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THE 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. 
 
 D. APPLETON 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/waterwitchorskimOOcoop 
 
THE 
 
 WAT EE-WITCH; 
 
 OK, 
 
 THE SKIMMER 
 
 SEAS. 
 
 E COOPEE 
 
 cette galere? ; 
 
 ILLUSTRATED FROM DRAWINGS BY F. 0. C. DARLET. 
 
 NEW YOEK : 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 549 & 551 BROADWAY. 
 1874. 
 
Eotebed, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by 
 D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 It was a bold attempt to lay the scene of a work like this, on the coast of America. 
 "We have had our Buccaneers on the water, and our Witches on the land, but we believe 
 this is the first occasion on which the rule has been reversed. After an experience that 
 has now lasted more than twenty years, the result has shown that the public prefer the 
 original order of things. In other words, the book has proved a comparative failure. 
 
 The facts of this country are all so recent and so familiar, that every innovation on 
 them, by means of the imagination, is coldly received, if it be not absolutely frowned 
 upon. Perhaps it would have been safer to have written a work of this character with- 
 out a reference to any particular locality. The few local allusions that are introduced 
 are not essential to the plot, and might have been dispensed with without lessening the 
 interest of the tale. 
 
 Nevertheless, this is probably the most imaginative book ever written by the author. 
 Its fault is in blending too much of the real with the purely ideal. Half-way measures 
 will not do in matters of this sort ; and it is always safer to preserve the identity of a 
 book by a fixed and determinate character, than to make the effort to steer between the 
 true and the false. 
 
 Several liberties have been taken with the usages of the colony, with a view to give 
 zest to the descriptions. If the Dutch of this country ever resorted to the common prac- 
 tice of Holland, in giving such names as the " Lust in Eust " to their villas, it has not 
 only passed out of sight, but out of mind. In the other country, as one moves along 
 the canals, he sees names of this character, painted on different objects, every mile he 
 advances, and admires the contentment which is satisfied with a summer-house, a pipe, 
 a canal, a meadow that is almost *under water, and, indeed, with a country that is what 
 seamen term " awash." But nothing of this sort was ever seen here. The fine natural 
 scenery forbade it ; and a villa on the banks of the Hudson was a residence that pos- 
 sessed in itself advantages to set at naught such small contrivances of luxury. 
 
 Some persons may object to the manner in which we have sketched the conduct and 
 character of Cornbury. "We believe, however, that the truth is not exceeded in any 
 thing said of this individual, who would seem to have had neither dignity, self-respect, 
 nor principles. The fact that he remained in this country a prisoner for debt, is histori- 
 cal, his creditors most probably hoping to extort from Anne further concessions in be- 
 half of her worthless relative. 
 
4 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 As for the Patroon of Kinderhook, the genus seems ahout to expire among us. Not 
 only are we to have no more patroons, but the decree has gone forth from the virtuous 
 and infallible voters that there are to be no more estates. 
 
 " All the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass." 
 
 The collected wisdom of the State has decided that it is true policy to prevent the afflu- 
 ent from investing their money in land ! The curse of mediocrity weighs upon us, and 
 its blunders can be repaired only through the hard lessons of experience. 
 
 This book was written in Italy, and first printed (in English) in Germany. To the 
 last circumstance is probably owing the great number of typographical errors that are 
 to be found in it. The American compositor, however, quite likely conceiving that he 
 had a right to correct the blunders of a foreigner, has taken the law into his own hands, 
 and exercised a sovereign power over our labors. That our good old-fashioned mode 
 of spelling should receive the modern improvements was, perhaps, unavoidable ; but 
 surely, we never spelt " coamings " (of a hatch), " combings ; " " rullock," " oar-lock," or 
 "row-lock; " or made many other similar '"long-shore" blunders that are to be found 
 in the original editions of this book. 
 
 Care has been had to do ourselves justice in these particulars, and we think that the 
 book is more improved, in all these respects, in the present edition, than any other work 
 that has passed through our hands. 
 
THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " What, shall this speech be spoke for our excuse, 
 Or shall we on without apology? " 
 
 Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 The fine estuary which penetrates the Amer- 
 ican coast between the fortieth and forty-first 
 degrees of latitude, is formed by the confluence 
 of the Hudson, the Hackensack, the Passaic, the 
 Raritan, and a multitude of smaller streams ; all 
 of which pour their tribute into the ocean within 
 the space named. The islands of Nassau and 
 Staten are happily placed to exclude the tempests 
 of the open sea, while the deep and broad arms 
 of the latter offer every desirable facility for for- 
 eign trade and internal intercourse. To this for- 
 tunate disposition of land and water, with a tem- 
 perate climate, a central position, and an immense 
 interior, that is now penetrated in every direction 
 either by artificial or by natural streams, the city 
 of New York is indebted for its extraordinary 
 prosperity. Though not wanting in beauty, there 
 are many bays that surpass this in the charms of 
 scenery ; but it may be questioned if the world 
 possesses another site that unites so many natural 
 advantages for the growth and support of a wide- 
 ly-extended commerce. As if never wearied with 
 her kindness, Nature has placed the island of 
 Manhattan at the precise point that is most de- 
 sirable for the position of a town. Millions 
 might inhabit the spot, and yet a ship should load 
 near every door ; and, while the surface of the 
 land just possesses the inequalities that are re- 
 quired for health and cleanliness, its bosom is 
 filled with the material most needed in construc- 
 tion. 
 
 The consequences of so unusual a concurrence 
 of favorable circumstances, are well known. A 
 vigorous, healthful, and continued growth, that 
 
 has no parallel even in the history of this extraor- 
 dinary and fortunate country, has already raised 
 the insignificant provincial town of the last cen- 
 tury to the level of the second-rate cities of the 
 other hemisphere. The New Amsterdam of this 
 continent already rivals its parent of the other ; 
 and, so far as human powers may pretend to 
 predict, a few fleeting years will place her on a 
 level with the proudest capitals of Europe. 
 
 It would seem that, as Nature has given its 
 periods to the stages of animal life, it has also 
 set limits to all moral and political ascendency. 
 While the city of the Medici is receding from its 
 crumbling walls, like the human form shrinking 
 into " the lean and slippered pantaloon," the Queen 
 of the Adriatic sleeping on her muddy isles, and 
 Rome itself is only to be traced by fallen temples 
 and buried columns, the youthful vigor of Amer- 
 ica is fast covering the wilds of the West with the 
 happiest fruits of human industry. 
 
 By the Manhattanese who is familiar with the 
 forest of masts, the miles of wharves, the count- 
 less villas, the hundred churches, the castles, the 
 smoking and busy vessels that crowd his bay, the 
 daily increase and the general movement of his 
 native town, the picture we are about to sketch 
 will scarcely be recognized. He who shall come 
 a generation later will probably smile, that sub- 
 ject of admiration should have been found in the 
 existing condition of the city ; and yet we shall 
 attempt to carry the recollections of the reader 
 but a century back in the brief history of his 
 country. 
 
 As the sun rose on the morning of the 3d of 
 June, the report of a cannon was heard 
 
 rolling along the waters of the Hudson. Smoke 
 issued from an embrasure of a small fortress, that 
 stood on the point of land where the river and 
 the bay mingle their waters. The explosion was 
 followed by the appearance of a flag, which, as 
 
6 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 it rose to the summit of its staff and unfolded 
 itself heavily in the light current of air, showed 
 the blue field and red cross of the English en- 
 sign. At the distance of several miles, the dark 
 masts of a ship were to be seen, faintly relieved 
 by the verdant background of the heights of 
 Staten Island. A little cloud floated over this 
 object, and then an answering signal came dull 
 and rumbling to the town. The flag that the 
 cruiser set was not visible in the distance. 
 
 At the precise moment that the noise of the 
 first gun was heard, the door of one of the princi- 
 pal dwellings of the town opened, and a man, who 
 might have been its master, appeared on its 
 stoop, as the ill-arranged entrances of the build- 
 ings of the place are still termed. He was seem- 
 ingly prepared for some expedition that was like- 
 ly to consume the day. A black of middle age 
 followed the burgher to the threshold; and an- 
 other negro, who had not yet reached the stature 
 of manhood, bore under his arm a small bundle, 
 that probably contained articles of the first ne- 
 cessity to the comfort of his master. 
 
