing. Of the
former, he could muster but twelve, besides Mer-
ry and himself, and his men had already interred

---

-111-

SMALL | MEDIUM
more than half that number of the latter, which,
together, embraced all who had trusted their lives
to the frail keeping of the whale-boat.

   "Tell me not, boy, of the impossibility of
his being safe," said Barnstable, in deep agi-
tation, which he in vain struggled to conceal
from the anxious youth, who thought it neces-
sary to follow the uneasy motions of his com-
mander, as he strode along the sands. "How often
have men been found floating on pieces of wreck,
days after the loss of their vessel? and you can
see, with your own eyes, that the falling water
has swept the planks this distance; ay, a good
half league from where she struck. Does the
look-out, from the top of the cliffs, make no sig-
nal of seeing him yet?"

   "None, sir, none; we shall never see him
again. The men say, that he always thought it
sinful to desert a wreck, and that he did not even
strike-out once for his life, though he has been
known to swim an hour, when a whale has stove
his boat. God knows, sir," added the boy, has-
tily dashing a tear from his eye, by a stolen
movement of his hand, that was occasioned by
the doubtful character of his years, "I loved
Tom Coffin better than any foremast-man in ei-
ther vessel. You seldom came aboard the fri-
gate but we had him in the steerage among us
reefers, to hear his long-yarns, and share our
cheer. We all loved him, Mr. Barnstable, but
love cannot bring the dead to life again."

   "I know it, I know it," said Barnstable, with
a huskiness in his voice, that betrayed the depth
of his emotion; "I am not so foolish as to be-
lieve in impossibilities; but while there is a hope
of his living, I will never abandon poor Tom
Coffin to such a dreadful fate. Think, boy, he

---

-112-

SMALL | MEDIUM
may, at this moment, be looking at us, and pray-
ing to his Maker that he would turn our eyes
upon him; ay, praying to his God, for Tom often
prayed, though he did it in his watch, standing,
and in silence."

   "If he had clung to life so strongly," returned
the midshipman, "he would have struggled
harder to preserve it."

   Barnstable stopped short in his hurried walk,
and fastened a look of opening conviction on his
companion; but, as he was about to speak in re-
ply, the shouts of the seamen reached his ears,
and, turning, they saw the whole party running
along the beach, and motioning, with violent ges-
tures, to an intermediate point in the ocean. The
lieutenant and Merry hurried back, and, as they
approached the men, they distinctly observed a
human figure, borne along by the waves, at mo-
ments seeming to rise above them, and already
floating in the last of the breakers. They had
hardly ascertained so much, when a heavy swell
carried the inanimate body far upon the sands,
where it was left by the retiring waters.

   "'Tis my cockswain!" cried Barnstable, rush-
ing to the spot. He stopped suddenly, however,
as he came within view of the features, and it
was some little time before he appeared to have
collected his faculties sufficiently to add, in tones
of deep horror -- "what wretch is this, boy! his
form is unmutilated, and yet observe the eyes!
they seem as if the sockets would not contain
them, and they gaze as wildly as if their owner
yet had life -- the hands are open and spread, as
though they would still buffet the waves!"

   "The Jonah! the Jonah!" shouted the sea-
men, with savage exultation, as they successively
approached the corpse; "away with his carrion

---

-113-

SMALL | MEDIUM
into the sea again! give him to the sharks! let
him tell his lies in the claws of the lobsters!"

   Barnstable had turned away from the revolting
sight, in disgust, but when he discovered these
indications of impotent revenge, in the remnant
of his crew, he said, in that voice, which all re-
spected, and still obeyed --

   "Stand back! back with ye, fellows! would
you disgrace your manhood and seamanship, by
wreaking your vengeance on him whom God
has already in judgment!" A silent, but signifi-
cant gesture towards the earth, succeeded his
words, and he walked slowly away.

   "Bury him in the sands, boys," said Merry,
when his commander was at some little distance;
"the next tide will unearth him."

   The seamen obeyed his orders, while the mid-
shipman rejoined his commander, who continued
to pace along the beach, occasionally halting, to
throw his uneasy glances over the water, and
then hurrying onward, at a rate that caused his
youthful companion to exert his greatest power
to maintain the post he had taken at his side.
Every effort to discover the lost cockswain was,
however, after two hours' more search, abandon-
ed as fruitless, and with reason; for the sea was
never known to give up the body of the man
who might be, emphatically, called its own dead.

   "There goes the sun, already dropping be-
hind the cliffs," said the lieutenant, throwing
himself on a rock; "and the hour will soon ar-
rive to set the dog-watches; but we have no-
thing left to watch over, boy; the surf and rocks
have not even left us a whole plank, that we may
lay our heads on for the night."

   "The men have gathered many articles on
you beach, sir," returned the lad; "they have

---

-114-

SMALL | MEDIUM
found arms to defend ourselves with, and food
to give us strength to use them."

   "And who shall be our enemy?" asked Barn-
stable, bitterly; "shall we shoulder our dozen
pikes, and carry England by boarding?"

   "We may not lay the whole island under con-
tribution," continued the boy, anxiously watching
the expression of his commander's eye; "but
we may still keep ourselves in work, until the
cutter returns from the frigate. I hope, sir, you
do not think our case so desperate, as to intend
yielding as prisoners."

   "Prisoners!" exclaimed the lieutenant; "no,
no, lad, it has not got to that, yet! England has
been able to wreck my craft, I must concede, but
she has, as yet, obtained no other advantage
over us. She was a precious model, Merry! the
cleanest run, and the neatest entrance, that art
ever united on the stem and stern of the same
vessel! Do you remember the time, younker,
when I gave the frigate my topsails, in beating
out of the Chesapeake? I could always do it,
in smooth water, with a whole-sail-breeze. But
she was a frail thing! a frail thing, boy, and
could bear but little."

   "A mortar-ketch would have thumped to
pieces where she lay," returned the midshipman.

   "Ay, it was asking too much of her, to expect
she could hold together on a bed of rocks.
Merry, I loved her; dearly did I love her; she
was my first command, and I knew and loved
every timber and bolt in her beautiful frame!"

   "I believe it is as natural, sir, for a seaman to
love the wood and iron in which he has floated
over the depths of the ocean, for so many days
and nights," rejoined the boy, "as it is for a
father to love the members of his own family."

---

-115-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Quite, quite, ay, more so," said Barnstable,
speaking as if he were choked by emotion.
Merry felt the heavy grasp of the lieutenant on
his slight arm, while his commander continued,
in a voice that gradually increased in power, as
his feelings predominated; "and yet, boy, a hu-
man being cannot love the creature of his own
formation as he does the works of God. A man
can never regard his ship as he does his ship-
mates. I sailed with him, boy, when every thing
seemed bright and happy, as at your age; when,
as he often expressed it, I knew nothing and fear-
ed nothing. I was then a truant from an old fa-
ther and a kind mother, and he did that for
me, which no parents could have done in my
situation -- he was my father and mother on the
deep! -- hours, days, even months, has he passed
in teaching me the art of our profession; and
now, in my manhood, he has followed me from
ship to ship, from sea to sea, and has only quit-
ted me to die, where I should have died -- as if he
felt the disgrace of abandoning the poor Ariel to
her fate, by herself!"

   "No -- no -- no -- 'twas his superstitious pride!"
interrupted Merry; but perceiving that the head
of Barnstable had sunk between his hands, as if
he would conceal his emotion, the boy added no
more, but he sat respectfully watching the display
of feeling that his officer, in vain, endeavoured to
suppress. Merry felt his own form quiver with
sympathy at the shuddering which passed through
Barnstable's frame; and the relief experienced by
the lieutenant himself, was not greater than that
which the midshipman felt, as the latter beheld
large tears forcing their way through the other's
fingers, and falling on the sands at his feet. They
were followed by a violent burst of emotion, such

---

-116-

SMALL | MEDIUM
as is seldom exhibited in the meridian of life,
but which, when it conquers the nature of one
who has buffeted the chances of the world with
the loftiness of his sex and character, breaks
down every barrier, and seems to sweep before it,
like a rushing torrent, all the factitious defences
which habit and education have created to pro-
tect the pride of manhood. Merry had often
beheld the commanding severity of the lieute-
nant's manner, in moments of danger, with deep
respect; he had been drawn towards him by
kindness and affection, in times of gayety and
recklessness; but he now sate, for many minutes,
profoundly silent, regarding his officer with sen-
sations that were nearly allied to awe. The
struggle with himself was long and severe in the
bosom of Barnstable; but, at length, the calm
of relieved passions succeeded to his emotion.
When he arose from the rock, and removed
his hands from his features, his eye was hard
and proud, his brow slightly contracted, and he
spoke in a voice so harsh, that it startled his com-
panion --

   "Come, sir; why are we here and idle! are
not yon poor fellows looking up to us for advice,
and orders how to proceed in this exigency?
Away, away, Mr. Merry; it is not a time to be
drawing figures in the sand with your dirk; the
flood-tide will soon be in, and we may be glad to
hide our heads in some cavern among these rocks.
Let us be stirring, sir, while we have the sun, and
muster enough food and arms to keep life in us,
and our enemies off us, until we can once more
get afloat."

   The wondering boy, whose experience had not
yet taught him to appreciate the reaction of the
passions, started at this unexpected summons

---

-117-

SMALL | MEDIUM
to his duty, and followed Barnstable towards the
group of distant seamen. The lieutenant, who was
instantly conscious how far pride had rendered
him unjust, soon moderated his long strides, and
continued in milder tones, which were quickly
converted into his usual frank communications,
though they still remained tinged with a melan-
choly, that time only could entirely remove --

   "We have been unlucky, Mr. Merry, but
we need not despair -- these lads have gotten
together abundance of supplies, I see; and,
with our arms, we can easily make ourselves
masters of some of the enemy's smaller craft,
and find our way back to the frigate, when this
gale has blown itself out. We must keep our-
selves close, though, or we shall have the red-
coats coming down upon us, like so many sharks
around a wreck. Ah! God bless her, Merry!
there is not such a sight to be seen on the whole
beach as two of her planks holding together."

   The midshipman, without adverting to this
sudden allusion to their vessel, prudently pursued
the train of ideas, in which his commander had
started.

   "There is an opening into the country, but a
short distance south of us, where a brook empties
into the sea," he said. "We might find a cover
in it, or in the wood above, into which it leads,
until we can have a survey of the coast, or can
seize some vessel to carry us off."

   "There would be a satisfaction in waiting 'till
the morning watch, and then carrying that ac-
cursed battery, which took off the better leg of
the poor Ariel!" said the lieutenant -- "the thing
might be done, boy; and we could hold the work
too, until the Alacrity and the frigate draw into
land."

---

-118-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "If you prefer storming works to boarding
vessels, there is a fortress of stone, Mr. Barnsta-
ble, which lies directly on our beam. I could see
it through the haze, when I was on the cliffs, sta-
tioning the look-out -- and -- "

   "And what, boy? speak without fear; this is
a time for free consultation."

   "Why, sir, the garrison might not be all hos-
tile -- we should liberate Mr. Griffith and the ma-
rine; besides -- "

   "Besides what, sir?"

   "I should have an opportunity, perhaps, of
seeing my cousin Cecilia, and my cousin Ka-
therine."

   The countenance of Barnstable grew anima-
ted as he listened, and he answered, with some-
thing of his usual cheerful manner --

   "Ay, that, indeed, would be a work worth
carrying! and the rescuing of our shipmates, and
the marines, would read like a thing of military
discretion -- ha! boy! all the rest would be in-
cidental, younker; like the capture of the fleet,
after you have whipped the convoy."

   "I do suppose, sir, that if the Abbey be taken,
Colonel Howard will own himself a prisoner of
war."

   "And Colonel Howard's wards! now, there
is good sense in this scheme of thine, Master
Merry, and I will give it proper reflection. But
here are our poor fellows; speak cheeringly to
them, sir, that we may hold them in temper for
our enterprise."

   Barnstable and the midshipman joined their
shipwrecked companions, with that air of autho-
rity which is seldom wanting between the superior
and the inferior, in nautical intercourse, but at
the same time, with a kindness of speech and
looks, that might have been a little increased by

---

-119-

SMALL | MEDIUM
their critical situation. After partaking of the
food which had been selected from among
the fragments that still lay scattered, for more
than a mile, along the beach, the lieutenant
directed the seamen to arm themselves with
such weapons as offered, and, also, to make a
sufficient provision, from the schooner's stores,
to last them for four-and-twenty hours longer.
These orders were soon executed; and the whole
party, led by Barnstable and Merry, proceed-
ed along the foot of the cliffs, in quest of the
opening in the rocks, through which the little
rivulet found a passage to the ocean. The
weather contributed, as much as the seclusion
of the spot, to prevent any discovery of the
small party, which pursued its object with a dis-
regard of caution that might, under other cir-
cumstances, have proved fatal to its safety.
Barnstable paused in his march when they had
all entered the deep ravine, and ascended nearly
to the brow of the precipice, that formed one of
its sides, to take a last and more scrutinizing
survey of the sea. His countenance exhibited
the abandonment of all hope, as his eye moved
slowly from the northern to the southern boun-
dary of the horizon, and he prepared to pursue
his march, by moving, reluctantly, up the stream,
when the boy, who still clung to his side, ex-
claimed --

   "Sail ho! It must be the frigate in the
offing!"

   "A sail!" repeated his commander; " where-
away do you see a sail in this tempest? Can
there be another as hardy and unfortunate as
ourselves!"

   "Look to the starboard hand of the point of
rock to windward!" cried the boy; "now you
lose it -- ah! now the sun falls upon it! 'tis a sail,

---

-120-

SMALL | MEDIUM
sir, as sure as canvass can be spread in such a
gale!"

   "I see what you mean," returned the other,
"but it seems a gull, skimming the sea! nay,
now it rises, indeed, and shows itself like a bel-
lying topsail; pass up that glass, lads; here is
a fellow in the offing who may prove a friend."

   Merry waited the result of the lieutenant's
examination with youthful impatience, and did
not fail to ask, immediately --

   "Can you make it out, sir? is it the ship or
the cutter?"

   "Come, there seemeth yet some hope left for
us, boy," returned Barnstable, closing the glass;
"'tis a ship, lying-to under her main-topsail. If
one did but dare show himself on these heights,
he might raise her hull, and make sure of her
character! But I think I know her spars,
though even her topsail dips, at times, when there
is nothing to be seen but her bare poles, and
they shortened by her top-gallant-masts."

   "One would swear," said Merry, laughing, as
much through the excitement produced by this
intelligence, as at his conceit, "that Captain
Munson would never carry wood aloft, when he
can't carry canvass. I remember, one night, Mr.
Griffith was a little vexed, and said, around the
capstern, he believed the next order would be, to
rig in the bowsprit, and house lower-masts!"

   "Ay, ay, Griffith is a lazy dog, and some-
times gets lost in the fogs of his own thoughts,"
said Barnstable; "and I suppose old Moderate
was in a breeze. However, this looks as if he
were in earnest; he must have kept the ship
away, or she would never have been where she is;
I do verily believe the old gentleman remembers
that he has a few of his officers and men on this

---

-121-

SMALL | MEDIUM
accursed island. This is well, Merry, for should
we take the Abbey, we have a place at hand in
which to put our prisoners."

   "We must have patience till the morning,"
added the boy, "for no boat would attempt to
land in such a sea."

   "No boat could land! The best boat that
ever floated, boy, has sunk in these breakers!
But the wind lessens, and before morning, the
sea will fall. Let us on, and find a birth for our
poor lads, where they can be made more com-
fortable."

   The two officers now descended from their
elevation, and led the way still further up the
deep and narrow dell, until, as the ground rose
gradually before them, they found themselves
in a dense wood, on a level with the adjacent
country.

   "Here should be a ruin at hand, if I have kept
a true reckoning, and know my courses and dis-
tances," said Barnstable; "I have a chart about
me, that speaks of such a land-mark."

   The lieutenant turned away from the laughing
expression of the boy's eye, as the latter archly
inquired --

   "Was it made by one who knows the coast
well, sir? or was it done by some school-boy, to
learn his maps, as the girls work samplers?"

   "Come, younker, no sampler of your impu-
dence. But look ahead; can you see any habi-
tation that has been deserted?"

   "Ay, sir, here is a pile of stones before us,
that looks as dirty and ragged, as if it was a
soldier's barrack; can this be what you seek?"

   "Faith, this has been a whole town in its day!
we should call it a city in America, and furnish
it with a Mayor, Aldermen, and Recorder -- you
might stow old Faneuil-Hall in one of its lockers."

---

-122-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   With this sort of careless dialogue, which
Barnstable engaged in, that his men might dis-
cover no alteration in his manner, they approach-
ed the mouldering walls that had proved so frail
a protection to the party under Griffith.

   A short time was passed in examining the pre-
mises, when the wearied seamen took possession
of one of the dilapidated apartments, and dispo-
sed themselves to seek that rest of which they
had been deprived by the momentous occurren-
ces of the past night.

   Barnstable waited until the loud breathing of
the seamen assured him that they slept, when he
aroused the drowsy boy, who was fast losing his
senses in the same sort of oblivion, and motioned
to him to follow. Merry arose, and they stole
together from the apartment, with guarded steps,
and penetrated more deeply into the gloomy re-
cesses of the place.

---

-123-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII.

Mercury

    -- "I permit thee to be Sosia again."

Dryden.

   We must leave the two adventurers winding
their way among the broken piles, and venturing
boldly beneath the tottering arches of the ruin, to
conduct the reader, at the same hour, within the
more comfortable walls of the Abbey; where, it
will be remembered, Borroughcliffe was left, in a
condition of very equivocal ease. As the earth
had, however, in the interval, nearly run its daily
round, circumstances had intervened to release
the soldier from his confinement -- and no one,
ignorant of the fact, would suppose, that the gen-
tleman who was now seated at the hospitable
board of Colonel Howard, directing, with so
much discretion, the energies of his masticators
to the delicacies of the feast, could read, in his
careless air and smiling visage, that those fora-
gers of nature had been so recently condemned,
for four long hours, to the mortification of dis-
cussing the barren subject of his own sword-hilt.
Borroughcliffe, however, maintained not only his
usual post, but his well-earned reputation at the
table, with his ordinary coolness of demeanour;
though, at times, there were passing smiles, that

---

-124-

SMALL | MEDIUM
crossed his military aspect, which sufficiently in-
dicated, that he considered the matter of his re-
flection to be of a particularly ludicrous character.
In the young man, who sat by his side, dressed
in the deep blue jacket of a seaman, with the fine,
clean linen of his collar contrasting strongly
with the black silk handkerchief, that was tied,
with studied negligence, around his neck, and
whose easy air and manner contrasted still more
strongly with this attire, the reader will discover
Griffith. The captive paid much less devotion
to the viands than his neighbour, though he af-
fected more attention to the business of the table
than he actually bestowed, with a sort of con-
sciousness that it would relieve the blushing mai-
den who presided. The laughing eyes of Ka-
therine Plowden were glittering by the side of the
mild countenance of Alice Dunscombe, and, at
times, were fastened, in droll interest, on the rigid
and upright exterior that Captain Manual main-
tained, directly opposite to where she was seated.
A chair had, also, been placed for Dillon -- of
course, it was vacant.

   "And so, Borroughcliffe," cried Colonel How-
ard, with a freedom of voice, and a vivacity
in his air, that announced the increasing harmo-
ny of the repast, "the sea-dog left you nothing
to chew but the cud of your resentment!"

   "That and my sword-hilt!" returned the im-
moveable recruiting officer; "gentlemen, I know
not how your Congress rewards military achieve-
ments; but if that worthy fellow were in my com-
pany, he should have a halbert within a week --
spurs I would not offer him, for he affects to spurn
their use."

   Griffith smiled, and bowed in silence to the
liberal compliment of Borroughcliffe; but Manu-
al took on himself the task of replying --

---

-125-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Considering the drilling the man has received,
his conduct has been well enough, sir; though
a well-trained soldier would not only have made
prisoners, but he would have secured them."

   "I perceive, my good comrade, that your
thoughts are running on the exchange," said Bor-
roughcliffe, good humouredly; "we will fill, sir,
and, by permission of the ladies, drink to a speedy
restoration of rights to both parties -- the statu
quo ante bellum."

   "With all my heart," cried the colonel; "and
Cicily and Miss Katherine will pledge the senti-
ment in a woman's sip; will ye not, my fair
wards? -- Mr. Griffith, I honour this proposition
of yours, which will not only liberate yourself,
but restore to us my kinsman, Mr. Christopher
Dillon. Kit had imagined the thing well; ha!
Borroughcliffe! 'twas ingeniously contrived, but
the fortune of war interposed itself to his success;
and yet, it is a deep and inexplicable mystery to
me, how Kit should have been conducted from
the Abbey with so little noise, and without rais-
ing the alarm."

   "Christopher is a man who understands the
philosophy of silence, as well as that of rheto-
ric," returned Borroughcliffe, "and must have
learned, in his legal studies, that it is, sometimes,
necessary to conduct matters sub silentio. You
smile at my Latin, Miss Plowden; but, really,
since I have become an inhabitant of this Monk-
ish abode, my little learning is stimulated to un-
wonted efforts -- nay, you are pleased to be yet
more merry! I used the language, because silence
is a theme in which you ladies take but little plea-
sure."

   Katherine, however, disregarded the slight
pique that was apparent in the soldier's manner;
but, after following the train of her own thoughts

---

-126-

SMALL | MEDIUM
in silent enjoyment for a moment longer, she
seemed to yield to their drollery, and laughed,
until her dark eyes flashed with merriment. Ceci-
lia did not assume the severe gravity with which
she sometimes endeavoured to repress, what she
thought, the unseasonable mirth of her cousin,
and the wondering Griffith fancied, as he glanced
his eye from one to the other, that he could dis-
cern a suppressed smile playing among the com-
posed features of Alice Dunscombe. Katherine,
however, soon succeeded in repressing the parox-
ysm, and, with an air of infinitely comic gravity,
she replied to the remark of the soldier --

   "I think I have heard of such a process in
nautical affairs as towing; but I must appeal to
Mr. Griffith for the correctness of the term?"

   "You could not speak with more accuracy,"
returned the young sailor, with a look that sent
the conscious blood to the temples of the lady,
"though you had made marine terms your
study."

   "The profession requires less thought, perhaps,
than you imagine, sir; but is this towing often
done, as Captain Borroughcliffe -- I beg his par-
don -- as the Monks have it, sub silentio?"

   "Spare me, fair lady," cried the captain, "and
we will establish a compact of mutual grace; you
to forgive my learning, and I to suppress my
suspicions."

   "Suspicions, sir, is a word that a lady must
defy."

   "And defiance a challenge that a soldier can
never receive; so, I must submit to talk English,
though the fathers of the church were my com-
panions. I suspect that Miss Plowden has it in
her power to explain the manner of Mr. Chris-
topher Dillon's departure."

   The lady did not reply, but a second burst of

---

-127-

SMALL | MEDIUM
merriment succeeded, of a liveliness and dura-
tion quite equal to the former.

   "How's this!" exclaimed the colonel; " per-
mit me to say, Miss Plowden, your mirth is very
extraordinary! I trust no disrespect has been
offered to my kinsman? Mr. Griffith, our terms
are, that the exchange shall only be made on
condition that equally good treatment has been
extended to the parties!"

   "If Mr. Dillon can complain of no greater
evil than that of being laughed at by Miss Plow-
den, sir, he has reason to call himself a happy
fellow."

   "I know not, sir; God forbid that I should
forget what is due to my guests, gentlemen --
but ye have entered my dwelling as foes to my
prince."

   "But not to Colonel Howard, sir."

   "I know no difference, Mr. Griffith. King
George or Colonel Howard -- Colonel Howard
or King George. Our feelings, our fortunes,
and our fate, is as one; with the mighty odds that
Providence has established between the prince
and his people! I wish no other fortune, than to
share, at a humble distance, the weal or wo of
my sovereign!"

   "You are not called upon, dear sir, to do
either, by the thoughtlessness of us ladies," said
Cecilia, rising; "but here comes one who should
turn our thoughts to a more important subject --
our dress."

   Politeness induced Colonel Howard, who both
loved and respected his niece, to defer his re-
marks to another time; and Katherine, springing
from her chair, with childish eagerness, flew to
the side of her cousin, who was directing a
servant that had announced to her the arrival of
one of those erratic vendors of small articles, who

---

-128-

SMALL | MEDIUM
supply, in remote districts of the country, the
places of more regular traders, to show the lad
into the dining-parlour. The repast was so far
ended, as to render this interruption less objec-
tionable, and as all felt the object of Cecilia to
be the restoration of harmony, the boy was ush-
ered into the room, without further delay. The
contents of his small basket, consisting, chiefly,
of essences, and the smaller articles of female
economy, were playfully displayed on the table,
by Katherine, who declared herself the patroness
of the itinerant youth, and who laughingly ap-
pealed to the liberality of the gentlemen in be-
half of her protegée.

   "You perceive, my dear guardian, that the
boy must be loyal; for he offers, here, perfume,
that is patronized by no less than two royal
dukes! do suffer me to place a box aside, for
your especial use? you consent; I see it in your
eye. And, Captain Borroughcliffe, as you ap-
pear to be forgetting the use of your own lan-
guage, here is even a horn-book for you! How
admirably provided he seems to be! You must
have had St. Ruth in view, when you laid in
your stock, child?"

   "Yes, my lady," the boy replied, with a bow
that was studiously awkward; "I have often
heard of the grand ladies that dwell in the old
Abbey, and I have journeyed a few miles beyond
my rounds, to gain their custom."

   "And surely they cannot disappoint you.
Miss Howard, that is a palpable hint to your
purse; and I know not that even Miss Alice
can escape contribution, in these troublesome
times. Come, aid me, child; what have you to
recommend, in particular, to the favour of these
ladies?"

   The lad approached the basket, and rummaged

---

-129-

SMALL | MEDIUM
its contents, for a moment, with the appearance
of deep, mercenary interest; and then, without
lifting his hand from the confusion he had caused,
he said, while he exhibited something to the view
of his smiling observer --

   "This, my lady."

   Katherine started, and glanced her eye, with a
piercing look, at the countenance of the boy, and
then turned them, uneasily, from face to face,
with conscious timidity. Cecilia had effected
her object, and had resumed her seat, in silent
abstraction -- Alice was listening to the remarks
of Captain Manual and the host, as they dis-
cussed the propriety of certain military usages --
Griffith seemed to hold communion with his
mistress, by imitating her silence; but Katherine,
in her stolen glances, met the keen look of Bor-
roughcliffe, fastened on her face, in a manner
that did not fail to suspend the scrutiny.

   "Come, Cecilia," she cried, after a pause of
a moment, "we trespass too long on the patience
of the gentlemen; not only to keep possession of
our seats, ten minutes after the cloth has been
drawn! but even to introduce our essences, and
tapes, and needles, among the Madeira, and -- shall
I add, segars, colonel?"

   "Not while we are favoured with the company
of Miss Plowden, certainly."

   "Come, my coz; I perceive the colonel is
growing particularly polite, which is a never-
failing sign that he tires of our presence."

   Cecilia rose, and was leading the way to the
door, when Katherine turned to the lad, and
added --

   "You can follow us to the drawing-room,
child, where we can make our purchases, without
exposing the mystery of our good looks."

   "Miss Plowden has forgotten my horn-book,

---

-130-

SMALL | MEDIUM
I believe," said Borroughcliffe, advancing from
the standing group who surrounded the table;
"possibly I can find some work, better fitted
for the improvement of a grown-up young gen-
tleman, than this elementary treatise, in the bas-
ket of the boy."

   Cecilia, observing him to take the basket from
the lad, resumed her seat, and her example was
necessarily followed by Katherine; though not
without some manifest indications of vexation.

   "Come hither, boy, and explain the uses of
your wares. This is soap, and this a penknife,
I know; but what name do you affix to this?"

   "That? that is tape," returned the lad, with
an impatience that might very naturally be attri-
buted to the interruption that was thus given to
his trade.

   "And this?"

   "That?" repeated the stripling, pausing, with a
hesitation between sulkiness and doubt; "that? -- "

   "Come, this is a little ungallant!" cried Kathe-
rine; "to keep three ladies dying with impa-
tience to possess themselves of their finery, while
you detain the boy, to ask the name of a tam-
bouring-needle!"

   "I should apologize for asking questions that
are so easily answered; but perhaps he will find
the next more difficult to solve," returned Bor-
roughcliffe, placing the subject of his inquiries
in the palm of his hand, in such a manner as to
conceal it from all but the boy and himself.
"This has a name, too; what is it?"

   "That? -- that -- is sometimes called -- white-
line."

   "Perhaps you mean a white lie?"

   "How, sir!" exclaimed the lad, a little fiercely.
"a lie!"

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-132-

SMALL | MEDIUM
filled the sentence with expressions abundantly
flattering to his own feelings.

   "How's this, again!" cried the colonel; "my
two wards embracing and fondling a vagrant,
vagabond pedler, before my eyes! is this trea-
son, Mr. Griffith? or what means the extraordi-
nary visit of this young gentleman?"

   "Is it extraordinary, sir," said Merry himself,
losing his assumed awkwardness, in the ease and
confidence of one whose faculties had been early
exercised, "that a boy, like myself, destitute of
mother and sisters, should take a little risk on
himself, to visit the only two female relatives he
has in the world?"

   "Why this disguise, then? surely, young gen-
tleman, it was unnecessary to enter the dwelling
of old George Howard, on such an errand,
clandestinely, even though your tender years have
been practised on, to lead you astray from your
allegiance. Mr. Griffith and Captain Manual
must pardon me, if I express sentiments, at my
own table, that they may find unpleasant; but
this business requires us to be explicit."

   "The hospitality of Colonel Howard is un-
questionable," returned the boy; "but he has a
great reputation for his loyalty to the crown."

   "Ay, young gentleman; and, I trust, with
some justice."

   "Would it, then, be safe, to intrust my person
in the hands of one who might think it his duty
to detain me?"

   "This is plausible enough, Captain Borrough-
cliffe, and I doubt not the boy speaks with can-
dour. I would, now, that my kinsman, Mr.
Christopher Dillon, were here, that I might learn
if it would be misprision of treason, to permit
this youth to depart, unmolested, and without
exchange?"

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-134-

SMALL | MEDIUM
who deserve either the name of traitors or of das-
tards."

   "Said you not that he was dead? that my
kinsman was buried in the sands of the sea-
shore?"

   "Both are true, sir -- "

   "And you refuse to explain how he met his
death, and why he has been thus ignominiously
interred?"

   "He received his interment by my orders, sir;
and if there be ignominy about his grave, his own
acts have heaped it on him. As to the manner
of his death, I cannot, and will not speak."

   "Be calm, my cousin," said Cecilia, in an im-
ploring voice; "respect the age of my uncle,
and remember his strong attachment to Mr.
Dillon."

   The veteran had, however, so far mastered his
feelings, as to continue the dialogue with more
recollection.

   "Mr. Griffith," he said, "I shall not act hasti-
ly -- you and your companion will be pleased to
retire to your several apartments. I will so far
respect the son of my brother Harry's friend, as
to believe your parole will be sacred. Go, gen-
tlemen; you are unguarded."

   The two prisoners bowed low to the ladies and
their host, and retired. Griffith, however, lin-
gered a moment on the threshold, to say --

   "Colonel Howard, I leave the boy to your
kindness and consideration. I know you will
not forget that his blood mingles with that of one
who is most dear to you."

   "Enough, enough, sir," said the veteran, wa-
ving his hand to him to retire; "and you, ladies;
this is not a place for you, either."

   "Never will I quit this child," said Katherine,
"while such a horrid imputation lies on him.

