University of Virginia Library

1. ORMOND;
OR THE
SECRET WITNESS.

CHAPTER I.

Stephen Dudley was a native of New-York.
He was educated to the profession of a
painter. His father's trade was that or an apothecary.
But this son, manifesting an attachment
to the pencil, he was resolved that it should be
gratified. For this end Stephen was sent at an
early age to Europe, and not only enjoyed the instructions
of Fuzeli and Bartolozzi, but spent a
considerable period in Italy, in studying the Augustan
and Medicean monuments. It was intended
that he should practise his art in his native city,
but the young man, though reconciled to this
scheme by deference to paternal authority, and by
a sense of its propriety, was willing, as long as
possible to postpone it. The liberality of his father
relieved him from all pecuniary cares. His
whole time was devoted to the improvement of
his skill in his favorite art, and the enriching of
his mind with every valuable accomplishment.
He was endowed with a comprehensive genius
and indefatigable industry. His progress was
proportionably rapid, and he passed his time without
much regard to futurity, being too well satisfied
with the present to anticipate a change. A

change however was unavoidable, and he was
obliged at length to pay a reluctant obedience to
his father's repeated summons. The death of his
wife had rendered his society still more necessary
to the old gentleman.

He married before his return. The woman whom
he had selected was an unportioned orphan, and
was recommended merely by her moral qualities.
These, however, were eminent, and secured to
her, till the end of her life, the affection of her
husband. Though painting was capable of fully
gratifying his taste as matter of amusement, he
quickly found that, in his new situation it would
not answer the ends of a profession. His father
supported himself by the profits of his shop, but
with all his industry he could do no more than procure
a subsistence for himself and his son.

Till his father's death young Dudley attached
himself to painting. His gains were slender but
he loved the art, and his father's profession rendered
his own exertions in a great degree superfluous.
The death of the elder Dudley introduced
an important change in his situation. It
thenceforth became necessary to strike into some
new path, to deny himself the indulgence of his
inclinations, and regulate his future exertions by
a view to nothing but gain. There was little room
for choice. His habits had disqualified him for
mechanical employments. He could not stoop to
the imaginary indignity which attended them, nor
spare the time necessary to obtain the requisite
degree of skill. His father died in possession of
some stock, and a sufficier. portion of credit to
supply its annual decays. He lived at what they
call a good stand, and enjoyed a certain quantity
of permanent custom. The knowledge that was
required was as easily obtained as the elements of
any other profession, and was not wholly unallied

to the pursuits in which he had sometimes engaged.
Hence he could not hesitate long in forming
his resolution, but assumed the management of
his father's concerns with a cheerful and determined
spirit.

The knowledge of his business was acquired in
no long time. He was stimulated to the acquisition
by a sense of duty, he was inured to habits of
industry, and there were few things capable to
resist a strenuous exertion of his faculties.
Knowledge of whatever kind afforded a compensation
to labour, but the task being finished, that
which remained, which, in ordinary apprehensions
would have been esteemed an easy and
smooth path, was to him insupportably disgustful.
The drudgery of a shop, where all the faculties
were at a stand, and one day was an unvaried repetition
of the foregoing, was too incongenial to
his disposition not to be a source of discontent.
This was an evil which it was the tendency of
time to increase rather than diminish. The longer
he endured it the less tolerable it became.
He could not forbear comparing his present situation
with his former, and deriving from the contrast
perpetual food for melancholy.

The indulgence of his father had contributed to
instill into him prejudices, in consequence of
which a certain species of disgrace was annexed
to every employment of which the only purpose
was gain. His present situation not only precluded
all those pursuits which exalt and harmonize
the feelings, but was detested by him as
something humiliating and ignominious. His
wife was of a pliant temper, and her condition
less influenced by this change than that of her
husband. She was qualified to be his comforter,
but instead of dispelling his gloom by judicious arguments,
or a seasonable example of vivacity, she

caught the infection that preyed upon his mind
and augmented his anxieties by partaking in
them.

By enlarging in some degree, the foundation
on which his father had built, he had provided the
means of a future secession, and might console
himself with the prospect of enjoying his darling
case at some period of his life. This period was
necessarily too remote for his wishes, and had not
certain occurrences taken place, by which he was
flattered with the immediate possession of ease, it
is far from being certain that he would not have
fallen a victim to his growing disquietudes.