 " Thrift, Mr. Euclid, thrift is your true philos- 
 opher's stone," commenced, or rather continued 
 in a rich, full-mouthed Dutch, the proprietor of 
 the dwelling, who had evidently been giving a 
 leave-taking charge to his principal slave, before 
 quitting the house — " thrift hath made many a 
 man rich, but it never yet brought any one to 
 want. It is thrift which has built up the credit 
 of my house, and, though it is said by myself, a 
 broader back and firmer base belongs to no mer- 
 chant in the colonies. You are but the reflection 
 of your master's prosperity, you rogue, and so 
 much the greater need that you look to his inter- 
 ests. If the substance is wasted, what will be- 
 come of the shadow ? When I get delicate, you 
 will sicken ; when I am a-hungered, you will be 
 famished; when I die, you may be — ahem — 
 Euclid. I leave thee in charge with goods and 
 chattels, house and stable, with my character in 
 the neighborhood. I am going to the Lust in 
 Rust, for a mouthful of better air. Plague and 
 fevers ! I believe the people will continue to 
 come into this crowded town, until it gets to be 
 as pestilent as Rotterdam in the dog-days. You 
 have now come to years when a man obtains his 
 reflection, boy, and I expect suitable care and dis- 
 cretion about the premises, while my back is 
 turned. Now, harkee, sirrah : I am not entirely 
 pleased with the character of thy company. It 
 is not altogether as respectable as becomes the 
 confidential servant of a man of a certain station 
 in the world. There are thy two cousins, Brom 
 and Kobus, who are no better than a couple of 
 
 blackguards ; and as for the English negro, Dio- 
 mede — he is a devil's imp ! Thou hast the other 
 locks at disposal, and," drawing with visible re- 
 luctance the instrument from his pocket, " here 
 is the key of the stable. Not a hoof is to quit it, 
 but to go to the pump ; and see that each animal 
 has its food to a minute. The devil's roisterers ! 
 a Manhattan negro takes a Flemish gelding for a 
 gaunt hound that is never out of breath, and away 
 he goes at night, scampering along the highways 
 like a Yankee witch switching through the air on 
 a broomstick ; but mark me, Master Euclid, I 
 have eyes in my head, as thou knowest by bitter 
 experience! D'ye remember, ragamuffin, the 
 time when I saw thee, from the Hague, riding the 
 beasts, as if the devil spurred them, along the 
 dike of Leyden, without remorse as without 
 leave?" 
 
 " I alway b'rieve some make-mischief tell 
 masser dat time," returned the negro, sulkily, 
 though not without doubt. 
 
 " His own eyes were the tell-tales. If masters 
 had no eyes, a pretty world would the negroes 
 make of it ! I have got the measure of every 
 black heel on the island registered in the big book 
 you see me so often looking into, especially on 
 Sundays ; and, if either of the tire-legs I have 
 named dares to enter my grounds, let him expect 
 to pay a visit to the city provost. What do the 
 wild-cats mean ? Do they think that the geldings 
 were bought in Holland, with charges for break- 
 ing in, shipment, insurance, freight, and risk of 
 diseases, to have their flesh melted from their ribs 
 like a cook's candle ? " 
 
 " Ere no'tin' done in all 'e island, but a color' 
 man do him ! He do a mischief, and he do all a 
 work, too ! I won'er what color' masser t'ink 
 war' Captain Kidd ? " 
 
 " Black or white, he was a rank rogue ; and 
 you see the end he came to. I warrant you, now, 
 that water-thief began his iniquities by riding the 
 neighbors' horses at night. His fate should be a 
 warning to every nigger in the colony. The imps 
 of darkness ! The English have no such scarcity 
 of rogues at home, that they could not spare us 
 the pirate to hang up on one of the islands, as a 
 scarecrow to the blacks of Manhattan." 
 
 " Well, I t'ink 'e sight do a white man some 
 good, too," returned Euclid, who had all the per- 
 tinacity of a spoiled Dutch negro, singularly 
 blended with affection for him in whose service 
 he had been born. " I hear ebbery body say, 
 'ere war' but two color' man in he ship, and 'em 
 both war' Guinea-born." 
 
