University of Virginia Library

14. CHAPTER XIV.

It were a large chapter, in the history of human
affection, which should contain a recital of all the
woes that spring from self-delusion. How common
a thing it is for men to fancy themselves preferred
by the women they adore, when there is no other
ground for such assurance than the flattery of their
own hearts! It is a small reason that women should
love us, merely because we happen to love them,—
the belief of many wise ones to the contrary notwithstanding;
for it is so far from being true that love
begets love, that the very contrary might fall into a
proverb. That which passes current in the world

as love, is, generally speaking, nothing more than a
temporary delirium, arising from gratified vanity,
which, as soon as the incense heaped by the imagination
on its altar is consumed, grows cold again, and
languid, and if it pines with any melancholy of passion,
it is only that of Narcissus, when the image of
his own attractions is no longer reflected from the
fountain.

Love, so far as it is merely natural, is as changeful
as a dream,—so far only as it is spiritual, is it enduring.
It is not only beauty of form and feature,
that engages our higher affections, nor is it because
the lover is “of imagination all compact,” that he
sees “Helen's beauty in the brow of Egypt.” Genuine
love is that of the spirit, which, if it be true,
must make the object beautiful though the outward
form and corporeal vestment are as rugged as the
gnarled oak. It is therefore honorable to women,
that the more exalted of the sex prefer a Socrates to
a mere Antinous, and leave a contrary choice to those
whose highest ambition it is to be admired, even
though the admiration is no purer than the emotion
of an animal.

Had Fitzvassal been more deeply read in the annals
of affection, he would not so readily have presumed
on a reciprocation of feeling from one whose
heart he must have known was already occupied.
It was his misfortune to love, “not wisely, but too
well;” and in the infatuation of his fancy, to mistake

the ordinary expressions of female courtesy, for manifestations
of a deeper sentiment. There is many a
man who rails at the inconstancy of the sex, who
never could have excited in their hearts the most
transitory interest, and many a one who would have
the world suppose he is going to die a bachelor from
choice, who sighs among his undarned hose, at his
dire and sad necessity.

Fitzvassal had the madness to believe, that Grace
Wilmer loved him. He had never before seen such
beauty and gentleness in woman, and as he loved
her with enthusiastic devotion, he vainly imagined
that her heart beat responsive to his own. He now
brooded over his declaration of love, and dwelt with
fondness on her every look, and word, and action,
which he as surely misinterpreted, as he ascribed it
to an interest for himself.

Grace Wilmer regarded him as her family benefactor,
and so far, as a man deserving her gratitude
and regard; but her heart was already pre-occupied
by one who was in all respects worthy of her love;
and she could no more divide her affections, and
keep a part from Seymour, than portion out her animal
being to her worshippers. The declaration of
Fitzvassal was therefore equally unpleasant, and
startling. The first intimation she had received of
his love, was its frank avowal. In vain did she examine
her heart, and explore the recesses of her bosom,
to discover if haply she had given occasion for,

or encouragement to, his feelings; and though the
conduct of her new lover had been as deferential and
delicate as the most susceptible mind could have
wished, she could not control her apprehensions
when she reflected on being in his power, and the
possible dangers that might await her from one
whom she supposed to be chagrined and disappointed.
Had she rather known that fuel had been unconsciously
heaped on the fire she had kindled, her
heart would have been still less at ease, than it was
when she moistened her pillow with tears, weeping
in solitary anguish.

In the meantime, the commander of the Dolphin
paced his quarter-deck with feelings of mingled pleasure
and anxiety. On the one hand, golden visions
of requited love and worldly honor, flitted in lovely
forms before his imagination; on the other, the fear
of the detection of his one crime, rose up like a hideous
spectre to scare away his reason. He was in
the possession of wealth almost unbounded, and he
was little disturbed in conscience by the lawless
means through which it had been gained. It was
the dread of being found out, that alone disturbed
him; for he had learned to look upon the world with
delight, and to long for a share in its allurements.
In the banquet of life there seemed to him but one
obstacle to his perfect happiness—and that was the
skeleton at the table.