SMALL | MEDIUM

SMALL | MEDIUM

SMALL | MEDIUM

---

-138-

SMALL | MEDIUM
arrived, to save the poor fellow's feelings, for I
detest tampering with such a noble spirit. I saw,
by his eye, that he had squinted oftener over a
gun, than through a needle!"

   "But they have murdered my kinsman! -- the
loyal, the learned, the ingenious Mr. Christopher
Dillon!"

   "If they have done so, they shall be made to
answer it," said Borroughcliffe, re-seating him-
self at the table, with a coolness that furnished a
pledge of the impartiality of his judgment;
"but let us learn the facts, before we do aught
hastily."

   Colonel Howard was fain to comply with so
reasonable a proposition, and he resumed his
chair, while his companion proceeded to institute
a close examination of the pedler boy.

   We shall defer, until the proper time may ar-
rive, recording the result of his inquiries; but
shall so far satisfy the curiosity of our readers, as
to tell them, that the captain learned sufficient to
convince him, a very serious attempt was medita-
ted on the Abbey; and, as he thought, enough,
also, to enable him to avert the danger.

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 9

CHAPTER IX

I have not seen so likely an ambassador of love.


Merchant of Venice.

   Cecilia and Katherine separated from Alice
Dunscombe in the lower gallery of the cloisters;
and the cousins ascended to the apartment which
was assigned them as a dressing-room. The in-
tensity of feeling that was gradually accumula-
ting in the breasts of these ladies, as circumstances
brought those in whom their deepest interests
were centered, into situations of extreme delica-
cy, if not of actual danger, perhaps, in some
measure, prevented them from experiencing all
that concern which the detection and arrest of
Merrry might be suppose to excite. The boy,
like themselves, was an only child of one of those
three sisters, who caused the close connexion be-
tween so many of our characters, and his tender
years had led his cousins to regard him with an
affection that exceeded the ordinary interest of
such an affinity; but they knew, that in the
hands of Colonel Howard his person was safe,
though his liberty might be endangered. When
the first emotions, therefore, were created

---

-140-

SMALL | MEDIUM
by his sudden appearance, after so long an absence,
had subsided, their thoughts were rather occupied
by the consideration of what consequences, to
others, might proceed from his arrest, than by any
reflections on the midshipman's actual condition.
Secluded from the observations of any strange
eyes, the two maidens indulged their feelings,
without restraint, according to their several tem-
peraments. Katherine moved to and fro, in the
apartment, with feverish anxiety, while Miss
Howard, by concealing her countenance under
the ringlets of her luxuriant, dark hair, and sha-
ding her eyes with a fair hand, seemed to be
willing to commune with her thoughts more
quietly.

   "Barnstable cannot be far distant," said the
former, after a few minutes had passed; "for he
never would have sent that child on such an er-
rand, by himself!"

   Cecilia raised her mild, blue eyes to the coun-
tenance of her cousin, as she answered --

   "All thoughts of an exchange must now be
abandoned; and perhaps the persons of the pri-
soners will be held as pledges, to answer for the
life of Dillon."

   "Can the wretch be dead! or is it merely a
threat, or some device of that urchin? he is a
forward child, and would not hesitate to speak
and act boldly, on emergency."

   "He is dead!" returned Cecilia, veiling her
face again, in horror; "the eyes of the boy, his
whole countenance, confirmed his words! I fear,
Katherine, that Mr. Barnstable has suffered his
resentment to overcome his discretion, when
he learned the treachery of Dillon; surely,
surely, though the hard usages of war may jus-
tify so dreadful a revenge on an enemy, it was un-
kind to forget the condition of his own friends!"

---

-141-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Mr. Barnstable has done neither, Miss How-
ard," said Katherine, checking her uneasy foot-
steps, her light form swelling with pride; "Mr.
Barnstable is equally incapable of murdering an
enemy, or of deserting a friend!"

   "But retaliation is neither deemed nor called
murder, by men in arms."

   "Think it what you will, call it what you will,
Cecilia Howard, I will pledge my life, that Rich-
ard Barnstable has the blood of none but the open
enemies of his country to answer for."

   "The miserable man may have fallen a sacri-
fice to the anger of that terrific seaman, who led
him hence as a captive!"

   "That terrific seaman, Miss Howard, has a
heart as tender as your own. He is -- "

   "Nay, Katherine," interrupted Cecilia, "you
chide me unkindly; let us not add to our unavoid-
able misery, by such harsh contention."

   "I do not contend with you, Cecilia! I merely
defend the absent and the innocent from your un-
kind suspicions, my cousin."

   "Say, rather, your sister," returned Miss How-
ard, as their hands involuntarily closed upon each
other, "for we are surely sisters! But let us strive
to think of something less horrible. Poor, poor
Dillon! now that he has met a fate so terrible, I
can even fancy him less artful and more upright
than we had thought him! You agree with me,
Katherine, I see by your countenance, and we will
dwell no longer on the subject. -- Katherine! my
cousin Kate, what see you?"

   Miss Plowden, as she relinquished her pres-
sure of the hand of Cecilia, had renewed her walk
with a more regulated step; but she was yet ma-
king her first turn across the room, when her eyes
became keenly set on the opposite window, and her

---

-142-

SMALL | MEDIUM
whole frame was held in an attitude of absorbed
attention. The rays of the setting sun fell bright
upon her dark glances, which seemed fastened on
some distant object, and gave an additional glow
to the mantling colour that was slowly stealing,
across her cheeks, to her temples. Such a sudden
alteration in the manner and appearance of her
companion, had not failed to catch the attention of
Cecilia, who, in consequence, interrupted herself by
the agitated question we have related. Katherine
slowly beckoned her companion to her side, and,
pointing in the direction of the wood that lay in
view, she said --

   "See you tower, in the ruin! Do you observe
those small spots of pink and yellow that are flut-
tering above its walls?"

   "I do. They are the lingering remnants of the
foliage of some tree; but they want the vivid tints
which grace the autumn of our own dear America!"

   "One is the work of God, and the other has
been produced by the art of man. Cecilia, those
are no leaves, but they are my own childish sig-
nals, and without doubt Barnstable himself is on
that ruined tower. Merry, cannot, will not, betray
him!"

   "My life should be a pledge for the honour of
our little cousin," said Cecilia. "But you have the
telescope of my uncle at hand, ready for such an
event! one look through it will ascertain the
truth -- "

   Katherine sprang to the spot where the instru-
ment stood, and with eager hands she prepared it
for the necessary observation.

   "It is he!" she cried the instant her eye was put
to the glass. "I even see his head above the stones.
How unthinking to expose himself so unnecessari-
ly!"

---

-143-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "But what says he, Katherine!" exclaimed Ce-
cilia; "you alone can interpret his meaning."

   The little book which contained the explana-
tions of Miss Plowden's signals was now hastily
produced, and its leaves rapidly run over in quest
of the necessary number.

   " 'Tis only a question to gain my attention. I
must let him know he is observed."

   When Katherine, as much to indulge her secret
propensities, as with any hope of its usefulness,
had devised this plan for communicating with
Barnstable, she had, luckily, not forgotten to ar-
range the necessary means to reply to his inter-
rogatories. A very simple arrangement of some
of the ornamental cords of the window-curtains,
enabled her to effect this purpose; and her nimble
fingers soon fastened the pieces of silk to the
lines, which were now thrown into the air, when
these signals in miniature were instantly displayed
in the breeze.

   "He sees them!" cried Cecilia, "and is pre-
paring to change his flags."

   "Keep then your eye on him, my cousin, and
tell me the colours that he shows, with their or-
der, and I will endeavour to read his meaning."

   "He is as expert as yourself! There are two
more of them fluttering above the stones again: the
upper is white, and the lower black."

   "White over black," repeated Katherine, rapid-
ly, to herself, as she turned the leaves of her
book. -- " `My messenger: has he been seen?' -- To
that we must answer the unhappy truth. Here it
is -- yellow, white, and red -- `he is a prisoner.'
How fortunate that I should have prepared such a
question and answer. What says he, Cecilia, to
this news?"

   "He is busy making his changes, dear. Nay,

---

-144-

SMALL | MEDIUM
Katherine, you shake so violently as to move the
glass! Now he is done; 'tis yellow over black,
this time."

   " `Griffith, or who?' He does not understand
us; but I had thought of the poor boy, in ma-
king out the numbers -- ah! here it is; yellow,
green, and red -- `my cousin Merry.' -- He cannot
fail to understand us now."

   "He has already taken in his flags. The news
seems to alarm him, for he is less expert than be-
fore. He shows them now -- they are green, red
and yellow."

   "The question is, `Am I safe?' 'Tis that
which made him tardy, Miss Howard," continued
Katherine. "Barnstable is ever slow to consult
his safety. But how shall I answer him? should
we mislead him now, how could we ever forgive
ourselves!"

   "Of Andrew Merry there is no fear," return-
ed Cecilia; "and I think if Captain Borrough-
cliffe had any intimation of the proximity of his
enemies, he would not continue at the table."

   "He will stay there while wine will sparkle, and
man can swallow," said Katherine; "but we know,
by sad experience, that he is a soldier on an emer-
gency; and yet, I'll trust to his ignorance this
time -- here, I have an answer: `you are yet safe,
but be wary.' "

   "He reads your meaning with a quick eye,
Katherine; and he is ready with his answer too:
he shows green over white this time. Well! do
you not hear me? 'tis green over white. Why, you
are dumb -- what says he, dear?"

   Still Katherine answered not, and her cousin
raised her eyes from the glass, and beheld her
companion gazing earnestly at the open page,
while the glow which excitement had before

---

-145-

SMALL | MEDIUM
brought to her cheek, was increased to a still
deeper bloom.

   "I hope your blushes and his signals are not
ominous, Kate," added Cecilia; "can green imply
his jealousy, as white does your purity? what
says he, coz?"

   "He talks, like yourself, much nonsense," said
Katherine, turning to her flags, with a pettish air,
that was singularly contradicted by her gratified
countenance; "but the situation of things requires
that I should talk to Barnstable more freely."

   "I can retire," said Cecilia, rising from her
chair with a grave manner.

   "Nay, Cecilia, I do not deserve these looks --
'tis you who exhibit levity now! But you can per-
ceive, for yourself, that evening is closing in, and
that some other medium for conversation, besides
the eyes, may be adopted. -- Here is a signal,
which will answer: `When the Abbey clock strikes
nine, come with care to the wicket, which opens, at
the east side of the Paddock, on the road: until
then, keep secret.' I had prepared this very signal,
in case an interview should be necessary."

   "Well, he sees it," returned Cecilia, who had
resumed her place by the telescope, "and seems
disposed to obey you, for I no longer discern his
flags or his person."

   Miss Howard now arose from before the glass,
her observations being ended; but Katherine did
not return the instrument to its corner, without fas-
tening one long and anxious look through it, on
what now appeared to be the deserted tower. The
interest and anxiety produced by this short and
imperfect communication between Miss Plowden
and her lover, did not fail to excite reflections in
both of the ladies, that furnished materials to hold

---

-146-

SMALL | MEDIUM
them in earnest discourse, until the entrance of
Alice Dunscombe announced that their presence
was expected below. Even the unsuspecting Alice,
on entering, observed a change in the countenances
and demeanor of the two cousins, which betrayed
that their secret conference had not been entirely
without contention. The features of Cecilia were
disturbed and anxious, and their expression not
unlike melancholy; while the dark flashing eye,
flushed temples, and proud, determined step of
Katherine exhihited in an equal, if not a greater
degree, a very different emotion. As no reference
to the subject of their conversation was, however,
made by either of the young ladies, after the en-
dance of Alice, she led the way, in silence, to the
drawing room.

   The ladies were received, by Col. Howard and
Borroughcliffe, with marked attention. In the
former there were moments when a deep gloom
would, in spite of his very obvious exertions to the
contrary, steal over his open, generous counte-
nance; but the recruiting officer maintained an air
of immovable coolness and composure. Twenty
times did he detect the piercing looks of Kathe-
rine fastened on him, with an intentness, that a
less deliberative man might have had the vanity
to misinterpret; but even this flattering testi-
monial of his power to attract, failed to disturb
his self-possession. It was in vain that Kathe-
rine endeavoured to read his countenance, where
every thing was fixed in military rigidity, though
his deportment appeared more than usually easy
and natural. Tired at length with her fruit-
less scrutiny, the excited girl turned her gaze
upon the clock: to her amazement, she discovered
that it was on the stroke of nine, and, disregarding
a deprecating glance from her cousin, she arose

---

-147-

SMALL | MEDIUM
and quitted the apartment. Borroughcliffe open-
ed the door for her exit, and, while the lady civilly
bowed her head in acknowledgment of his atten-
tion, their eyes once more met; but she glided quickly
by him, and found herself alone in the gallery. Kath-
erine hesitated, more than a minute, to proceed, for
she thought in that glance she had detected a
lurking expression, that manifested conscious se-
curity mingled with secret design. It was not her
nature, however, to hesitate, when circumstances
required that she should be both prompt and alert;
and, throwing over her slight person a large cloak,
that was in readiness for the occasion, she stole
warily from the building.

   Although Katherine suspected, most painfully,
that Borroughcliffe had received intelligence that
might prove dangerous to her lover, she look-
ed around her in vain, on gaining the open air,
to discover any alteration in the arrangements for
the defence of the Abbey, which might confirm
her suspicions, or the knowledge of which might
enable her to instruct Barnstable how to avoid
the secret danger. Every disposition remained as
it had been since the capture of Griffith and
his companion. She heard the heavy, quick
steps of the sentinel, who was posted beneath their
windows, endeavouring to warm himself, on his
confined post; and as she paused to listen, she
also detected the rattling of arms from the soldier,
who, as usual, guarded the approach to that part
of the building where his comrades were quartered.
The night had set in cloudy and dark, although
the gale had greatly subsided towards the close of
the day; still the wind swept heavily, and, at mo-
ments, with a rushing noise, among the irregular
walls of the edifice; and it required the utmost
nicety of ear, to distinguish even these well known

---

-148-

SMALL | MEDIUM
sounds, among such accompaniments. When
Katherine, however, was satisfied that her organs
had not deceived her, she turned an anxious eye in
the direction of what Borroughcliffe called his
"barracks." Every thing in that direction ap-
peared so dark and still as to create a sensation
of uneasiness, by its very quiet. It might be
the silence of sleep that now pervaded the or-
dinarily gay and mirthful apartment! or it might
be the stillness of a fearful preparation! There
was no time, however, for further hesitation, and
Katherine drew her cloak more closely about her
form, and proceeded, with light and guarded steps,
to the appointed spot. As she approached the wick-
et the clock struck the hour, and she again paused,
while the mournful sounds were borne by her
on the wind, as if expecting that each stroke on
the bell, would prove a signal to unmask some
secret design of Burroughcliffe. As the last vi-
bration melted away, she opened the little gate, and
issued on the highway. The figure of a man
sprung forward from behind an angle of the wall,
as she appeared; and, while her heart was still
throbbing with the suddenness of the alarm, she
found herself in the arms of Barnstable. After
the first few words of recognition and pleasure
which the young sailor uttered, he acquainted his
mistress with the loss of his schooner, and the situ-
ation of the survivors.

   "And now, Katherine," he concluded, "you
have come, I trust, never to quit me; or, at most,
to return no more to that old Abbey, unless it be
to aid in liberating Griffith, and then to join me
again for ever."

   "Why, truly, there is so much to tempt a young
woman to renounce her home and friends, in the
description you have just given of your condition,

---

-149-

SMALL | MEDIUM
that I hardly know how to refuse your request,
Barnstable. You are very tolerably provided with
a dwelling in the ruin; and I suppose certain pre-
datory schemes are to be adopted to make it ha-
bitable! St. Ruth is certainly well supplied with
the necessary articles, but whether we should not
be shortly removed to the Castle at York, or the
gaol at Newcastle, is a question that I put to your
discretion."

   "Why yield your thoughts to such silly sub-
jects, lovely trifler!" said Barnstable, "when
the time and the occasion both urge us to be in
earnest?"

   "It is a woman's province to be thrifty, and to
look after the comforts of domestic life," returned
his mistress; "and I would discharge my func-
tions with credit. But I feel you are vexed, for, to
see your dark countenance is out of the question,
on such a night. When do you propose to com-
mence housekeeping, if I should yield to your
proposals?"

   "I have not concluded, and your provoking wit
annoys me! The vessel I have taken, will, unques-
tionably, come into the land, as the gale dies; and
I intend making my escape in her, after beating
this Englishman, and securing the liberty of Miss
Howard and yourself. I could see the Frigate in
the offing, even before we left the cliffs."

   "This certainly sounds better!" rejoined Kath-
erine, in a manner that indicated she was musing
on their prospects; "and yet there may exist some
difficulties in the way that you little suspect."

   "Difficulties! there are none -- there can be
none."

   "Speak not irreverently of the mazes of love,
Mr. Barnstable. When was it ever known to exist
unfettered or unembarrassed? even I have an ex-

---

-150-

SMALL | MEDIUM
planation to ask of you, that I would much rather
let alone."

   "Of me! ask what you will, or how you will;
I am a careless, unthinking fellow, Miss Plowden;
but to you I have little to answer for -- unless a
foolish sort of adoration be an offence against your
merits." Barnstable felt the little hand that was
supported on his arm, pressing the limb, as Kathe-
rine continued, in a tone so changed from its former
forced levity, that he started as the first sounds
reached his ears. "Merry has brought in a horrid
report!" she said; "I would I could believe it
untrue! but the looks of the boy, and the absence
of Dillon, both confirm it."

   "Poor Merry! he too has fallen into the trap!
but they shall yet find one who is too cunning for
them. Is it to the fate of that wretched Dillon
that you allude?"

   "He was a wretch," continued Katherine, in the
same voice," and he deserved much punishment at
your hands, Barnstable; but life is the gift of God,
and is not to be taken whenever human vengeance
would appear to require a victim."

   "His life was taken by him who bestowed it," said
the sailor. "Is it Katherine Plowden who would
suspect me of the deed of a dastard!"

   "I do not suspect you -- I did not suspect you,"
cried Katherine; "I will never suspect any evil of
you again. You are not, you cannot be angry
with me, Barnstable? had you heard the cruel
suspicions of my cousin Cecilia, and had your
imagination been busy in portraying your wrongs
and the temptations to forget mercy, like mine, even
while my tongue denied your agency in the sus-
pected deed, you would -- you would at least have
learned, how much easier it is to defend those we

---

-151-

SMALL | MEDIUM
love against the open attacks of others, than
against our own jealous feelings."

   "Those words, love and jealousy, will obtain
your acquittal," cried Barnstable, in his natural
voice; and, after uttering a few more consoling
assurances to Katherine, whose excited feelings
found vent in tears, he briefly related the manner
of Dillon's death.

   "I had hoped I stood higher in the estimation
of Miss Howard, than to be subjected to even her
suspicions," he said, when he had ended his ex-
planation. "Griffith has been but a sorry repre-
sentative of our trade, if he has left such an opi-
nion of its pursuits.

   "I do not know that Mr. Griffith would altogether
have escaped my conjectures, had he been the dis-
appointed commander, and you the prisoner," re-
turned Katherine; "you know not how much we
have both studied the usages of war, and with
what dreadful pictures of hostages, retaliations,
and military executions, our minds are stored!
but a mountain is raised off my spirits, and I
could almost say, that I am now ready to descend
the valley of life in your company."

   "It is a discreet determination, my good Kath-
erine, and God bless you for it; the companion
may not be so good as you deserve, but you will
find him ambitious of your praise. Now let us de-
vise means to effect our object."

   "Therein lies another of my difficulties. Griffith,
I much fear, will not urge Cecilia to another flight,
against her -- her -- what shall I call it, Barnsta-
ble? her caprice, or her judgment? Cecilia will
never consent to desert her uncle, and I cannot
muster the courage to abandon my poor cousin, in
the face of the world, in order to take shelter with
even Mr. Richard Barnstable!"

---

-152-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Speak you from the heart now, Katherine?"

   "Very nearly -- if not exactly."

   "Then have I been cruelly deceived! It is ea-
sier to find a path in the trackless ocean, without
chart or compass, than to know the windings of a
woman's heart!"

   "Nay, nay, foolish man; you forget that I am
but small, and how very near my head is to my
heart; too nigh, I fear, for the discretion of their
mistress! but is there no method of forcing Grif-
fith and Cecilia to their own good, without undue
violence?"

   "It cannot be done; he is my senior in rank,
and the instant I release him he will claim the
command. A question might be raised, at a lei-
sure moment, on the merits of such a claim -- but
even my own men are, as you know, nothing but
a draft from the frigate, and they would not hesi-
tate to obey the orders of the first lieutenant, who
is not a man to trifle on matters of duty."

   "'Tis vexatious, truly," said Katherine, "that
all my well concerted schemes in behalf of this
wayward pair, should be frustrated by their own
wilful conduct! But, after all, have you justly
estimated your strength, Barnstable? are you cer-
tain that you would be successful, and that with-
out hazard, too, if you should make the attempt?"

   "Morally, and what is better, physically cer-
tain. My men are closely hid, where no one sus-
pects an enemy to lie; they are anxious for the
enterprise, and the suddenness of the attack will
not only make the victory sure, but it will be rendered
bloodless. You will aid us in our entrance, Kath-
erine, and I shall first secure this recruiting officer,
and his command will then surrender without stri-
king a blow. Perhaps, after all, Griffith will hear

---

-153-

SMALL | MEDIUM
reason; if he do not, I will not yield my authority
to a released captive, without a struggle."

   "God send that there shall be no fighting!" mur-
mured his companion, a little appalled at the
images his language had raised before her imagi-
nation; "and, Barnstable, I enjoin you, most so-
lemnly, by all your affection for me, and by every
thing you deem most sacred, to protect the person
of Col. Howard at every hazard. There must be no
excuse, no pretence, for even an insult to my pas-
sionate, good, obstinate, but kind old guardian. I
believe I have given him already more trouble than
I am entitled to give any one, and Heaven forbid,
that I should cause him any serious misfortune!"

   "He shall be safe, and not only he, but all that
are with him; as you will perceive, Katherine,
when you hear my plan. Three hours shall not
pass over my head before you will see me master
of that old Abbey. Griffith, ay, Griffith must be
content to be my inferior, until we get afloat
again."

   "Attempt nothing unless you feel certain of
being able to maintain your advantage, not only
against your enemies, but also against your
friends," said Katherine, anxiously; "rely on it,
both Cecilia and Griffith are refining so much on
their feelings, that neither will be your ally."

   "This comes of passing the four best years of
his life within walls of brick, poring over Latin
Grammars and Syntaxes, and such other nonsense,
when he should have been rolling them away in a
good box of live oak, and studying, at the most,
how to sum up his day's work, and tell where his
ship lies after a blow. Your college learning may
answer well enough for a man who has to live by
his wits, but it can be of little use to one who is
never afraid to read human nature, by looking his

---

-154-

SMALL | MEDIUM
fellow creatures full in the face, and whose hand is
as ready as his tongue. I have generally found
the eye that was good at Latin was dull at a com-
pass, or in a night-squall: and yet, Grif is a sea-
man; though I have heard him even read the tes-
tament in Greek! Thank God, I had the wisdom
to run away from school the second day they un-
dertook to teach me a strange tongue, and I be-
lieve I am the more honest man, and the better sea-
man, for my ignorance!"

   "There is no telling what you might have been,
Barnstable, under other circumstances," retorted
his mistress, with a playfulness of manner that she
could not always repress, though it was indulged
at the expense of him she most loved; "I doubt
not but, under proper training, you would have
made a reasonably good priest."

   "If you talk of priests, Katherine, I shall re-
mind you that we carry one in the ship. But
listen to my plan; we may talk further of that
when an opportunity may offer."

   Barnstable then proceeded to lay before his mis-
tress a project he had formed for surprising the
Abbey that night, which was so feasible, that Ka-
therine, notwithstanding her recent suspicions of
Borroughcliffe's designs, came gradually to be-
lieve it would succeed. The young seaman an-
swered her objections with the readiness of an ar-
dent mind, bent on executing its purposes, and
with a fertility of resources that proved he was no
contemptible enemy, in matters that required
spirited action. Of Merry's remaining firm and
faithful he had no doubt, and, although he ac-
knowledged the escape of the pedler boy, he
urged that the lad had seen no other of his party
besides himself, whom he mistook for a common
marauder.

---

-155-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   As the disclosure of these plans was frequently
interrupted by little digressions, connected with
the peculiar emotions of the lovers, more than an
hour flew by in the interview, before they separa-
ted. But Katherine, at length, reminded him
how swiftly the time was passing, and how much
remained to be done, when he reluctantly con-
sented to see her once more enter the wicket,
where they parted.

   Miss Plowden adopted the same precaution in
returning to the house, she had used on leaving it;
and she was congratulating herself on its success,
when her eye caught a glimpse of the figure of a
man, who was apparently following at some little
distance, in her footsteps, and dogging her mo-
tions. As the obscure form, however, paused also
when she stopped to give it an alarmed, though
inquiring look, and then slowly retired towards
the boundary of the paddock, Katherine believing
it to be Barnstable watching over her safety, en-
tered the Abbey, with every idea of alarm entirely
lost in the pleasing reflection of her lover's solici-
tude.

---

-156-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 10

CHAPTER X.

He looks abroad and soon appears,
O'er Horncliffe-hill, a plump of spears,
     Beneath a pennon gay."


Marmion.

   The sharp sounds of the supper-bell were
ringing along the gallery, as Miss Plowden gained
the gloomy passage; and she quickened her
steps to join the ladies, in order that no further
suspicions might be excited by her absence. --
Alice Dunscombe was already proceeding to the
dining parlour, as Katherine passed through the
door of the drawing room, but Miss Howard
had loitered behind, and was met by her cousin
alone.

   "You have then been so daring as to venture,
Katherine?" exclaimed Cecilia.

   "I have," returned the other, throwing herself
into a chair, to recover her agitation -- "I have,
Cecilia; and I have met Barnstable, who will
soon be in the Abbey, and its master."

   The blood, which had rushed to the face of
Cecilia on first seeing her cousin, now retreated
to her heart, leaving every part of her fine coun-
tenance of the whiteness of her polished temples,
as she said --

   "And we are to have a night of blood!"

---

-157-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "We are to have a night of freedom, Miss
Howard; freedom to you, and to me; to Andrew
Merry, to Griffith, and to his companion!"

   "What freedom more than we now enjoy,
Katherine, is needed by two young women?
Think you I can remain silent, and see my uncle
betrayed before my eyes? his life perhaps
endangered?"

   "Your own life and person will not be held
more sacred, Cecilia Howard, than that of your
uncle. If you will condemn Griffith to a prison,
and perhaps to a gibbet, betray Barnstable, as
you have threatened -- an opportunity will not be
wanting at the supper table, whither I shall lead
the way, since the mistress of the house appears
to forget her duty."

   Katherine arose, and, with a firm step, and
proud eye, she moved along the gallery, to the
room where their presence was expected by the
rest of the family. Cecilia followed, in silence,
and the whole party immediately took their seve-
ral places at the board.

   The first few minutes were passed in the usual
attentions of the gentlemen to the ladies, and the
ordinary civilities of the table; during which, Ka-
therine had so far regained the equanimity of her
feelings, as to commence a watchful scrutiny of the
manners and looks of her guardian and Borrough-
cliffe, in which she determined to persevere until
the eventful hour when she was to expect Barnsta-
ble should arrive. Col. Howard had, however, so
far got the command of himself, as no longer to
betray the same abstraction as before. In its place
Katherine fancied, at moments, that she could dis-
cover a settled look of conscious security, mingled
a little with an expression of severe determination;
such as, in her earlier days, she had learned to

---

-158-

SMALL | MEDIUM
dread as sure indications of the indignant, but up-
right justice of an honourable mind. Borrough-
cliffe, on the other hand, was cool, polite, and as
attentive to the viands as usual, with the alarming
exception of discovering much less devotion to the
Pride of the Vineyards, than he commonly manifest-
ed on such occasions. In this manner the meal
passed by, and the cloth was removed, though the
ladies appeared willing to retain their places long-
er than was customary. Col. Howard, filling up
the glasses of Alice Dunscombe, and himself, pass-
ed the bottle to the recruiting officer, and, with a
sort of effort that was intended to rouse the dor-
mant cheerfulness of his guests, cried --

   "Come, Borroughcliffe, the ruby lips of your
neighbours would be still more beautiful, were they
moistened with this rich cordial, and that too, ac-
companied by some loyal sentiment. Miss Alice
is ever ready to express her fealty to her Sove-
reign; in her name, I can give the health of
His Most Sacred Majesty, with defeat and death
to all traitors!"

   "If the prayers of a humble subject, and one
of a sex that has but little need to mingle in the
turmoil of the world, and that has less right to pre-
tend to understand the subtilties of statesmen, can
much avail a High and Mighty Prince, like him who
sits on the throne, then will he never know tempo-
ral evil," returned Alice, meekly; "but I cannot
wish death to any one, not even to my enemies, if
any I have, and much less to a people who are the
children of the same family with myself."

   "Children of the same family!" the Colonel re-
peated, slowly, and with a bitterness of manner
that did not fail to attract the painful interest of
Katherine; "children of the same family! Ay!
even as Absalom was the child of David, or as

---

-159-

SMALL | MEDIUM
Judas was of the family of the holy Apostles! But
let it pass unpledged -- let it pass. The accursed
spirit of rebellion has invaded my dwelling, and I
no longer know where to find one of my house-
hold, that has not been assailed by its malign in-
fluence!"

   "Assailed I may have been, among others,"
returned Alice; "but not corrupted, if purity, in
this instance, consist in loyalty -- "

   "What sound is that?" interrupted the Colonel,
with startling suddenness. "Was it not the crash
of some violence, Borroughcliffe?"

   "It may have been one of my rascals who has
met with a downfall in passing from the festive
board, where you know I regale them to-night, in
honour of our success! -- to his blanket," returned
the Captain, with admirable indifference; "or it
may be the very spirit of whom you have spoken
so freely, my host, that has taken umbrage at your
remarks, and is passing from the hospitable walls
of St. Ruth into the open air, without submitting to
the small trouble of ascertaining the position of doors.
In the latter case there may be some dozen perches
or so of wall to replace in the morning."

   The Colonel, who had risen, glanced his eyes,
uneasily, from the speaker to the door, and was,
evidently, but little disposed to enter into the plea-
santry of his guest.

   "There are unusual noises, Capt. Borroughcliffe,
in the grounds of the Abbey, if not in the building
itself," he said, advancing, with a fine military air,
from the table to the centre of the room, "and, as mas-
ter of the mansion, I will inquire who it is that thus un-
seasonably disturbs these domains. If as friends,
they shall have welcome, though their visit be unex-
pected; and if enemies, they shall also meet with
such a reception as will become an old soldier!"

---

-160-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "No, no," cried Cecilia, entirely thrown off her
guard by the manner and language of the veteran,
and rushing into his arms. "Go not out, my un-
cle, go not into the terrible fray, my kind, my good
uncle! you are old; you have already done more
than your duty; why should you be exposed to
danger?"

   "The girl is mad with terror, Borroughcliffe,"
cried the Colonel, beading his glistening eyes
fondly on his niece, "and you will have to fur-
nish my good-for-nothing, gouty old person with
a corporal's guard, to watch my night-cap, or the
silly child will have an uneasy pillow, till the sun
rises once more. But you do not stir, sir?"

   "Why should I?" cried the captain; "Miss
Plowden yet deigns to keep me company, and it
is not in the nature of one of the -- th, to desert
his bottle and his standard in the same moment.
For, to a true soldier, the smiles of a lady are as
imposing in the parlour, as the presence of his
colours in the field."

