 | CHAPTER VI. The water-witch, or, The skimmer of the seas |  |
6. CHAPTER VI.
“There shall be, in England, seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny. The
three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony, to drink
small bee.”
—Jack Cade.
Had Alderman Van Beverout been a party in the
preceding dialogue, he could not have uttered words
more apposite, than the exclamation with which he
first saluted the ears of those in the pavilion.
“Gales and climates!” exclaimed the merchant,
entering with an open letter in his hand. “Here
are advices received, by way of Curaçoa, and the
coast of Africa, that the good ship Musk-Rat met
with foul winds off the Azores, which lengthened
her passage home to seventeen weeks—this is too
much precious time wasted between markets, Captain
Cornelius Ludlow, and 'twill do discredit to the
good character of the ship, which has hitherto always
maintained a sound reputation, never needing
more than the regular seven months to make the
voyage home and out again. If our vessels fall into
this lazy train, we shall never get a skin to Bristol,
till it is past use. What have we here, niece? Merchandise!
and of a suspicious fabric!—who has the
shipped?”
“These are questions that may be better answered
by their owner;” returned la Belle, pointing gravely,
and not without tremor in her voice, towards the
dealer in contraband, who, at the approach of the
Alderman, had shrunk back as far as possible from
view.
Myndert cast an uneasy glance at the unmoved
countenance of the commander of the royal cruiser,
after having bestowed a brief but understanding
look at the contents of the bale. “Captain Ludlow,
the chaser is chased!” he said. “After sailing about
the Atlantic, for a week or more, like a Jew broker's
clerk running up and down the Boom Key at Rotterdam,
to get off a consignment of damaged tea, we
are fairly caught ourselves! To what fall in prices,
or change in the sentiments of the Board of Trade,
am I indebted for the honor of this visit, Master a—
a—a—gay dealer in green ladies and bright tissues?”
The confident and gallant manner of the free-trader
had vanished. In its place, there appeared a
hesitating and embarrassed air, that the individual
was not wont to exhibit, blended with some apparent
indecision, on the subject of his reply.
“It is the business of those who hazard much,
in order to minister to the wants of life,” he said,
after a pause that was sufficiently expressive of the
entire change in his demeanor, “to seek customers
where there is a reputation for liberality. I hope
my boldness will be overlooked, on account of its
motive, and that you will aid the lady in judging of
the value of my articles, and of their reasonableness
as to price, with your own superior experience.”
Myndert was quite as much astonished, by this
language, and the subdued manner of the smuggler,
as Ludlow himself. When he expected the heaviest
forward and reckless familiarity of Seadrift, in order
that his connexion with the `Skimmer of the Seas'
might be as much as possible involved in ambiguity,
to his own amazement, he found his purpose more
than aided by the sudden and extraordinary respect
with which he was treated. Emboldened, and perhaps
a little elevated in his own esteem, by this unexpected
deference, which the worthy Alderman,
shrewd as he was in common, did not fail, like other
men, to impute to some inherent quality of his own,
he answered with a greater depth of voice, and a
more protecting air, than he might otherwise have
deemed it prudent to assume to one who had so frequently
given him proofs of his own fearless manner
of viewing things.
“This is being more eager as a trader, than prudent
as one who should know the value of credit;”
he said, making, at the same time, a lofty gesture to
betoken indulgence for so venial an error. “We
must overlook the mistake, Captain Ludlow; since,
as the young man truly observes in his defence, gain
acquired in honest traffic is a commendable and
wholesome pursuit. One who appears as if he might
not be ignorant of the laws, should know that our
virtuous Queen and her wise counsellors have decided
that Mother England can produce most that a
colonist can consume! Ay! and that she can consume,
too, most that the colonist can produce!”
“I pretend not to this ignorance, Sir; but, in pursuing
my humble barter, I merely follow a principle
of nature, by endeavoring to provide for my own
interests. We of the contraband do but play at
hazard with the authorities. When we pass the
gauntlet unharmed, we gain; and when we lose, the
servants of the crown find their profit. The stakes
are equal, and the game should not be stigmatized
as unfair. Would the rulers of the world once remove
our calling would disappear, and the name
of free-trader would then belong to the richest and
most esteemed houses.”