The development of Fitzvassal's character, was a

strong illustration of the truth, that a perfect harmony
of the will and of the understanding, is necessary
to a healthy state of mind, and to the practice of virtue.
The rational principle of man, which belongs
to the understanding, may, by the influx of heavenly
light, be elevated to the perception of causes, and
even to that of ends, which is the broadest reach of
created intelligence; but unless the affections which
belong to the will, become at the same time the recipients
of heavenly love, and are thus elevated in a
like degree, the intellectual principle is drawn down
to the plain of the voluntary, and partakes of its quality,
however sensual and debased it may be. There
must be heat as well as light, before the earth will
yield nourishment for her children.

We may here find an answer to the question, why
men of transcendent intellect so often prostitute their
powers, and throw a charm over the very rottenness
of sensuality. So long as they voluntarily cling to
vices which are contrary to the divine law, and therefore
inconsistent with the advancement of their being,
they do not love to elevate their affections above
the fascinations of the world; and since the understanding
cannot operate without the will, it brings
down the light it has borrowed from above, to be
changed to the phosphorescence of corruption.

While Fitzvassal was engaged as we have represented
him, in “chewing the cud of sweet and bitter
fancy,” it suddenly occurred to him, that he had solemnly

promised to send Grace and her cousin to
Boston that very morning, and as he had no motive
for detaining them on board, and as it was indispensable
to her comfort to return, the expedient immediately
suggested itself of transferring them to the
Revenue-Cutter.

Seymour having been first consulted as to the propriety
of the measure, the plan proposed was to place
them in Morgan's boat, and leave them there to be
taken up by the government vessel; but Seymour,
when he found that there was a sail-boat at his disposal,
eagerly embraced the opportunity of using it
as an immediate conveyance to the metropolis.

Every thing being made ready, by the vessel hauling
away from the wind, and the lowering of the
boat, and its preparation for sailing, after cordial
adieus on the part of Seymour and Fitzvassal, and the
most marked declarations of interest on that of the
latter to Grace Wilmer, whose down-cast eyes and
pervading expression of melancholy were of course
misconstrued by her inamorato, they descended into
the skiff, and in a minute after were rapidly on their
way to Boston.

The Dolphin now immediately wore round to the
wind, when her ropes strained like the sinews of a
racer, as she bounded forward in the course. Her
commander stood on the quarter-deck, his glass following
the boat with its precious merchandise. It
was now half way between the flying vessels. Why

is Fitzvassal disturbed as he gazes? Why does he
suddenly dash the glass on the deck, and descend in
agitation to his cabin? Leave the brandy untouched,
poor fool! It cannot obliterate the remembrance of
that reciprocal kiss. Its image shall haunt thee to thy
grave!

The boat having first been boarded by the Cutter,
was now seen shooting ahead toward Shirley-Point,
and was lost to the eye among the islands. Another
shot from the government-vessel indicated that the
ardor of pursuit had been stimulated, rather than
allayed, by the short interval that had happened.
The booming of the Cutter's gun immediately
roused Fitzvassal, who was now once more standing
with another spy-glass on his quarter-deck.

His first-officer was by his side in an instant.

“When we return that fire, Sir,” said the commander,
bitting his lip, that quivered with hardly-suppressed
emotion, while his eyes flamed with anger,
“it shall be to some purpose. When we have run
down out of hearing-distance from Boston, I mean to
show that fellow the hardest fight he ever dreamed
of. It is now eleven o'clock. By two hours after
noon, be ready to beat to quarters!”

The officer bowed and retired, and soon after, the
men were seen taking down their boarding-pikes from
the masts and booms, with which they were circled,
and their basket-handled swords, which were stuck
round the capstan and long-boat, and their short,

broad daggers, resembling the bowie-knife; and
these they proceeded to grind and polish, preparations
dismal enough for their end, but engaged in with
the more alacrity by the men, for the grog they had
just drunk.

Fitzvassal, while this was going on, passed frequently
before the sailors, with a view to observe their
faces, and discover the state of their dispositions.
The cheerfulness with which they went to work assured
him that he had nothing to fear from any dis-affection
among them. Shot of every description,
from chain to canister, was now brought on deck,
and piled up in pyramids by the guns which were
unlashed, carefully sponged and cleared, for immediate
use. New match was also got ready, and all the
various implements of naval warfare adjusted as
they should be, preparatory to an engagement.