   "I continue undisturbed, Captain Borrough-
cliffe," said Katherine, "because I have not been
an inhabitant, for so many months, of St. Ruth,
and not learned to know the tunes which the wind
can play among its chimneys and pointed roofs.
The noise which has taken Col. Howard from his
seat, and which has so unnecessarily alarmed my
cousin Cicely, is nothing but the Æolian Harp of
the Abbey sounding a double bass."

   The captain fastened on her composed counte-
nance, while she was speaking, a look of open ad-
miration, that brought, though tardily, the colour
more deeply to her cheeks; and he answered, with
something extremely equivocal, both in his empha-
sis and his air --

   "I have avowed my allegiance, and I will abide

---

-161-

SMALL | MEDIUM
by it. So long as Miss Plowden will deign to be-
stow her company, so long will she find me among
her most faithful and persevering attendants, come
who may, or what will."

   "You compel me to retire," returned Kathe-
rine, rising, "whatever may have been my gra-
cious intentions in the matter; for even female
vanity must crimson, at an adoration so profound
as that which can chain Capt. Borroughcliffe to a
supper-table! As your alarm has now dissipated,
my cousin, will you lead the way? Miss Alice
and myself attend you."

   "But not into the paddock, surely, Miss Plow-
den," said the captain; "the door, the key of
which you have just turned, communicates with
the vestibule. This is the passage to the draw-
ing room."

   The lady faintly laughed, as if in derision of
her own forgetfulness, as she bowed her acknow-
ledgment, and moved towards the proper passage;
she observed --

   "The madness of fear has assailed some, I be-
lieve, who have been able to affect a better dis-
guise than Miss Howard."

   "Is it the fear of present danger, or of that
which is in reserve?" asked the captain; "but,
as you have stipulated so generously in behalf of
my worthy host here, and of one, also, who shall
be nameless, because he has not deserved such a
favour at your hands, your safety shall be one of
my especial duties in these times of peril."

   "There is peril then!" exclaimed Cecilia;
"your looks announce it, Capt. Borroughcliffe!
The changing countenance of my cousin tells me
that my fears are too true!"

   The soldier had now risen also, and, casting
aside the air of badinage, which he so much de-

---

-162-

SMALL | MEDIUM
lighted in, he came forward into the centre of the
apartment, with the manner of one who felt it was
time to be serious.

   "A soldier is ever in peril, when the enemies of
his king are at hand, Miss Howard," he answered;
"and that such is now the case, Miss Plowden
can testify, if she will. But you are the allies of
both parties -- retire, then, to your own apartments,
and await the result of the struggle which is at
hand."

   "You speak of danger and hidden perils," said
Alice Dunscombe; "know ye aught that justifies
your fears?"

   "I know all," Borroughcliffe coolly replied.

   "All!" exclaimed Katherine.

   "All!" echoed Alice, in tones of horror. "If,
then, you know all, you must know his desperate
courage, and powerful hand, when opposed -- yield
in quiet, and he will not harm ye. Believe me,
believe one who knows his very nature, that no
lamb can be more gentle than he would be, with
unresisting women; nor any lion more fierce, with
his enemies!"

   "As we happen not to be of the feminine gen-
der," returned Borroughcliffe, with an air some-
what splenetic, "we must abide the fury of the
king of beasts. His paw is, even now, at the outer
door; and, if my orders have been obeyed, his en-
trance will be yet easier than that of the wolf, to
the respectable female ancestor of the little red-
riding-hood."

   "Stay your hand for one single moment!" said
Katherine, breathless with interest; "you are the
master of my secret, Capt. Borroughcliffe, and
bloodshed may be the consequence. I can yet go
forward, and, perhaps, save many inestimable lives.
Pledge to me your honour, that they who come hi-

---

-163-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ther as your enemies, this night, shall depart in
peace, and I will pledge to you my life for the
safety of the Abbey."

   "Oh! hear her, and shed not human blood!"
cried Cecilia.

   A loud crash interrupted further speech, and
the sounds of heavy footsteps were heard in the
adjoining room, as if many men were alighting
on its floor, in quick succession. Borroughcliffe
drew back, with great coolness, to the opposite
side of the large apartment, and took a sheathed
sword from the table where it had been placed; at
the same moment the door was burst open, and
Barnstable entered alone, but heavily armed.

   "You are my prisoners, gentlemen," said the
sailor, as he advanced; "resistance is useless,
and without it you shall receive favour. Ha!
Miss Plowden! my advice was, that you should
not be present at this scene."

   "Barnstable, we are betrayed!" cried the agi-
tated Katherine. "But it is not yet too late.
Blood has not yet been spilt, and you can retire,
without that dreadful alternative, with honour.
Go, then, delay not another moment; for, should
the soldiers of Capt. Borroughcliffe come to the
rescue of their commander, the Abbey would be a
scene of horror!"

   "Go you away; go, Katherine," said her lover,
with impatience; "this is no place for such as
you. But, Capt. Borroughcliffe, if such be your
name, you must perceive that resistance is in vain.
I have ten good pikes in this outer room, in twen-
ty better hands, and it will be madness to fight
against such odds."

   "Show me your strength," said the captain,
"that I may take counsel with mine honour."

   "Your honour shall be appeased, my brave

---

-164-

SMALL | MEDIUM
soldier, for such is your beariug, though your li-
very is my aversion, and your cause most unholy!
Heave-ahead, boys! but hold your hands for or-
ders."

   The party of fierce-looking sailors, whom Barn-
stable led, on receiving this order, rushed into
the room in a medley; but, notwithstanding the
surly glances, and savage characters of their dress
and equipments, they struck no blow, nor com-
mitted any act of hostility. The ladies shrunk
back appalled, as this terrific little band took pos-
session of the hall; and even Borroughcliffe, was
seen to fall back towards a door, which, in some
measure, covered his retreat. The confusion of
this sudden movement had not yet subsided, when
sounds of strife were heard rapidly approaching
from a distant part of the building, and presently
one of the numerous doors of the apartment
was violently opened, when two of the garrison
of the Abbey rushed into the hall, vigorously
pressed by twice their number of seamen, second-
ed by Griffith, Manual, and Merry, who were
armed with such weapons of offence as had present-
ed themselves to their hands, at their unexpected
liberation. There was a movement on the part of
the seamen, who already were in possession of the
room, that threatened instant death to the fugi-
tives; but Barnstable beat down their pikes with
his sword, and sternly ordered them to fall back.
Surprise produced the same pacific result among
the combatants; and as the soldiers hastily sought
a refuge behind their own officers, and the re-
leased captives, with their liberators, joined the
body of their friends, the quiet of the hall, which
had been so rudely interrupted, was soon restored.

   "You see, sir," said Barnstable, after grasping

---

-165-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the hands of Griffith and Manual, in a warm and
cordial pressure, "that all my plans have succeed-
ed. Your sleeping guard are closely watched in
their barracks, by one party, our officers are re-
leased, and your sentinels cut off by another,
while, with a third, I hold the centre of the Abbey,
and am, substantially, in possession of your own
person. In consideration, therefore, of what is due
to humanity, and to the presence of these ladies,
let there be no struggle! I shall impose no diffi-
cult terms, nor any long imprisonment."

   The recruiting officer manifested a compo-
sure, throughout the whole scene, that would have
excited some uneasiness in his invaders, had there
been opportunity for more minute observation; but
his countenance now gradually assumed an ap-
pearance of anxiety, and his head was frequently
turned, as if listening for further, and more impor-
tant interruptions. He answered, however, [unclear: this]
appeal, with his ordinary deliberation.

   "You speak of conquests, sir, before they are
achieved. My venerable host and myself are not
so defenceless as you may choose to imagine."
While speaking, he threw aside the cloth of a side
table, from beneath which, the colonel and himself
were instantly armed with a brace of pistols each.
"Here are the death warrants of four of your
party, and these brave fellows at my back can ac-
count for two more. I believe, my transatlantic
warrior, that we are now something in the condi-
tion of Cortes and the Mexicans, when the form-
er overran part of your continent -- I being Cor-
tes, armed with artificial thunder and lightning,
and you the Indians, with nothing but your pikes
and slings, and such other antediluvian inventions.
Shipwrecks and sea-water are fatal dampers of
gun-powder!"

---

-166-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "That we are unprovided with fire-arms, I will
not deny," said Barnstable; "but we are men who
are used, from infancy, to depend on our good
right arms for life and safety, and we know how
to use them, though we should even grapple with
death! As for the trifles in your hands, gentle-
men, you are not to suppose that men who are
trained to look in at one end of a thirty-two
pounder, loaded with grape, while the match is
put to the other, will so much as wink at their re-
port, though you fired them by fifties. What say
you, boys! is a pistol a weapon to repel board-
ers?"

   The discordant and disdainful laughs that burst
from the restrained seamen, were a sufficient
pledge of their indifference to so trifling a danger.
Borroughcliffe noted their hardened boldness,
and taking the supper bell, which was lying near
him, he rang it, for a minute, with great violence.
The heavy tread of trained footsteps soon follow-
ed this extraordinary summons; and presently, the
several doors of the apartment were opened, and
filled with armed soldiers, wearing the livery of the
English crown.

   "If you hold these smaller weapons in such
vast contempt," said the recruiting officer, when
he perceived that his men had possessed them-
selves of all the avenues, "it is in my power to
try the virtue of some more formidable. After
this exhibition of my strength, gentlemen, I pre-
sume you cannot hesitate to submit as prisoners
of war."

   The seamen had been formed in something like
military array, by the assiduity of Manual, du-
ring the preceding dialogue; and as the different
doors had discovered fresh accessions to the
strength of the enemy, the marine industrious-

---

-167-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ly offered new fronts, until the small party was
completely arranged in a hollow square, that
might have proved formidable in a charge, bristled
as it was with the deadly pikes of the Ariel.

   "Here has been some mistake," said Griffith,
after glancing his eye at the formidable array of
the soldiers; "I take precedence of Mr. Barn-
stable, and I shall propose to you, Capt. Bor-
roughcliffe, terms that may remove this scene of
strife from the dwelling of Col. Howard."

   "The dwelling of Col. Howard," cried the
veteran, "is the dwelling of his king, or of the
meanest servant of the crown! so, Borroughcliffe,
spare not the traitors on my behalf; accept no
other terms, than such unconditional submission
as is meet to exact from the rebellious subjects of
the Anointed of the Lord."

   While Griffith spoke, Barnstable folded his arms,
in affected composure, and glanced his eyes ex-
pressively at the shivering Katherine, who, with
her companions, still continued agitated spectators
of all that passed, chained to the spot by their ap-
prehensions; but to this formidable denunciation,
of the master of the Abbey, he deemed proper to
reply --

   "Now, by every hope I have of sleeping again
on salt water, old gentleman, if it were not for
the presence of these three trembling females, but
I should feel tempted to dispute, at once, the title
of his majesty -- you may make such a covenant
as you will with Mr. Griffith, but if it contain one
syllable about submission to your king, or of any
other allegiance, than that which I owe to the Con-
tinental Congress, and the state of Massachusetts,
you may as well consider the terms violated at
once; for not an article of such an agreement will

---

-168-

SMALL | MEDIUM
I consider as binding on me, or on any that shall
choose to follow me as leader."

   "Here are but two leaders, Mr. Barnstable,"
interrupted the haughty Griffith; "the one of the
enemy, and the other, of the arms of America.
Capt. Borroughcliffe, to you, as the former, I ad-
dress myself. The great objects of the contest,
which now unhappily divides England from her
ancient colonies, can be, in no degree, affected by
the events of this night; while, on the other hand,
by a rigid adherence to military notions, much
private evil and deep domestic calamity, must fol-
low any struggle in such a place. We have but
to speak, sir, and these rude men, who already
stand impatiently handling their instruments of
death, will aim them at each other's lives; and who
can say that he shall be able to stay their hands
when and where he will! I know you to be a sol-
dier, and that you are not yet to learn how much
easier it is to stimulate to blood, than to glut ven-
geance."

   Borroughcliffe, unused to the admission of vio-
lent emotions, and secure in the superiority of his
own party, both in numbers and equipments, heard
him with the coolest composure to the end, and
then answered in his customary manner.

   "I honour your logic, sir. Your premises are
indisputable, and the conclusion most obvious
Commit, then, those worthy tars to the good keep-
ing of honest Drill, who will see their famished na-
tures revived by divers eatables, and a due propor-
tion of suitable fluids; while we can discuss the
manner in which you are to return to the colonies,
around a bottle of liquor, which my friend Ma-
nual there, assures me has come from the sun
my side of the island of Madeira, to be drunk in
a bleak corner of that of Britain. By my palate!

---

-169-

SMALL | MEDIUM
but the rascals brighten at the thought! They
know by instinct, sir, that a shipwrecked mariner
is a fitter companion to a ration of beef and a pot
of porter, than to such unsightly things as bayo-
nets and boarding-pikes!"

   "Trifle not unseasonably!" exclaimed the
impatient young sailor. "You have the odds in
numbers, but whether it will avail you much in a
deadly struggle of hand to hand, is a question you
must put to your prudence: we stand not here to
ask terms, but to grant them. You must be brief,
sir, for the time is wasting while we delay."

   "I have offered to you the means of obtaining in
perfection the enjoyment of the three most ancient
of the numerous family of the arts -- eating, drink-
ing, and sleeping! What more do you require?"

   "That you order these men, who fill the pass to
the outer door, to fall back and give us room. I
would take, in peace, these armed men from before
the eyes of those who are unused to such sights.
Before you oppose this demand, think how easily
these hardy fellows could make a way for them-
selves, against your divided force."

   "Your companion, the experienced Capt. Ma-
nual, will tell you that such a manoeuvre would be
very unmilitary, with a superior body in your
rear!"

   "I have not leisure, sir, for this folly," cried
the indignant Griffith. "Do you refuse us an un-
molested retreat from the Abbey?"

   "I do."

   Griffith turned, with a look of extreme emotion,
to the ladies, and beckoned to them to retire, una-
ble to give utterance to his wishes in words. After
a moment of deep silence, however, he once more
addressed Borroughcliffe in the tones of con-
ciliation.

---

-170-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "If Mauual and myself will return to our pri-
sons, and submit to the will of your government,"
he said, "can the rest of the party return to the
frigate unmolested?"

   "They cannot," replied the soldier, who, perceiv-
ing that the crisis approached, was gradually lo-
sing his artificial deportment in the interest of the
moment. "You, and all others, who willingly in-
vade the peace of these realms, must abide the is-
sue."

   "Then God protect the innocent and defend the
right!"

   "Amen."

   "Give way, villains!" cried Griffith, facing the
party that held the outer door; "give way, or
you shall be riddled with our pikes!"

   "Show them your muzzles, men!" shouted Bor-
roughcliffe; "but pull no trigger till they advance."

   There was an instant of bustle and preparation,
in which the rattling of fire arms, blended with the
suppressed execrations and threats of the intended
combatants; and Cecilia and Katherine had both
covered their faces to veil the horrid sight that was
momentarily expected, when Alice Dunscombe
advanced, boldly, between the points of the threat-
ening weapons, and spoke in a voice that stayed
the hands that were already uplifted.

   "Hear me, men! if men ye be, and not demons,
thirsting for each other's blood; though ye walk
abroad in the semblance of him who died that ye
might be elevated to the rank of angels! call ye this
war? Is this the glory that is made to warm the
hearts of even silly and confiding women? Is the
peace of families to be destroyed to gratify your
wicked lust for conquest; and is life to be taken
in vain, in order that you may boast of the foul
deed in your wicked revels! Fall back, then, ye

---

-171-

SMALL | MEDIUM
British soldiers! if ye be worthy of that name, and
give passage to a woman; and remember that the
first shot that is fired, will be buried in her bo-
som!"

   The men, thus enjoined, shrunk before her com-
manding mien, and a way was made for her exit
through that very door which Griffith had, in vain,
solicited might be cleared for himself and party.
But Alice, instead of advancing, appeared to have
suddenly lost the use of those faculties which had
already effected so much. Her figure seemed root-
ed to the spot where she had spoken, and her eyes
were fixed in a settled gaze as if dwelling on some
horrid object. While she yet stood in this attitude
of unconscious helplessness, the door-way became
again darkened, and the figure of the Pilot was
seen on its threshold, clad, as usual, in the hum-
ble vestments of his profession, but heavily armed
with the weapons of naval war. For an instant,
he stood a silent spectator of the scene; and then
advanced calmly, but with searching eyes, into
the centre of the apartment.

---

-172-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 11

CHAPTER XI.

Don Pedro

    Welcome, Signior: you are almost come to part, almost a fray.

Much ado about nothing.

   "Down with your arms, you Englishmen!" said
the daring intruder; "and you, who fight in the
cause of sacred liberty, stay your hands, that no
unnecessary blood may flow. Yield yourself, proud
Britons, to the power of the Thirteen Republics!"

   "Ha!" exclaimed Borroughcliffe, grasping a
pistol, with an air of great resolution, "the work
thickens -- I had not included this man in my esti-
mate of their numbers. Is he a Sampson, that
his single arm can change the face of things so
suddenly! Down with your own weapon, you
masquerader, or, at the report of this pistol, your
body shall become a target for twenty bullets."

   "And thine for a hundred!" returned the pilot
-- "without there! wind your call, fellow, and
bring in our numbers. We will let this confident
gentleman feel his weakness."

   He had not done speaking, before the shrill whistle
of a boatswain rose gradually on the ears of the
listeners, until the sense of hearing became pain-
fully oppressed, by the piercing sounds that rung
under the arched roof of the hall, and penetrated

---

-173-

SMALL | MEDIUM
even to the most distant recesses of the Abbey. A
tremendous rush of men followed, who drove in
before them the terrified fragment of Borrough-
cliffe's command, that had held the vestibule; and
the outer room became filled with a dark mass of
human bodies.

   "Let them hear ye, lads!" cried their leader;
"the Abbey is your own!"

   The roaring of a tempest was not louder than
the shout that burst from his followers, who con-
tinued their cheers, peal on peal, until the very
roof of the edifice appeared to tremble with their
vibrations. Numerous dark and shaggy heads
were seen moving around the passage; some cased
in the iron-bound caps of the frigate's boarders,
and others glittering with the brazen ornaments of
her marine guard. The sight of the latter did not
fail to attract the eye of Manual, who rushed
among the throng, and soon re-appeared, followed
by a trusty band of his own men, who took pos-
session of the posts held by the soldiers of Bor-
roughcliffe, while the dialogue was continued be-
tween the leaders of the adverse parties.

   Thus far Col. Howard had yielded to his guest,
with a deep reverence for the principles of military
subordination, the functions of a commander, but,
now that affairs appeared to change so materially,
he took on himself the right to question these in-
truders into his dwelling.

   "By what authority, sir," the colonel demand-
ed, "is it that you dare thus to invade the castle
of a subject of this realm? Do you come backed
by the commission of the lord lieutenant of the
county, or has your warrant the signature of His
Majesty's Secretary for the Home Department?"

   "I bear no commission from any quarter," re-
turned the pilot; "I rank only a humble fol-

---

-174-

SMALL | MEDIUM
lower of the friends of America; and having led
these gentlemen into danger, I have thought it my
duty to see them extricated. They are now safe;
and the right to command all that hear me, rests
with Mr. Griffith, who is commissioned by the
Continental Congress for such service."

   When he had spoken he fell back from the po-
sition he occupied, in the centre of the room, to
one of its sides, where, leaning his body against
the wainscot, he stood a silent observer of what
followed --

   "It appears, then, that it is to you, degenerate
son of a most worthy father, that I must repeat my
demand," continued the veteran. "By what right
is my dwelling thus rudely assailed? and why is
my quiet, and the peace of those I protect, so da-
ringly violated?"

   "I might answer you, Col. Howard, by saying
that it is according to the laws of arms, or rather
in retaliation for the thousand evils that your Eng-
lish troops have inflicted, between Maine and
Georgia; but I wish not to increase the unplea-
sant character of this scene, and will tell you, that
our advantage shall be used with moderation.
The instant that our men can be collected, and
our prisoners properly secured, your dwelling shall
be restored to your authority. We are no free-
booters, sir, and you will find it so after our depar-
ture. Capt. Manual, draw off your guard into
the grounds, and make your dispositions for a re-
turn march to our boats -- let the boarders fall
back, there! out with ye! out with ye -- tumble
out, you boarders!"

   The amicable order of the young lieutenant,
which was delivered after the stern, quick fashion
of his profession, operated on the cluster of dark

---

-175-

SMALL | MEDIUM
figures, that were grouped around the door, like
a charm; and as the men whom Barnstable had
led, followed their shipmates into the court-yard,
the room was now left to such only, as might be
termed the gentlemen of the invading party, and
the family of Col. Howard.

   Barnstable had continued silent since his senior
officer had assumed the command, listening most
attentively to each syllable that fell from either
side; but now that so few remained, and the time
pressed, he spoke again --

   "If we are to take boat so soon, Mr. Griffith,
it would be seemly that due preparations should
be made to receive the ladies, who are to honour
us with their presence; shall I take that duty on
myself?"

   The abrupt proposal produced a universal sur-
prise in his hearers; though the abashed and con-
scious expression of Katherine Plowden's fea-
tures, sufficiently indicated, that to her, at least, it
was not altogether unexpected. The long silence
that succeeded the question, was interrupted by
Col. Howard.

   "Ye are masters, gentlemen; help yourselves
to whatever best suits your inclinations. My
dwelling, my goods, and my wards, are alike at
your disposal -- or, perhaps Miss Alice, here, good
and kind Miss Alice Dunscomb, may suit the taste
of some among ye! Ah! Edward Griffith! Ed-
ward Griffith! little did I ever -- "

   "Breathe not that name in levity again, thou
scoffer, or even your years may prove a feeble pro-
tection!" said a stern, startling voice from behind.
All eyes turned involuntarily at the unexpected
sounds, and the muscular form of the Pilot was seen
resuming its attitude of repose against the wall,

---

-176-

SMALL | MEDIUM
though every fibre in his frame was working with
suppressed passion.

   When the astonished looks of Griffith ceased to
dwell on this extraordinary exhibition of interest
in his companion, they were turned imploringly
towards the fair cousins, who still occupied the
distant corner, whither fear had impelled them.

   "I have said, that we are not midnight marau-
ders, Col. Howard," he replied; "but if any there
be here, who will deign to commit themselves to
our keeping, I trust it will not be necessary to say,
at this hour, what will be their reception."

   "We have not time for unnecessary compli-
ments," cried the impatient Barnstable; "here is
Merry, who, by years and blood, is a suitable as-
sistant for them, in arranging their little baggage --
what say you, urchin, can you play the ladies'
maid on emergency?"

   "Ay, sir, and better than I acted the pedler-
boy," cried the gay youngster; "to have my mer-
ry cousin Kate, and my good cousin Cicely for
shipmates, I could play our common grandmo-
ther! Come, coz, let us be moving; you will
have to allow a little lee-way in time, for my awk-
wardness."

   "Stand back, young man," said Miss Howard,
repulsing his familiar attempt to take her arm;
and then advancing, with a maidenly dignity,
nigher to her guardian, she continued, "I cannot
know what stipulations have been made by my
cousin Plowden, in the secret treaty she has made
this night with Mr. Barnstable; this for myself, Col.
Howard, I would have you credit your brother's
child when she says, that, to her, the events of the
hour have not been more unexpected than to your-
self."

---

-177-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   The veteran gazed at her, for a moment, with an
expression of his eye that denoted reviving ten-
derness; but gloomy doubts appeared to cross his
mind again, and he shook his head, as he walked
proudly away.

   "Nay, then," added Cecilia, her head dropping
meekly on her bosom, "I may be discredited by
my uncle, but I cannot be disgraced without some
act of my own."

   She slowly raised her mild countenance again,
and bending her eyes on her lover, she continued,
while a rich rush of blood passed over her fine
features --

   "Edward Griffith, I will not, I cannot say
how humiliating it is to think that you can, for
an instant, believe I would again forget myself
so much as to wish to desert him whom God
has given me for a protector, for one chosen
by my own erring passions. And you, Andrew
Merry! learn to respect the child of your mother's
sister, if not for her own sake, at least for that of
her who watched your cradle!"

   "Here appears to be some mistake," said Barn-
stable, who participated, however, in no trifling
degree, in the embarrassment of the abashed boy;
"but, like all other mistakes on such subjects, it
can be explained away, I suppose. Mr. Griffith,
it remains for you to speak: -- damn it, man," he
whispered, "you are as dumb as a cod-fish -- I am
sure so fine a woman is worth a little fair weather
talk: -- you are muter than a four-footed beast --
even an ass can bray!"

   "We will hasten our departure, Mr. Barnsta-
ble," said Griffith, sighing heavily, and rousing, as
if from a trance. "These rude sights cannot but
be appalling to the ladies. You will please, sir,
to direct the order of our march to the shore.

---

-178-

SMALL | MEDIUM
Captain Manual has charge of our prisoners, who
must all be secured, to answer for an equal number
of our own countrymen."

   "And our countrywomen!" said Barnstable,
"are they to be forgotten, in the selfish recollec-
tion of our own security!"

   "With them we have no right to interfere, un-
less at their request."

   "By Heaven! Mr. Griffith, this may smack of
learning," cried the other, "and it may plead book-
ish authority as its precedent; but, let me tell
you, sir, it savours but a little of sailor's love."

   "Is it unworthy of a seaman, and a gentleman,
to permit the woman he calls his mistress to be
so, other than in name?"

   "Well, then, Griff, I pity you, from my soul.
I would rather have had a sharp struggle for the
happiness that I shall now obtain so easily, than
that you should be thus cruelly disappointed. But
you cannot blame me, my friend, that I avail my-
self of fortune's favour. Miss Plowden, your fair
hand. Colonel Howard, I return you a thousand
thanks for the care you have taken, hitherto, of
this precious charge, and believe me, sir, that I
speak frankly, when I say, that next to myself, I
should choose to intrust her with you in preference
to any man on earth."

   The Colonel turned to the speaker, and bowed
low, while he answered with grave courtesy --

   "Sir, you repay my slight services with too
much gratitude. If Miss Katherine Plowden has
not become under my guardianship, all that her
good father, Capt. John Plowden, of the Royal
Navy, could have wished a daughter of his to be,
the fault, unquestionably, is to be attributed to my
inability to instruct, and to no inherent quality in
the young lady herself. I will not say, take her,

---

-179-

SMALL | MEDIUM
sir, since you have her in your possession already,
and it would be out of my power to alter the ar-
rangement; I, therefore, can only wish that you
may find her as dutiful as a wife, as she has been,
hitherto, as a ward and a subject."

   Katherine had yielded her hand, passively, to
her lover, and suffered him to lead her more into
the circle than she had before been; but now she
threw off his arm, and shaking aside the dark curls
which she had rather invited to fall in disorder
around her brow, she raised her face and looked
proudly up, with an eye that sparkled with the spi-
rit of its mistress, and a face that grew pale with
emotion at each moment, as she proceeded --

   "Gentlemen, the one may be as ready to re-
ceive as the other is to reject; but has the daughter
of John Plowden no voice in this cool disposal of
her person! If her guardian tires of her presence,
other habitations may be found, without inflicting
so severe a penalty on this gentleman, as to com-
pel him to provide for her accommodation in a
vessel which must be already straitened for room!"

   She turned, and rejoined her cousin with such
an air of maidenly resentment, as a young woman
would be apt to discover, who found herself the
subject of matrimonial arrangement, without her
own feelings being at all consulted. Barnstable,
who knew but little of the windings of the female
heart, or how necessary to his mistress, notwith-
standing her previous declarations, the countenance
of Cecilia was, to any decided and open act in
his favour, stood in stupid wonder at her declara-
tion. He could not conceive that a woman who
had already ventured so much in secret in his be-
half, and who had so often avowed her weakness,
should shrink to declare it again, at such a crisis,

---

-180-

SMALL | MEDIUM
though the eyes of a universe were on her! He
looked from one of the party to the other, and met
in every face an expression of delicate reserve,
except in those of the guardian of his mistress, and
of Borroughcliffe.

   The colonel had given a glance of returning
favour at her, whom, he now conceived, to be his
repentant ward, while the countenance of the en-
trapped captain exhibited a look of droll sur-
prise, blended with the expression of bitter feroci-
ty it had manifested since the discovery of his own
mishap.

   "Perhaps, sir," said Barnstable, addressing the
latter, fiercely, "you see something amusing
about the person of this lady, to divert you thus
unseasonably. We tolerate no such treatment
of our women in America!

   "Nor do we quarrel before ours in England,"
returned the soldier, throwing back the fierce
glance of the sailor, with interest; "but I was
thinking of the revolutions that time can produce!
nothing more I do assure you. It is not half an
hour since I thought myself a most happy fellow;
secure in my plans for overreaching the scheme you
had laid to surprise me; and now I am as miserable
a dog as wears a single epaulette, and has no hope
of seeing its fellow!"

   "And in what manner, sir, can this sudden
change apply to me?" asked Katherine, with all
her spirit.

   "Certainly not to your perseverance in the pro-
ject to assist my enemies, madam," returned the
soldier with affected humility; "nor to your zeal
for their success, or your consummate coolness at
the supper table! But I find it is time that I
should be superannuated -- I can no longer serve
my king with credit, and should take to serving

---

-181-

SMALL | MEDIUM
my God, like all other worn out men of the world!
My hearing is surely defective, or a paddock
wall has a most magical effect in determining
sounds!"

   Katherine waited not to hear the close of this
sentence, but walked to a distant part of the
room, to conceal the burning blushes that covered
her countenance. The manner in which the plans
of Borroughcliffe had become known to his foe, was
no longer a mystery, and her conscience reproached
her a little also, with some unnecessary coquetry;
for she remembered, that quite one half of the dia-
logue between her lover and herself, under the
shadow of that very wall to which Borroughcliffe
alluded, had been on a subject altogether foreign
to contention and tumults. As the feelings of
Barnstable were by no means so sensitive as those
of his mistress, and his thoughts much occupied
with the means of attaining his object, he did not
so readily comprehend the indirect allusion of the
soldier, but turned abruptly away to Griffith, and
observed, with a serious air --

   "I feel it my duty, Mr. Griffith, to suggest,
that we have standing instructions to secure all the
enemies of America, wherever they may be found,
and to remind you, that the States have not hesi-
tated to make prisoners of females, in many in-
stances."

   "Bravo!" cried Borroughcliffe; "if the ladies
will not go as your mistresses, take them as your
captives!"

   "'Tis well for you, sir, that you are a captive
yourself, or you should be made to answer for this
speech," retorted the irritated Barnstable. "It is
a responsible command, Mr. Griffith, and must not
be disregarded."

   "To your duty, Mr. Barnstable," said Griffith,

---

-182-

SMALL | MEDIUM
again arousing from deep abstraction; "you
have your orders, sir; let them be executed
promptly."

   "I have also the orders of our common supe-
rior, Capt. Munson, Mr. Griffith; and I do assure
you, sir, that in making out my instructions for
the Ariel -- poor thing! there are no two of her tim-
bers hanging together! -- but my instructions were
decidedly particular on that head."

   "And my orders now supersede them."

   "But am I justifiable in obeying a verbal or-
der from an inferior, in direct opposition to a writ-
ten instruction?"

   Griffith had hitherto manifested in his deport-
ment nothing more than a cold determination
to act, but the blood now flew to every vessel in
his cheeks and forehead, and his dark eyes flashed
fire, as he cried authoritatively --

   "How, sir! do you hesitate to obey?"

   "By heaven, sir, I would dispute the command
of the Continental Congress itself, should they bid
me so far to forget my duty to -- to -- "

   "Add yourself, sir! -- Mr. Barnstable, let this be
the last of it. To your duty, sir."

   "My duty calls me here, Mr. Griffith."

   "I must act, then, or be bearded by my own
officers. Mr. Merry, direct Capt. Manual to send
in a serjeant, and a file of marines."