The Alderman drew a long, low whistle. Motioning
to his companions to be seated, he placed his
own compact person in a chair, crossed his legs with
an air of self-complacency, and resumed the discourse.
“These are very pretty sentiments, Master—a—a
—a—, you bear a worthy name, no doubt, my ingenious
commentator on commerce?”
“They call me Seadrift, when they spare a harsher
term;” returned the other, meekly declining to
be seated.
“These are pretty sentiments, Master Seadrift,
and they much become a gentleman who lives by
practical comments on the revenue-laws. This is a
wise world, Captain Cornelius Ludlow, and in it
there are many men whose heads are filled, like bales
of goods, with a general assortment of ideas.—Horn-books
and primers! Here have Van Bummel, Schoenbroeck,
and Van der Donck, just sent me a very
neatly-folded pamphlet, written in good Leyden
Dutch, to prove that trade is an exchange of what
the author calls equivalents, and that nations have
nothing to do but to throw open their ports, in order
to make a millennium among the merchants!”
“There are many ingenious men who entertain
the same opinions;” observed Ludlow, steady in his
resolution to be merely a quiet observer of all that
passed.
“What cannot a cunning head devise, to spoil
paper with! Trade is a racer, gentlemen, and merchants
the jockeys who ride. He who carries most
weight may lose; but then nature does not give all
men the same dimensions, and judges are as necessary
to the struggles of the mart as to those of the course.
to have one that has not been melted into a weasel
by the heartless blacks, and ride out to Harlaem
Flats, on a fine October day, and witness the manner
in which the trial of speed is made. The rogues of
riders cut in here, and over there; now the whip,
and now the spur; and though they start fair, which
is more than can always be said of trade, some one
is sure to win. When it is neck and neck, then the
heat is to be gone over, until the best bottom gains
the prize.”
“Why is it then that men of deep reflection so
often think that commerce flourishes most when least
encumbered?”
“Why is one man born to make laws, and another
to break them?—Does not the horse run faster with
his four legs free, than when in hopples? But in trade,
Master Seadrift, and Captain Cornelius Ludlow, each
of us is his own jockey; and putting the aid of custom-house
laws out of the question, just as nature
has happened to make him. Fat or lean, big bones
or fine bones, he must get to the goal as well as he
can. Therefore your heavy weights call out for sandbags
and belts, to make all even. That the steed
may be crushed with his load, is no proof that his
chance of winning will not be better by bringing all
the riders to the same level.”
“But to quit these similies,” continued Ludlow,
“if trade be but an exchange of equivalents—”
“Beggary and stoppages!” interrupted the Alderman,
who was far more dogmatical than courteous
in argument. “This is the language of men who
have read all sorts of books, but legers. Here have
I advices from Tongue and Twaddle, of London,
which state the nett proceeds of a little adventure,
shipped by the brig Moose, that reached the river
on the 16th of April, ultimo. The history of the
whole transaction can be put in a child's muff—you
you, Master Seadrift, the affair is altogether out of
your line—therefore, as I was observing, here are
the items, made out only a fortnight since, in the
shape of a memorandum;” while speaking, the Alderman
had placed his spectacles and drawn his
tablets from a pocket. Adjusting himself to the
light, he continued: “Paid bill of Sand, Furnace, and
Glass, for beads, L. 3. 2. 6.—Package and box, 1.
10½—Shipping charges, and freight, 11. 4.—Insurance,
averaged at, 1. 5.—Freight, charges, and
commission of agent among Mohawks, L. 10.—Do.
do. do. of shipment and sale of furs, in England,
L. 7. 2. Total of costs and charges, L. 20. 18. 8½, all
in sterling money. Note, sale of furs, to Frost and
Rich, nett avails, L. 196. 11. 3.—Balance, as per
contra, L. 175. 12. 5½.—a very satisfactory equivalent
this, Master Cornelius, to appear on the books
of Tongue and Twaddle, where I stand charged with
the original investment of L. 20. 19. 8½! How much
the Empress of Germany may pay the firm of Frost
and Rich for the articles, does not appear.”