In the mean time, the Revenue-Cutter, crowding
all her canvas, bore down hard upon the Dolphin,
with the determination of coming up with her, if
practicable. Sir Edmund Andros was sufficiently
aware of the posture of public affairs, to keep himself
ever vigilant for the interest of the Crown, and he
had received implicit orders, in dispatches by the
Rose frigate, to carefully examine every vessel that
came into Boston or New-York harbors, about which
the slightest suspicion could be surmised. Fitzvassal
was therefore wrong in his conjecture, that Classon
had betrayed him; for, however bound that minion

of power might have been to spy out the movements
of the people and report to his master, he was
too fond of money, and was too much dazzled by the
bright anticipations his step-son had awakened, to
throw away an opportunity of amassing wealth, that
only required his silence to secure it.

The truth was, the Dolphin first fell under the
suspicion of Sir Edmund after she had removed to
Nahant. While there, she had been reported by a
fisherman well affected to the Crown; and the mere
circumstance of her lying idly in a place that could
furnish no commercial advantage, might have been
regarded as sufficient warrant for an unfavorable
judgment respecting her. Besides, the Buccaneers
were then ravaging the seas in all directions, and as
some of the most reputable moneyed men of the day
were suspected of co-operating in a source of profit,
which at that time was, to say the least, considered
as respectable as a monopoly of the necessaries of life
is now, Sir Edmund Andros was apprehensive that
some of these adventurers might be enlisted in a
cause, which however improbable in its result, it
could not be disguised was likely to disturb his quiet.
Impelled by these views, the Revenue-Cutter was
dispatched in pursuit of the Dolphin, though the
Governor was wholly unconscious of the real enemy
he had to deal with. She was directed to board the
suspected schooner, and if, on an examination of her
papers, or from other appearances, sufficient ground

should be afforded for the act, to bring her into Boston
to be dealt with according to law.

Under these circumstances, when the schooner
was seen to weigh anchor and run away, no doubt
was left in the mind of the Cutter's officers, that there
had been just and probable cause to distrust her
friendship; and in accordance with this opinion, she
had been fired upon, as soon as she was supposed to
be within reach of the shot. On boarding the boat
which contained Horace Seymour and Grace, no
satisfaction whatever confirmatory of this belief could
be obtained, for as neither of them imagined that the
Dolphin was any other than a vessel employed by
the patriots, so the obligations they were under to
its commander, prevented them from giving any satisfactory
information to the government Cutter.

Both vessels had now run down about twenty
miles below Boston Light-House, and still kept the
same relative distance from each other; for whenever
Fitzvassal, who had relieved the pilot, found that he
was gaining too much on his adversary, he brought his
vessel nearer to the wind, and backed his topsails, to
give the Cutter an opportunity of coming up.

The superiority of the Buccaneer over the Revenue-Cutter,
determined the former to avail himself of
the advantage, and instead of coming immediately to
close quarters, to keep up a running fire on her at
long shot, and thus disable her, without affording an
opportunity for retaliation. With this end in view,

all hands were piped to quarters. Orders were given
to fire only the long gun, which, as the government-vessel
came within hitting distance, kept up an incessant
fire upon her.

The position of the Cutter was such, that only
her bow-chasers could be used without wearing
round, and to do this, materially diminished her
headway; in fact, she had already lost ground by
firing her bow-guns, but as these invariably fell short
of the schooner, she soon relinquished their use altogether.

Still, however, the chase continued with the greatest
assiduity on the part of the Cutter, which not
only crowded her studding-sails, and thrust out her
sweeps, but as long as she continued in moderate
soundings, sent her kedge ahead in the boats, whenever
the breeze died away enough to require it, and
was thus run on by the crew to some advantage.
But with every auxiliary which maritime ingenuity
could suggest, the Dolphin continued to keep out of
hitting distance from the Cutter, while her own long-gun
was constantly annoying her pursuer's rigging.

This sort of warfare was exceedingly amusing to
the crew of the Buccaneer, which sent up three
cheers whenever one of their shot told on the other;
yet they frequently begged for permission to come to
yard-arm and yard-arm, a mode of fighting better
suited to their temper.

Their commander, nevertheless, kept their ferocious

disposition under, by assuring them that he had
carved out work enough for them to do at close quarters
in the future, but that his intention for the present
was only to riddle the Revenue-Cutter, and do
her business for her, without himself losing a spar or
a man.