He was one morning engaged behind his counter
as usual, when a youth came into his shop,
and, in terms that bespoke the union of fearlessness
and frankness, enquired whether he could be
engaged as an apprentice. A proposal of this
kind could not be suddenly rejected or adopted.
He stood in need of assistance, the youth was
manly and blooming, and exhibited a modest and
ingenuous aspect. It was possible that he was,
in every respect, qualified for the post for which
he applied, but it was previously necessary to ascertain
these qualifications. For this end he requested
the youth to call at his house in the evening,
when he should be at leisure to converse
with him and furnished him with suitable directions.

The youth came according to appointment.
On being questioned as to his birth-place and origin,
he stated that he was a native of Wakefield,
in Yorkshire; that his family were honest, and his
education not mean; that he was the eldest
of many children, and having attained an age at
which he conceived it his duty to provide for himself,
he had, with the concurrence of his friends,
come to America, in search of the means of independant

subsistence; that he had just arrived in
a ship which he named, and, his scanty stock of
money being likely to be speedily consumed, this
had been the first effort he had made to procure
employment.

His tale was circumstantial and consistent, and
his veracity appeared liable to no doubt. He
was master of his book and his pen, and had acquired
more than the rudiments of Latin. Mr.
Dudley did not require much time to deliberate.
In a few days the youth was established as a
member of his family, and as a coadjutor in his
shop, nothing but food, clothing, and lodging being
stipulated as the reward of his services.

The young man improved daily in the good
opinion of his master. His apprehension was
quick, his sobriety invariable, and his application
incessant. Tho' by no means presumptuous or
arrogant, he was not wanting in a suitable degree
of self-confidence. All his propensities appeared
to concentre in his occupation and the promotion
of his master's interest, from which he was
drawn aside by no allurements of sensual or intellectual
pleasure. In a short time he was able to
relieve his master of most of the toils of his profession,
and Mr. Dudley a thousand times congratulated
himself on possessing a servant equally
qualified by his talents and his probity. He gradually
remitted his attention to his own concerns,
and placed more absolute reliance on the fidelity
of his dependant.

Young Craig, that was the name of the youth,
maintained a punctual correspondence with his
family, and confided to his patron, not only copies
of all the letters which he himself wrote, but
those which, from time to time, he received. He
had several correspondents, but the chief of those

were his mother and his eldest sister. The sentiments
contained in their letters breathed the most
appropriate simplicity and tenderness, and flowed
with the nicest propriety, from the different relationships
of mother and sister. The style and
even the penmanship were distinct and characteristical.

One of the first of these epistles, was written
by the mother to Mr. Dudley, on being informed
by her son of his present engagement. It was
dictated by that concern for the welfare of her
child befitting the maternal character. Gratitude,
for the ready acceptance of the youth's services,
and for the benignity of his deportment towards
him, a just representation of which had
been received by her from the boy himself, was
expressed with no inconsiderable elegance; as
well as her earnest wishes that Mr. Dudley
should extend to him not only the indulgence,
but the moral superintendance of a parent.

To this Mr. Dudley conceived it incumbent
upon him to return a consenting answer, and letters
were in this manner occasionally interchanged
between them.

Things remained in this situation for three
years, during which period every day enhanced
the reputation of Craig, for stability and integrity.
A sort of provisional engagement had been
made between the parents, unattended however
by any legal or formal act, that things should remain
on their present footing for three years.
When this period terminated, it seemed as if a
new engagement had become necessary. Craig
expressed the utmost willingness to renew the
former contract, but his master began to think
that the services of his pupil merited a higher recompence.
He ascribed the prosperity that had
hitherto attended him, to the disinterested exertions

of his apprentice. His social and literary
gratifications had been increased by the increase
of his leisure. These were capable of being still
more enlarged. He had not yet acquired what
he deemed a sufficiency, and could not therefore
wholly relieve himself from the turmoils and humiliation
of a professional life. He concluded
that he should at once consult his own interest
and perform no more than an act of justice to a
faithful servant, by making Craig his partner, and
allowing him a share of the profits, on condition
of his discharging all the duties of the trade.