“Nor does it appear that more was got for your
beads, in the Mohawk country, than they were valued
at there, or was paid for the skins than they were
worth where they were produced.”
“Whe—w—w—w!” whistled the merchant, as
he returned the tablets to his pocket.
“One would think that thou hadst been studying
the Leyden pamphleteer, son of my old friend! If
the savage thinks so little of his skins, and so much
of my beads, I shall never take the pains to set him
right; else, always by permission of the Board of
Trade, we shall see him, one day, turning his bark
canoe into a good ship, and going in quest of his own
ornaments. Enterprise and voyages! Who knows
but that the rogue would see fit to stop at London,
even; in which case the Mother Country might lose
up his carriage, on the difference in the value of markets!
Thus, you see, in order to run a fair race, the
horses must start even, carry equal weights, and,
after all, one commonly wins. Your metaphysics
are no better than so much philosophical gold leaf,
which a cunning reasoner beats out into a sheet as
large as the broadest American lake, to make dunces
believe the earth can be transmuted into the precious
material; while a plain practical man puts the
value of the metal into his pocket, in good current
coin.”
“And yet I hear you complain that Parliament
has legislated more than is good for trade, and speak
in a manner of the proceedings at home, that, you
will excuse me for saying, would better become a
Hollander than a subject of the crown.”
“Have I not told you, that the horse will run
faster without a rider, than with a pack-saddle on
his back? Give your own jockey as little, and your
adversary's as much weight as you can, if you wish
to win. I complain of the borough-men, because
they make laws for us, and not for themselves. As
I often tell my worthy friend, Alderman Gulp, eating
is good for life, but a surfeit makes a will necessary.”
“From all which I infer, that the opinions of your
Leyden correspondent are not those of Mr. Van Beverout.”
The Alderman laid a finger on his nose, and looked
at his companions, for a moment, without answering.
“Those Leydeners are a sagacious breed! If the
United Provinces had but ground to stand on, they
would, like the philosopher who boasted of his lever,
move the world! The sly rogues think that the Amsterdammers
have naturally an easy seat, and they
wish to persuade all others to ride bare-back. I
and pay some scholar to have it translated into the
Mohawk tongue, in order that the famous chief
Schendoh, when the missionaries shall have taught
him to read, may entertain right views of equivalents!
I am not certain that I may not make the
worthy divines a present, to help the good fruits to
ripen.”
The Alderman leered round upon his auditors, and,
folding his hands meekly on his breast, he appeared
to leave his eloquence to work its own effects.
“These opinions favor but little the occupation of
the—the gentleman—who now honors us with his
company,” said Ludlow, regarding the gay-looking
smuggler with an eye that showed how much he was
embarrassed to find a suitable appellation for one
whose appearance was so much at variance with his
pursuits. “If restrictions are necessary to commerce,
the lawless trader is surely left without an excuse for
his calling.”
“I as much admire your discretion in practice, as
the justice of your sentiments in theory, Captain Ludlow;”
returned the Alderman. “In a rencontre on
the high seas, it would be your duty to render captive
the brigantine of this person; but, in what may
be called the privacy of domestic retirement, you
are content to ease your mind in moralities! I feel it
my duty, too, to speak on this point, and shall take
so favorable an occasion, when all is pacific, to disburthen
myself of some sentiments that suggest themselves,
very naturally, under the circumstances.”