 " A modest tongue, thou midnight scamper ! 
 look to my geldings. — Here — here are two Dutch 
 
ALDERMAN MYNDERT VAN BEVEROUT. 
 
 7 
 
 florins, three stivers, and a Spanish pistareen, for 
 thee ; one of the florins is for thy old mother, and 
 with the others thou canst lighten thy heart in 
 the Paus merrymakings — if I hear that either of 
 thy rascally cousins, or the English Diomede, has 
 put a leg across beast of mine, it will be the worse 
 for all Africa ! Famine and skeletons ! here have 
 I been seven years trying to fatten the nags, and 
 they still look more like weasels than a pair of 
 solid geldings." 
 
 The close of this speech was rather muttered 
 in the distance, and by way of soliloquy, than 
 actually administered to the namesake of the 
 great mathematician. The air of the negro had 
 been a little equivocal during the parting admoni- 
 tion. There was an evident struggle in his mind 
 between an innate love of disobedience and a se- 
 cret dread of his master's means of information., 
 So long as the latter continued in sight, the black 
 watched his form in doubt ; and, when it had 
 turned a corner, he stood at a gaze for a moment 
 with a negro on a neighboring stoop ; then both 
 shook their heads significantly, laughed aloud, 
 and retired. That night the confidential servant 
 attended to the interests of his absent master 
 with a fidelity and care which proved he felt his 
 own existence identified with that of a man who 
 claimed so close a right in his person ; and, just 
 as the .clock struck ten, he and the negro last 
 mentioned mounted the sluggish and over-fat- 
 tened horses, and galloped as hard as foot 
 could be laid to the earth, several miles deeper 
 into the island, to attend a frolic at one of the 
 usual haunts of the people of their color and con- 
 dition. 
 
 Had Alderman Myndert Van Beverout sus- 
 pected the calamity which was so soon to succeed 
 his absence, it is probable that his mien would 
 have been less composed, as he pursued his way 
 from his own door, on the occasion named. That 
 he had confidence in the virtue of his menaces, 
 however, may be inferred from the tranquillity 
 which immediately took possession of features 
 all were never disturbed without wearing an 
 appearance of unnatural effort. The substantial 
 burgher was a little turned of fifty ; and an Eng- 
 lish wag, who had imported from the mother- 
 country a love for the humor of his nation, had 
 once, in a conflict of wits before the city council, 
 described him to be a man of alliterations. 
 When called upon to explain away this breach of 
 parliamentary decorum, the punster had got rid 
 of the matter by describing his opponent to be 
 " short, solid, and sturdy in stature ; full, flushed 
 and funny in face ; and proud, ponderous, and 
 pragmatical in propensities." But, as is usual, in 
 
 all sayings of effort, there was more smartness 
 than truth in this description ; though, after mak- 
 ing a trifling allowance for the coloring of politi- 
 cal rivalry, the reader may receive its physical 
 portion as sufficiently descriptive to answer all 
 the necessary purposes of this tale. If we add, 
 that he was a trader of great wealth and shrewd- 
 ness, and a bachelor, we need say no more in this 
 stage of the narrative. 
 
 Notwithstanding the early hour at which this 
 industrious and flourishing merchant quitted his 
 abode, his movement along the narrow streets of 
 his native town was measured and dignified. 
 More than once he stopped to speak to some fa- 
 vorite family-servant, invariably terminating his 
 inquiries after the health of the master, by some^ 
 facetious observation adapted to the habits and 
 •capacity of the slave. From this it would seem, 
 that, while he had so exaggerated notions of do- 
 mestic discipline, the worthy burgher was far from 
 being one who indulged, by inclination, in the 
 menaces he has been heard to utter. He had just 
 dismissed one of these loitering negroes, when, on 
 turning a corner, a man of his own color, for tKe 
 first time that morning, suddenly stood before 
 him. The startled citizen made an involuntary 
 movement to avoid the unexpected interview, 
 and then, perceiving the difficulty of such a step, 
 he submitted with as good a grace as if it had 
 been one of his own seeking. 
 