   "Bid him come on himself!" cried Barnstable,
maddened to desperation by his disappointment;
" 'tis not his whole corps that can disarm me -- let
them come on! Hear, there, you Ariels! rally
around your captain."

   "The man among them, who dares to cross that
threshold without my order, dies," cried Griffith,
menacing, with a naked sabre, the seamen, who had
promptly advanced at the call of their old com-

---

-183-

SMALL | MEDIUM
mander. "Yield your sword, Mr. Barnstable, and
spare yourself the disgrace of having it forced
from you by a common soldier."

   "Let me see the dog who dare attempt it!"
exclaimed Barnstable, flourishing his weapon in
fierce anger. Griffith had extended his own arm,
in the earnestness of his feelings, and their sabres
crossed each other. The clashing of the steel
operated on both like the sound of the clarion on a
war-horse, and there were sudden and rapid blows,
and as rapid parries, exchanged between the flash-
ing weapons.

   "Barnstable! Barnstable!" cried Katherine,
rushing into his arms, "I will go with you to the
ends of the earth!"

   Cecilia Howard did not speak; but when
Griffith recovered his coolness, he beheld her
beautiful form kneeling at his feet, with her pale
face bent imploringly on his own disturbed coun-
tenance. The cry of Miss Plowden had separa-
ted the combatants, before an opportunity for
shedding blood had been afforded, but the young
men exchanged looks of keen resentment, notwith-
standing the interference of their mistresses. At
this moment Col. Howard advanced, and raising
his niece from her humble posture, said --

   "This is not a situation for a child of Harry
Howard, though she knelt in the presence, and
before the throne of her Sovereign. Behold, my
dear Cecilia, the natural consequences of this re-
bellion! It scatters discord in their ranks; and,
by its damnable levelling principles, destroys all
distinction of rank among themselves; even these
rash boys know not where obedience is due!"

   "It is due to me," said the Pilot, who now
stepped forward among the agitated group, "and
it is time that I enforce it. Mr. Griffith, sheath

---

-184-

SMALL | MEDIUM
your sword. And you, sir, who have defied the
authority of your senior officer, and have forgot-
ten the obligation of your oath, submit, and return
to your duty."

   Griffith started at the sounds of his calm voice,
as if with sudden recollection; and then bowing
low, he returned the weapon to its scabbard. But
Barnstable still encircled the waist of his mistress
with one arm, while, with the other, he brandished
his sabre, and laughed with scorn at this extraor-
dinary assumption of authority.

   "And who is this!" he cried, "who dare give
such an order to me!"

   The eyes of the Pilot flashed with a terrible fire,
while a fierce glow seemed to be creeping over his
whole frame, which actually quivered with pas-
sion. But, suppressing this exhibition of his feel-
ings, by a sudden and powerful effort, he answer-
ed, in an emphatic manner --

   "One who has a right to order, and who will
be obeyed!"

   The extraordinary manner of the speaker, con-
tributed as much as his singular assertion, to in-
duce Barnstable, in his surprise, to lower the point
of his weapon, with an air that might easily have
been mistaken for submission. The Pilot fasten-
ed his glowing eyes on him, for an instant, and
then turning to the rest of the listeners, he con-
tinued, more mildly --

   "It is true that we came not here as marauders,
and that our wish is, to do no unnecessary acts of
severity to the aged and the helpless. But this
officer of the Crown, and this truant American,
in particular, are fairly our prisoners; as such,
they must be conducted on board our ship."

   "But the main object of our expedition?" -- said
Griffith.

---

-185-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "'Tis lost," returned the Pilot, hastily -- " 'tis
sacrificed to more private feelings; 'tis like a hun-
dred others, ended in disappointment, and is for-
gotten, sir, for ever. But the interests of the Re-
publics must not be neglected, Mr. Griffith. --
Though we are not madly to endanger the lives of
those gallant fellows, to gain a love-smile from
one young beauty, neither are we to forget the ad-
vantages they may have obtained for us, in order
to procure one of approbation from another. This,
Col. Howard, will answer well, in a bargain with
the minions of the Crown, and may purchase the
freedom of some worthy patriot, who is deserving
of his liberty. Nay, nay, suppress that haughty
look, and turn that proud eye on any, rather than
me! he goes to the frigate, sir, and that imme-
diately."

   "Then," said Cecilia Howard, timidly ap-
proaching the spot where her uncle stood, a
disdainful witness of the dissensions amongst his
captors; "then, will I go with him! He shall
never be a resident among his enemies alone!"

   "It would be more ingenuous, and more wor-
thy of my brother's daughter," said her uncle,
coldly, "if she ascribed her willingness to depart
to its proper motive." Disregarding the look of
deep distress with which Cecilia received this
mortifying rejection of her tender attention, the
old man walked towards Borroughcliffe, who
was gnawing the hilt of his sword, in very
vexation at the downfall of his high-raised hopes,
and placing himself by his side, with an air of in-
finitely dignified submission, he continued, "act
your pleasure on us, gentlemen: you are the con-
querors, and we must even submit. A brave man
knows as well how to yield, with decorum, as to
defend himself stoutly, when he is not surprised,

---

-186-

SMALL | MEDIUM
as we have been. But if an opportunity should
ever offer! -- Act your pleasures, gentlemen; no
two lambs were ever half so meek as Capt. Bor-
roughcliffe and myself."

   The smile of affected, but bitter resignation,
that the colonel bestowed on his fellow prisoner,
was returned by that officer, with an attempt at
risibility that abundantly betokened the disturbed
state of his feelings. The two, however, suc-
ceeded in so far maintaining appearances, as to
contemplate the succeeding movements of the con-
querors, with a sufficient degree of composure.

   The colonel steadily, and coldly, rejected the
advances of his niece, who bowed meekly to his
will, and relinquished, for the present, the hope of
bringing him to a sense of his injustice. She how-
ever, employed herself in earnest, to give such di-
rections as were necessary to enforce the resolution
she had avowed, and in this unexpected employ-
ment she found both a ready and a willing assist-
ant in her cousin. The latter, unknown to Miss
Howard, had, in anticipation of some such event
as the present, long since made, in secret, all those
preparations which might become necessary to a
sudden flight from the Abbey. In conjunction
with her lover then, who, perceiving that the plan
of the Pilot was furthering his own views, deemed
it most wise to forget his quarrel with that mys-
terious individual, she flew to point out the means,
of securing those articles which were already in
preparation. Barnstable and Merry accompanied
her light steps among the narrow, dark passages
of the Abbey, with the utmost delight; the former
repeatedly apostrophizing her wit and beauty, and,
indeed, all of her various merits, and the latter,
laughing, and indulging those buoyant spi-

---

-187-

SMALL | MEDIUM
rits, that a boy of his years and reflection might
be supposed to feel, in such a scene, and under
such circumstances. It was fortunate for her cou-
sin, that Katherine had possessed so much fore-
thought, for the attention of Cecilia Howard was
directed much more to the comforts of her uncle,
than to those which were necessary for herself. At-
tended by Alice Dunscombe, the young mistress
of St. Ruth moved through the solitary apartments
of the building, listening to the mild, religious con-
solation of her companion, in silence, at times
yielding to those bursts of mortified feeling, that
she could not repress, or again as calmly giving her
orders to her maids, as if the intended movement
was one of but ordinary interest. All this time, the
party in the dining hall remained stationary. The
Pilot, as if satisfied with what he had already done,
sunk back to his reclining attitude against the
wall, though his eyes keenly watched every move-
ment of the preparations, in a manner which de-
noted that his was the master spirit that directed
the whole. Griffith had, however, resumed, in
appearance, the command, and the busy seamen
addressed themselves for orders to him alone. In
this manner an hour was consumed, when Cecilia
and Katherine, appearing in succession, attired in a
suitable manner for their departure, and the bag-
gage of the whole party having been already en-
trusted to a petty officer, and a party of his men,
Griffith gave forth the customary order to put the
whole in motion. The shrill, piercing whistle of
the boatswain once more rung among the galleries
and ceilings of the Abbey, and was followed by
the deep, hoarse cry of --

   "Away, there! you shore-draft! away, there,
you boarders! ahead, heave ahead, sea-dogs!"

   This extraordinary summons was succeeded by

---

-188-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the roll of a drum, and the strains of a fife, from
without, when the whole party moved from the
building in the order that had been previously pre-
scribed by Capt. Manual, who acted as the mar-
shal of the forces on the occasion.

   The Pilot had conducted his surprise with so
much skill and secrecy as to have secured every
individual about the Abbey, whether male or fe-
male, soldier or civilian; and as it might be
dangerous to leave any behind who could convey
intelligence into the country, Griffith had ordered
that every human being, found in the building,
should be conducted to the cliffs; to be held in
durance, at least, until the departure of the last
boat to the cutter, which he was informed, lay
close in to the land, awaiting their re-embarkation.
The hurry of the departure had caused many
lights to be kindled in the Abbey, and the con-
trast between the glare within, and the gloom
without, was most striking to the females, as they
issued into the paddock. One of those indefina-
ble, and unaccountable feelings, which so often
cross the human mind, induced Cecilia to pause at
the great gate of the grounds, and look back at
the Abbey, with a presentiment that she was to
behold it for the last time. The dark and ragged
outline of the edifice was clearly delineated against
the northern sky, while the open windows, and
neglected doors, permitted a view of the solitude
within. Twenty tapers were shedding their use-
less light in the empty apartments, as if in
mockery of the deserted walls, and Cecilia turn-
ed, shuddering, from the sight, to press nigher to
the person of her indignant uncle, with a secret im-
pression, that her presence would soon be more
necessary than ever to his happiness.

---

-189-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   The low hum of voices in front, with the occa-
sional strains of the fife, and the stern mandates of
the sea-officers, soon recalled her, however, from
these visionary thoughts to the surrounding realities,
while the whole party pursued their way with
diligence to the margin of the ocean.

---

-190-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 12

CHAPTER XII.

     A chieftain to the Highlands bound,
Cries `Boatman, do not tarry!
     And I'll give thee a silver pound,
To row us o'er the ferry.'


Lord Ullin's Daughter.

   The sky had been without a cloud during the
day, the gale having been dry and piercing, and
thousands of stars were now shining through a chill
atmosphere. As the eye, therefore, became ac-
customed to the change of light, it obtained a
more distinct view of surrounding objects. At
the head of the line, that was stretched along the
narrow pathway, marched a platoon of the marines,
who maintained the regular, and steady front of
trained warriors. They were followed, at some
little distance, by a large and confused body of
seamen, heavily armed, whose disposition to dis-
order and rude merriment, which became more
violent from their treading on solid ground, was
with difficulty restrained by the presence and se-
vere rebukes of their own officers. In the centre
of this confused mass, the whole of the common
prisoners were placed, but were no otherwise at-
tended to by their nautical guard, than as they fur-
nished the subjects of fun and numberless quaint
jokes. At some distance in their rear, marched
Col. Howard and Borroughcliffe, arm in arm,

---

-191-

SMALL | MEDIUM
both maintaining the most rigid and dignified
silence, though under the influence of very bit-
ter feelings. Behind these again, and pressing
as nigh as possible to her uncle, was Miss How-
ard, leaning on the arm of Alice Dunscombe,
and surrounded by the female domestics of the
establishment of St. Ruth. Katherine Plowden
moved lightly by herself, in the shadow of this
group, with elastic steps, but with a maiden coy-
ness, that taught her to veil her satisfaction with
the semblance of captivity. Barnstable watched
her movements with delight, within six feet of her,
but submitted to the air of caprice in his mistress,
which seemed to require that he should approach no
nearer. Griffith, avoiding the direct line of the
party, walked on its skirts in such a situation that
his eye could command its whole extent, in order, if
necessary, to direct the movements. Another body
of the marines marched at the close of the proces-
sion, and Manual, in person, brought up the rear.
The music had ceased by command, and nothing
was now audible, but the regular tread of the sol-
diers, with the sighs of the dying gale, interrupted
occasionally by the voice of an officer, or the hum
of low dialogue.

   "This has been a Scotch prize that we've ta-
ken," muttered a surly old seaman; "a ship with-
out head-money or cargo! There was kitchen
timber enough in the old jug of a place, to have
given an outfit in crockery and knee-buckles, to
every lad in the ship; but, no! let a man's mouth
water ever so much for food and raiment, damme
if the officers would give him leave to steal even
so good a thing as a spare Bible."

   "You may say all that, and then make but a
short yarn of the truth," returned the messmate,
who walked by his side; "if there had been such

---

-192-

SMALL | MEDIUM
a thing as a ready-made prayer handy, they would
have choused a poor fellow out of the use of it. --
I say, Ben, I'll tell ye what; it's my opinion, that if
a chap is to turn soldier and carry a musket, he
should have soldiers' play, and leave to plunder a
little -- now the devil a thing have I laid my hands
on to-night, except this firelock, and my cutlash --
unless you can call this bit of a table-cloth some-
thing of a windfall."

   "Ay! you have fallen in there with a fresh
bolt of duck, I see!" said the other, in manifest
admiration of the texture of his companion's prize
-- "why, it would spread as broad a clue as our
mizen-royal, if it was loosened! well, your luck
hasn't been every man's luck -- for my part, I
think this here hat was made for some fellow's
great toe; I've rigged it on my head both fore-
and-aft, and athwart ships; but curse the inch can
I drive it down -- I say, Sam! you'll give us a
shirt off that table cloth?"

   "Ay, ay, you can have one corner of it; or for
that matter, ye can take the full half, Nick; but
I don't see that we go off to the ship any richer
than we landed, unless you may muster she-cattle
among your prize money."

   "No richer!" interrupted a waggish young
sailor, who had been hitherto a silent listener to
the conversation between his older, and more cal-
culating shipmates; "I think we are set up for a
cruise in them seas where the day watches last six
months; don't you see we have caught a double
allowance of midnight!"

   While speaking he laid his hands on the
bare and woolly heads of Col. Howard's two
black slaves, who were moving near him, both oc-
cupied in mournful forebodings on the results that
were to flow from this unexpected loss of their

---

-193-

SMALL | MEDIUM
liberty. "Slue your faces this way, gentlemen,"
he added; "there; don't you think that a sight
to put out the binnacle lamps? there's darkness
visible for ye!"

   "Let the niggars alone," grumbled one of the
more aged speakers; "what are ye sky-larking
with the like of them for? the next thing they'll
sing out, and then you'll hear one of the officers
in your wake. For my part, Nick, I can't see
why it is that we keep dodging along shore here,
with less than ten fathoms under us, when, by
stretching into the broad Atlantic, we might fall
in with a Jamaica-man every day or two, and
have sugar hogsheads, and rum puncheons as
plenty aboard us as hard fare is now."

   "It is all owing to that Pilot," returned the
other; "for d'ye see, if there was no bottom, there
would be no Pilots. This is dangerous cruising
ground, where we stretch into five fathoms, and
then drop our lead on a sand-spit, or a rock! Be-
sides, they make night work of it too! If we had
day-light for fourteen hours instead of seven, a man
might trust to feeling his way for the other ten."

   "Now, a'n't ye a couple of old horse-marines!"
again interrupted the young sailor; "don't you
see that Congress wants us to cut up Johnny Bull's
coasters, and that old Blow-Hard has found the
days too short for his business, and so he has
landed a party to get hold of night. Here we
have him! and when we get off to the ship, we
shall put him under hatches, and then you'll see
the face of the sun again! Come, my lilies! let
these two old gentlemen look into your cabin win-
dows -- what? you won't! Then I must squeeze
your woollen night-caps for ye!"

   The negroes, who had been submitting to his hu-
mours with the abject humility of slavery, now

---

-194-

SMALL | MEDIUM
gave certain low intimations that they were suffering
pain, under the rough manipulation of their tor-
mentor.

   "What's that!" cried a stern voice, whose
boyish tones seemed to mock the air of authority
that was assumed by the speaker -- "who's that, I
say, raising that cry among ye?"

   The wilful young man slowly removed his two
hands from the woolly polls of the slaves, but as he
suffered them to fall reluctantly along their sable
temples, he gave the ear of one of the blacks a tweak
that caused him to give vent to another cry, that
was uttered with a much greater confidence of sym-
pathy than before.

   "Do ye hear, there!" repeated Merry --
"who's sky-larking with those negroes?"

   "'Tis no one, sir," the sailor answered with af-
fected gravity; "one of the pale faces has hit his
shin against a cob-web, and it has made his ear
ache!"

   "Harkye, you mister Jack Joker! how came
you in the midst of the prisoners! did not I or-
der you to handle your pike, sir, and to keep in
the outer line!"

   "Ay, ay, sir, you did; and I obeyed orders as
long as I could; but these niggars have made the
night so dark, that I lost my way!"

   A low laugh passed through the confused crowd
of seamen, and even the midshipman might have
been indulging himself in a similar manner at this
specimen of quaint humour, from the fellow, who
was one of those licensed men that are to be
found in every ship. At length --

   "Well, sir," he said, "you have found out
your false reckoning now; so get you back to
the place where bid you stay."

   "Ay, ay, sir, I'm going. By all the blunders

---

-195-

SMALL | MEDIUM
in the purser's book, Mr. Merry, but that cob-
web has made one of these niggars shed tears! Do
let me stay to catch a little ink, sir, to write a
letter with to my poor old mother -- devil the line
has she had from me since we sailed from the
Chesapeake!"

   "If ye don't mind me at once, Mr. Jack Joker,
I'll lay my cutlass over your head," returned Mer-
ry, his voice now betraying a much greater
sympathy in the sufferings of that abject race,
who are still in some measure, but who formerly
were much more, the butts of the unthinking and
licentious among our low countrymen; "then
ye can write your letter in red ink if ye will!"

   "I wouldn't do it for the world," said Joker,
sneaking away, towards his proper station -- "the
old lady wouldn't forget the hand, and swear
it was a forgery -- I wonder, though, if the break-
ers on the coast of Guinea be black! as I've heard
old seamen say who have cruised in them latitudes."

   His idle levity was suddenly interrupted by a
voice that spoke above the low hum of the march,
with an air of authority, and a severity of tone, that
could always quell, by a single word, the most vio-
lent ebullition of merriment in the crew.

   The low buzzing sounds of "Ay, there goes Mr.
Griffith!" and of "Jack has woke up the first
lieutenant, he had better now go to sleep himself;"
were heard passing among the men. But these
suppressed communications soon ceased, and
even Jack Joker himself pursued his way with dili-
gence, on the skirts of the party, as mutely as if
the power of speech did not belong to his organi-
zation.

   The reader has too often accompanied us over
the ground between the Abbey and the ocean, to
require any description of the route pursued by

---

-196-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the seamen during the preceding characteristic
dialogue; and we shall at once pass to the inci-
dents which occurred on the arrival of the party
at the cliffs. As the man who had so unexpect-
edly assumed a momentary authority within St.
Ruth, had unaccountably disappeared from among
them, Griffith continued to exercise the right of
command, without referring to any other for consul-
tation. He never addressed himself to Barnstable,
and it was apparent that both the haughty young
men felt that the tie which had hitherto united
them in such close intimacy, was, for the pre-
sent at least, entirely severed. Indeed, Griffith
was only restrained by the presence of Cecilia
and Katherine, from arresting his refractory in-
ferior on the spot; and Barnstable, who felt all the
consciousness of error, without its proper humili-
ty, with difficulty so far repressed his feelings, as
to forbear exhibiting in the presence of his
mistress, such a manifestation of his spirit as his
wounded vanity induced him to imagine was ne-
cessary to his honour. The two, however, acted
in harmony on one subject, though it was with-
out concert or communication. The first object
with both the young men, was to secure the embar-
kation of the fair cousins; and Barnstable pro-
ceeded instantly to the boats, in order to hasten the
preparations that were necessary before they could
receive these unexpected captives. -- The descent of
the Pilot having been made in such force as to require
the use of all the frigate's boats, which were left
riding in the outer edge of the surf, awaiting the
return of the expedition. A loud call from Barn-
stable gave notice to the officer in command, and in a
few moments the beach was crowded with the busy
and active crews of the "cutters," "launches,"
"barges," "jolly-boats," "pinnaces," or by
whatever names the custom of the times attached

---

-197-

SMALL | MEDIUM
to the different attendants of vessels of war. Had
the fears of the ladies themselves been consulted,
the frigate's launch would have been selected for
their use, on account of its size; but Barnstable,
who would have thought such a choice on his part
humiliating to his guests, ordered the long, low
barge of Capt. Munson to be drawn upon the
sand, it being peculiarly the boat of honour. The
hands of fifty men were applied to the task, and
it was soon announced to Col. Howard and his
wards, that the little vessel was ready for their
reception. Manual had halted on the summit of
the cliffs with the whole body of the marines, where
he was busily employed in posting picquets
and sentinels, and giving the necessary instruc-
tions to his men to cover the embarkation of the
seamen, in a style that he conceived to be alto-
gether military. The mass of the common pri-
soners, including the inferior domestics of the
Abbey, and the men of Borroughcliffe, were also
held in the same place, under a suitable guard;
but Col. Howard and his companion, attended by
the ladies and their own maids, had descended the
rugged path to the beach, and were standing pas-
sively on the sands, when the intelligence that the
boat waited for them, was announced.

   "Where is he?" asked Alice Dunscombe, turn-
ing her head, as if anxiously searching for some
other than those around her.

   "Where is who?" inquired Barnstable; "we are
all here, and the boat waits."

   "And will he tear me -- even me, from the home
of my infancy! the land of my birth and my af-
fections!"

   "I know not of whom you speak, madam, but
if it be of Mr. Griffith, he stands there, just with-
out that cluster of seamen."

---

-198-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Griffith, hearing himself thus named, approach-
ed the ladies, and, for the first time since
leaving the Abbey, addressed them: -- "I hope I
am already understood," he said, "and that it is
unnecessary for me to say, that no female here is a
prisoner; though should any choose to trust them-
selves on board our ship, I pledge to them the
honour of an officer, that they shall find them-
selves protected, and safe."

   "Then will I not go," said Alice.

   "It is not expected of you," said Cecilia;
"you have no ties to bind you to any here." --
(The eyes of Alice, were still wandering over the
listeners.) "Go, then, Miss Alice, and be the
mistress of St. Ruth, until my return; or," she
added, timidly, "until Col. Howard may de-
clare his pleasure."

   "I obey you, dear child; but the agent of Col.
Howard, at B -- will undoubtedly be author-
ized to take charge of his effects."

   While no one but his niece alluded to his will,
the master of the Abbey had found, in his resent-
ment, a sufficient apology for his rigid demeanor;
but he was far too well bred to hear, in silence,
such a modest appeal to his wishes, from so fair,
and so loyal a subject as Alice Dunscombe.

   "To relieve you, madam, and for no other rea-
son, will I speak on this subject," he said; " other-
wise, I should leave the doors and windows of St.
Ruth open, as a melancholy monument of rebel-
lion, and seek my future compensation from the
Crown, when the confiscated estates of the leaders
of this accursed innovation on the rights of Prin-
ces, shall come to the hammer. But you, Miss
Alice, are entitled to every consideration that a
lady can expect from a gentleman. Be pleased,
therefore, to write to my agent, and request him to

---

-199-

SMALL | MEDIUM
seal up my papers, and transmit them to the office
of his Majesty's Secretary of State. They breathe
no treason, madam, and are entitled to official pro-
tection. The house, and most of the furniture, as
you know, are the property of my landlord, who,
in due time, will doubtless take charge of his own
interest. I kiss your hand, Miss Alice, and I
hope we shall yet meet at St. James's -- depend on
it, madam, that the Royal Charlotte shall yet
honour your merits; I know she cannot but esti-
mate your loyalty."

   "Here I was born, in humble obscurity -- here I
have lived, and here I hope to die in quiet," re-
turned the meek Alice; "if I have known any
pleasure, in late years, beyond that which every
Christian can find in our daily duties, it has been,
my sweet friends, in your accidental society. --
Such companions, in this remote corner of the
kingdom, has been a boon too precious to be
enjoyed without alloy, it seems, and I have now
to exchange the past pleasure for present pain.
Adieu! my young friends; let your trust be in
Him, to whose eyes both prince and peasant, the
European and the American, are alike, and we
shall meet again, though it be neither in the island
of Britain, nor on your own wide continent."

   "That," said Col. Howard, advancing and ta-
king her hand with kindness, "that is the only
disloyal sentiment I have ever heard fall from the
lips of Miss Alice Dunscombe! Is it to be sup-
posed that Heaven has established orders among
men, and that it does not respect the works of its
own formation! But adieu; no doubt if time was
allowed us for suitable explanations, we should
find but little or no difference of opinion on this
subject."

   Alice did not appear to consider the matter as
worthy of further discussion at such a moment, for

---

-200-

SMALL | MEDIUM
she gently returned the colonel's leave-taking, and
then gave her undivided attention to her female
friends. Cecilia wept bitterly on the shoulder of
her respected companion, giving vent to her regret
at parting, and her excited feelings, at the same mo-
ment; and Katherine pressed to the side of Alice,
with the kindliness prompted by her warm, but
truant heart. Their embraces were given and re-
ceived in silence, and each of the young ladies
moved towards the boat, as she withdrew herself
from the arms of Miss Dunscombe. Col. Howard
would not precede his wards, neither would he as-
sist them into the barge. That attention they re-
ceived from Barnstable, who, after seeing the
ladies and their attendants seated, turned to the
gentlemen, and observed --

   "The boat waits."

   "Well, Miss Alice," said Borroughcliffe, in bit-
terirony, "you are entrusted, by our excellent host,
with a message to his agent; will you do a simi-
lar service to me, and write a report to the com-
mander of the district, and just tell him what a dolt --
ay, use the plainest terms, and say what an ass, one
Capt. Borroughcliffe has proved himself in this
affair. You may throw in, by way of episode, that
he has been playing bo-peep with a rebellious
young lady from the Colonies, and, like a great
boy, has had his head broken for his pains! Come,
my worthy host, or rather, fellow prisoner, I fol-
low you, as in duty bound."

   "Stay," cried Griffith; "Capt. Borroughcliffe
does not embark in that boat."

   "Ha! sir; am I to be herded with the com-
mon men? Forget you that I have the honour to
bear the commission of his Britannic Majesty, and
that -- "

   "I forget nothing that a gentleman is bound to

---

-201-

SMALL | MEDIUM
remember, Capt. Borroughcliffe; among other
things, I recollect the liberality of your treatment
to myself, when a prisoner. The instant the safety
of my command will justify such a step, not only
you, but your men, shall be set at liberty."

   Borroughcliffe started in surprise; but his feel-
ings were too much soured by the destruction of
those visions of glory, in which he had been lux-
uriously indulging for the last day or two, to ad-
mit of his answering as became a man. He swal-
lowed his emotions, therefore, by a violent effort,
and walked along the beach, affecting to whistle
a low, but lively air.

   "Well, then," cried Barnstable -- "all our
captives are seated. The boat waits only for its
officers!"

   In his turn, Griffith walked away, in haughty si-
lence, as if disdaining to hold communion with his
former friend. Barnstable paused a moment, from
a deference that long habit had created for his supe-
rior officer, and which was not to be shaken off by
every burst of angry passion; but perceiving that
the other had no intention to return, he ordered
the seamen to raise the boat from the sand and
bear it bodily into the water. The command was
instantly obeyed; and by the time the young
lieutenant was in his seat the barge was floating
in the still heavy, though no longer dangerous
surf, and the crew sprang into their places.

   "Bear her off, boys!" he cried; "never mind a
wet jacket. I've seen many a worthy fellow tum-
bling on this beach in a worse time than this!
Now you have her head to sea; give way, my
souls, give way."

   The seamen rose simultaneously at their oars,

---

-202-

SMALL | MEDIUM
and, by an united effort, obtained the command of
their boat; which, after making a few sudden ascents
and as many heavy pitches in the breakers, gained
the smoother seas of the swelling ocean, and stem-
med the waters, in a direction for the place where
the Alacrity was supposed to be in waiting.

---

-203-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 13

CHAPTER XIII.

His only plot was this -- that much provoked,
He raised his vengeful arm against his country.


Thomson.

   Alice Dunscombe remained on the sands,
watching the dark spot that was soon hid amid the
waves, in the obscurity of night, and listening,
with melancholy interest, to the regulated sounds
of the oars, which were audible long after the boat
had been blended with the gloomy outline of the
eastern horizon. When all traces of her departed
friends were to be found only in her own recollec-
tions, she slowly turned from the sea, and hasten-
ing to quit the bustling throng, that were preparing
for the embarkation of the rest of the party, she
ascended the path that conducted her once more
to the summit of those cliffs, along which she had
so often roved, gazing at the boundless element
that washed their base, with sensations that might
have been peculiar to her own situation.

   The soldiers of Borroughcliffe, who were sta-
tioned at the head of the pass, respectfully made
way; nor did any of the sentinels of Manual
heed her retiring figure, until she approached
the rear guard of the marines, who were command-
ed by their vigilant captain in person.

---

-204-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Who goes there!" cried Manual, advancing
without the dusky group of soldiers, as she ap-
proached them.

   "One who possesses neither the power nor the
inclination to do ye harm," answered the solitary
female; "'tis Alice Dunscombe, returning, by per-
mission of your leader, to the place of her birth."

   "Ay," muttered Manual, "this is one of Grif-
fith's unmilitary exhibitions of his politeness! does
the man think that there was ever a woman who
had no tongue! Have you the countersign,
madam, that I may know you bear a sufficient
warrant to pass?"

   "I have no other warrant besides my sex and
weakness, unless Mr. Griffith's knowledge that I
have left him, can be so construed."

   "The two former are enough," said a voice,
that proceeded from a figure which had hitherto
stood unseen, shaded by the trunk of an oak, that
spread its wide, but naked arms nearly over the
spot where the guard was paraded.

   "Who have we here!" Manual again cried;
"come in; yield or you will be fired at."

   "What, will the gallant Capt. Manual fire on
his own rescuer!" said the Pilot, with cool disdain,
as he advanced from the shadow of the tree.
"He had better reserve his bullets for his enemies,
than waste them on his friends."

   "You have done a dangerous deed, sir, in ap-
proaching, clandestinely, a guard of marines! I
wonder that a man who has discovered already,
to-night, that he has some knowledge of tactics, by
so ably conducting a surprise, should betray so
much ignorance in the forms of approaching a
picquet!"

   "'Tis now of no moment," returned the Pi-
lot; "my knowledge and my ignorance are
alike immaterial, as the command of the party

---

-205-

SMALL | MEDIUM
is surrendered to other, and perhaps more proper
hands. But I would talk to this lady alone, sir;
she is an acquaintance of my youth, and I will see
her part of the way back to the Abbey."

   "The step would be unmilitary, Mr. Pilot, and
you will excuse me if I do not consent to any of
our expedition straggling without the sentries. If
you choose to remain here to hold your discourse,
I will march the picquet out of hearing; though I
must acknowledge I see no ground so favourable
as this we are on, to keep you within the range of
our eyes. You perceive that I have a ravine to re-
treat into, in case of surprise, with this line of wall
on my left flank, and the trunk of that tree to cover
my right. A very pretty stand might be made here,
on emergency; for even the oldest troops fight
the best when their flanks are properly covered,
and a way to make a regular retreat is open in
their rear."

   "Say no more, sir; I would not break up such
a position on any account," returned the Pilot;
"Miss Dunscombe will consent to retrace her path
for a short distance."

   Alice followed his steps, in compliance with this
request, until he had led her to a place, at some
little distance from the marines, where a tree had
been prostrated by the late gale. She seated her-
self quietly on its trunk, and appeared to await
with patience his own time for the explanation
of his motives, in seeking this interview. The
Pilot paced, for several minutes, back and forth,
in front of the place where she was seated, in pro-
found silence, as if communing with himself, when,
suddenly throwing off his air of absence, he came
to her side, and assumed a position similar to that
which she herself had taken.