Myndert then turned himself towards the dealer in
contraband, and continued, much in the manner of
a city magistrate, reading a lesson of propriety to
some disturber of the peace of society. “You appear
here, Master Seadrift,” he said, “under what,
to borrow a figure from your profession, may be called
false colors. You bear the countenance of one who
of being addicted to certain practices which—I will
not say they are dishonest, or even discreditable—for
on that head the opinions of men are much divided,
but which certainly have no tendency to assist Her
Majesty, in bringing her wars to a glorious issue, by
securing to her European dominions that monopoly
of trade, by which it is her greatest desire to ease us
of the colonies of looking any further after our particular
interests, than beyond the doors of her own
custom-houses. This is an indiscretion, to give the
act its gentlest appellation; and I regret to add, it is
accompanied by certain circumstances which rather
heighten than lessen the delinquency.” The Alderman
paused a moment, to observe the effect of his
admonition, and to judge, by the eye of the free-trader,
how much farther he might push his artifice;
but perceiving, to his own surprise, that the other
bent his face to the floor, and stood like one rebuked,
he took courage to proceed. “You have introduced
into this portion of my dwelling, which is exclusively
inhabited by my niece, who is neither of a sex nor
of years to be legally arraigned for any oversight of
this nature, sundries of which it is the pleasure of
the Queen's advisers that her subjects in the colonies
should not know the use, since, in the nature of fabrications,
they cannot be submitted to the supervising
care of the ingenious artisans of the mother island.
Woman, Master Seadrift, is a creature liable to the
influence of temptation, and in few things is she
weaker than in her efforts to resist the allurements
of articles which may aid in adorning her person.
My niece, the daughter of Etienne Barbérie, may
also have an hereditary weakness on this head, since
the females of France study these inventions more
than those of some other countries. It is not my intention,
however, to manifest any unreasonable severity;
since, if old Etienne has communicated any
also left his daughter the means of paying for it.
Hand in your account, therefore, and the debt shall
be discharged, if debt has been incurred. And this
brings me to the last and the gravest of your offences.
“Capital is no doubt the foundation on which a
merchant builds his edifice of character,” continued
Myndert, after taking another jealous survey of the
countenance of him he addressed; “but credit is the
ornament of its front. This is a corner-stone; that
the pilasters and carvings, by which the building is
rendered pleasant; sometimes, when age has undermined
the basement, it is the columns on which the
superstructure rests, or even the roof by which the
occupant is sheltered. It renders the rich man safe,
the dealer of moderate means active and respectable,
and it causes even the poor man to hold up his
head in hope: though I admit that buyer and seller
need both be wary, when it stands unsupported by
any substantial base. This being the value of credit,
Master Seadrift, none should assail it without sufficient
cause, for its quality is of a nature too tender
for rude treatment. I learned, when a youth, in my
travels in Holland, through which country, by means
of the Trekschuyts, I passed with sufficient deliberation
to profit by what was seen, the importance of
avoiding, on all occasions, bringing credit into disrepute.
As one event that occurred offers an apposite
parallel to what I have now to advance, I shall make
a tender of the facts in the way of illustration. The
circumstances show the awful uncertainty of things
in this transitory life, Captain Ludlow, and forewarn
the most vigorous and youthful, that the strong of arm
may be cut down, in his pride, like the tender plant
of the fields! The banking-house of Van Gelt and
Van Stopper, in Amsterdam, had dealt largely in securities
issued by the Emperor for the support of his
favored the Ottoman, who was then pressing the city
of Belgrade, with some prospects of success. Well,
Sirs, a headstrong and ill-advised laundress had taken
possession of an elevated terrace in the centre of the
town, in order to dry her clothes. This woman was
in the act of commencing the distribution of her
linens and muslins, with the break of day, when the
Mussulmans awoke the garrison by a rude assault.
Some, who had been posted in a position that permitted
of retreat, having seen certain bundles of
crimson, and green, and yellow, on an elevated parapet,
mistook them for the heads of so many Turks;
and they spread the report, far and near, that a
countless band of the Infidels, led on by a vast number
of sherriffes in green turbans, had gained the heart
of the place, before they were induced to retire.
The rumor soon took the shape of a circumstantial
detail, and, having reached Amsterdam, it caused the
funds of the Imperialists to look down. There was
much question, on the Exchange, concerning the
probable loss of Van Gelt and Van Stopper in consequence.