 " The orb of day — the morning gun— and Mr. 
 Alderman Van Beverout ! " exclaimed the indi- 
 vidual encountered. " Such is the order of 
 events, at this early hour, on each successive rev- 
 olution of our earth." 
 
 The countenance of the alderman had barely 
 time to recover its composure, ere he was required 
 to answer to this free and somewhat facetious 
 salutation. Uncovering his head, he bowed so 
 ceremoniously as to leave the other no reason to 
 exult in his pleasantry, as he answered : 
 
 " The colony has reason to regret the services 
 of a governor who can quit his bed so soon. 
 That we of business habits stir betimes is quite 
 in reason ; but there are those in this town who 
 would scarce believe their eyes did they enjoy my 
 present happiness." 
 
 " Sir, there are many in this colony who have 
 great reason to distrust their senses, though none 
 can be mistaken in believing they see Alderman 
 Van Beverout in a well-employed man. He that 
 dealeth in the produce of the beaver must have the 
 animal's perseverance and forethought ! Now 
 were I a king-at-arms,;there should be a conces- 
 sion made in thy favor, Myndert, of a shield 
 bearing the animal mordant, a mantle of fur, with 
 
8 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 two Mohawk hunters for supporters, and the mot- 
 to, ' Industry.' " 
 
 " Or what think you, my lord," returned the 
 other, who did not more than half relish the pleas- 
 antry of his companion, " of a spotless shield for 
 a clear conscience, with an open hand for a crest, 
 and the motto, ' Frugality and Justice ? ' " 
 
 " I like the open hand, though the conceit is 
 pretending,, I see you would intimate that the 
 Van Beverouts have not need, at this late day, to 
 search a herald's office for honors. I remember, 
 now I bethink me, on some occasion to have seen 
 their bearings, a windmill, courant; dike, cou- 
 lant ; field, vert sprinkled with black cattle — no ! 
 then, memory is treacherous ; the morning air is 
 ^pregnant with food for the imagination." 
 
 " Which is not a coin to satisfy a creditor, 
 my lord," said the caustic Myndert. 
 
 " Therein has truth been pithily spoken. 
 This is an ill-judged step, Alderman Van Beverout, 
 that lets a gentleman out by night, like the ghost 
 in ' Hamlet,' to flee into the narrow house with the 
 crowing of the cock. The ear of my royal cous- 
 in hath been poisoned, worse than was the ear 
 of ' murdered Denmark,' or the partisans of 
 this Mister Hunter would have little cause to tri- 
 umph." 
 
 " Is it not possible to give such pledges to those 
 who have turned the key, as will enable your 
 lordship to apply the antidote ? " 
 
 The question struck a chord that changed the 
 whole manner of the other. His air, which had 
 borne the character of a genteel trifler, became 
 more grave and dignified ; and notwithstanding 
 there was the evidence of a reckless disposition 
 in his features, dress, and carriage, his tall and 
 not ungraceful form, as he walked slowly onward, 
 by the side of the compact alderman, was not 
 without much of that insinuating ease and bland- 
 ishment which long familiarity with good com- 
 pany can give even to the lowest moral worth. 
 
 " Your question, worthy sir, manifests great 
 goodness of heart, and corroborates that reputa- 
 tion for generosity the world so freely gives. It 
 is true that the queen has been persuaded to 
 sign the mandate of my recall, and it is certain 
 that Mr. Hunter has the government of the col- 
 ony ; but these are facts that might be reversed, 
 were I once in a position to approach my kins- 
 woman. I do not disclaim certain indiscretions, 
 sir ; it would ill become me to deny them, in pres- 
 ence of one whose virtue is as severe as that of 
 Alderman Van Beverout. T have my failings ; 
 perhaps, as you have just been pleased to inti- 
 mate, it would have been better had my motto 
 been frugality ; but the open hand, dear sir, is a . 
 
 part of the design you will not deny me, either. 
 If I have weaknesses, my enemies cannot refuse 
 to say that I never yet deserted a friend." 
 
 "Not having had occasion to tax your friend- 
 ship, I shall not be the first one to make the 
 charge." 
 