When this scheme was proposed to Craig, he
professed unbounded gratitude, considered all
that he had done as amply rewarded by the pleasure
of performance, and as being nothing more
than was prescribed by his duty. He promised
that this change in his situation should have no
other effect, than to furnish new incitements to diligence
and fidelity, in the promotion of an interest,
which would then become in a still higher degree
than formerly, a common one. Mr. Dudley
communicated his intention to Craig's mother,
who, in addition to many grateful acknowledgements,
stated that a kinsman of her son, had enabled
him, in case of entering into partnership,
to add a small sum to the common stock, and that
for this sum, Craig was authorized to draw upon
a London banker.

The proposed arrangement was speedily effected.
Craig was charged with the management
of all affairs, and Mr. Dudley retired to the enjoyment
of still greater leisure. Two years elapsed
and nothing occurred to interrupt the harmony
that subsisted between the partners. Mr.
Dudley's condition might be esteemed prosperous.
His wealth was constantly accumulating.
He had nearly attained all that he wished, and

his wishes still aimed at nothing less than splendid
opulence. He had annually increased the
permanent sources of his revenue. His daughter
was the only survivor of many children, who perished
in their infancy, before habit and maturity
bad rendered the parental tie difficult to break.
This daughter had already exhibited proofs of a
mind susceptible of high improvement, and the
loveliness of her person promised to keep pace
with her mental acquisitions. He charged himself
with the care of her education, and found no
weariness or satiety in this task that might not be
amply relieved by the recreations of science and
literature. He flattered himself that his career,
which had hitherto been exempt from any considerable
impediment, would terminate in tranquility.
Few men might, with more propriety, have
discarded all apprehensions respecting futurity.

Craig had several sisters and one brother
younger than himself. Mr. Dudley desirous of
promoting the happiness of this family, proposed
to send for this brother, and have him educated
to his own profession, insinuating to his partner
that at the time when the boy should have gained
sufficient stability and knowledge, he himself
might be disposed to relinquish the profession altogether,
on terms particularly advantageous to
the two brothers who might thenceforth conduct
their business jointly. Craig had been eloquent
in praise of this lad, and his testimony had, from
time to time, been confirmed by that of his mother
and sister. He had often expressed his
wishes for the prosperity of the lad, and when his
mother had expressed her doubts as to the best
method of disposing of him, modestly requested
Mr. Dudley's advice on this head. The proposal
therefore, might be supposed to be particularly
acceptable, and yet Craig expressed reluctance

to concur with it. This reluctance was accompanied
with certain tokens which sufficiently shewed
whence it arose. Craig appeared unwilling to
increase those obligations under which he already
laboured. His sense of gratitude was too acute
to allow him to heighten it by the reception of
new benefits.

It might be imagined that this objection would
be easily removed; but the obstinacy of Craig's
opposition was invincible. Mr. Dudley could not
relinquish a scheme to which no stronger objection
could be made. And, since his partner could
not be prevailed upon to make this proposal to
the friends of the lad, he was determined to do it
himself. He maintained an intercourse by letters
with several of those friends which he formed in
his youth. One of them usually resided in London.
From him he received about this time, a
letter, in which, among other information, the
writer mentioned his intention of setting out on a
tour through Yorkshire and the Scottish highlands.
Mr. Dudley thought this a suitable opportunity
for executing his design in favor of young Craig.
He entertained no doubts about the worth and
condition of this family, but was still desirous of
obtaining some information on this head from one
who would pass through this town where they resided,
who would examine with his own eyes,
and on whose discernment and integrity he could
place an implicit reliance. He concealed this intention
from his partner, and entrusted his letter
to a friend who was just embarking for Europe.
In due season he received an answer, confirming,
in all respects, Craig's representations, but informing
him that the lad had been lately disposed
of in a way not equally advantageous with that
which Mr. Dudley had proposed, but such as
would not admit of change.