Just as speculation was at its greatest
height on this head, the monkey of a Savoyard escaped
from its string, and concealed himself in a nut-shop,
a few doors distant from the banking-house of
the firm, where a crowd of Jew boys collected to
witness its antics. Men of reflection, seeing what
they mistook for a demonstration on the part of the
children of the Israelites, began to feel uneasiness for
their own property. Drafts multiplied; and the
worthy bankers, in order to prove their solidity, disdained
to shut their doors at the usual hour. Money
was paid throughout the night; and before noon, on
the following day, Van Gelt had cut his throat, in a
summer-house that stood on the banks of the Utrecht
canal; and Van Stopper was seen smoking a pipe,
among strong boxes that were entirely empty. At
the Mussulmans were repulsed, and that the laundress
was hanged; though I never knew exactly for what
crime, as she certainly was not a debtor of the unhappy
firm. These are some of the warning events
of life, gentlemen; and as I feel sure of addressing
those who are capable of making the application, I
shall now conclude by advising all who hear me to
great discretion of speech on every matter connected
with commercial character.”
When Myndert ceased speaking, he threw another
glance around him, in order to note the effect his
words had produced, and more particularly to ascertain
whether he had not drawn a draft on the forbearance
of the free-trader, which might still meet
with a protest. He was at a loss to account for the
marked and unusual deference with which he was
treated, by one who, while he was never coarse,
seldom exhibited much complaisance for the opinions
of a man he was in the habit of meeting so familiarly,
on matters of pecuniary interest. During the
whole of the foregoing harangue, the young mariner
of the brigantine had maintained the same attitude
of modest attention; and when his eyes were permitted
to rise, it was only to steal uneasy looks at
the face of Alida. La belle Barbérie had also listened
to her uncle's eloquence, with a more thoughtful air
than common. She met the occasional glances of the
dealer in contraband, with answering sympathy;
and, in short, the most indifferent observer of their
deportment might have seen that circumstances had
created between them a confidence and intelligence
which, if it were not absolutely of the most tender,
was unequivocally of the most intimate, character.
All this Ludlow plainly saw, though the burgher had
been too much engrossed with the ideas he had so
complacently dealt out, to note the fact.
“Now that my mind is so well stored with maxima
on the instructions of my Lords of the
Admiralty,” observed the Captain, after a brief interval
of silence, “it may be permitted to turn our
attention to things less metaphysical. The present
occasion is favorable to inquire after the fate of the
shipmate we lost in the last cruise; and it ought not
to be neglected.”
“You speak truth, Mr. Cornelius—The Patroon
of Kinderhook is not a man to fall into the sea, like
an anker of forbidden liquor, and no questions asked.
Leave this matter to my discretion, Sir; and trust
me, the tenants of the third best estate in the colony
shall not long be without tidings of their landlord.
If you will accompany Master Seadrift into the other
part of the villa for a reasonable time, I shall possess
myself of all the facts that are at all pertinent to
the right understanding of the case.”
The commander of the royal cruiser, and the
young mariner of the brigantine, appeared to think
that a compliance with this invitation would bring
about a singular association. The hesitation of the
latter, however, was far the most visible, since Ludlow
had coolly determined to maintain his neutral
character, until a proper moment to act, as a faithful
servitor of his royal mistress, should arrive. He
knew, or firmly believed, that the Water-Witch
again lay in the Cove, concealed by the shadows of
the surrounding wood; and as he had once before
suffered by the superior address of the smugglers, he
was now resolved to act with so much caution, as to
enable him to return to his ship in time to proceed
against her with decision, and, as he hoped, with
effect. In addition to this motive for artifice, there
was that in the manner and language of the contraband
dealer to place him altogether above the ordinary
men of his pursuit, and indeed to create in his
favor a certain degree of interest, which the officer
bowed with sufficient courtesy, and professed his
readiness to follow the suggestions of the Alderman.
“We have met on neutral ground, Master Seadrift,”
said Ludlow to his gay companion, as they
quitted the saloon of la Cour des Fées; “and though
bent on different objects, we may discourse amicably
of the past. The `Skimmer of the Seas' has a reputation
in his way, that almost raises him to the level
of a seaman distinguished in a better service. I will
ever testify to his skill and coolness as a mariner,
however much I may lament that those fine qualities
have received so unhappy a direction.”
“This is speaking with a becoming reservation for
the rights of the crown, and with meet respect for
the Barons of the Exchequer!” retorted Seadrift,
whose former, and we may say natural, spirit seemed
to return, as he left the presence of the burgher.