   "The hour is at hand, Alice, when we must

---

-206-

SMALL | MEDIUM
part," he at length commenced; it rests with your-
self whether it shall be for ever."

   "Let it then be for ever, John," she returned,
with a slight tremor in her voice.

   "That word would have been less appalling,
had this accidental meeting never occurred. And
yet your choice may have been determined by
prudence -- for what is there in my fate that can
tempt a woman to wish that she might share it!"

   "If ye mean your lot is that of one who can
find but few, or even none, to partake of his joys,
or to share in his sorrows, whose life is a continual
scene of dangers and calamities, of disappoint-
ments and mishaps, then do ye know but little of
the heart of woman, if ye doubt of either her
ability or her willingness, to meet them with the
man of her choice."

   "Say you thus, Alice! then have I misunder-
stood your meaning, or misinterpreted your acts.
My lot is not altogether that of a neglected man,
unless the favour of princes, and the smiles of
queens, can be thus termed! My life is, however,
one of many and fearful dangers; and yet it is
not filled altogether with calamities and mishaps;
is it, Alice?" He paused a moment, but in vain, for
her answer. "Nay, then, I have been deceived
in the estimation that the world has affixed to my
combats and enterprises! I am not, Alice, the
man I would be, or even the man I had deemed my-
self."

   "You have gained a name, John, among the
warriors of the age," she answered, in a subdued
voice; "and it is a name that may be said to be
written in blood!"

   "The blood of my enemies, Alice!"

   "The blood of the subjects of your natural
prince! The blood of those who breathe the air

---

-207-

SMALL | MEDIUM
you first breathed, and who were taught the same
holy lessons of instruction that you were first
taught; but which, I fear, you have too soon for-
gotten!"

   "The blood of the slaves of despotism!" he
sternly interrupted her; "the blood of the ene-
mies of freedom! you have dwelt so long in this
dull retirement, and you have cherished so blindly
the prejudices of your youth, that the promise of
those noble sentiments I once thought I could see
budding in Alice Dunscombe, has not been ful-
filled."

   "I have lived and thought only as a woman, as
become my sex and station," Alice meekly re-
plied; "and when it shall be necessary for me to
live and think otherwise, I should wish to die."

   "Ay, there lie the first seeds of slavery! A de-
pendant woman is sure to make the mother of
craven and abject wretches, who dishonour the
name of man!"

   "I shall never be the mother of children good
or bad" -- said Alice, with that resignation in her
tones that showed she had abandoned the natural
hopes of her sex. -- "Singly and unsupported have
I lived; alone and unlamented must I be carried
to my grave."

   The exquisite pathos of her voice, as she utter-
ed this placid speech, blended as it was with the
sweet and calm dignity of virgin pride, touched
the heart of her listener, and he continued silent
many moments, as if in reverence of her determi-
nation. Her sentiments awakened in his own
breast those feelings of generosity and disinterest-
edness, which had nearly been smothered in rest-
less ambition and the pride of success. He resumed
the discourse, therefore, more mildly, and with a

---

-208-

SMALL | MEDIUM
much greater exhibition of deep feeling, and less
of passion, in his manner.

   "I know not, Alice, that I ought, situated as I
am, and contented, if not happy, as you are, even
to attempt to revive in your bosom those senti-
ments which I was once led to think existed there.
It cannot, after all, be a desirable fate, to share the
lot of a rover like myself; one who may be term-
ed a Quixotte in the behalf of liberal principles,
and who may be hourly called to seal the truth of
those principles with his life."

   "There never existed any sentiment in my
breast, in which you are concerned, that does not
exist there still, and unchanged," returned Alice,
with her single-hearted sincerity.

   "Do I hear you aright! or have I misconceiv-
ed your resolution to abide in England! or have
I not rather mistaken your early feelings?"

   "You have fallen into no error now nor then.
The weakness may still exist, John, but the
strength to struggle with it, has, by the goodness
of God, grown with my years. It is not, however,
of myself, but of you, that I would speak. I
have lived like one of our simple daisies, which in
the budding may have caught your eye; and I
shall also wilt like the humble flower, when the
winter of my time arrives, without being missed
from the fields that have known me for a season.
But your fall, John, will be like that of the oak
that now supports us, and men shall pronounce on
the beauty and grandeur of the noble stem while
standing, as well as of its usefulness when felled."

   "Let them pronounce as they will!" returned
the proud stranger. "The truth must be finally
known, and when that hour shall come, they will
say, he was a faithful and gallant warrior in his
day; and a worthy lesson for all who are born in

---

-209-

SMALL | MEDIUM
slavery, but would live in freedom, shall be found
in his example!"

   "Such may be the language of that distant
people, whom ye have adopted in the place of
those that once formed home and kin to ye,"
said Alice, glancing her eye timidly at his coun-
tenance, as if to discern how far she might venture,
without awakening his resentment; "but what
will the men of the land of your birth transmit to
their children, who will be the children of those
that are of your own blood?"

   "They will say, Alice, whatever their crooked
policy may suggest, or their disappointed vanity
can urge. But the picture must be drawn by the
friends of the hero as well as by his enemies!
Think you that there are not pens as well as
swords in America?"

   "I have heard that America called a land, John,
where God has lavished his favours with an un-
sparing hand; where he has bestowed many
climes with their several fruits, and where his pow-
er is exhibited no less than his mercy. It is said
her rivers are without any known end, and that
lakes are found in her bosom, which would put
our German ocean to shame! That plains, teem-
ing with verdure, are spread over wide degrees,
and yet those sweet valleys, which a single heart
can hold, are not wanting. In short, John, I hear
it is a broad land, that can furnish food for each
passion, and contain objects for every affection."

   "Ay, you have found those, Alice, in your soli-
tude, who have been willing to do her justice!
It is a country, that can form a world of itself; and
why should they who inherit it, look to other na-
tions for their laws?"

   "I pretend not to reason on the right of the
children of that soil, to do whatever they may

---

-210-

SMALL | MEDIUM
deem most meet for their own welfare," returned
Alice -- "but can men be born in such a land, and
not know the feeling which binds a human being
to the place of his birth?"

   "Can you doubt that they should be patriotic?"
exclaimed the Pilot, in surprise. "Do not their ef-
forts in this sacred cause -- their patient sufferings --
their long privations, speak loudly in their be-
half?"

   "And will they, who know so well how to love
home, sing the praises of him, who has turned his
ruthless hand against the land of his fathers?"

   "Forever harping on that word, home!" said
the Pilot, who now detected the timid approaches
of Alice to her hidden meaning. "Is man a stick
or a stone, that he must be cast into the fire, or
buried in a wall, wherever his fate may have
doomed him to appear on the earth? The sound
of home is said to feed the vanity of an English-
man, let him go where he will; but it would seem
to have a still more powerful charm with English
women!"

   "It is the dearest of all terms to every woman,
John, for it embraces the dearest of all ties! If
your dames of America are ignorant of its charm,
all the favours which God has lavished on their
land, will avail their happiness but little."

   "Alice," said the Pilot, rising in his agitation,
"I see but too well the object of your allusions.
But on this subject we can never agree; for not
even your power can draw me from the path of
glory in which I am now treading. Our time is
growing brief; let us then talk of other things. --
This may be the last time that I shall ever put foot
on the island of Britain."

   Alice paused to struggle with the feelings exci-
ted by this remark, before she pursued the dis-

---

-211-

SMALL | MEDIUM
course. But, soon shaking off the weakness, she
added, with a rigid adherence to that course which
she believed to he her duty --

   "And now, John, that you have landed, is the
breaking up of a peaceful family, and the violence
ye have shown towards an aged man, a fit exploit
for one whose object is the glory of which ye have
spoken?"

   "Think you that I have landed, and placed my
life in the hands of my enemies, for so unworthy
an object! No, Alice, my motive for this under-
taking has been disappointed, and therefore will
ever remain a secret from the world. But duty
to my cause has prompted the step which you so
unthinkingly condemn. This Col. Howard has
some consideration with those in power, and will
answer to exchange for a better man. As for his
wards, you forget their home, their magical
home, is in America; unless, indeed, they find
them nearer at hand, under the proud flag of a
frigate, that is now waiting for them in the
offing."

   "You talk of a frigate!" said Alice, with sud-
den interest in the subject -- "Is she your only
means of escaping from your enemies?"

   "Alice Dunscombe has taken but little heed of
passing events, to ask such a question of me!"
returned the haughty Pilot. "The question
would have sounded more discreetly, had it been,
`is she the only vessel with you that your enemies
will have to escape from?' "

   "Nay, I cannot measure my language at such a
moment," continued Alice, with a still stronger
exhibition of anxiety. "It was my fortune to
overhear a part of a plan that was intended to
destroy, by sudden means, those vessels of Ame-
rica that were in our seas."

---

-212-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "That might be a plan more suddenly adopted
than it can be executed, my good Alice. And
who were those redoubtable schemers?"

   "I know not but my duty to the king should
cause me to suppress this information," said Alice,
hesitating.

   "Well, be it so," returned the Pilot, coolly; "it
may prove the means of saving the persons of some
of the royal officers from death or captivity. I
have already said, this may be the last of my visits
to this island, and consequently, Alice, the last of
our interviews -- "

   "And yet," said Alice, as if pursuing the train
of her own thoughts, "there can be but little
harm in sparing human blood; and least of all in
serving those whom we have long known and
regarded!"

   "Ay, that is a simple doctrine, and one that is
easily maintained," he added, with much apparent
indifference; "and yet king George might well
spare some of his servants -- the list of the abject
minions is so long!"

   "There was a man named Dillon, who lately
dwelt in the Abbey, but who has mysteriously dis-
appeared," continued Alice; "or rather who was
captured by your companions: know you aught
of him, John?"

   "I have heard there was a miscreant of that
name, but we have never met. Alice, if it please
heaven that this shall be the last" --

   "He was a captive in a schooner called the
Ariel," she added, still unheeding his affected in-
difference to her communication -- and when per-
mitted to return to St. Ruth, he lost sight of his
solemn promise, and of his plighted honour, to
wreak his malice. Instead of effecting the ex-
change that he had conditioned to see made, he

---

-213-

SMALL | MEDIUM
plotted treason against his captors. Yes! it was
most foul treason! for his treatment was generous
and kind, and his liberation certain."

   "He was a most unworthy scoundrel! But,
Alice" --

   "Nay, listen, John," she continued, urged to
even a keener interest in his behalf, by his apparent
inattention; "and yet I should speak tenderly of his
failings, for he is already numbered with the dead!
One part of his scheme must have been frustrated,
for he intended to destroy that schooner which
you call the Ariel, and to have taken the person
of the young Barnstable."

   "In both of which he has failed! The person
of Barnstable I have rescued, and the Ariel has
been stricken by a hand far mightier than any of
this world! she is wrecked."

   "Then is the frigate your only means of escape!
Hasten, John, and seem not so proud and heed-
less, for the hour may come when all your daring
will not profit ye against the machinations of se-
cret enemies. This Dillon had also planned that
expresses should journey to a sea-port at the south,
with the intelligence that your vessels were in these
seas, in order that ships might be despatched to in-
tercept your retreat."

   The Pilot lost his affected indifference as she
proceeded, and before she ceased speaking, his eye
was endeavouring to anticipate her words, by
reading her countenance through the dusky me-
dium of the star-light.

   "How know you this, Alice?" he asked quick-
ly -- "and what vessel did he name?"

   "Chance made me an unseen listener to their plan,
and -- I know not but I forget my duty to my prince!
-- but, John, 'tis asking too much of weak woman,
to require that she shall see the man whom she
once viewed with eyes of favour, sacrificed, when

---

-214-

SMALL | MEDIUM
a word of caution, given in season, might enable
him to avoid the danger!"

   "Once viewed with an eye of favour! Is it then
so!" said the Pilot, speaking in a vacant manner.
"But, Alice, heard ye the force of the ships, or
their names? Give me their names, and the first
lord of your British admiralty shall not give so true
an account of their force, as I will furnish from
this list of my own."

   "Their names were certainly mentioned," said
Alice, with tender melancholy, "but the name
of one far nearer to me was ringing in my ears,
and has driven them from my mind."

   "You are the same good Alice I once knew!
And my name was mentioned? What said they
of the Pirate? Had his arm stricken a blow that
made them tremble in their Abbey? Did they
call him coward, girl?"

   "It was mentioned in terms that pained my
heart as I listened. For, it is ever too easy a task
to forget the lapse of years, nor are the feelings of
youth to be easily eradicated."

   "Ay, there is luxury in knowing, that with all
their affected abuse, the slaves dread me in their
secret holds!" exclaimed the Pilot, pacing in
front of his listener, with quick steps. "This it
is to be marked, among men, above all others in
your calling! I hope yet to see the day when
the third George shall start at the sound of that
name, even within the walls of his palace."

   Alice Dunscombe heard him in deep and mor-
tified silence; for it was too evident that a link
in the chain of their sympathies was broken, and
that the weakness in which she had been uncon-
sciously indulging, was met by no correspondent
emotions in him. After sinking her head for a
moment on her bosom, she arose with a little more

---

-215-

SMALL | MEDIUM
than her usual air of meekness, and recalled the Pi-
lot to a sense of her presence, by saying, in a yet
milder voice --

   "I have now communicated all that it can pro-
fit you to know, and it is meet that we separate."

   "What, thus soon!" he cried, starting and tak-
ing her hand. "This is but a short interview,
Alice, to precede so long a separation."

   "Be it short, or be it long, it must now end,"
she replied. "Your companions are on the eve
of departure, and I trust you would be one of the
last who would wish to be deserted. If ye do visit
England again, I hope it may be with altered sen-
timents, so far as regards her interests. I wish ye
peace, John, and the blessings of God, as ye may
be found to deserve them."

   "I ask no farther, unless it may be the aid of
your gentle prayers! But the night is gloomy,
and I will see you in safety to the Abbey."

   "It is unnecessary," she returned, with woman-
ly reserve. "The innocent can be as fearless on
occasion, as the most valiant among you warriors.
But here is no cause for fear. I will take a path
that will conduct me in a different way from that
which is occupied by your soldiers, and where I
shall find none but Him who is ever present to
protect the helpless. Once more, John, I bid ye
adieu." Her voice faltered as she continued -- "ye
will share the lot of humanity, and have your
hours of care and weakness; at such moments ye
can remember those ye leave on this despised
island, and perhaps among them ye may think of
some whose interest in your welfare has been far
removed from selfishness."

   "God be with you, Alice!" he said, touched
with her emotion, and losing all vain images in

---

-216-

SMALL | MEDIUM
more worthy feelings -- "but I cannot permit you
to go alone."

   "Here we part, John," she said firmly, "and
for ever! 'Tis for the happiness of both, for I fear
we have but little in common." She gently wrest-
ed her hand from his grasp, and once more bid-
ding him adieu, in a voice that was nearly inaudi-
ble, she turned and slowly disappeared, mov-
ing, with lingering steps, in the direction of the
Abbey.

   The first impulse of the Pilot was, certainly, to
follow, and insist on seeing her on the way; but the
music of the guard on the cliffs, at that moment
sent forth its martial strains, and the whistle of the
boatswain was heard winding its shrill call among
the rocks, in those notes that his practised ear well
understood to be the last signal for embarking.

   Obedient to the summons, this singular man,
in whose breast the natural feelings, that were now
on the eve of a violent eruption, had so long been
smothered by the visionary expectations of a wild
ambition, and perhaps of fierce resentments, pur-
sued his course, in deep abstraction, towards the
boats. He was soon met by the soldiers of Bor-
roughcliffe, deprived of their arms, it is true,
but unguarded, and returning peacefully to
their quarters. The mind of the Pilot, hap-
pily for the liberty of these men, was too much
absorbed in his peculiar reflections, to note this act
of Griffith's generosity, nor did he arouse from his
musing until his steps were arrested by suddenly
encountering a human figure in the path-way. A
light tap on his shoulder was the first mark of re-
cognition he received, when Borroughcliffe, who
stood before him, said --

   "It is evident, sir, from what has passed this
evening, that you are not what you seem. You

---

-217-

SMALL | MEDIUM
may be some rebel admiral or general, for aught
that I know, the right to command having been
strangely contested among ye this night. But let
who will own the chief authority, I take the liberty
of whispering in your ear that I have been scur-
vily treated by you -- I repeat, most scurvily treat-
ed by you all, generally, and by you in particu-
lar."

   The Pilot started at this strange address, which
was uttered with all the bitterness that could be
imparted to it by a disappointed man, but he mo-
tioned with his hand for the captain to depart, and
turned aside to pursue his own way.

   "Perhaps I am not properly understood," con-
tinued the obstinate soldier; "I say, sir, you have
treated me scurvily, and I would not be thought
to say this to any gentleman, without wishing to
give him an opportunity to vent his anger."

   The eye of the Pilot, as he moved forward,
glanced at the pistols which Borroughcliffe held in
his hands, the one by the handle, and the other
by its barrel, and the soldier even fancied that his
footsteps were quickened by the sight. After gaz-
ing at him until his form was lost in the darkness,
the captain muttered to himself --

   "He is no more than a common Pilot after all!
No true gentleman would have received so palpa-
ble a hint with such a start. Ah! here comes the par-
ty of my worthy friend whose palate knows a grape
of the north side of Madeira, from one of the south.
The dog has the throat of a gentleman! we will
see how he can swallow a delicate allusion to his
faults!"

   Borroughcliffe stepped aside to allow the ma-
rines, who were also in motion for the boats, to
pass, and watched with keen looks for the person
of the commander. Manual, who had been
previously apprized of the intention of Griffith to

---

-218-

SMALL | MEDIUM
release the prisoners, had halted to see that none
but those who had been liberated by authority, were
marching into the country. This accidental cir-
cumstance gave Borroughcliffe an opportunity of
meeting the other at some little distance from either
of their respective parties.

   "I greet you, sir," said Borroughcliffe, "with
all affection. This has been a pleasant forage for
you, Capt. Manual."

   The marine was far from being disposed to
wrangle, but there was that in the voice of the other
which caused him to answer --

   "It would have been far pleasanter, sir, if I had
met an opportunity of returning to Capt. Bor-
roughcliffe some of the favours that I have receiv-
ed at his hands."

   "Nay, then, dear sir, you weigh my modesty to
the earth! Surely you forget the manner in which
my hospitality has been requited -- by some two
hours' mouthing of my sword hilt; with a very un-
ceremonious ricochet into a corner; together with
a love-tap, received over the shoulders of one of
my men, by so gentle an instrument as the butt of
a musket! Damme, sir, but I think an ungrate-
ful man only a better sort of beast!"

   "Had the love tap been given to the officer in-
stead of the man," returned Manual, with all com-
mendable coolness, "it would have been better jus-
tice; and the ramrod might have answered as well
as the butt, to floor a gentleman who carried the al-
lowance of four thirsty fiddlers under one man's
jacket."

   "Now, that is rank ingratitude to your own cor-
dial of the south side, and a most biting insult! I real-
ly see but one way of terminating this wordy war,
which if not discreetly ended, may lead us far
into the morning."

---

-219-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Elect your own manner of determining the
dispute, sir; I hope, however, it will not be by
your innate knowledge of mankind, which has
already mistaken a captain of marines in the ser-
vice of Congress, for a runaway lover, bound to
some green place or other."

   "You might just as well tweak my nose, sir!"
said Borroughcliffe. "Indeed, I think it would
be the milder reproach of the two! will you make
your selection of these, sir? They were loaded
for a very different sort of service, but I doubt not
will answer on occasion."

   "I am provided with a pair, that are charged
for any service," returned Manual, drawing a pistol
from his own belt, and stepping backward a few
paces.

   "You are destined for America, I know," said
Borroughcliffe, who stood his ground with con-
summate coolness; "but it would be more conve-
nient for me, sir, if you could delay your march
for a single moment."

   "Fire and defend yourself!" exclaimed Ma-
nual furiously, retracing his steps towards his
enemy.

   The sounds of the two pistols were blended in
one report, and the soldiers of Borroughcliffe and
the marines all rushed to the place, on the sudden
alarm. Had the former been provided with arms,
it is probable a bloody fray would have been the
consequence of the sight that both parties beheld
on arriving at the spot, which they did simultane-
ously. Manual lay on his back, without any signs
of life, and Borroughcliffe had changed his cool,
haughty, upright attitude, for a recumbent posture,
which was somewhat between lying and sitting.

   "Is the poor fellow actually expended?" said
the Englishman, in something like the tones of re-

---

-220-

SMALL | MEDIUM
gret; "well, he had a soldier's metal in him, and
was nearly as great a fool as myself!"

   The marines had, luckily for the soldiers and
their captain, by this time discovered the signs of
life in their own commander, who had been only
slightly stunned by the bullet which had grazed his
crown, and who being assisted on his feet, stood a
minute or two rubbing his head, as if awaking
from a dream. As Manual came gradually to his
senses he recollected the business in which he had
just been engaged, and, in his turn, inquired after
the fate of his antagonist.

   "I am here, my worthy incognito," cried the
other, with a voice of perfect good nature; "lying
in the lap of mother Earth, and all the better for
opening a vein or two in my right leg; -- though I
do think that the same effect might have been pro-
duced without treating the bone so roughly! -- But
I opine that I saw you also reclining on the bosom
of our common ancestor."

   "I was down for a few minutes, I do believe,"
returned Manual; "there is the path of a bullet
across my scalp!"

   "Humph! on the head!" said Borroughcliffe,
dryly; "the hurt is not likely to be mortal, I see
-- Well, I shall offer to raffle with the first poor
devil I can find that has but one good leg, for who
shall have both; and that will just set up a beggar
and a gentleman! -- Manual, give me your hand;
we have drank together, and we have fought;
surely there is nothing now to prevent our being
sworn friends!"

   "Why," returned Manual, continuing to rub his
head, "I see no irremoveable objections -- but you
will want a surgeon? can I order any thing to be
done? There go the signals again to embark --
march the fellows down at quick time, sergeant; my

---

-221-

SMALL | MEDIUM
own man may remain with me, or, I can do alto-
gether without assistance."

   "Ah! you are what I call a well made man,
my dear friend!" exclaimed Borroughcliffe; "no
weak points about your fortress! such a man is
worthy to be the head of a whole corps, instead of
a solitary company; -- Gently, Drill, gently; han-
dle me as if I were made of potter's clay; -- I will
not detain you longer, my friend Manual, for I hear
signal after signal; they must be in want of some
of your astonishing reasoning faculties to set them
afloat.

   Manual might have been offended at the palpa-
ble allusions that his new friend made to the firm-
ness of his occiput, had not his perception of
things been a little confused, by a humming sound
that seemed to abide near the region of thought.
As it was, he reciprocated the good wishes of the
other, whom he shook most cordially by the hand,
and once more renewed his offers of service, after
exchanging sundry friendly speeches.

   "I thank you quite as much as if I were not at
all indebted to you for letting blood, thereby sav-
ing me a fit of apoplexy; but Drill has already
despatched a messenger to B -- for a leech, and
the lad may bring the whole dépto down upon
you. -- Adieu, once more, and remember, that if
you ever visit England again as a friend, you are
to let me see you."

   "I shall do it without fail; and I shall keep you
to your promise, if you once more put foot in Ame-
rica."

   "Trust me for that; I shall stand in need of
your excellent head to guide me safely among
those rude foresters! Adieu; cease not to bear
me in your thoughts."

   "I shall never cease to remember you, my good

---

-222-

SMALL | MEDIUM
friend," returned Manual, again scratching the
member, which was snapping in a manner that caus-
ed him to fancy he heard it. Once more these wor-
thies shook each other by the hand, and again they
renewed their promises of future intercourse; after
which they separated like two reluctant lovers --
parting in a manner that would have put to shame
the friendship of Orestes and Pylades!

---

-223-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 14

CHAPTER XIV.

"Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold yourself"


Hamlet.

   During the time occupied by the incidents that
occurred after the Pilot had made his descent on
the land, the Alacrity, now under the orders of Mr.
Boltrope, the master of the frigate, lay off and on,
in readiness to receive the successful mariners.
The direction of the wind had been gradually
changing from the north-east to the south, during
the close of the day; and long before the middle
watches of the night, the wary old seaman, who,
it may be remembered, had expressed, in the coun-
cil of war, such a determined reluctance to trust his
person within the realm of Britain, ordered the
man who steered the cutter to stand in boldly for
the land. Whenever the lead told them that it was
prudent to tack, the course of the vessel was chang-
ed; and in this manner the seamen continued to
employ the hours in patient attendance on the
adventurers. The sailing-master, who had spent
the early years of his life as the commander of
divers vessels employed in trading, was apt, like
many men of his vocation and origin, to mistake
the absence of refinement for the surest evidence of

---

-224-

SMALL | MEDIUM
seamanship; and, consequently, he held the little
courtesies and punctilios of a man-of-war in high dis-
dain. His peculiar duties of superintending the ex-
penditure of the ship's stores, in their several depart-
ments; of keeping the frigate's log-book; and of
making his daily examinations into the state of her
sails and rigging, brought him so little in collision
with the gay, laughing, reckless young lieutenants,
who superintended the usual conduct of the vessel,
that he might be said to have formed a distinct spe-
cies of the animal, though certainly of the same ge-
nus with his more polished messmates. Whenever
circumstances, however, required that he should de-
part from the dull routine of his duty, he made it a
rule, as far as possible, to associate himself with
such of the crew as possessed habits and opinions
the least at variance with his own.

   By a singular fatality, the chaplain of the frigate
was, as respects associates, in a condition, nearly
assimilated to that of this veteran tar.

   An earnest desire to ameliorate the situation of
those who were doomed to meet death on the
great deep, had induced an inexperienced and
simple-hearted divine to accept this station, in the
fond hope, that he might be made the favoured in-
strument of salvation to many, who were then ex-
isting in a state of the most abandoned self-forget-
fulness. Neither our limits, nor our present object,
will permit the relation of the many causes that
led, not only to an entire frustration of all his vi-
sionary expectations, but to an issue which render-
ed the struggle of the good divine with himself both
arduous and ominous, in order to maintain his own
claims to the merited distinctions of his sacred office.
The consciousness of his backsliding had so far
lessened the earthly, if not the spiritual pride of
the chaplain, as to induce him to relish the society
of the rude master, whose years had brought him

---

-225-

SMALL | MEDIUM
at times, to take certain views of futurity, that
were singularly affected by the peculiar character of
the individual. It might have been that both found
themselves out of their places -- but it was owing to
some such secret sympathy, let its origin be what
it would, that the two came to be fond of each other's
company. On the night in question, Mr. Bolt-
rope had invited the chaplain to accompany him
in the Alacrity; adding, in his broad, rough lan-
guage, that as there was to be fighting on shore,
"his hand might come in play with some poor
fellow or other." This singular invitation had
been accepted, as well from a desire to relieve the
monotony of a sea life, by any change, as per-
haps with a secret yearning in the breast of the
troubled divine, to get as nigh to terra firma as
possible. Accordingly, after the Pilot had landed
with his boisterous party, the sailing-master and
the chaplain, together with a boatswain's-mate and
some ten or twelve seamen, were left in quiet pos-
session of the cutter. The first few hours of
this peaceable intercourse, had been spent by the
worthy messmates, in the little cabin of the vessel,
over a can of grog, the savoury relish of which
was much increased by a characteristic disquisi-
tion on polemical subjects, which our readers have
great reason to regret it is not our present humour
to record. When, however, the winds invited the
nearer approach to the hostile shores already
mentioned, the prudent sailing-master adjourned
the discussion to another and more suitable time,
removing himself and the can, by the same opera-
tion, to the quarter-deck.

   "There," cried the honest tar, placing the wood-
en vessel, with great self-contentment, by his side
on the deck, "this is ship's comfort! There is a
good deal of what I call a lubber's fuss, parson,

---

-226-

SMALL | MEDIUM
kept up on board a ship that shall be nameless, but
which bears, about three leagues distant, broad off in
the oceam, and which is lying-to under a close-reefed
maintopsail, a foretopmast-staysail and foresail --
I call my hand a true one in mixing a can -- take
another pull at the halyards! 'twill make your
eye twinkle like a light-house, this dark morning!
You wont? well we must give no offence to the
Englishman's rum." -- After a potent draught had
succeeded this considerate declaration, he added
-- "You are a little like our first lieutenant, par-
son, who drinks, as I call it, nothing but the ele-
ments -- which is, water stiffened with air!"

   "Mr. Griffith may indeed be said to set a whole-
some example to the crew," returned the chap-
lain, perhaps with a slight consciousness that it had
not altogether possessed its due weight with himself.

   "Wholesome!" cried Boltrope; "let me tell
you, my worthy leaf-turner, that if you call such
a light diet wholesome, you know but little of salt
water and sea-fogs! However, Mr. Griffith is a
seaman; and if he gave his mind less to trifles and
gimcracks, he would be, by the time he got to
about our years, a very rational sort of a compa-
nion. -- But you see, parson, just now, he thinks
too much of small follies; such as man-of-war dis-
ciplyne. -- Now there is rationality in giving a fresh
nip to a rope, or in looking well at your mats, or
even in crowning a cable; but damme, priest, if I
see the use -- luff, luff, ye lubber; don't ye see,
sir, you are steering for Garmany! -- if I see the
use, as I was saying, of making a rumpus about
the time when a man changes his shirt; whether it be
this week, or next week, or for that matter, the week
after, provided it be bad weather. I sometimes am
mawkish about attending muster, (and I believe I
have as little to fear on the score of behaviour as

---

-227-

SMALL | MEDIUM
any man,) lest it should be found I carried my
tobacco in the wrong cheek!

   "I have indeed thought it somewhat troublesome
to myself, at times; and it is in a striking degree
vexatious to the spirit, especially when the body
has been suffering under sea-sickness."

   "Why, yes, you were a little apt to bend your
[unclear: duds] wrong for the first month, or so," said the
master; "I remember you got the marine's scra-
per on your head, once, in your hurry to bury a
dead man! Then you never looked as if you be-
longed to the ship, so long as those cursed black
knee-breeches lasted! For my part, I never saw
you come up the quarter-deck ladder, but I expect-
ed to see your shins give way across the combing of
the hatch -- a man does look like the devil, priest,
scudding about a ship's decks in that fashion, under
bare poles! But now the tailor has found out the
articles ar'n't sea-worthy, and we have got your
lower stanchions cased in a pair of purser's slops,
I am puzzled often to tell your heels from those of
a main-top-man!"

   "I have good reason to be thankful for the
change," said the humbled priest, "if the resem-
blance you mention existed, while I was clad in
the usual garb of one of my calling."

   "What signifies a calling?" returned Boltrope,
catching his breath after a most persevering
draught; "a man's shins are his shins, let his up-
per works belong to what sarvice they may. I
took an early prejudyce against knee-breeches,
perhaps from a trick I've always had of figuring
the Devil as wearing them. You know, parson,
we seldom hear much said of a man, without form-
ing some sort of an idea concerning his rigging
and fashion-pieces -- and so as I had no particular
reason to believe that Satan went naked -- keep full

---

-228-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ye lubber; now you are running into the wind's eye,
and be d -- d to ye! -- but as I was saying, I always
took a conceit that the devil wore knee-breeches and
a cock'd hat. There's some of our young lieutenants,
who come to muster on Sundays in cock'd hats,
just like soldier-officers; but, d'ye see, I would
sooner show my nose under a night cap, than un-
der a scraper!"

   "I hear the sound of oars!" exclaimed the chap-
lain, who finding this image more distinct than
even his own vivid conceptions of the great Father
of evil, was quite willing to conceal his inferiority
by changing the discourse -- "Is not one of our
boats returning?"

   "Ay, ay, 'tis likely; if it had been me, I should
have been land-sick before this -- wear round, boys,
and stand by to heave-to on the other tack."