If doubts could possibly be entertained respecting
the character and views of Craig, this evidence
would have dispelled them: But plans
however skilfully contrived, if founded on imposture,
cannot fail of being sometimes detected.
Craig had occasion to be absent from the city for
some weeks. Meanwhile a letter had been left
at his lodgings by one who merely enquired if
that were the dwelling of Mr. Dudley, and being
answered by the servant in the affirmative, left the
letter without further parley. It was superscribed
with a name unknown to any of the family, and
in a hand which its badness rendered almost illegible.
The servant placed it in a situation to be
seen by his master.

Mr. Dudley allowed it to remain unopened for
a considerable time. At length, deeming it excusable
to discover, by any means, the person to
whom it was addressed, he ventured to unseal it.
It was dated at Portsmouth in New-Hampshire.
The signature was Mary Mansfield. It was addressed
to her son, and was a curious specimen
of illiterateness. Mary herself was unable to
write, as she reminds her son, and had therefore
procured the assistance of Mrs. Dewitt, for
whose family she washed. The amanuensis was
but little superior in the arts of penmanship to
her principal. The contents of the epistle were
made out with some difficulty. This was the substance
of it.

Mary reproaches her son for deserting her, and
letting five years pass away without allowing her
to hear from him. She informed him of her distresses
as they flowed from sickness and poverty,
and were aggravated by the loss of her son who
was so handsome and promising a lad. She
related her marriage with Zekel Hackney, who
first brought her tidings of her boy. He was

master, it seems, of a fishing smack, and voyaged
sometimes to New-York. In one of his visits to
this city, he met a mighty spry young man, on
whom he thought he recognized his wife's son.
He had traced him to the house of Mr. Dudley,
and on enquiry, discovered that the lad resided
here. On his return he communicated the tidings
to his spouse, who had now written to reproach
him for his neglect of his poor old mother,
and to intreat his assistance to relieve her from
the necessity of drudging for her livelihood.

This letter was capable of an obvious construction.
It was, no doubt, founded in mistake,
though, it was to be acknowledged, that the mistake
was singular. Such was the conclusion immediately
formed by Mr. Dudley. He quietly
replaced the letter on the mantlepiece, where it
had before stood, and dismissed the affair from
his thoughts.

Next day Craig returned from his journey.
Mr. Dudley was employed in examining some papers
in a desk that stood behind the door, in the
apartment in which the letter was placed. There
was no other person in the room when Craig entered
it. He did not perceive Mr. Dudley, who
was screened from observation, by his silence
and by an open door. As soon as he entered,
Mr. Dudley looked at him, and made no haste to
speak. The letter whose superscription was
turned towards him, immediately attracted Craig's
attention. He seized it with some degree of eagerness,
and observing the broken seal, thrust it
hastily into his pocket, muttering, at the same
time, in a tone, betokening a mixture of consternation
and anger, “Damn it.”---He immediately
left the room, still uninformed of the presence of
Mr. Dudley, who began to muse, with some earnestness,
on what he had seen. Soon after he

left this room and went into another, in which
the family usually sat. In about twenty minutes,
Craig made his appearance with his usual freedom
and plausibility. Complimentary and customary
topics were discussed. Mrs. Dudley and
her daughter were likewise present. The uneasiness
which the incident just mentioned had occasioned
in the mind of Mr. Dudley, was at first
dispelled by the disembarrassed behaviour of his
partner, but new matter of suspicion was speedily
afforded him. He observed that his partner
spoke of his present entrance as of the first since
his arrival, and that when the lady mentioned
that he had been the subject of a curious mistake,
a letter being directed to him by a strange name,
and left there during his absence, he pretended
total ignorance of the circumstance. The young
lady was immediately directed by her mother to
bring the letter which lay, she said, on the mantle-tree
in the next room.

During this scene Mr. Dudley was silent. He
anticipated the disappointment of the messenger,
believing the letter to have been removed.
What then was his surprise when the messenger
returned bearing the letter in her hand! Craig
examined and read it and commented, with great
mirth, on the contents, acting, all the while, as
if he had never seen it before. These appearances
were not qualified to quiet suspicion. The
more Dudley brooded over them, the more dissatisfied
he became. He, however, concealed his
thoughts as well from Craig himself as his family,
impatiently waiting for some new occurrence to
arise by which he might square his future proceedings.