“We follow the pursuit, Captain Ludlow, in which
accident has cast our fortunes. You serve a Queen
you never saw, and a nation who will use you in her
need and despise you in her prosperity; and I serve
myself. Let reason decide between us.”
“I admire this frankness, Sir, and have hopes of
a better understanding between us, now that you
have done with the mystifications of your sea-green
woman. The farce has been well enacted; though,
with the exception of Oloff Van Staats and those
enlightened spirits you lead about the ocean, it has
not made many converts to necromancy.”
The free-trader permitted his handsome mouth to
relax in a smile.
“We have our mistress, too,” he said; “but she
exacts no tribute. All that is gained goes to enrich
her subjects, while all that she knows is cheerfully
imparted for their use. If we are obedient, it is because
we have experienced her justice and wisdom.
risk life and limb in her cause?”
“Is it part of the policy of her you follow, to reveal
the fate of the Patroon; for though rivals in
one dear object—or rather I should say, once rivals
in that object—I cannot see a guest quit my ship
with so little ceremony, without an interest in his
welfare.”
“You make a just distinction,” returned Seadrift,
smiling still more meaningly—“Once rivals is indeed
the better expression. Mr. Van Staats is a brave
man, however ignorant he may be of the seaman's
art. One who has showed so much spirit will be
certain of protection from personal injury, in the
care of the `Skimmer of the Seas.”'
“I do not constitute myself the keeper of Mr. Van
Staats; still, as the commander of the ship whence
he has been—what shall I term the manner of his
abduction?—for I would not willingly use, at this
moment, a term that may prove disagreeable—”
“Speak freely, Sir, and fear not to offend. We of
the brigantine are accustomed to divers epithets that
might startle less practised ears. We are not to
learn, at this late hour, that, in order to become
respectable, roguery must have the sanction of government.
You were pleased, Captain Ludlow, to
name the mystifications of the Water-Witch; but
you seem indifferent to those that are hourly practised
near you in the world, and which, without the
pleasantry of this of ours, have not half its innocence.”
“There is little novelty in the expedient of seeking
to justify the delinquency of individuals, by the
failings of society.”
“I confess it is rather just than original. Triteness
and Truth appear to be sisters! And yet do we find
ourselves driven to this apology, since the refinement
of us of the brigantine has not yet attained to the
in morals.”
“I believe there is a mandate of sufficient antiquity,
which bids us to render unto Cæsar the things
which are Cæsar's.”
“A mandate which our modern Cæsars have most
liberally construed! I am a poor casuist, Sir; nor do
I think the loyal commander of the Coquette would
wish to uphold all that sophistry can invent on such
a subject. If we begin with potentates, for instance,
we shall find the Most Christian King bent on appropriating
as many of his neighbors' goods to his
own use, as ambition, under the name of glory, can
covet; the Most Catholic, covering with the mantle
of his Catholicity, a greater multitude of enormities
on this very continent, than even charity itself could
conceal; and our own gracious Sovereign, whose
virtues and whose mildness are celebrated in verse
and prose, causing rivers of blood to run, in order
that the little island over which she rules may swell
out, like the frog in the fable, to dimensions that nature
has denied, and which will one day inflict the
unfortunate death that befell the ambitious inhabitant
of the pool. The gallows awaits the pickpocket;
but your robber under a pennant is dubbed a knight!
The man who amasses wealth by gainful industry is
ashamed of his origin; while he who has stolen from
churches, laid villages under contribution, and cut
throats by thousands, to divide the spoils of a galleon
or a military chest, has gained gold on the highway
of glory! Europe has reached an exceeding pass of
civilization, it may not be denied; but before society
inflicts so severe censure on the acts of individuals,
notwithstanding the triteness of the opinion, I must
say it is bound to look more closely to the example
it sets, in its collective character.”
“These are points on which our difference of
opinion is likely to be lasting;” said Ludlow, assuming
“We will defer the discussion to a moment of greater
leisure, Sir. Am I to learn more of Mr. Van Staats,
or is the question of his fate to become the subject
of a serious official inquiry?”