Several shots had already passed through the fore-topsail
of the Cutter, that vainly exerted itself to get
within reach of the Dolphin, and one, as she had
turned to bring her other guns to bear, had struck
her on her weather-beam, doing considerable mischief.

They had now run full thirty-five miles from Boston,
when the Revenue-Cutter, having had her sails
materially damaged, without conveying a single shot
to her opponent, became satisfied that it was vain to
think of overtaking her and bringing her into action;
and accordingly she tacked about with the intention
of relinquishing the chase entirely.

As soon as Fitzvassal understood the intention of
his enemy, he put the schooner about, and amidst
the vociferous shouts of the crew, in his turn commenced
the chase. He was careful, however, not to
follow long in her wake; but bearing several points
away from her course, he continued to keep constantly
in such a relative position as to bring several
guns to bear on her at once, though his long gun
was the only one that did essential service.

Under the galling fire of her adversary, whose superiority

in every respect was too lately discovered,
the Revenue-Cutter found herself in the most painful
situation. On determining to abandon the chase,
she had not entertained the idea that the pursued
would become the pursuer; for she regarded the
schooner as little better than a pirate that stood in
apprehension of justice, and would be glad of a
chance of getting away from her; but when she perceived
the Dolphin put about, the officers could not
help feeling anxious for the result. Most willingly
would they have come within carronading distance,
or to close quarters, but they soon found that their
annoyer was resolved to do neither. All they could
do was to run away as fast as possible, or to bear
down on their adversary, for the chance of a close
fight.

The last part of the alternative was finally adopted,
and the sails were trimmed accordingly; but the
moment Fitzvassal discovered the design, he shaped
his course so as to thwart its accomplishment, and
the Dolphin flew away from her like a bird.

At this moment, a shot from the long twenty-four
told on the foremast of the Revenue-Cutter, and it
came with a crash to the deck. The crew of the
Buccaneer immediately gave nine cheers, and the
schooner wore round again on her adversary. The
government-vessel being half dismantled, was of
course perfectly unmanageable, and remained at the
mercy of her enemy. The Buccaneer pursued his

advantage, and running up under her stern, poured
a heavy broadside, raking her fore-and-aft with canister,
grape, and round-shot, that at the first discharge
brought down the mainmast, and deluged her deck
with blood.

This destructive task was the work of a minute, and
the Dolphin then filled away, and stood off to observe
the desolation she had accomplished. The screams
and groans of the dying were audible on the deck of
the Buccaneer, and though there remained no flag
for the vanquished to strike, it was evident enough
that there was a disposition on board to surrender.
Accordingly, a quarter-boat was lowered, and Wilson
was ordered, with twelve men, to go aboard and
take possession of the prize.

On coming along-side and ascending the gangway
ladder, it was found that not an officer or man,
of the small number on board the Revenue-Cutter,
had been left unharmed. Out of eighteen persons,
ten had been killed, two others mortally wounded,
and the remaining six hurt, either by splinters, by
the falling spars, or by shot: on making which discovery,
Wilson sent four men, with a petty-officer,
to report the result to his commander.

As soon as Fitzvassal understood the disastrous condition
of the Revenue-Cutter, he gave immediate orders
to bring the wounded men aboard his own vessel,
though it was with great difficulty he could provide
them with accommodations. The Cutter was then

stripped of every thing valuable and useful, her guns
brought aboard the Dolphin, with all the ammunition
she had in her magazine. She was then scuttled, and
left to go down at her leisure.

The humanity that the Buccaneer had shown to
the wounded men, met with little sympathy from his
crew. They almost to a man cursed what they
called his folly, in lumbering the vessel with the half-dead
carcases of an enemy, and would gladly have
heaved every one of them overboard, if they had had
their own way. They felt that they were pirates,
and though they were differently regarded in those
days than pirates are now, they were conscious of
having lost caste; and they were already prepared to
increase their crimes to any extent which any emergency
might demand. Some of them, indeed, had
been old offenders, whose hands were dyed in blood,
and the contamination of their reckless minds and
communications had spread widely among the crew
of the Dolphin. But the austere discipline of Fitzvassal
kept them constantly in check, and there was
only one of them who had the audacity to show his
resentment on this occasion.