 " Your impartiality has come to be a proverb ! 
 'As honest as Alderman Van Beverout,' 1 as gen- 
 erous as Alderman Van Beverout,' are terms in 
 each man's mouth ; some say ' as rich ' " (the 
 small blue eye of the burgher twinkled). " But 
 honesty, and riches, and generosity, are of little 
 value, without influence. Men should have their 
 natural consideration in society. Now is this 
 colony rather Dutch than English, and yet, you 
 see, how few names are found in the list of the 
 Council, that have been known in the province 
 half a century ! Here are your Alexanders and 
 Heathcotes, your Morrises and Kennedies, De Lan- 
 ceys and Livingstons, filling the Council and the 
 legislative halls ; but we find few of the Van Rens- 
 selaers, Van Courtlandts, Van Schuylers, Stuyve- 
 sants, Van Beekmans, and Van Beverouts, in 
 their natural stations. All nations and religions 
 have precedency, in the royal favor, over the 
 children of the Patriarchs. The Bohemian Felip- 
 ses ; the Huguenot De Lanceys, and Bayards, and 
 Jays ; the king-hating Morrises and Ludlows — in 
 short, all have greater estimation in the eyes of 
 government than the most ancient patroon ! " 
 
 " This has long and tudy been the case. I 
 cannot remember when it was otherwise." 
 
 " It may not be denied. But it would little 
 become political discretion to affect precipitancy 
 in the judgment of character. If my own admin- 
 istration can be stigmatized with the same ap- 
 parent prejudice, it proves the clearer how strong 
 is misrepresentation at home. Time was wanting 
 to enlighten my mind, and that time has been re- 
 fused me. In another year, my worthy sir, the 
 Council should have been filled with Vans ! " 
 
 " In such a case, my lord, the unhappy con- 
 dition in which you are now placed might indeed 
 have been avoided." 
 
 "Is it too late to arrest the evil? It is time 
 Anne had been undeceived, and her mind regained. 
 There wanteth nothing to such a consummation 
 of justice, sir, but opportunity. It touches me to 
 the heart, to think that this disgrace should be- 
 fall one so near the royal blood ! 'Tis a spot on 
 the escutcheon of the crown that all loyal sub- 
 jects must feel desirous to efface, and so small an 
 effort would effect the object, too, with certain — 
 Mr. Alderman Myndert Van Beverout — ? " 
 
 " My lord, late governor," returned the other, 
 observing that his companion hesitated. 
 
LORD CORNBURY. 
 
 9 
 
 " What think you of this Hanoverian settle- 
 ment ?— Shall a German wear the crown of a 
 Plantagenet ? " 
 
 " It hath been worn by a Hollander." 
 
 " Aptly answered ! Worn, and worn worthi- 
 ly! There is affinity between the people, and 
 there is reason in that reply. How have I failed 
 in wisdom, in not seeking earlier the aid of thy 
 advice, excellent sir ! Ah, Myndert, there is a 
 blessing on the enterprises of all who come of the 
 Low Countries ! " 
 
 "They are industrious to earn, and slow to 
 squander." 
 
 " That expenditure is the ruin of many a 
 worthy subject ! And yet accident — chance — 
 fortune — or whatever you may choose to call it, 
 interferes nefariously at times with a gentleman's 
 prosperity. I am an adorer of constancy in friend- 
 ship, sir, and hold the principle that men should 
 aid each other through this dark vale of life. — Mr. 
 Alderman Van Beverout — " 
 
 " My Lord Cornbury ! " 
 
 " I was about to say, that should I quit the 
 province without expressing part of the regret I 
 feel at not having sooner ascertained the merits 
 of its original owners, and your own in particular, 
 I should do injustice to sensibilities that are only 
 too acute for the peace of him who endures 
 them." 
 
 " Is there, then, hope that your lordship's 
 creditor will relent, or has the earl furnished 
 means to open the prison-door ? " 
 
 " You use the pleasantest terms, sir ! — but I 
 love directness of language above all other quali- 
 ties. No doubt the prison-door, as you have so 
 clearly expressed it, might be opened, and lucky 
 would be the man who should turn the key. I am 
 pained when I think of the displeasure of the 
 queen, which, sooner or later, will surely visit my 
 luckless persecutors. On the other hand, I find re- 
 lief in thinking of the favor she will extend to 
 those who have proved my friends in such a 
 strait. They that wear crowns love not to see 
 disgrace befall the meanest of their blood, for 
 something of the taint may sully even the ermine 
 of majesty. — Mr. Alderman — ?" 
 