During Craig's absence, Mrs. Dudley had
thought this a proper occasion for cleaning his
apartment. The furniture, and among the rest,

a large chest strongly fastened, was removed into
an adjoining room which was otherwise unoccupied,
and which was usually kept locked. When
the cleansing was finished, the furniture was replaced,
except this trunk, which its bulk, the
indolence of the servant, and her opinion of its
uselessness, occasioned her to leave in the closet.

About a week after this, on a Saturday evening,
Craig invited to sup with him a friend who
was to embark, on the ensuing Monday, for Jamaica.
During supper, at which the family
were present, the discourse turned on the voyage
on which the guest was about to enter. In the
course of talk, the stranger expressed how much
he stood in need of a strong and commodious
chest, in which he might safely deposit his cloaths
and papers. Not being apprized of the early departure
of the vessel, he had deferred till it was
too late, applying to an artizan.

Craig desired him to set himself at rest on that
head, for that he had, in his possession, just such
a trunk as he described. It was of no use to him,
being long filled with nothing better than refuse
and lumber, and that, if he would, he might send
for it the next morning. He turned to Mrs.
Dudley and observed, that the trunk to which he
alluded was in her possession, and he would
thank her to direct its removal into his own apartment,
that he might empty it of its present contents,
and prepare it for the service of his friend.
To this she readily assented.

There was nothing mysterious in this affair,
but the mind of Mr. Dudley was pained with
doubts. He was now as prone to suspect, as he
was formerly disposed to confidence. This evening
he put the key of the closet in his own pocket.
When enquired for the next day, it was, of course,

missing. It could not be found on the most diligent
search. The occasion was not of such moment
as to justify breaking the door. Mr. Dudley
imagined that he saw, in Craig, more uneasiness
at this disappointment, than he was willing
to express. There was no remedy. The chest
remained where it was, and, next morning, the
ship departed on her voyage.

Craig accompanied his friend on board, was
prevailed upon to go to sea with him, designing
to return with the pilot-boat, but when the pilot
was preparing to leave the vessel, such was this
man's complaisance to the wishes of his friend,
that he concluded to perform the remainder of the
voyage in his company. The consequences are
easily seen. Craig had gone with a resolution of
never returning. The unhappy Dudley was left
to deplore the total ruin of his fortune which had
fallen a prey to the arts of a subtle imposter.

The chest was opened, and the part which
Craig had been playing for some years, with so
much success, was perfectly explained. It appeared
that the sum which Craig had contributed
to the common stock, when first admitted into
partnership, had been previously pursoined from
the daily receipts of his shop, of which an exact
register was kept. Craig had been so indiscrete
as to preserve this accusing record, and it was discovered
in this depository: He was the son of
Mary Mansfield and a native of Portsmouth.
The history of the Wakefield family, specious and
complicated as it was, was entirely fictitious.
The letters had been forged, and the correspondence
supported by his own dexterity. Here was
found the letter which Mr. Dudley had written
to his friend requesting him to make certain enquiries
at Wakefield, and which he imagined that
he had delivered with his own hands to a trusty

bearer. Here was the original draught of the answer
he received. The manner in which this
stratagem had been accomplished came gradually
to light. The letter which was written to the
Yorkshire traveller had been purloined, and another,
with a similar superscription, in which the
hand of Dudley was exactly imitated, and containing
only brief and general remarks, had been
placed in its stead. Craig must have suspected
its contents, and by this suspicion have been incited
to the theft. The answer which the Englishman
had really written, and which sufficiently
corresponded with the forged letter, had been
intercepted by Craig, and furnished him a model
from which he might construct an answer adapted
to his own purposes.

This imposture had not been sustained for a trivial
purpose. He had embezzled a large share
of the stock, and had employed the credit of the
house to procure extensive remittances to be made
to an agent at a distance, by whom the property
was effectually secured. Craig had gone to participate
these spoils, while the whole estate of
Mr. Dudley was insufficient to pay the demands
that were consequently made upon him.

It was his lot to fall into the grasp of men, who
squared their actions by no other standard than
law, and who esteemed every claim to be incontestably
just, that could plead that sanction.
They did not indeed throw him into prison.
When they had despoiled him of every remnant
of his property, they deemed themselves entitled
to his gratitude for leaving his person unmolested.