This fellow was a large mulatto, a practical instance
of that unnatural amalgamation which has so
many advocates among the deluded of our day. Of
all bad men, this race is the worst, and the annals of
crime would show that they are the most heartless,
stubborn, and depraved characters that are to be met

with on the purlieus of human society. The man
referred to passed among the sailors under the name
of Bloody Dick, for the atrocities of which he used
to boast, and for his known cruelty whenever he had
an opportunity of exercising it.

As this scoundrel passed by the wounded men who
were lying on the deck, he gave one of them, who
was even then almost dead, a violent kick on the
head, accompanied by the most disgusting blasphemies,
swearing that he had better go to hell at once,
and be damned.

The miserable sufferer gave one groan, and expired.

This fiendish conduct, however, did not escape the
eye of the commander.

“Lash that fellow to the foremast!” exclaimed he;
and the order was immediately executed.

“Now give him thirty-nine lashes on his bare back
with the cat, and report to me when it is over!”

The fellow's screams and curses might have been
heard for miles, as the knotted, nine-thonged whip
scourged his tawny shoulders, without producing
any other effect upon him but pain, malice, and the
thirst of revenge.

This part of his punishment being executed, and
a report thereof made to the commander, he gave
orders that he should be keel-hauled.

“All hands a-hoy!” exclaimed the boatswain, taking

up the order that had been passed to him, “all
hands a-hoy, to keel-haul Bloody Dick!”

“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!” vociferated the
sailors in reply, who were rejoiced at the opportunity
of paying back to the man they detested, a part of
the debt of gratitude they owed him for his repeated
annoyance.

Bloody Dick was then brought a midships, stripped
to his skin, and his hands and feet bound closely
together. A long rope was next fastened under his
arms, and one end of it passed from larboard to starboard,
under the bottom of the schooner. A dozen
men were then ordered to take hold of each end of
the rope, while others were commanded to heave the
fellow overboard.

The relentless monster in vain struggled against
the further punishment that was about to be inflicted
on him;—in vain he begged, cursed, implored, blasphemed,
and entreated by turns;—he was instantly
hurled into the deep on the larboard side of the vessel,
when immediately those on the starboard commenced
the operation of keel-hauling. Hand-over-hand,
they drew the rope over the gunwale, till they
brought Bloody Dick to the surface of the water. As
soon as they perceived that he had taken a mouthful
of air, they all at once let go, when those on the larboard
side, in their turn, began to haul in. But the
moment the fellow had a breath of air, down he went
again, and was hauled up on the opposite side; this

operation was repeated, till he was ordered to be
taken aboard by the boatswain.

Exhausted, spiritless, and for the time subdued,
Bloody Dick lay for a short space panting on the
deck, disgorging the large draughts of salt water
which he had reluctantly swallowed in his journeyings
under the keel, till at length gaining strength,
he sprang upon his feet, and seizing a knife from the
belt of a sailor near him, rushed upon Fitzvassal like
a tiger leaping from a jungle. The suddenness of
the attack might have been fatal to the commander,
had it not been for the faithful Cato, who, as he saw
the movement, interposed by tripping up the sturdy
mulatto, who thundered down, Ajax like in his fall,
prostrate on the deck.

“To the yard-arm with that murderous scoundrel!
to the yard-arm with him, instantly!” exclaimed the
commander. “He has sent one innocent man to
eternity within an hour, and he would murder every
man aboard if he could;—away with him! hang
him up instantly to the yard-arm!”

The order was no sooner given than measures
were taken to put it in immediate execution. The
fellow was again seized, and securely pinioned. A
rope from the end of the fore-yard was then passed
down, and a noose made with a hangman's knot
thrown over the fellow's neck, and drawn so as not
to slip off. He was then ordered to stand on a loaded

cannon, while the funeral service was read to
him.

While this ceremony was going on, all his evil
passions seemed to be working simultaneously, and
instead of listening to the lecture that was intended
for his comfort, he burst out with repeated maledictions
on all that bore the human form, bitterly lamenting
that he could not live to wreak his vengeance
on Fitzvassal.

“Never mind!” he cried, casting a terrific look at
his commander; “Never mind! your turn comes
next, and I will torture you to my heart's content,
when we meet on common ground among the damned!”

As he spoke, the match was applied to the cannon,
which bellowing out its thunder, enveloped that part
of the schooner in smoke, which, as the wind drove
it away, discovered to the spectators of the scene the
last agonizing contortions of the dying malefactor.