   The cutter, obedient to her helm, fell off before
the wind, and rolling an instant in the trough of
the sea, came up again easily to her oblique po-
sition, with her head towards the cliffs, and gradu-
ally losing her way, as her sails were brought to
counteract each other, finally became stationary.
During the performance of this evolution, a boat
had hove up out of the gloom, in the direction of
the land, and by the time the Alacrity was in a
state of rest, it had approached so nigh as to ad-
mit of hailing.

   "Boat ahoy!" murmured Boltrope, through
a trumpet, which, aided by his lungs, produced
sounds not unlike the roaring of a bull.

   "Ay, ay," was thrown back from a clear voice,
that swept across the water with a fulness that
needed no factitious aid to render it audible.

   "Ay, there comes one of the lieutenants, with
his ay, ay," said Boltrope -- "pipe the side, there,

---

-229-

SMALL | MEDIUM
you boatswain's-mate! But here's another fellow
more on our quarter! boat a-hoy!"

   "Alacrity" -- returned another voice, in a di-
rection different from the other.

   "Alacrity! There goes my commission of Cap-
tain of this craft, in a whiff," returned the sail-
ing-master. -- "That is as much as to say, here
comes one, who will command when he gets on
board. Well, well, it is Mr. Griffith, and I can't
say, notwithstanding his love of knee-buckles, and
small wares, but I'm glad he is out of the hands of
the English! Ay, here they all come upon us at
once! here is another fellow, that pulls like the jol-
ly-boat, coming up on our lee-beam, within hail --
let us see if he is asleep -- boat a-hoy!

   "Flag," answered a third voice from a small,
light-rowing boat which had approached very near
the cutter, in a direct line from the cliffs, without
being observed."

   "Flag!" echoed Boltrope, dropping his trumpet
in amazement -- "that's a big word to come out
of a jolly-boat! Jack Manly himself could not
have spoke it with a fuller mouth -- but I'll know
who it is that carries such a weather helm, with a
Yankee man-of-war's prize! Boat a-hoy! I say."

   This last call was uttered in those short mena-
cing tones, that are intended to be understood as
intimating that the party hailing is in earnest; and
it caused the men who were rowing, and who
were now quite close to the cutter, to suspend their
strokes, simultaneously, as if they dreaded
that the cry would be instantly succeeded by
some more efficient means of ascertaining their
character. The figure that was seated by itself
in the stern of the boat, started at this second
summons, and then, as if with sudden recollection, a
quiet voice replied --

---

-230-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "No -- no."

   "`No -- no,' and `flag,' are very different an-
swers," grumbled Boltrope; "what know-nothing
have we here!"

   He was yet muttering his dissatisfaction at the
ignorance of the individual that was approaching,
whoever it might be, when the jolly-boat came
slowly to their side, and the Pilot stepped from
her stern-sheets on the decks of the prize.

   "Is it you, Mr. Pilot?" exclaimed the sailing-
master, raising a battle lantern within a foot of the
other's face, and looking with a sort of stupid won-
der at the proud and angry eye he encountered --
"is it you! well, I should have rated you for
a man of more experience than to come booming
down upon a man-of-war in the dark, with such a
big word in your mouth, when every boy in the
two vessels knows that we carry no swallow-tailed
bunting abroad! Flag! why you might have got
a shot, had there been soldiers."

   The Pilot threw him a still fiercer glance, and
turning away with a look of disgust, he walked
along the quarter-deck towards the stern of the
vessel, with an air of haughty silence, as if dis-
daining to answer. Boltrope kept his eyes
fastened on him for a moment longer, with some
appearance of scorn, but the arrival of the
boat first hailed, which proved to be the barge,
immediately drew his attention to other matters.
Barnstable had been rowing about in the ocean
for a long time, unable to find the cutter, and as
he had been compelled to suit his own demeanour
to those with whom he was associated, he reach-
ed the Alacrity in no very good-humoured
mood. Col. Howard and his niece had maintain-
ed, during the whole period, the most rigid silence,

---

-231-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the former from pride, and the latter touched with
her uncle's evident displeasure; and Katherine,
though secretly elated with the success of all
her projects, was content to emulate their de-
meanour for a short time, in order to save ap-
pearances. Barnstable had several times address-
ed himself to the latter, without receiving any other
answer than such as was absolutely necessary to pre-
vent the lover from taking direct offence, at the
same time that she intimated by her manner her
willingness to remain silent. Accordingly, the
lieutenant, after aiding the ladies to enter the
cutter, and offering to perform the same service
to Col. Howard, which was coldly declined,
turned, with that sort of irritation that is by no
means less rare in vessels of war than with poor
human nature generally, and gave vent to his
spleen where he dared.

   "How's this! Mr. Boltrope!" he cried, "here
are boats coming alongside with ladies in them,
and you keep your gaft swayed up till the leach
of the sail is stretched like a fiddle-string -- settle
away your peak-halyards, sir, settle away!"

   "Ay, ay, sir," grumbled the master; "settle
away that peak there; though the craft wouldn't
forge ahead a knot in a month, with all her gibs
hauled over!" He walked sulkily forward among
the men, followed by the meek divine; and added,
"I should as soon have expected to see Mr.
Barnstable come off with a live ox in his boat as
a petticoat! The Lord only knows what the
ship is coming to next, parson! what between
cocked hats and epaulettes, and other knee-buckle
matters, she was a sort of no-mans-land before,
and now, what with the women, and their ban-

---

-232-

SMALL | MEDIUM
boxes, they'll make another Noah's Ark of her.
I wonder they didn't all come aboard in a coach
and six, or a one horse shay!"

   It was a surprising relief to Barnstable to be able
to give utterance to his humour, for a few mo-
ments, by ordering the men to make sundry altera-
tions in every department of the vessel, in a quick,
hurried voice, that abundantly denoted, not only
the importance of his improvements, but the tem-
per in which they were dictated. In his turn,
however, he was soon compelled to give way by
the arrival of Griffith, in the heavily rowing launch
of the frigate, which was crowded with a larger
body of the seamen who had been employed
in the expedition. In this manner, boat after boat
speedily arrived, and the whole party were once
more happily embarked in safety, under their na-
tional flag.

   The small cabin of the Alacrity was relinquished
to Col. Howard and his wards, with their at-
tendants. The boats were dropped astern,
each protected by its own keeper; and Griffith
gave forth the mandate, to fill the sails and steer
broad off into the ocean. For more than an hour the
cutter held her course in this direction, gliding
gracefully through the glittering waters, rising and
settling heavily on the long, smooth billows, as if
conscious of the unusual burden that she was
doomed to carry; but at the end of that period,
her head was once more brought near the wind,
and she was again held at rest; awaiting the appear-
ance of the dawn, in order to discover the position
of the prouder vessel, on which she was perform-
ing the humble duty of a tender. More than a
hundred and fifty living men were crowded within
her narrow limits; and her decks presented, in

---

-233-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the gloom, as she moved along, the picture of a
mass of human heads.

   As the freedom of a successful expedition was
unavoidably permitted, loud jokes, and louder
merriment, broke on the silent waters, from the
reckless seamen, while the exhilarating can passed
from hand to hand, strange oaths, and dreadful
denunciations breaking forth, at times, from some
of the excited crew against their enemy. At
length the bustle of re-embarking gradually subsi-
ed, and many of the crew descended to the hold
of the cutter, in quest of room to stretch their limbs,
when a clear, manly voice, was heard rising above
the deep in those strains that a seaman most loves
to hear. Air succeeded air, from different voices,
until even the spirit of harmony grew dull with
fatigue, and verses began to be heard where songs
were expected, and fleeting lines succeeded stanzas.
The decks were soon covered with prostrate men,
seeking their natural rest, under the open heavens,
and perhaps dreaming, as they yielded heavily to
the rolling of the vessel, of the scenes of other
times in their own hemisphere. The dark glances of
Katherine were concealed beneath her falling lids;
and even Cecilia, with her head bowed on the
shoulder of her cousin, slept sweetly in innocence
and peace. Boltrope groped his way into the
hold among the seamen, where, kicking one of the
most fortunate of the men from his birth, he esta-
blished himself in his place, with all that cool in-
difference to the other's comfort, that had grown
with his experience, from the time when he was treat-
ed thus cavalierly in his own person, to the present
moment. In this manner, head was dropped after
head, on the planks, the guns, or on whatever first
offered for a pillow, until Griffith and Barnstable,

---

-234-

SMALL | MEDIUM
alone, were left pacing the different sides of the
quarter-deck, in haughty silence.

   Never did a morning watch appear so long to
the two young sailors, who were thus deprived, by
resentment and pride, of that frank and friendly
communion, that had for so many years sweetened
the tedious hours of their long, and at times,
dreary service. To increase the embarrassment of
their situation, Cecilia and Katherine, suffering
from the confinement of the small and crowded
cabin, sought the purer air of the deck, about the
time when the deepest sleep had settled on the
senses of the wearied mariners. They stood, lean-
ing against the taffrail, discoursing with each
other, in low and broken sentences; but a sort of
instinctive knowledge of the embarrassment which
existed between their lovers, caused a guarded con-
trol over every look or gesture which might be
construed into an encouragement for one of the
young men to advance at the expense of the other.
Twenty times, however, did the impatient Barn-
stable feel tempted to throw off the awkward re-
straint, and approach his mistress; but in each
instance was he checked by the secret conscious-
ness of error, as well as by that habitual respect for
superior rank that forms a part of the nature of a
sea-officer. On the other hand, Griffith manifested
no intention to profit by this silent concession in
his favour, but continued to pace the short quar-
ter-deck with strides more hurried than ever; and
was seen to throw many an impatient glance to-
wards that quarter of the heavens, where the first
signs of the lingering day might be expected to
appear. At length Katherine, with a ready inge-
nuity, and perhaps with some secret coquetry, re-
moved the embarrassment, by speaking first, tak-
ing care to address the lover of her cousin --

---

-235-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "How long are we condemned to these limited
lodgings, Mr. Griffith?" she asked; "truly, there
is a freedom in your nautical customs, which, to
say the least, is novel to us females, who have been
accustomed to the division of space!"

   "The instant that there is light to discover the
frigate, Miss Plowden," he answered, "you
shall be transferred from a vessel of an hundred,
to one of twelve hundred tons. If your situation
there be less comfortable, than when within the
walls of St. Ruth, you will not forget that they
who live on the ocean, claim it as a merit to despise
the luxuries of the land."

   "At least, sir," returned Katherine, with a sweet
grace, which she well knew how to assume on oc-
casion, "what we shall enjoy will be sweetened
by liberty, and embellished by a sailor's hospitality.
To me, Cicely, the air of this open sea is as fresh
and invigorating, as if it were wafted from our own
distant America!"

   "If you have not the arm of a patriot, you
at least possess a most loyal imagination, Miss
Plowden," said Griffith, laughing; "this soft
breeze blows in the direction of the fens of Hol-
land, instead of the broad plains of America. --
Thank God, there come the signs of day, at last!
unless the currents have swept the ship far to the
north, we shall surely see her with the light."

   This cheering intelligence drew the eyes of the
fair cousins towards the east, where their delighted
looks were long fastened, while they watched the
glories of the sun rising over the water. As the
morning had advanced, a deeper gloom was spread
across the ocean, and the stars were gleaming in
the heavens, like balls of twinkling fire. But now,
a streak of pale light showed itself along the
horizon, growing brighter, and widening at each

---

-236-

SMALL | MEDIUM
moment, until long, fleecy clouds became visible,
where nothing had been seen before but the dim
base of the arch that overhung the dark waters.
This expanding light, which, in appearance, might
be compared to a silvery opening in the heavens,
was soon tinged with a pale flush, which quick-
ened with sudden transitions into glows yet
deeper, until a belt of broad flame bounded the
water, diffusing itself more faintly towards the
zenith, where it melted into the pearl-coloured
sky, or played on the fantastic volumes of a few
light clouds with inconstant glimmering. While
these beautiful transitions were still before the eyes
of the youthful admirers of their beauties, a voice was
heard above them, crying as if from the heavens --

   "Sail -- ho! The frigate lies broad off to sea-
ward, sir!"

   "Ay, ay; you have been watching with one eye
asleep, fellow," returned Griffith, "or we should
have heard you before! Look a little north of
the place where the glare of the sun is coming,
Miss Plowden, and you will be able to see our
gallant vessel."

   An involuntary cry of pleasure burst from the
lips of Katherine, as she followed his directions,
and first beheld the frigate through the medium of
the fluctuating colours of the morning. The un-
dulating outline of the lazy ocean, which rose and
fell heavily against the bright boundary of the
heavens, was without any relief to distract the eye,
as it fed eagerly on the beauties of the solitary
ship. She was riding sluggishly on the long seas,
with only two of her lower and smaller sails
spread, to hold her in command; but her tall
masts and heavy yards were painted against the
fiery sky, in strong lines of deep black, while
even the smallest cord in the mazes of her rigging,

---

-237-

SMALL | MEDIUM
might be distinctly traced, stretching from spar to
spar, with the beautiful accuracy of a picture. At
moments, when her huge hull rose on a billow, and
was lifted against the back ground of sky, its shape
and dimensions were brought into view, but these
transient glimpses were soon lost, as it settled into
the trough, leaving the waving spars bowing grace-
fully towards the waters, as if about to follow the
vessel into the bosom of the deep. As a clearer light
gradually stole on the senses, the delusion of co-
lours and distance vanished together, and when a
flood of day preceded the immediate appearance of
the sun, the ship became plainly visible, within a mile
of the cutter, her black hull checkered with ports,
and her high tapering masts exhibiting their pro-
per proportions and hues.

   At the first cry of "a sail," the crew of the
Alacrity had been aroused from their slumbers, by
the shrill whistle of the boatswain, and long before
the admiring looks of the two cousins had ceased
to dwell on the fascinating sight of morning
chasing night from the hemisphere, the cutter was
again in motion to join her consort. It seemed
but a moment before their little vessel was in what
the timid females thought, a dangerous proximity
to the frigate, under whose lee she slowly passed,
in order to admit of the following dialogue between
Griffith and his aged commander:

   "I rejoice to see you, Mr. Griffith!" cried the
captain, who stood in the channel of his ship,
waving his hat, in the way of cordial greeting.
"You are welcome back, Capt. Manual; welcome,
welcome, all of you, my boys! as welcome as a
breeze in the calm latitudes." As his eye, how-
ever, passed along the deck of the Alacrity, it en-
countered the shrinking figures of Cecilia and

---

-238-

SMALL | MEDIUM
Katherine, and a dark shade of displeasure crossed
his decent features, while he added -- "How's this,
gentlemen! The frigate of Congress is neither a
ball-room, nor a church, that it is to be thronged
with women!"

   "Ay, ay," muttered Boltrope to his friend the
chaplain, "now the old man has hauled out his
mizzen, you'll see him carry a weather helm!
He wakes up about as often as the trades shift their
points, and that's once in six months. But when
there has been a neap-tide in his temper for any
time, you're sure to find it followed by a flood with
a vengeance. Let us hear what the first lieute-
nant can say in favour of his petticoat quality!"

   The blushing sky had not exhibited a more
fiery glow, than gleamed in the fine face of Grif-
fith for a moment; but struggling with his dis-
gust, he answered with bitter emphasis --

   "'Twas the pleasure of Mr. Gray, sir, to bring
off the prisoners."

   "Of Mr. Gray!" repeated the captain, instant-
ly losing every trace of displeasure, in an air of
acquiescence. "Come-to, sir, on the same tack
with the ship, and I will hasten to order the accom-
modation ladder rigged, to receive our guests!"

   Boltrope listened to this sudden alteration in
the language of his commander, with sufficient
wonder; nor was it until he had shaken his head
repeatedly, with the manner of one who saw deep-
er than his neighbours into a mystery, that he
found leisure to observe --

   "Now, parson, I suppose if you held an alma-
nack in your fist, you'd think you could tell which
way we shall have the wind to-morrow! but damn
me, priest, if better calculators than you havn't
failed! Because a lubberly -- no, he's a thorough
seaman, I'll say that for the fellow! -- because a

---

-239-

SMALL | MEDIUM
pilot chooses to say, `bring me off these here wo-
men,' the ship is to be so cluttered with she-cattle,
that a man will be obligated to spend half his time
in making his manners! Now mind what I tell
you, priest, this very frolic will cost Congress the
price of a year's wages for an able-bodied seaman,
in bunting and canvass for screens; besides the
wear and tear of running-gear in shortening sail, in
order that the women need not be 'stericky in
squalls!"

   The presence of Mr. Boltrope being required,
to take charge of the cutter, the divine was denied
an opportunity of dissenting from the opinions of
his rough companion; for the loveliness of their
novel shipmates, had not failed to plead loudly in
their favour, with every man in the cutter whose
habits and ideas had not become rigidly set
in obstinacy.

   By the time the Alacrity was hove-to, with her
head towards the frigate, the long line of boats
that she had been towing during the latter part
of the night, were brought to her side, and fill-
ed with men. A wild scene of unbridled mer-
riment and gayety succeeded, while the seamen
were exchanging the confinement of the prize
for their accustomed lodgings in the ship,
during which the reins of discipline were slightly
relaxed. Loud laughter was echoed from boat to
boat, as they glided by each other; and rude
jests, interlarded with quaint humours and strange
oaths, were freely bandied from mouth to mouth.
The noise, however, soon ceased, and the passage
of Col. Howard and his wards was then effected,
with less precipitancy, and due decorum. Capt.
Munson, who had been holding a secret dialogue
with Griffith and the Pilot, received his unex-

---

-240-

SMALL | MEDIUM
pected guests with plain hospitality, but with an
evident desire to be civil. He politely yielded
to their service his two convenient state-rooms,
and invited them to partake, in common with
himself, of the comforts of the great cabin.

---

-241-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 15

CHAPTER XV

"Furious press the hostile squadron,
Furious he repels their rage,
Loss of blood at length enfeebles;
Who can war with thousands wage?"


Spanish War Song.

   We cannot detain the narrative, to detail the
scenes which busy wonder, aided by the relation
of divers marvellous feats, produced among the
curious seamen who remained in the ship, and
their more fortunate fellows, who had returned in
glory from an expedition to the land. For nearly
an hour the turbulence of a general movement
was heard, issuing from the deep recesses of
the frigate, and the boisterous sounds of hoarse
merriment were listened to by the officers in in-
dulgent silence; but all these symptoms of un-
bridled humour ceased by the time the morning
repast was ended, when the regular sea-watch was
set, and the greater portion of those whose duty
did not require their presence on the vessel's
deck, availed themselves of the opportunity to re-
pair the loss of sleep sustained in the preceding
night. Still no preparations were made to put
the ship in motion, though long and earnest con-
sultations, which were supposed to relate to their
future destiny, were observed by the younger of-
ficers, to be held between their captain, the first

---

-242-

SMALL | MEDIUM
lieutenant, and the mysterious Pilot. The latter
threw many an anxious glance along the eastern
horizon, searching it minutely with his glass, and
then would turn his impatient looks at the low,
dense bank of fog, which, stretching across the
ocean like a barrier of cloud, entirely intercepted
the view towards the south. To the north and
along the land, the air was clear, and the sea
without spot of any kind; but in the east a small
white sail had been discovered since the opening
of day, which was gradually rising above the wa-
ter, and assuming the appearance of a vessel of
some size. Every officer on the quarter-deck in
his turn, had examined this distant sail, and had ven-
tured an opinion on its destination and character;
and even Katherine, who with her cousin was
enjoying, in the open air, the novel beauties of the
ocean, had been tempted to place her sparkling
eye to a glass, to gaze at the stranger.

   "It is a collier," Griffith said, "who has hauled
from the land in the late gale, and who is luffing
up to his course again. If the wind holds here in the
south, and he does not get into that fog bank, we
can stand off for him and get a supply of fuel be-
fore eight bells are struck."

   "I think his head is to the northward, and that
he is steering off the wind," returned the Pilot, in
a musing manner. "If that Dillon succeeded
in getting his express far enough along the coast,
the alarm has been spread, and we must be wary.
The convoy of the Baltic trade is in the North Sea,
and news of our presence could easily have been
taken off to it by some of the cutters that line the
coast -- I could wish to get the ship as far south
as the Helder!"

   "Then we lose this weather tide!" exclaimed
the impatient Griffith; "surely we have the cutter as
a look-out! besides, by beating into the fog, we

---

-243-

SMALL | MEDIUM
shall lose the enemy, if enemy it be, and it is
thought meet for an American frigate to skulk
from her foes!"

   The scornful expression that kindled the eye of
the Pilot, like a gleam of sunshine lighting for an
instant some dark dell and laying bare its secrets,
was soon lost in the usually quiet look of his
glance, though he hesitated like one who was
struggling with his passions, before he answered --

   "If prudence and the service of the States re-
quire it, even this proud frigate must retreat and
hide from the meanest of her enemies. My
advice, Capt. Munson, is, that you make sail, and
beat the ship to windward, as Mr. Griffith has sug-
gested, and that you order the cutter to precede
us, keeping more in with the land."

   The aged seaman, who evidently suspended his
orders, only to receive an intimation of the other's
pleasure, immediately commanded his youthful as-
sistant to issue the necessary mandates to put these
measures in force. Accordingly, the Alacrity,
which vessel had been left under the command of the
junior lientenant of the frigate, was quickly under
way; and making short stretches to windward, she
soon entered the bank of fog, and was lost to the
eye. In the mean time the canvass of the ship was
loosened, and spread leisurely, in order not to dis-
turb the portion of the crew who were sleeping, and
following her little consort, she moved heavily
through the water, bearing up against the dull
breeze.

   The quiet of regular duty had succeeded to the
bustle of making sail, and as the rays of the sun fell
less obliquely on the distant land, Katherine and
Cecilia were amusing Griffith by vain attempts to
point out the rounded eminences which they
fancied lay in the vicinity of the deserted mansion

---

-244-

SMALL | MEDIUM
of St. Ruth. Barnstable, who had resumed
his former station in the frigate, as her second lieu-
tenant, was pacing the opposite side of the quarter-
deck, holding under his arm the speaking trumpet,
which denoted that he held the temporary control
of the motions of the ship, and inwardly cursing the
restraint that kept him from the side of his mis-
tress. At this moment of universal quiet, when
nothing above low dialogues interrupted the dash-
ing of the waves as they were thrown lazily
aside by the bows of the vessel, the report of a
light cannon burst out of the barrier of fog, and
rolled by them on the breeze, apparently vibrat-
ing with the rising and sinking of the waters.

   "There goes the cutter!" exclaimed Griffith,
the instant the sound was heard.

   "Surely," said the captain, "Somers is not
so indiscreet as to scale his guns, after the caution
he has received!"

   "No idle scaling of guns is intended there,"
said the Pilot, straining his eyes to pierce the
fog, but soon turning away in disappointment at
his inability to succeed -- "that gun is shotted,
and has been fired in the hurry of a sudden signal!
-- can your look-outs see nothing, Mr. Barnstable?"

   The lieutenant of the watch hailed the man
aloft, and demanded if any thing were visible in the
direction of the wind, and received for answer, that
the fog intercepted the view in that quarter of the
heavens, but that the sail in the east was a ship,
running large or before the wind. The Pilot shook
his head doubtingly at this information, but still
he manifested a strong reluctance to relinquish the
attempt of getting more to the southward. Again
he communed with the commander of the frigate,
apart from all other ears, and while they yet de-
liberated, a second report was heard, leaving no

---

-245-

SMALL | MEDIUM
doubt but the Alacrity was firing signal guns for
their particular attention.

   "Perhaps," said Griffith, "he wishes to point
out his position, or to ascertain ours; believing that
we are lost like himself in the mist."

   "We have our compasses!" returned the doubt-
ing captain; "Somers has a meaning in what he
says!"

   "See!" cried Katherine, with girlish delight,
"see, my cousin! see Barnstable! how beautiful-
ly that vapour is wreathing itself in clouds above
the smoky line of fog! It stretches already into
the very heavens like a lofty pyramid!"

   Barnstable sprang lightly on a gun, as he re-
peated her words --

   "Pyramids of fog! and wreathing clouds! By
heaven!" he shouted, "'tis a tall ship! Royals,
skysails, and studding-sails all abroad! She is
within a mile of us, and comes down like a race
horse, with a spanking breeze, dead before it!
Now know we why Somers is speaking in the
mist!"

   "Ay," cried Griffith, "and there goes the
Alacrity, just breaking out of the fog, hover-
ing in for the land!"

   "There is a mighty hull under all that cloud
of canvass, Capt. Munson," said the observant but
calm Pilot -- "it is time, gentlemen, to edge
away to leeward."

   "What, before we know from whom we run!"
cried Griffith; "my life on it, there is no single
ship king George owns, but would tire of the sport
before she had played a full game of bowls with" --

   The haughty air of the young man was daunt-
ed by the severe look he encountered in the eye of
the Pilot, and he suddenly ceased, though in-
wardly chafing with impatient pride.

   "The same eye that detected the canvass above

---

-246-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the fog, might have seen the flag of a vice-admiral
fluttering still nearer the heavens," returned the
collected stranger; "and England, faulty as she
may be, is yet too generous to place a flag-officer
in time of war, in command of a frigate, or a cap-
tain in command of a fleet. She knows the value
of those who shed their blood in her behalf, and
it is thus that she is so well served! Believe me,
Capt. Munson, there is nothing short of a ship of
the line under that symbol of rank, and that broad
show of canvass!"

   "We shall see, sir, we shall see," returned the
old officer, whose manner grew decided, as the
danger appeared to thicken; "beat to quar-
ters, Mr. Griffith, for we have none but enemies to
expect on this coast."

   The order was instantly issued, when Griffith
remarked, with a more temperate zeal --

   "If Mr. Gray be right, we shall have reason to
thank God that we are so light of heel!"

   The cry of "a strange vessel close aboard the
frigate," having already flown down the hatches,
the ship was in an uproar at the first tap of the drum.
The seamen threw themselves from their hammocks
and lashing them rapidly into long, hard bundles,
they rushed to the decks, where they were dexter-
ously stowed in the netting, to aid the defences of the
upper part of the vessel. While this tumultuous
scene was exhibiting, Griffith gave a secret order to
Merry, who disappeared, leading his trembling
cousins to a place of safety in the inmost depths
of the ship.

   The guns were cleared of their lumber, and
loosened. The bulk-heads were knocked down, and
the cabin relieved of its furniture, and the gun
deck exhibited one unbroken line of formidable can-
non, arranged in all the order of a naval battery
ready to engage. Arm chests were thrown open,

---

-247-

SMALL | MEDIUM
and the decks strewed with pikes, cutlasses, pistols,
and all the various weapons for boarding. In short,
the yards were slung, and every other arrangement
was made with a readiness and dexterity that were
actually wonderful, though all was performed amid
an appearance of disorder and confusion that ren-
dered the ship another Babel during the continuance
of the preparations. In a very few minutes every
thing was completed, and even the voices of the
men ceased to be heard answering to their names,
as they were mustered at their stations, by their
respective officers. Gradually the ship became as
quiet as the grave, and when even Griffith or his
commander found it necessary to speak, their voices
were calmer, and their tones more mild than
usual. The course of the vessel was changed to an
oblique line from that in which their enemy was ap-
proaching, though the appearance of flight was to
be studiously avoided to the last moment. When
nothing further remained to be done, every eye be-
came fixed on the enormous pile of swelling can-
vass that was rising, in cloud over cloud, far
above the fog, and which was manifestly moving,
like driving vapour, swiftly to the north. Present-
ly the dull, smoky boundary of the mist which rested
on the water, was pushed aside in vast volumes,
and the longtaper spars that projected from the bow-
sprit of the strange ship, issued from the obscurity,
and were quickly followed by the whole of the enor-
mous fabric, to which they were merely light ap-
pendages. For a moment, streaks of reluctant
vapour clung to the huge, floating pile, but they
were soon shaken off by the rapid vessel, and
the whole of her black hull became distinct to the
eye.

   "One, two, three rows of teeth!" said Bolt-
rope, deliberately counting the tiers of guns that

---

-248-

SMALL | MEDIUM
bristled along the sides of the enemy; "a three
decker! Jack Manly would show his stern to
such a fellow! and even the bloody Scotchman
would run!"

   "Hard up with your helm, quarter-master!"
cried Capt. Munson; "there is indeed no time to
hesitate, with such an enemy within a quarter of a
mile! Turn the hands up Mr. Griffith, and pack
on the ship from her trucks to her lower studding-
sail booms. Be stirring, sir, be stirring! Hard
up with your helm! Hard up, and be damn'd to
you!"

   The unusual earnestness of their aged comman-
der acted on the startled crew like a voice from
the deep, and they waited not for the usual signals
of the boatswain and drummer to be given, before
they broke away from their guns, and rushed tu-
multuously to aid in spreading the desired can-
vass. There was one minute of ominous confu-
sion, that, to an inexperienced eye would have fore-
boded the destruction of all order in the vessel,
during which every hand, and each tongue, seemed
in motion; but it ended with opening the immense
folds of light duck which were displayed along
the whole line of the masts, far beyound the ordinary
sails, overshadowing the waters for a great distance,
on either side of the vessel. During the moment of
inaction that succeeded this sudden exertion, the
breeze which had brought up the three decker, fell
fresher on the sails of the frigate, and she started
away from her dangerous enemy with a very per-
ceptible advantage in point of sailing.

   "The fog rises! cried Griffith; "give us but
the wind for an hour, and we shall run her out of
gun-shot!"

   "These ninety's are very fast off the wind;"
returned the captain, in a low tone, that was in-

---

-249-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tended only for the ear of his first lieutenant
and the Pilot, "and we shall have a struggle
for it."

   The quick eye of the stranger was glancing
over the movements of his enemy, while he answer-
ed --

   "He finds we have the heels of him already!
he is making ready, and we shall be fortunate to
escape a broadside! Let her yaw a little, Mr.
Griffith; touch her lightly with the helm; if we
are raked, sir, we are lost!"

   The captain sprang on the taffrail of his ship,
with the activity of a younger man, and in an in-
stant he perceived the truth of the other's conjec-
ture.

   Both vessels now ran for a few minutes, keenly
watching each other's motions like two skilful com-
batants; the English ship making slight devia-
tions from the line of her course, and then, as her
movements were anticipated by the other, turning
as cautiously in the opposite direction, until a
sudden and wide sweep of her huge bows, told the
Americans plainly on which tack to expect her.
Capt. Munson made a silent, but impressive ges-
ture with his arm, as if the crisis were too impor-
tant for speech, which indicated to the watchful
Griffith, the way he wished the frigate sheered,
to avoid the weight of the impending danger.
Both vessels whirled swiftly up to the wind, with
their heads towards the land, and as the huge black
side of the three-decker, checkered with its triple
batteries, frowned full upon her foe, it belch-
ed forth a flood of fire and smoke, accompa-
nied by a bellowing roar that mocked the surly
moanings of the sleeping ocean. The nerves of the
bravest man in the frigate contracted their fibres,

---

-250-

SMALL | MEDIUM
as the hurricane of iron hurtled by them, and each
eye appeared to gaze in stupid wonder, as if tra-
cing the flight of the swift engines of destruction.
But the voice of Capt. Munson was heard in the
din, shouting, while he waved his hat earnestly in
the required direction --

   "Meet her! meet her with the helm, boy! meet
her, Mr. Griffith, meet her!"

   Griffith had so far anticipated this movement, as
to have, already, ordered the head of the frigate
turned in its former course, when struck by the
unearthly cry of the last tones uttered by his com-
mander, he bent his head, and beheld the venerable
seaman driven through the air, his hat still waving,
his gray hair floating in the wind, and his eye set
in the wild look of death.