“The Patroon of Kinderhook is a bold boarder!”
returned the free-trader, laughing. “He has carried
the residence of the lady of the brigantine by a
coup-de-main; and he reposes on his laurels! We of
the contraband are merrier in our privacy than is
thought, and those who join our mess seldom wish to
quit it.”
“There may be occasion to look further into its
mysteries—until when, I wish you adieu.”
“Hold!” gaily cried the other, observing that
Ludlow was about to quit the room—“Let the time
of our uncertainty be short, I pray thee. Our mistress
is like the insect, which takes the color of the
leaf on which it dwells. You have seen her in her
sea-green robe, which she never fails to wear when
roving over the soundings of your American coast;
but in the deep waters, her mantle vies with the
blue of the ocean's depths. Symptoms of a change,
which always denote an intended excursion far beyond
the influence of the land, have been seen!”
“Harkee, Master Seadrift! This foolery may do,
while you possess the power to maintain it. But remember,
that though the law only punishes the illegal
trader by confiscation of his goods when taken,
it punishes the kidnapper with personal pains, and
sometimes with—death!—And, more—remember
that the line which divides smuggling from piracy is
easily past, while the return becomes impossible.”
“For this generous counsel, in my mistress's name,
I thank thee;” the gay mariner replied, bowing
with a gravity that rather heightened than concealed
his irony—“Your Coquette is broad in the reach of
her booms, and swift on the water, Captain Ludlow;
as she may, she shall find a woman in the brigantine
equal to all her arts, and far superior to all
her threats!”
With this prophetic warning on the part of the
Queen's officer, and cool reply on that of the dealer
in contraband, the two sailors separated. The latter
took a book, and threw himself into a chair, with
a well-maintained indifference; while the other left
the house, in a haste that was not disguised.
In the mean time, the interview between Alderman
Van Beverout and his niece still continued.
Minute passed after minute, and yet there was no
summons to the pavilion. The gay young seaman
of the brigantine had continued his studies for some
time after the disappearance of Ludlow, and he
now evidently a waited an intimation that his presence
was required in la Cour des Fées. During these moments
of anxiety, the air of the free-trader was sorrowful
rather than impatient; and when a footstep
was heard at the door of the room, he betrayed
symptoms of strong and uncontrollable agitation. It
was the female attendant of Alida, who entered,
presented a slip of paper, and retired. The eager
expectant read the following words, hastily written
in pencil:—
“I have evaded all his questions, and he is more
than half-disposed to believe in necromancy. This
is not the moment to confess the truth, for he is not
in a condition to hear it, being already much disturbed
by the uncertainty of what may follow the
appearance of the brigantine on the coast, and so
near his own villa. But, be assured, he shall and
will acknowledge claims that I know how to support,
and which, should I fail of establishing, he would
not dare to refuse to the redoubtable `Skimmer of
the Seas.' Come hither, the moment you hear his
foot in the passage.”
The last injunction was soon obeyed. The Alderman
entered by one door, as the active fugitive retreated
by another; and where the weary burgher
expected to see his guests, he found an empty apartment.
This last circumstance, however, gave Myndert
Van Beverout but little surprise and no concern,
as would appear by the indifference with which he
noted the circumstance.
“Vagaries and womanhood!” thought, rather than
muttered, the Alderman. “The jade turns like a fox
in his tracks, and it would be easier to convict a
merchant who values his reputation, of a false invoice,
than this minx of nineteen of an indiscretion!
There is so much of old Etienne and his Norman
blood in her eye, that one does not like to provoke
extremities; but here, when I expected Van Staats
had profited by his opportunity, the girl looks like a
nun, at the mention of his name. The Patroon is no
Cupid, we must allow; or, in a week at sea, he would
have won the heart of a mermaid!—Ay—and here
are more perplexities, by the return of the Skimmer
and his brig, and the notions that young Ludlow has
of his duty. Life and mortality! One must quit trade,
at some time or other, and begin to close the books
of life. I must seriously think of striking a final balance.
If the sum-total was a little more in my favor,
it should be gladly done to-morrow!”
| CHAPTER VI. The water-witch, or, The skimmer of the seas | |