   "Great God!" exclaimed the young man, rush-
ing to the side of the ship, where he was just in
time to see the lifeless body disappear in the wa-
ters that were dyed in its blood; "he has been
struck by a shot! Lower-away the boat, lower-
away the jolly-boat, the barge, the tiger, the --

   "'Tis useless," interrupted the calm, deep voice
of the Pilot; "he has met a warrior's end, and he
sleeps in a sailor's grave! The ship is getting be-
fore the wind again, and the enemy is keeping his
vessel away."

   The youthful lieutenant was recalled by these
words to his duty, and reluctantly turned his eyes
away from the bloody spot on the dark waters,
which the busy frigate had already passed, to re-
sume the command of the vessel with a forced
composure.

   "He has cut some of our running gear," said
the master, whose eye had never ceased to dwell
on the spars and rigging of the ship, "and there's
a splinter out of the main-top-mast, that is big
enough for a fid! He's let day-light through some

---

-251-

SMALL | MEDIUM
of our canvass too, but taking it by-and-large, the
squall has gone over and little harm done. -- Didn't
I hear something said of Capt. Munson getting
jamm'd by a shot?"

   "He is killed!" -- said Griffith, speaking in a
voice that was yet husky with horror -- "he is dead,
sir, and carried overboard; there is more need
that we forget not ourselves, in this crisis."

   "Dead!" said Boltrope, suspending the ope-
ration of his active jaws for a moment, in surprise;
"and buried in a wet jacket! well, it is lucky
'tis no worse, for, damme if I did not think every
stick in the ship would have been cut out of her!"

   With this consolatory remark on his lips, the
master walked slowly forward, continuing his or-
ders to repair the damages with a singleness of
durpose that rendered him, however uncouth as a
friend, an invaluable man in his station.

   Griffith had not yet brought his mind to the
calmness that was so essential to discharge the
duties which had thus suddenly and awfully de-
volved on him, when his elbow was lightly touched
by the Pilot, who had drawn closer to his side --

   "The enemy appear satisfied with the experi-
ment," said the stranger, "and as we work the
quicker of the two, he loses too much ground to
repeat it, if he be a true seaman."

   "And yet, as he finds we leave him so fast,"
returned Griffith, "he must see that all his hopes
rest, in cutting us up aloft. I dread that he will
come by the wind again, and lay us under his
broadside; we should need a quarter of an hour to
run without his range, if he were anchored!"

   "He plays a surer game -- see you not that the
vessel we made in the eastern board, shows the hull
of a frigate? 'Tis past a doubt that they are of
one squadron, and that the expresses have sent

---

-252-

SMALL | MEDIUM
them in our wake. The English admiral has
spread a broad clue, Mr. Griffith, and as he
gathers in his ships, he sees that his game has
been successful."

   The faculties of Griffith had been too much oc-
cupied with the hurry of the chase to look at the
ocean; but startled at the information of the
Pilot, who spoke coolly, though like a man sensi-
ble of the existence of approaching danger, he
took the glass from the other, and with his own
eye examined the different vessels in sight. It is
certain that the experienced officer, whose flag
was flying above the light sails of the three-deck-
er, saw the critical situation of his chase, and rea-
soned much in the same manner as the Pilot, or
the fearful expedient apprehended by Griffith,
would have been adopted. Prudence, however,
dictated that he should prevent his enemy from
escaping by pressing so closely on his rear, as to
render it impossible for the American to haul
across his bows and run into the open sea between
his own vessel and the nearest frigate of his
squadron. The unpractised reader will be able to
comprehend the case better by accompanying the un-
derstanding eye of Griffith as it glanced from point
to point, following the whole horizon. To the
west lay the land, along which the Alacrity was
urging her way industriously, with the double
purpose of keeping her consort abeam, and of
avoiding a dangerous proximity to their power-
ful enemy. To the east, bearing off the starboard
bow of the American frigate, was the vessel first
seen, and which now began to exhibit the hostile
appearance of a vessel of war, steering in a line con-
verging towards themselves, and rapidly drawing
nigher, while far in the north-east, was a vessel,
as yet faintly discerned, whose evolutions could

---

-253-

SMALL | MEDIUM
not be mistaken by one who understood the move-
ments of nautical warfare.

   "We are hemmed in, effectually," said Griffith,
dropping the glass from his eye; "and I know
not but our wisest course would be to haul in to
the land, and cutting every thing light adrift, en-
deavour to pass the broadside of the flag-ship?"

   "Provided she left a rag of canvass to do it
with!" returned the Pilot. "Sir, 'tis an idle
hope! She would strip your ship, in ten mi-
nutes, to her plank shears. Had it not been for
a lucky wave on which so many of her shot struck
and glanced upward, we should have had nothing
to boast of left from the fire she has already given;
we must stand on, and drop the three decker as
ar as possible."

   "But the frigates!" said Griffith, "what are we
to do with the frigates?"

   "Fight them!" returned the Pilot, in a low,
determined voice, "fight them! Young man, I
have borne the stars and stripes aloft in greater
straits than this, and even with honour! Think
not that my fortune will desert me now!"

   "We shall have an hour of desperate battle!"

   "On that we may calculate; but I have lived
through whole days of bloodshed! you seem not
one to quail at the sight of an enemy."

   "Let me proclaim your name to the men!"
said Griffith; "'twill quicken their blood, and at
such a moment, be a host in itself."

   "They want it not," returned the Pilot, check-
ing the hasty zeal of the other with his hand. "I
would be unnoticed, unless I am known as becomes
me. I will share your danger, but would not rob
you of a tittle of your glory. Should we come to
a grapple," he continued, while a smile of con-
scious pride gleamed across his face, "I will give

---

-254-

SMALL | MEDIUM
forth the word as a war-cry, and, believe me,
these English will quail before it!"

   Griffith submitted to the stranger's will, and
after they had deliberated further on the nature of
their evolutions, he gave his attention again to the
management of the vessel. The first object which
met his eye, on turning from the Pilot, was Col.
Howard, pacing the quarter-deck, with a determin-
ed brow, and a haughty mien, as if already in the
enjoyment of that triumph which now seemed
certain.

   "I fear, sir," said the young man, approaching
him with respect, "that you will soon find the
deck unpleasant and dangerous: your wards
are -- "

   "Mention not the unworthy term!" interrupted
the colonel. "What greater pleasure can there
be than to inhale the odour of loyalty that is waft-
ed from yonder floating tower of the king! --
And danger! you know but little of old George
Howard, young man, if you think he would for
thousands miss seeing that symbol of rebellion
levelled before the flag of his Majesty."

   "If that be your wish, Col. Howard," re-
turned Griffith, biting his lip as he looked around
at the wondering seamen who were listeners, "you
will wait in vain -- but I pledge you my word, that
when that time arrives, you shall be advised, and
that your own hands shall do the ignoble deed."

   "Edward Griffith, why not this moment? This
is your moment of probation -- submit to the cle-
mencyof the crown, and yield your crew to the royal
mercy! In such a case I would remember the
child of my brother Harry's friend; and believe
me, my name is known to the ministry. And you,
misguided and ignorant abettors of rebellion! cast

---

-255-

SMALL | MEDIUM
aside your useless weapons, or prepare to meet the
vengeance of yonder powerful and victorious ser-
vant of your prince."

   "Fall back! back with ye, fellows!" cried
Griffith, fiercely, to the men who were gathering
around the colonel, with looks of sullen vengeance.
"If a man of you dare approach him, he shall be
cast into the sea."

   The sailors retreated at the order of their com-
mander; but the elated veteran had continued to
pace the deck for many minutes before stronger in-
terests diverted the angry glances of the seamen to
other objects.

   Notwithstanding the ship of the line was slowly
sinking beneath the distant waves, and in less than
an hour from the time she had fired the broadside,
no more than one of her three tiers of guns was vi-
sible from the deck of the frigate, she yet presented
an irresistible obstacle against retreat to the south.
On the other hand the ship first seen, drew so nigh as
to render the glass no longer necessary in watching
her movements. She proved to be a frigate,
though one so materially lighter than the Ameri-
can, as to have rendered her conquest easy, had
not her two consorts continued to press on for the
scene of battle with such rapidity. During
the chase the scene had shifted from the point
opposite to St. Ruth, to the verge of those shoals
where our tale commenced. As they approach-
ed the latter, the smallest of the English ships
drew so nigh as to render the combat unavoida-
ble. Griffith and his crew had not been idle
in the intermediate time, but all the usual prepara-
tions against the casualties of a sea-fight had been
duly made, when the drum once more called the men
to their quarters, and the ship was deliberately strip-
ped of her unnecessary sails, like a prizefighter about

---

-256-

SMALL | MEDIUM
to enter the arena, casting aside the incumbrances of
dress; at the instant she gave this intimation of
her intention to abandon flight, and trust the issue
to the combat, the nearest English frigate also
took in her light canvass in token of her acceptance
of the challenge.

   "He is but a little fellow," said Griffith to the
Pilot, who hovered at his elbow with a sort of
fatherly interest in the other's conduct of the battle,
"though he carries a stout heart."

   "We must crush him at a blow," returned the
stranger; "not a shot must be delivered until our
yards are locking."

   "I see him training his twelves upon us already;
we may soon expect his fire."

   "After standing the brunt of a Ninety-gun-ship,"
observed the collected Pilot, "we shall not shrink
from the broadside of a Two-and-thirty!"

   "Stand to your guns, men!" cried Griffith,
through his trumpet -- "not a shot is to be fired
without the order."

   This caution, so necessary to check the ardour of
the seamen, was hardly uttered, before their enemy
became wrapped in sheets of fire and volumes of
smoke, as gun after gun hurled its iron missiles at
their vessel in quick succession. Ten minutes
might have passed, the two vessels sheering
closer to each other every foot they advanced,
during which time the crew of the American
were compelled, by their commander, to suffer the
fire of their adversary, without returning a shot.
This short period, which seemed an age to the
seamen, was distinguished in their vessel by deep
silence. Even the wounded and dying, who fell
in every part of the ship, stifled their groans, un-
der the influence of the severe discipline, which
gave a character to every man and each movement of

---

-257-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the vessel; and those officers who were required to
speak, were heard only in the lowest tones of
resolute preparation. At length the ship slowly
entered the skirts of the smoke that enveloped their
enemy, and Griffith heard the man who stood at
his side whisper the word "now."

   "Let them have it!" cried Griffith, in a voice
that was heard in the remotest parts of the ship.

   The shout that burst from the seamen, appeared
to lift the decks of the vessel, and the affrighted
frigate trembled like an aspen, with the recoil of
her own massive artillery, that shot forth a single
sheet of flame, the sailors having disregarded, in
their impatience, the usual order of firing. The
effect of the broadside on the enemy was still more
dreadful, for a death-like silence succeeded to the
roar of the guns, which was only broken by the
shrieks and execrations that burst from her, like the
moanings of the dammed. During the few moments in
which the Americans were again loading their
cannon, and the English were recovering from
their confusion, the vessel of the former moved slow-
ly past her antagonist, and was already doubling
across her bows, when the latter was suddenly,
and, considering the inequality of their forces, it
may be added desperately, headed into her enemy.
The two frigates grappled. The sudden and furious
charge made by the Englishman, as he threw his
masses of daring seamen along his bowsprit, and
out of his channels, had nearly taken Griffith by
surprise; but Manual, who had delivered his first
fire with the broadside, now did good service, by
ordering his men to beat back the intruders, by a
steady and continued discharge. Even the wary
Pilot lost sight of their other foes, in the high
daring of that moment, and smiles of stern pleasure
were exchanged between him and Griffith, as

---

-258-

SMALL | MEDIUM
both comprehended at a glance their advan-
tages.

   "Lash his bowsprit to our mizzen-mast," shout-
ed the lieutenant, "and we will sweep his decks as
he lies!"

   Twenty men sprang eagerly forward to execute
the order, among the foremost of whom were Bol-
trope and the stranger.

   "Ay, now he's our own!" cried the busy mas-
ter, "and we will take an owner's liberties with
him, and break him up -- for by the eternal -- "

   "Peace, rude man," said the Pilot, in a voice of
solemn remonstrance; "at the next instant you
may face your God; mock not his awful name!"

   The master found time, before he threw himself
from the spar, to the deck of the frigate again, to
cast a look of amazement at his companion, who,
with a steady mien, but with an eye that lighted
with a warrior's ardour, viewed the battle that
raged around him, like one who marked its pro-
gress, to control the result.

   The sight of the Englishmen, rushing onward
with shouts, and bitter menaces, warmed the blood
of Col. Howard, who pressed to the side of the
frigate, and encouraged his friends, by his ges-
tures and voice, to come on.

   "Away with ye, old croaker!" cried the master,
seizing him by the collar; "away with ye to the
hold, or I'll order you fired from a gun."

   "Down with your arms, rebelliousdog!" shout-
ed the colonel, carried beyond himself by the ar-
dour of the fray; "down to the dust, and implore
the mercy of your injured prince!"

   Invigorated by a momentary glow, the veteran
grappled with his brawny antagonist, but the issue
of the short struggle was yet suspended, when the
English, driven back by the fire of the marines, and

---

-259-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the menacing front that Griffith, with his boarders
presented, retreated to the forecastle of their own
ship, and attempted to return the deadly blows they
were receiving in their hull from the cannon
that Barnstable directed. A solitary gun was all
they could bring to bear on the Americans,
but this, loaded with cannister, was fired so
near as to send its glaring flame into the very
faces of their enemies. The yielding colonel,
who was already sinking beneath the arm of his
foe, felt the rough grasp loosen from his throat,
and the two combatants sunk powerless on their
knees, facing each other.

   "How now, brother!" exclaimed Boltrope, with
a smile of grim fierceness; "some of that grist has
gone to your mill, ha!"

   No answer could, however be given, before the
yielding forms of both fell to the deck, where they
lay helpless, amid the din of the battle and the
wild confusion of the eager combatants.

   Notwithstanding the furious struggle they wit-
nessed, the elements did not cease their functions;
and urged by the breeze, and lifted irresistibly
on a wave, the American ship was forced
through the water still further across the bows of
her enemy. The idle fastenings of hemp and iron,
were snapped asunder, like strings of tow, and
Griffith saw his own ship borne away from the
Englishman at the instant that the bowsprit
of the latter was torn from its lashings, and tum-
bled into the sea, followed by spar after spar, until
nothing of all her proud tackling was remaining,
but the few parted and useless ropes that were left
dangling along the stumps of her lower masts.
As his own stately vessel moved from the confusion
she had caused, and left the dense cloud of smoke
in which her helpless antagonist lay, the eye of

---

-260-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the young man glanced anxiously towards the
horizon, where he now remembered he had more foes
to contend against.

   "We have shaken off the thirty-two most happi-
ly!" he said to the Pilot, who followed his motions
with singular interest; "but here is another fellow
sheering in for us, who shows as many ports as
ourselves, and who appears inclined for a closer
interview; besides the hull of the Ninety is rising
again, and I fear she will be down but too soon!"

   "We must keep the use of our braces and sails,"
returned the Pilot. "and on no account close with
the other frigate -- we must play a double game, sir,
and fight this new adversary with our heels as well
as with our guns."

   " 'Tis time then that we were busy, for he is
shortening sail, and as he nears so fast we may
expect to hear from him every minute; what do
you propose, sir?

   "Let him gather in his canvass," returned the
Pilot, "and when he thinks himself snug, we can
throw out a hundred men at once upon our yards
and spread every thing alow and aloft; we may
then draw ahead of him by surprise; if we can once
get him in our wake I have no fears of dropping
them all."

   "A stern chace is a long chase," cried Griffith,
and the thing may do! Clear up the decks, here,
and carry down the wounded; and as we have
our hands full, the poor fellows who have done
with us, must go overboard at once."

   This melancholy duty was instantly attended to,
while the young seaman who commanded the fri-
gate returned to his duty, with the absorbed air of
one who felt all its responsibility. His occupations,
however, did not prevent his hearing the sounds of
Barnstable's voice, calling eagerly to young Merry.
Bending his head towards the sound, Griffith be-
held his friend, looking anxiously up the main

---

-261-

SMALL | MEDIUM
hatch, with a face grimed with smoke, his coat
off, and his shirt bespattered with human blood --
"Tell me, boy," he said, "is Mr. Griffith untouch-
ed? They say that a shot came in upon the quarter
deck that tripped up the heels of half a dozen."

   Before Merry could answer, the eyes of Barn-
stable, which even while he spoke were scanning the
state of the vessel's rigging, encountered the kind
looks of Griffith, and from that moment perfect
harmony was restored between the friends.

   "Ah! you are there Griff. and with a whole skin,
I see," cried Barnstable, smiling with pleasure;"
"they have passed poor Boltrope down into one
of his own store-rooms! If that fellow's bowsprit
had held on ten minutes longer, what a mark I
should have made on his face and eyes!"

   " 'Tis perhaps best as it is," returned Griffith;
"but what have you done with those whom we are
bound to protect?

   Barnstable made a significant gesture towards
the depths of the vessel as he answered --

   "On the cables; safe as wood, iron, and water
can keep them -- though Katherine has had her
head up three times to -- "

   A summons from the Pilot drew Griffith away,
and the young officers were compelled to forget
their individual feelings, in the pressing duties of
their stations.

   The ship which the American frigate had now
to oppose, was a vessel of near her own size and
equipage, and when Griffith looked at her again,
he perceived that she had made her preparations
to assert her equality in manful fight.

   Her sails had been gradually reduced to the
usual quantity, and, by certain movements on her
decks, the lieutenant and his constant attendant the
Pilot, well understood that she only wanted to

---

-262-

SMALL | MEDIUM
lessen her distance a few hundred yards to begin
the action.

   "Now spread every thing," whispered the
stranger.

   Griffith applied the trumpet to his mouth, and
shouted in a voice that was carried even to his
enemy -- "Let fall -- out with your booms -- sheet
home, and hoist away every thing!"

   The inspiriting cry was answered by a universal
bustle; fifty men flew out on the dizzy heights of
the different spars, while broad sheets of canvass
rose as suddenly along the masts, as if some mighty
bird were spreading its wings. The Englishman in-
stantly perceived his mistake, and he answered the
artifice by a roar of artillery. Griffith watched the
effects of the broadside with an absorbing interest,
as the shot whistled above his head, but when he
perceived his masts untouched and the few unimpor-
tant ropes only that were cut, he replied to the
uproar with a burst of pleasure. A few men were
however seen clinging with wild frenzy to the cor-
dage, dropping from rope to rope like wounded
birds fluttering through a tree, until they fell
heavily into the ocean, the sullen ship sweeping by
them, in cold indifference. At the next instant the
spars and masts of their enemy exhibited a display
of men similar to their own, when Griffith again
placed the trumpet to his mouth, and called aloud:

   "Give it to them; drive them from their yards,
boys; scatter them with your grape -- unreeve
their rigging!"

   The crew of the American wanted but little en-
couragement to enter on this experiment with hearty
good will, and the close of his cheering words were
uttered amid the deafening roar of his own cannon.
The Pilot had, however, mistaken the skill and readi-
ness of their foe, for notwithstanding the disadvan-

---

-263-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tageous circumstances under which the Englishman
increased his sail, the duty was steadily and dex-
terously performed.

   The two ships were now running rapidly on
parallel lines, hurling at each other their instru-
ments of destruction, with furious industry, and
with severe and certain loss to both, though with no
manifest advantage in favour of either. Both Grif-
fith and the Pilot witnessed with deep concern
this unexpected defeat of their hopes, for they could
not conceal from themselves, that each moment les-
sened their velocity through the water, as the shot
of their enemy, stripped the canvass from the yards,
or dashed aside the lighter spars in their terrible
progress.

   "We find our equal here!" said Griffith to the
stranger. "The Ninety is heaving up again, like
a mountain, and if we continue to shorten sail at
this rate, she will soon be upon us!"

   "You say true, sir," returned the Pilot, musing;
"the man shows judgment as well as spirit; but -- "

   He was interrupted by Merry, who rushed from
the forward part of the vessel, his whole face beto-
kening the eagerness of his spirit, and the impor-
tance of his intelligence --

   "The breakers!" he cried, when nigh enough
to be heard amid the din; "we are running dead
on a ripple, and the sea is white not two hundred
yards ahead!"

   "The Pilot jumped on a gun, and bending to
catch a glimpse through the smoke, he shouted,
in those clear, piercing tones, that could be even
heard among the roaring of the cannon. "Port, port
your helm! we are on the Devil's Grip! pass up
the trumpet, sir; port your helm, fellow; give it
them, boys -- give it to the proud English dogs!"
Griffith unhesitatingly relinquished the symbol of

---

-264-

SMALL | MEDIUM
his rank, fastening his own firm look on the calm but
quick eye of the Pilot, and gathering assurance
from the high confidence he read in the counte-
nance of the stranger. The seamen were too busy
with their cannon and their rigging to regard the
new danger, and the frigate entered one of the
dangerous passes of the shoals, in the heat of a
severely contested battle. The wondering looks
of a few of the older sailors glanced at the sheets
of foam that flew by them, in doubt whether the
wild gambols of the waves were occasioned by the
shot of the enemy, when suddenly the noise of can-
non was succeeded by the sullen wash of the disturb-
ed element, and presently the vessel glided out of
her smoky shroud, and was boldly steering in the
centre of the narrow passages. For ten breathless
minutes longer the Pilot continued to hold an unin-
terrupted sway, during which the vessel ran swiftly
by ripples and breakers, by streaks of foam and
darker passages of deep water, when he threw down
his trumpet and exclaimed --

   "What threatened to be our destruction has
proved our salvation! -- keep yonder hill crowned
with wood, one point open from the church tower
at its base, and steer east and by north; you will
run through these shoals on that course in an hour,
and by so doing, you will gain five leagues of
your enemy, who will have to double their tail."

   The moment he stepped from the gun, the Pilot
lost the air of authority that had so singularly
distinguished his animated form, and even the close
interest he had manifested in the incidents of the
day, became lost in the cold, settled reserve he had
affected during his intercourse with his present as-
sociates. Every officer in the ship, after the
breathless suspense of uncertainty had passed,
rushed to those places where a view might be

---

-265-

SMALL | MEDIUM
taken of their enemies. The Ninety was still
steering boldly onward, and had already ap-
proached the Two-and-thirty, which lay, a help-
less wreck, rolling on the unruly seas, that were
rudely tossing her on their wanton billows. The
frigate last engaged was running along the edge of
the ripple, with her torn sails flying loosely in the
air, her ragged spars tottering in the breeze, and
every thing above her hull exhibiting the confu-
sion of a sudden and unlooked-for check to her
progress. The exulting taunts and mirthful con-
gratulations of the seamen, as they gazed at the
English ships, were, however, soon forgotten in the
attention that was required to their own vessel.
The drums beat the retreat, the guns were lashed,
the wounded again removed, and every individual,
able to keep the deck, was required to lend his
assistance in repairing the damages of the frigate
and securing her masts.

   The promised hour carried the ship safely
through all the dangers, which were much lessened
by daylight, and by the time the sun had begun to
fall over the land, Griffith, who had not quit-
ted the deck during the day, beheld his vessel once
more cleared of the confusion of the chase and bat-
tle, and ready to meet another foe. At this period
he was summoned to the cabin, at the request of
the ship's chaplain. Delivering the charge of the
frigate to Barnstable, who had been his active as-
sistant, no less in their subsequent labours than
in the combat, he hastily devested himself of the
vestiges of the fight, and proceeded to obey the
repeated and earnest call.

---

-266-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 16

CHAPTER XVI.

     Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day;
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
     Thy solitary way?


Bryant.

   When the young seaman, who now commanded
the frigate, descended from the quarter-deck in
compliance with the often repeated summons, he
found the vessel restored to the same neatness as if
nothing had occurred to disturb its order. The
gun-deck had been cleansed of its horrid stains, and
the smoke of the fight had long since ascended
through the hatches, and mingled with the clouds
that flitted above the ship. As he walked along the
silent batteries, even the urgency of his visit could
not prevent him from glancing his eyes towards the
splintered sides, those terrible vestiges, by which
the paths of the shot of their enemy might be tra-
eed; and by the time he tapped lightly at the door
of the cabin, his quick look had embraced every
material injury the vessel had sustained in her
principal points of defence. The door was open-
ed by the surgeon of the frigate, who, as he step-
ped aside to permit Griffith to enter, shook his
head with that air of meaning, which, in one of
his profession, is understood to imply the aban-
donment of all hopes, and then immediately quit-

---

-267-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ted the apartment, in order to attend to those who
might profit by his services.

   The reader is not to imagine that Griffith had
lost sight of Cecilia and her cousin during the oc-
currences of that eventful day; on the contrary,
his troubled fancy had presented her terror and dis-
tress, even in the hottest moments of the fight,
and the instant that the crew were called from
their guns, he had issued an order to replace the
bulk-heads of the cabin, and to arrange its furni-
ture for their accommodation, though the higher
and imperious duties of his station had precluded
his attending to their comfort in person. He ex-
pected, therefore, to find the order of the rooms
restored, but he was by no means prepared to
encounter the scene he was now to witness.

   Between two of the sullen cannon, which gave
such an air of singular wildness to the real comfort
of the cabin, was placed a large couch, on which
the Colonel was lying, evidently near his end.
Cecilia was weeping by his side, her dark ringlets
falling in unheeded confusion around her pale fea-
tures, and sweeping in their rich exuberance the
deck on which she kneeled. Katherine leaned
tenderly over the form of the dying veteran, while
her dark, tearful eyes seemed to express self-accu-
sation blended with deep commiseration. A few
attendants of both sexes surrounded the solemn
scene, all of whom appeared to be under the influ-
ence of the hopeless intelligence which the medical
officer had but that moment communicated. The
servants of the ship had replaced the furniture
with a care that mocked the dreadful struggle
that so recently disfigured the warlike apartment,
and the stout, square frame of Boltrope occupied
the opposite settee, his head resting on the lap of
the Captain's Steward, and his hand gently held
in the grasp of his friend the Chaplain. Griffith

---

-268-

SMALL | MEDIUM
had heard of the wound of the master, but his
own eyes now conveyed the first intelligence of
the situation of Colonel Howard. When the
shock of this sudden discovery had a little sub-
sided, the young man approached the couch of
the latter, and attempted to express his regret
and pity, in a voice that afforded an assurance of
his sincerity.

   "Say no more, Edward Griffith," interrupted
the Colonel, waving his hand feebly for silence;
"it seemeth to be the will of God that this rebel-
lion should triumph, and it is not for vain man to
impeach the acts of Omnipotence! To my erring
faculties, it wears an appearance of mystery, but
doubtless it is to answer the purpose of his own
inscrutable providence! I have sent for you, Ed-
ward, on a business that I would fain see accom-
plished before I die, that it may not be said old
George Howard neglected his duty, even in his
last moments. You see this weeping child at my
side; tell me, young man, do you love the maid-
en?"

   "Am I to be asked such a question?" exclaim-
ed Griffith.

   "And will you cherish her -- will you supply to
her the places of father and mother, will you be-
come the fond guardian of her innocence and
weakness?"

   Griffith could give no other answer than a fer-
vent pressure of the hand he had clasped.

   "I believe you," continued the dying man;
"for however he may have forgotten to inculcate
his own loyalty, worthy Hugh Griffith could ne-
ver neglect to make his son a man of honour. I
had weak, and perhaps evil wishes in behalf of my
late unfortunate kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon;
but they have told me that he was false to his
faith. If this be true, I would refuse him the hand

---

-269-

SMALL | MEDIUM
of the girl, though he claimed the fealty of the
British realms! But he has passed away, and I am
about to follow him into a world where we shall
find but one Lord to serve, and it may have been
better for us both had we more remembered our
duty to Him, while serving the Princes of the earth.
One thing further -- know you this officer of your
congress well; this Mr. Barnstable?"

   "I have sailed with him for years," returned
Griffith, "and can answer for him as myself."

   The veteran made an effort to rise, which in
part succeeded, and he fastened on the youth a
look of keen scrutiny that gave to his pallid fea-
tures an expression of solemn meaning, as he con-
tinued --

   "Speak not now, sir, as the companion of his
idle pleasures, and as the unthinking associate
commends his fellow, but remember that your opin-
ion is given to a dying man who leans on your judg-
ment for advice. The daughter of John Plow-
den is a trust not to be neglected, nor will my
death prove easy, if a doubt of her being worthily
bestowed shall remain!"

   "He is a gentleman," returned Griffith, "and
one whose heart is not less kind than gallant -- he
loves your ward, and great as may be her merit,
he is deserving of it all -- like myself, he has also
loved the land that gave him birth, before the
land of his ancestors, but -- "

   "That is now forgotten," interrupted the Colo-
nel; "after what I have this day witnessed I am
forced to believe that it is the pleasure of Heaven
that you are to prevail! But, sir, a disobedient in-
ferior will be apt to make an unreasonable com-
mander. The recent contention between you -- "

   "Remember it not, dear sir," exclaimed Grif-
fith with generous zeal -- " 'twas unkindly provo-
ked, and it is already forgotten and pardoned.

---

-270-

SMALL | MEDIUM
He has sustained me nobly throughout the day,
and my life on it, that he knows how to treat a
woman as a brave man should!"

   "Then am I content!" said the veteran, sinking
back on his couch; "let him be summoned."

   The whispered message, which Griffith gave re-
questing Mr. Barnstable to enter the cabin, was
quickly conveyed, and he had appeared before his
friend deemed it discreet to disturb the reflections
of the veteran by again addressing him. When the
entrance of the young sailor was announced, the
Colonel again roused himself, and addressed his
wondering listener, though in a manner much less
confiding and familiar, than that which he had
adopted towards Griffith.

   "The declarations you made last night, relative
to my ward, the daughter of the late Captain John
Plowden, sir, have left me nothing to learn on the
subject of your wishes. Here, then, gentlemen,
you both obtain the reward of your attentions!
Let that reverend divine hear you pronounce the
marriage vows, while I have strength to listen,
that I may be a witness against ye, in heaven,
should ye forget their tenor!

   "Not now, not now," murmured Cecilia; "Oh
ask it not now, my uncle!"

   Katherine spoke not, but deeply touched by the
tender interest her guardian manifested in her
welfare, she bowed her face to her bosom, in
subdued feeling, and suffered the tears that had
been suffusing her eyes to roll down her cheeks
in large drops, till they bathed the deck.

   "Yes, now, my love," continued the Colonel,
"or I fail in my duty. I go shortly to stand face
to face with your parents, my children; for the
man, who dying, expects not to meet worthy
Hugh Griffith and honest Jack Plowden in heaven,
can have no clear view of the rewards that belong

---

-271-

SMALL | MEDIUM
to lives of faithful service to the country, or of gal-
lant loyalty to the King! I trust no one can just-
ly say, that I ever forgot the delicacy due to your
gentle sex; but it is no moment for idle ceremony
when time is shortening into minutes, and heavy
duties remain to be discharged. I could not die
in peace, children, were I to leave you here in the
wide ocean, I had almost said in the wide world,
without that protection which becomes your ten-
der years and still more tender characters. If it
has pleased God to remove your guardian, let his
place be supplied by those he wills to succeed him!

   Cecilia no longer hesitated, but she arose slow-
ly from her knees, and offered her hand to Griffith
with an air of forced resignation. Katherine sub-
mitted to be led by Barnstable to her side, and the
chaplain who had been an affected listener to the
dialogue; in obedience to an expressive signal
from the eye of Griffith, opened the prayer book
from which he had been gleaning consolation for
the dying master, and commenced reading, in trem-
bling tones, the marriage service. The vows were
pronounced by the weeping brides in voices more
distinct and audible than if they had been uttered
amid the gay crowds that usually throng a bri-
dal; for though they were the irreclaimable
words that bound them forever to the men, whose
power over their feelings they thus proclaimed
to the world, the reserve of maiden diffidence
was lost in one engrossing emotion of solemnity,
created by the awful presence in which they
stood. When the benediction was pronounced,
the head of Cecilia dropped on the shoulder of
her husband, where she wept violently, for a mo-
ment, and then resuming her place at the couch,
she once more knelt at the side of her uncle.
Katherine received the cold kiss of Barnstable,
passively, and returned slowly to the spot whence
she had been led.

---

-272-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Colonel Howard succeeded in raising his per-
son, to witness the ceremony, and had answer-
ed to each prayer with a fervent `amen.' He
fell back with the last words, and a look of sat-
isfaction shone in his aged and pallid features, that
declared the interest he had taken in the scene.

   "I thank you, my children," he at length utter-
ed, "I thank you, for I know how much you have
sacrificed to my wishes. You will find all my papers
relative to the estates of my wards, gentlemen, in
the hands of my banker in London, and you will
also find there my will, Edward, by which you will
learn that Cicely has not come to your arms an
unportioned bride. What my wards are in per-
sons and manners your eyes can witness, and I
trust the vouchers in London will show that I have
not been an unfaithful steward to their pecuniary
affairs!"

   "Name it not -- say no more, or you will break
my heart," cried Katherine, sobbing aloud, in the
violence of her remorse at having ever pained so
true a friend. "Oh! talk of yourself, think of
yourself; we are unworthy -- at least I am unwor-
thy of another thought!"

   The dying man extended a hand to her in kind-
ness, and continued, though his voice grew feebler
as he spoke --

   "Then to return to myself -- I would wish to lie,
like my ancestors, in the bosom of the earth -- and
in consecrated ground."

   "It shall be done," whispered Griffith; "I will
see it done myself."

   "I thank thee, my son," said the veteran; "for
such thou art to me in being the husband of Cicely
-- you will find in my will, that I have liberated
and provided for all my slaves -- except those un-
grateful scoundrels who deserted their master --
they have seized their own freedom, and they need

---

-273-

SMALL | MEDIUM
not be indebted to me for the same. There is,
Edward, also an unworthy legacy to the King; his
Majesty will deign to receive it -- from an old and
faithful servant, and you will not miss the trifling
gift." A long pause followed, as if he had been
summing up the account of his earthly duties, and
found them duly balanced, when he added, "kiss
me Cicely -- and you, Katherine -- I find you have
the genuine feelings of honest Jack, your father. --
My eyes grow dim -- which is the hand of Griffith?
Young gentleman, I have given you all that a fond
old man had to bestow -- deal tenderly with the pre-
cious child -- we have not properly understood each
other -- I had mistaken both you and Mr. Christo-
pher Dillon, I believe; perhaps I may have also
mistaken my duty to America -- but I was too old
to change my politics or my religion -- I -- I -- I
lov'd the King -- God bless him -- "

   His words became fainter and fainter as he pro-
ceeded, and the breath deserted his body with
this benediction on his livid lips, which the proud-
est monarch might covet from so honest a man.

   The body was instantly borne into a state-room
by the attendants, and Griffith and Barnstable sup-
ported their brides into the after-cabin, where they
left them seated on the sofa that lined the stern of
the ship, weeping bitterly, in each other's arms.

   No part of the preceding scene had been unob-
served by Boltrope, whose small, hard eyes, were
observed by the young men to twinkle, when they
returned into the state apartment, and they ap-
proached their wounded comrade to apologize for
the seeming neglect that their conduct had dis-
played.

   "I heard you were hurt, Boltrope," said Grif-
fith, taking him kindly by the hand; "but as I
know you are not unused to being marked by shot,
I trust we shall soon see you again on deck.

---

-274-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Ay, ay," returned the master, "you'll want no
spy-glasess to see the old hulk as you launch it
into the sea. I have had shot, as you say, before
now to tear my running gear, and even to knock a
splinter out of some of my timbers, but this fellow
has found his way into my bread-room; and the
cruise of life is up!"

   "Surely the case is not so bad, honest David,"
said Barnstable; "you have kept afloat, to my
knowledge, with a bigger hole in your skin than
this unlucky hit has made!"

   "Ay, ay," returned the master, "that was in
my upper works, where the doctor could get at it
with a plug; but this chap has knocked away the
shifting-boards, and I feel as if the whole cargo
was broken up. -- You may say, that Tourniquet
rates me all the same as a dead man, for after
looking at the shot-hole, he has turned me over to
the parson here, like a piece of old junk which is
only fit to be worked up into something new.
Captain Munson had a lucky time of it! I
think you said, Mr. Griffith, that the old gentle-
man was launched overboard with every thing
standing, and that Death made but one rap at his
door, before he took his leave!"

   "His end was indeed sudden!" returned Grif-
fith; "but it is what we seamen must expect.

   "And for which there is so much the more
occasion to be prepared," the chaplain ventu-
red to add, in a low, humble, and, perhaps, timid
voice.

   The sailing-master looked keenly from one to
the other as they spoke, and, after a short pause,
he continued with an air of great submission --

   " 'Twas his luck; and I suppose it is sinful to
begrudge a man his lawful luck. As for being pre-
pared, parson, that is your business and not mine;
therefore, as there is but little time to spare, why,
the sooner you set about it the better; and to save

---

-275-

SMALL | MEDIUM
unnecessary trouble, I may as well tell you not
to strive to make too much of me, for, I must own
it to my shame, I never took learning kindly.
If you can fit me for some middling birth in the
other world, like the one I hold in this ship, it
will suit me as well, and, perhaps, be easier to
all hands of us."

   If there was a shade of displeasure, blended with
the surprise, that crossed the features of the di-
vine at this extraordinary limitation of his duties,
it entirely disappeared when he considered, more
closely, the perfect expression of simplicity with
which the dying master uttered his wishes. After
a long and melancholy pause, which neither Grif-
fith nor his friend felt any inclination to interrupt,
the chaplain replied --

   "It is not the province of man to determine
on the degrees of the merciful dispensations of
the Deity, and nothing that I can do, Mr. Bolt-
rope, will have any weight in making up the
mighty and irrevocable decree. What I said to
you last night, in our conversation on this very
subject, must still be fresh in your memory, and
there is no good reason why I should hold a dif-
ferent language to you now."

   "I can't say that I log'd all that pass'd," re-
turned the master, "and that which I do recol-
lect chiefly fell from myself, for the plain reason
that a man remembers his own, better than his
neighbor's ideas. And this puts me in mind, Mr.
Griffith, to tell you, that one of the forty-two's
from the three-decker, travelled across the fore-
castle, and cut the best bower within a fathom of
the clinch, as handily as an old woman would clip
her rotten yarn with a pair of tailor's shears! -- If
you will be so good as to order one of my mates
to shift the cable end-for-end, and make a new
bend of it, I'll do as much for you another time."

---

-276-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Mention it not," said Griffith; "rest assured
that every thing shall be done for the security of
the ship in your department -- I will superintend
the whole duty in person; and I would have you
release your mind from all anxiety on the subject,
to attend to your more important interests else-
where."

   "Why," returned Boltrope, with a little show
of pertinacity, "I have an opinion, that the
cleaner a man takes his hands into the other
world, of the matters of duty in this, the better
he will be fitted to handle any thing new. -- Now
the parson, here, undertook to lay down the doc-
trine last night, that it was no matter how well or
how ill a man behaved himself, so that he squared
his conscience by the lifts and braces of faith,
which I take to be a doctrine that is not to be
preach'd on shipboard, for it would play the devil
with the best ship's company that was ever mus-
tered."

   "Oh! no -- no -- dear Mr. Boltrope, you mis-
took me and my doctrine altogether!" exclaimed
the chaplain; "at least you mistook -- "

   "Perhaps, sir," interrupted Griffith, gently,"our
honest friend will not be more fortunate now.
Is there nothing earthly that hangs upon your
mind, Boltrope? no wish to be remembered to
any one, nor any bequest to make of your pro-
perty?"

   "He has a mother, I know," said Barnstable
in a low voice; "he often spoke of her to me in
the night watches; I think she must still be liv-
ing."

   The master, who distinctly heard his young
shipmates, continued for more than a minute roll-
ing the tobacco, which he still retained, from one
side of his mouth to the other, with an industry
that denoted singular agitation for the man, and

---

-277-

SMALL | MEDIUM
raising one of his broad hands, with the other
he picked the worn skin from fingers, which
were already losing their brownish yellow hue in
the fading colour of death, before he answered --

   "Why, yes, the old woman still keeps her grip
upon life, which is more than can be said of her
son David. The old man was lost the time the
Susan and Dorothy was wrecked on the back of
Cape Cod; you remember it, Mr. Barnstable? you
were then a lad, sailing on whaling voyages from
the island! well, ever since that gale, I've endea-
voured to make smooth water for the old wo-
man myself, though she has had but a rough pas-
sage of it, at the best; the voyage of life, with
her, having been pretty much crossed by rugged
weather and short stores."

   "And you would have us carry some message
to her? said Griffith, kindly.

   "Why, as to messages," continued the master,
whose voice was rapidly growing more husky and
broken, "there never has been many compliments
-- passed between us, for the reason -- that she is
not more used to receive them -- than I am to make
them. But if any one of you will overhaul -- the
parser's books, and see what there is standing there
-- to my side of the leaf -- and take a little pains to
get it to the old woman -- you will find her moor'd in
the lee side of a house -- ay, here it is, No. 10
Cornhill, Boston. I took care -- to get her a good
warm birth, seeing that a woman of eighty, wants
a snug anchorage -- at her time of life, if ever.

   "I will do it myself, David," cried Barnstable,
struggling to conceal his emotion; "I will call on
her the instant we let go our anchor in Boston
harbor, and as your credit can't be large, I will
divide my own purse with her!"

   The sailing-master was powerfully affected by
this kind offer, the muscles of his hard weather-

---

-278-

SMALL | MEDIUM
beaten face working convulsively, and it was a
moment before he could trust his voice in reply.

   "I know you would, Dickey, I know you
would," he at length uttered, grasping the hand of
Barnstable with a portion of his former strength;
"I know you would give the old woman one of your
own limbs, if it would do a service -- to the mother
of a messmate -- which it would not -- seeing that
I am not the son of a -- cannibal; but you are out of
your own father's books, and it's too often shoal
water in your pockets to help any one -- more espe-
cially since you have just been spliced to a pretty
young body -- that will want all your spare cop-
pers."

   "But I am master of my own fortune," said
Griffith, "and am rich."

   "Ay, ay, I have heard it said you could build a
frigate and set her afloat all a-taunt-o without
thrusting your hand -- into any man's purse -- but
your own!"

   "And I pledge you the honor of a naval officer,"
continued the young sailor, "that she shall want
for nothing; not even the care and tenderness of
a dutiful son."

   Boltrope appeared to be choking; he made an
attempt to raise his exhausted frame on the couch,
but fell back exhausted and dying, perhaps a little
prematurely, through the powerful and unusual
emotions that were struggling for utterance. "God
forgive me my misdeeds!" he, at length, said, "and
chiefly for ever speaking a word against your
disciplyne; remember the best bower -- and look
to the slings of the lower yards -- and -- and -- he'll
do it Dickey, he'll do it! I'm casting off -- the fasts
-- of life -- and so God bless ye all -- and give ye
good weather -- going large -- or on a bowline!"

   The tongue of the master failed him, but a look
of heart-felt satisfaction gleamed across his rough
visage, as its muscles suddenly contracted, when

---

-279-

SMALL | MEDIUM
the faded lineaments slowly settled into the appal-
ling stiffness of death.

   Griffith directed the body to be removed to the
apartment of the Master, and proceeded with a
heavy heart to the upper deck. The Alacrity
had been unnoticed during the arduous chase of
the frigate, and favored by day-light, and her light
draught of water, she had easily effected her es-
cape also among the mazes of the shoals. She was
called down to her consort by signal, and re-
ceived the necessary instructions how to steer du-
ring the approaching night. The British ships
were now only to be faintly discovered, like small
white specks on the dark sea, and as it was
known that a broad barrier of shallow water lay
between them, the Americans no longer regarded
their presence as at all dangerous.

   When the necessary orders had been given, and
the vessels were fully prepared, they were once
more brought up to the wind, and their heads point-
ed in the direction of the coast of Holland. The
wind, which freshened towards the decline of day,
hauled round with the sun, and when that luminary
retreated from the eye, so rapid had been the pro-
gress of the mariners, it seemed to sink in the bo-
som of the ocean, the land having long before set-
tled into its watery bed. All night the frigate con-
tinued to dash through the seas with a sort of sul-
len silence, that was soothing to the melancholy
of Cecilia and Katherine, neither of whom closed
an eye during that gloomy period. In addi-
tion to the scene they had witnessed, their feel-
ings were harrowed by the knowledge that, in con-
formity to the necessary plans of Griffith, and in
compliance with the new duties he had assumed,
they were to separate in the morning for an in-
definite period, and possibly forever.

   With the appearance of light, the boatswain sent

---

-280-

SMALL | MEDIUM
his rough summons through the vessel, and the
crew were collected in solemn silence in her
gang-ways, to `bury the dead.' The bodies of Bolt-
rope, of one or two of her inferior officers, and of
several common men, who had died of their wounds
in the night, were, with the usual formalities,
committed to the deep; when the yards of the ship
were again braced by the wind, and she glided
along the trackless waste, leaving no memorial in
the midst of the ever-rolling waters, to mark
the place of their sculpture.

   When the sun had gained the meridian the ves-
sels were once more hove-to, and the prepara-
tions were made for a final separation. The body
of Colonel Howard was transferred to the Alacri-
ty, whither it was followed by Griffith and his
cheerless bride, while Katherine hung fondly from
a window of the ship, suffering her own scalding
tears to mingle with the brine of the ocean. After
every thing was arranged, Griffith waved his hand
to Barnstable, who had now succeeded to the com-
mand of the frigate, and the yards of the latter
were braced sharp to the wind, when she proceeded
to the dangerous experiment of forcing her way
to the shores of America, by attempting the pass of
the streights of Dover, and running the gauntlet
through the English ships that crowded their own
channel; an undertaking, however, for which she
had the successful example of the Alliance frigate,
which had borne the stars of America along the
same hazardous path but a few months previously.

   In the meanwhile the Alacrity, steering more to
the west, drew in swiftly towards the shores of Hol-
land, and about an hour before the setting of the sun,
had approached so nigh as to be once more hove in-
to the wind, in obedience to the mandate of Griffith,
A small light boat was lowered into the sea, when
the young sailor, and the pilot, who had found his

---

-281-

SMALL | MEDIUM
way into the cutter unheeded, and almost unseen, as-
cended from the small cabin together. The stranger
glanced his eyes along the range of coast, as if he
would ascertain the exact position of the vessel,
and then turned them on the sea and the western
horizon to scan the weather. Finding nothing
in the appearance of the latter to induce him to
change his determination, he offered his hand
frankly to Griffith, and said --

   "Here we part. As our acquaintance has not
led to all we wished, let it be your task, sir, to
forget we ever met."

   Griffith bowed respectfully, but in silence, when
the other continued, shaking his hand contemp-
tuously towards the land --

   "Had I but a moiety of the navy of that dege-
nerate republic, the proudest among those haughty
islanders should tremble in his castle, and be
made to feel there is no security against a foe that
trusts his own strength and knows the weakness of
his enemy! But", he muttered in a lower and
more hurried voice, "this has been like Liver-
pool, and -- Whitehaven -- and Edinburgh, and fifty
more! it is past, sir; let it be forgotten."

   Without heeding the wondering crew, who were
collected as curious spectators of his departure, the
stranger bowed hastily to Griffith, and springing
into the boat, he spread her light sail with the
readiness of one who had nothing to learn even in
the smallest matters of his daring profession. Once
more, as the boat moved briskly away from the
cutter, he waved his hand in adieu, and Griffith
fancied, that even through the distance, he could
trace a smile of bitter resignation, lighting his calm
features with a momentary gleam. For a long
time the young man stood an abstracted gazer at
his solitary progress, watching the small boat as

---

-282-

SMALL | MEDIUM
it glided towards the open ocean, nor did he re-
member to order the head sheets of the Alacrity
drawn, in order to put the vessel again in motion,
until the dark speck was lost in the strong glare
that fell, obliquely across the water, from the set-
ting sun.

   Many wild and extraordinary conjectures were
uttered among the crew of the cutter, as she slow-
ly drew in towards her friendly haven, on the ap-
pearance of the mysterious pilot, during their late
hazardous visit to the coast of Britain, and on his
still more extraordinary disappearance, as it were,
amid the stormy wastes of the North sea. Griffith
himself was not observed to smile, nor to manifest any
other evidence of his being a listener to their rude
discourse, until it was loudly announced that a
small boat was seen pressing for their own harbor,
across the fore foot of the cutter, under a single
lug-sail. Then, indeed, the sudden and cheerful
lighting of his troubled eye, might have betrayed
to more accurate observers, the vast relief that was
imparted to his feelings by the interesting dis-
covery.

---

-283-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

Chapter 17

CHAPTER XVII.

Come all you kindred Chieftains of the deep
In mighty phalanx, round your brother bend;
Hush every murmur that invades his sleep --
And guard the laurels that o'ershade your friend


Lines on Tripp.

   Here, perhaps, it would be wise to suffer the
curtain of our imperfect drama to fall before the
reader, trusting that the imagination of every in-
dividual can readily supply the due proportions of
health, wealth, and happiness, that the rigid rules
of poetic justice would award to the different
characters of the legend. But as we are not dis-
posed to part so coldly from those with whom we
have long held amicable intercourse, and as there
is no portion of that in reservation which is not
quite as true as all that has been already related,
we see no unanswerable reason for dismissing the
dramatis personæ so abruptly. We shall therefore
proceed to state briefly, the outlines of that which
befel them in after-life, regretting, at the same
time, that the legitimate limits of a modern tale
will not admit of such a dilatation of many a mer-
ry or striking scene, as might create the pleasing
hope of beholding hereafter, some more of our rude
sketches quickened into life, by the spirited pencil
of Dunlap.

---

-284-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   Following the course of the frigate, then, to-
wards those shores, from which, perhaps, we should
never have suffered our truant pen to have wander-
ed, we shall commence the brief task with Barn-
stable, and his laughing, weeping, gay, but affec-
tionate, bride -- the black-eyed Katherine. The
ship fought her way. gallantly, through swarms of
the enemy's cruisers, to the port of Boston, where
Barnstable was rewarded for his services by pro-
motion, and a more regular authority to command
his vessel.

   During the remainder of the war, he continued
to fill that station with ability and zeal, nor did he
return to the dwelling of his fathers, which he soon
inherited, by regular descent, until after peace
had established not only the independence of his
country, but his own reputation, as a brave and
successful sea-officer. When the Federal Govern-
ment laid the foundation of its present navy, Cap-
tain Barnstable was once more tempted by the
offer of a new commission to desert his home; and
for many years he was employed among that band
of gallant seamen who served their country so
faithfully in times of trial and high daring. Hap-
pily, however, he was enabled to accomplish a
great deal of the more peaceful part of his service
accompanied by Katherine, who, having no chil-
dren, eagerly profited by his consent, to share his
privations and hardships on the ocean. In this
manner they passed merrily, and we trust happily,
down the vale of life together, Katherine entirely
discrediting the ironical prediction of her former
guardian, by making, every thing considered, a
very obedient, and certainly, so far as attachment
was concerned, a most devoted wife.

   The boy Merry, who in due time became a
man, clung to Barnstable and Katherine, so long

---

-285-

SMALL | MEDIUM
as it was necessary to hold him in leading strings;
and when he received his regular promotion, his
first command was under the shadow of his kins-
man's broad pendant. He proved to be in his
meridian, what his youth had so strongly indica-
ted, a fearless, active, and reckless sailor, and his
years might have extended to this hour, had he
not fallen untimely, in a duel with a foreign officer.

   The first act of Captain Manual, after landing
once more on his native soil, was to make interest
to be again restored to the line of the army. He
encountered but little difficulty in this attempt,
and was soon in possession of the complete enjoy-
ment of that which his soul had so long pined after,
"a steady drill." He was in time to share in all
the splendid successes which terminated the war,
and also to participate in his due proportion of the
misery of the army. His merits were not forgot-
ten, however, in the reorganization of the forces,
and he followed both St. Clair and his more fortu-
nate successor, Wayne, in the western campaigns.
About the close of the century, when the British
made their tardy relinquishment of the line of posts
along the frontiers, Captain Manual was ordered
to take charge, with his company, of a small stock-
ade on our side of one of those mighty rivers, that
sets bounds to the territories of the Republic in the
north. The British flag was waving over the
ramparts of a more regular fortress, that had been
recently built, directly opposite, within the new
lines of the Canadas. Manual was not a man to
neglect the observances of military etiquette, and
understanding that the neighbouring fort was com-
manded by a field officer, he did not fail to wait
on that gentleman, in proper time, with a view to
cultivate the sort of acquaintance that their mu-
tual situations would render not only agreeable,

---

-286-

SMALL | MEDIUM
but highly convenient. The American martinet,
in ascertaining the rank of the other, had not
deemed it at all necessary to ask his name, but
when the red-faced, comical-looking officer with
one leg, who met him, was introduced as Major
Borroughcliffe, he had not the least difficulty in
recalling to recollection his quondam acquain-
tance of St. Ruth. The intercourse between these
worthies was renewed with remarkable gusto, and
at length arrived to so regular a pass, that a log
cabin was erected on one of the islands in the river,
as a sort of neutral territory, where their feastings
and revels might be held without any scandal to the
discipline of their respective garrisons. Here the
qualities of many a saddle of savory venison were
discussed, together with those of sundry pleasant
fowls, as well as of divers strange beasts that inhabit
those western wilds, while, at the same time, the se-
cret places of the broad river were vexed, that no-
thing might be wanting that could contribute to the
pleasures of their banquets. A most equitable levy
was regularly made on their respective pockets,
to sustain the foreign expenses of this amicable
warfare, and a suitable division of labour was also
imposed on the two Commandants, in order to
procure such articles of comfort as were only to
be obtained from those portions of the globe, where
the art of man had made a nearer approach to the
bounties of nature, than in the vicinity of their
fortifications. All liquids in which malt formed
an ingredient, as well as the deep-coloured wines
of Oporto, were suffered to enter the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and were made to find their way, un-
der the superintendence of Borroughcliffe, to their
destined goal; but Manual was, solely, entrusted
with the more important duty of providing the ge-
nerous liquor of Madeira, without any other restric-
tion on his judgment, than an occasional injunc-

---

-287-

SMALL | MEDIUM
tion from his coadjutor, that it should not fail to
be the product of the "South-side!"

   It was not unusual for the younger officers of
the two garrisons to allude to the battle in which
Major Borroughcliffe had lost his limb -- the En-
glish ensign invariably whispering to the American
on such occasions, that it occurred during the late
contest, in a desperate affair on the North Eastern
coast of their island, in which the Major com-
manded, in behalf of his country, with great credit
and signal success; and for which service he obtain-
ed his present rank "without purchase!" A sort of
national courtesy prevented the two veterans, for
by this time both had earned that honourable ti-
tle, from participating at all in these delicate allu-
sions; though whenever, by any accident, they
occurred near the termination of the revels, Bor-
roughcliffe would so far betray his consciousness
of what was passing, as to favor his American
friend with a leer of singular significance, which
generally produced in the other that sort of dull
recollection, which all actors and painters endea-
vour to represent by scratching the head. In
this manner year after year rolled by, the most
perfect harmony existing between the two posts,
notwithstanding the angry passions that disturbed
their respective countries, when an end was sud-
denly put to the intercourse by the unfortunate
death of Manual. This rigid observer of disci-
pline, never trusted his person on the neutral island
without being accompanied by a party of his war-
riors, who were posted as a regular picquet, sus-
taining a suitable line of sentries; a practice which
he also recommended to his friend, as being high-
ly conducive to discipline, as well as a salutary
caution against a surprise on the part of either
garrison. The Major, however, dispensed with
the formality in his own behalf, but was sufficient-

---

-288-

SMALL | MEDIUM
ly good-natured to wink at the want of confidence
it betrayed in his boon companion. On one unhap-
py occasion, when the discussions of a new impor-
tation had made a heavy inroad on the morning,
Manual left the hut to make his way towards his pic-
quet, in such a state of utter mental aberration, as
to forget the countersign when challenged by a sen-
tinel, and, melancholy to relate, he met his death
by a shot from a soldier, whom he had drilled to such
an exquisite state of insensibility, that the man
cared but little whether he killed friend or enemy,
so long as he kept within military usage, and the
hallowed limits established by the articles of war.
He lived long enough, however, to commend the
fellow for the deed, and died while delivering an
eulogium to Borroughcliffe, on the high state of
perfection to which he had brought his command!

   About a year before this melancholy event. a
quarter cask of wine had been duly ordered from
the South side of the island of Madeira, which
was, at the death of Manual, toiling its weary way
up the rapids of the Mississippi and the Ohio;
having been made to enter by the port of New-
Orleans, with the intention of keeping it as long
as possible under a genial sun! The untimely
fate of his friend imposed on Borroughcliffe the
necessity of attending to this precious relick of
their mutual tastes; and he procured a leave
of absence from his superior, with the laudable
desire to proceed down the streams and superin-
tend its farther advance in person. The result
of his zeal was a high fever, that set in the day
after he reached his treasure, and as the Doctor
and the Major espoused different theories, in
treating a disorder so dangerous in that climate,
the one advising abstemiousness, and the other ad-
ministering repeated draughts of the cordial that
had drawn him so far from home, the disease was

---

-289-

SMALL | MEDIUM
left to act its pleasure. Borroughcliffe died in
three days; and was carried back and interred by
the side of his friend, in the very hut which had
so often resounded with their humours and festivi-
ties! We have been thus particular in relating
the sequel of the lives of these rival chieftains, be-
cause, from their want of connexion with any kind
heart of the other sex, no widows and orphans
were left to lament their several ends, and further-
more, as they were both mortal, and might be ex-
pected to die at a suitable period, and yet did not
terminate their career until each had attained the
mature age of three-score, the reader can find no
just grounds of dissatisfaction at being allowed this
deep glance into the womb of fate.

   The chaplain abandoned the seas in time to re-
trieve his character, a circumstance which gave
no little satisfaction to Katherine, who occasional-
ly annoyed her worthy husband on the subject of
the informality of their marriage.

   Griffith and his mourning bride conveyed the
body of Colonel Howard in safety to one of
the principal towns in Holland, where it was
respectfully and sorrowfully interred; after which
the young man removed to Paris, with a view
of erasing the sad images, which the hurried and
melancholy events of the few preceding days
had left on the mind of his lovely companion. --
From this place Cecilia held communion, by let-
ter, with her friend Alice Dunscombe, and such
suitable provision was made in the affairs of her
late uncle as the times would permit. After-
wards, when Griffith obtained the command which
had been offered him, before sailing on the cruise
in the North Sea, they returned together to Ame-
rica. The young man continued a sailor until
the close of the war, when he entirely withdrew
from the ocean, and devoted the remainder of his

---

-290-

SMALL | MEDIUM
life to the conjoint duties of a husband and a
good citizen.

   As it was easy to reclaim the estates of Colonel
Howard, which, in fact, had been abandoned more
from pride than necessity, and which had never
been confiscated, their joint inheritances made
the young couple extremely affluent, and we shall
here take occasion to say, that Griffith remember-
ed his promise to the dying master, and saw such
a provision made for the childless mother, as her
situation and his character required.

   It might have been some twelve years after
the short cruise, which it has been our task to
record in these volumes, that Griffith, who was
running his eyes carelessly over a file of news-
papers, was observed by his wife to drop the bun-
dle from before his face, and pass his hand slow-
ly across his brow, like a man who had been sud-
denly struck with renewed impressions of some
former event, or who was endeavouring to recall
to his mind images that had long since faded.

   "See you any thing in that paper, to disturb you
Griffith?" said the still lovely Cecilia. "I hope that
now we have our confederate government, the
States will soon recover from their losses -- but it
is one of those plans to create a new navy, that
has met your eye! Ah! truant! you sigh to become
a wanderer again, and pine after your beloved
ocean!"

   "I have ceased sighing and pining since you
have begun to smile," he returned, with a va-
cant manner, and without removing his hand from
his brow.

   "Is not the new order of things, then, likely to
succeed? Does the Congress enter into contention
with the President?

   The wisdom and name of Washington will
smooth the way for the experiment, until time

---

-291-

SMALL | MEDIUM
shall mature the system. Cecilia, do you re-
member the man who accompanied Manual and
myself to St. Ruth, the night we became your un-
cle's prisoners, and who afterwards led the party
which liberated us, and rescued Barnstable?"

   "Surely I do; he was the pilot of your ship,
it was then said; and I remember the shrewd sol-
dier we entertained, even suspected that he was
one greater than he seemed."

   "The soldier surmised the truth: but you saw
him not on that fearful night, when he carried us
through the shoals! and you could not witness the
calm courage with which he guided the ship into
those very channels again, while the confusion of
battle was among us!"

   "I heard the dreadful din! And I can easily
imagine the horrid scene," returned his wife, her
recollections chasing the colour from her cheeks
even at that distance of time; "but what of him?
is his name mentioned in those papers? Ah! they
are English prints! you called his name Gray, if
I remember?"

   "That was the name he bore with us! he was
a man who had formed romantic notions of glory,
and wished every thing concealed in which he ac-
ted a part that he thought would not contribute
to his renown. It has been, therefore, in compli-
ance with a solemn promise made at the time,
that I have ever avoided mentioning his name --
he is now dead!"

   "Can there have been any connexion between
him and Alice Dunscomb?" said Cecilia, dropping
her work in her lap, in a thoughtful manner. --
"She met him alone, at her own urgent request,
the night Katherine and myself saw you in your
confinement, and even then my cousin whispered
that they were acquainted! The letter I received
yesterday, from Alice, was sealed with black, and

---

-292-

SMALL | MEDIUM
I was pained with the melancholy, though gentle
manner, in which she wrote of passing from this
world into another!"

   Griffith glanced his eye at his wife, with a look
of sudden intelligence, and then answered like one
who began to see with the advantages of a clearer
atmosphere.

   "Cecilia, your conjecture is surely true! Fifty
things rush to my mind at that one surmise --
his acquaintance with that particular spot -- his
early life -- his expedition -- his knowledge of the
abbey, all confirm it! He, altogether, was indeed
a man of marked character!"

   "Why has he not been among us," asked Ce-
cilia; "he appeared devoted to our cause?"

   "His devotion to America proceeded from
desire of distinction, his ruling passion, and per-
haps a little also from resentment at some injus-
tice which he claimed to have suffered from his
own countrymen. He was a man, and not there-
fore without foibles -- among which may have been
reckoned the estimation of his own acts; but
they were most daring, and deserving of praise!
neither did he merit one half the obloquy that he
received from his enemies. His love of liberty
may be more questionable; for if he commenced
his deeds in the cause of these free States, they
terminated in the service of a despot! He is now
dead -- but had he lived in times and under cir-
cumstances, when his consummate knowledge of
his profession, his cool, deliberate, and even des-
perate courage, could have been exercised in a
regular, and well-supported Navy, and had the
habits of his youth better qualified him to have
borne, meekly, the honors he acquired in his age,
he would have left behind him no name in its lists
that would have descended to the latest posterity
of his adopted countrymen with greater renown!"

---

-293-

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   "Why, Griffith," exclaimed Cecilia, in a little
surprise, "you are zealous in his cause! Who
was he?"

   "A man who held a promise of secrecy while
living, which is not at all released by his death.
It is enough to know, that he was greatly instru-
mental in procuring our sudden union, and that
our happiness might have been wrecked in the
voyage of life had we not met the unknown pilot
of the German Ocean."

   Perceiving her husband to rise, and carefully col-
lect the papers in a bundle, before he left the
room, Cecilia made no further remark at the time
nor was the subject ever revived between them!

FINIS.

---

---

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM

   

SMALL | MEDIUM