 " My lord!" 
 
 " — How fare the Flemish geldings ? " 
 
 "Bravely, and many thanks, my lord; the, 
 rogues are fat as butter ! There is hope of a 
 little rest for the innocent, since business calls me 
 to the Lust in Rust. There should be a law, 
 lord governor, to gibbet the black that rides a 
 beast at night." 
 
 " I bethought of some condign punishment 
 for so heartless a crime, but there is little hope 
 
 for it under the administration of this Mr. Hunter. 
 Yes, sir, were I once more in the presence of my 
 royal cousin, there would quickly be an end to 
 this delusion, and the colony should be once more 
 restored to a healthful state. The men of a gen- 
 eration should cease to lord it over the men of a 
 century. But we must be wary of letting our 
 design, my dear sir, get wind ; it is a truly Dutch 
 idea, and the profits, both pecuniary and political, 
 should belong to the gentlemen of that descent-— 
 My dear Van Beverout — " 
 "My good lord!" 
 
 " Is the blooming Alida obedient ? Trust me, 
 there has no family event occurred during my 
 residence in the colony, in which I have taken a 
 nearer interest than in that desirable connection. 
 The wooing of the young Patroon of Kinderhook 
 is an affair of concern to the province. It is a 
 meritorious youth." 
 
 " With an excellent estate, my lord." 
 
 " And a gravity beyond his years." 
 
 " I would give a guarantee, at a risk, that 
 two-thirds of his income go to increase the capi- 
 tal, at the beginning of each season." 
 
 " He seems a man to live on air ! " 
 
 " My old friend, the last patroon, left noble- 
 assets," continued the alderman, rubbing his 
 hands ; " besides the manor." 
 
 " Which is no paddock." 
 
 " It reaches from the Hudson to the line of 
 Massachusetts. A hundred thousand acres of 
 hill and bottom, and well peopled by frugal Hol- 
 landers." 
 
 "Respectable in possession, and a mine of 
 gold in reversion ! Such men, sir, should be cher- 
 ished. We owe it to his station to admit him to 
 a share of this our project to undeceive the queen. 
 How superior are the claims of such a gentleman 
 to the empty pretensions of your Captain Lud- 
 low ! " 
 
 " He has truly a very good and improving es- 
 tate." 
 
 " These Ludlows, sir, people that fled the realm 
 for plotting against the crown, are offensive to a 
 loyal subject. Indeed, too much of this objection 
 may be imputed to many in the province, that 
 come of English blood. I am sorry to say that 
 they are fomenters of discord, disturbers of the 
 public mind, and captious disputants about pre- 
 rogatives and vested rights. But there is a re- 
 pose in the Dutch character which lends it digni- 
 ty ! The descendants of the Hollanders are men 
 to be counted on ; where we leave them to-day we 
 see them to-morrow. As we say in politics, sir, 
 we know where to find them. Does it not seem 
 to you particularly offensive that this Captain 
 
10 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 Ludlow should command the only royal cruiser 
 on the station ? " 
 
 " I should like it better, my lord, were he to 
 serve in Europe," returned the alderman, glanc- 
 ing a look behind him, and lowering his voice. 
 " There was lately a rumor that his ship was in 
 truth to be sent among the islands." 
 
 " Matters are getting very wrong, most worthy 
 sir ; and the greater the necessity there should 
 be one at court to undeceive the queen. Innova- 
 tors should be made to give way to men whose 
 names are historical in the colony." 
 
 " 'Twouldbe no worsefor her majesty's credit." 
 
 "'Twould be another jewel in her crown! 
 Should this Captain Ludlow actually marry your 
 niece, the family would altogether change its 
 character — I have the worst memory — thy moth- 
 er, Myndert, was a — a — " 
 
 " The pious woman was a Tan Busser." 
 
 " The union of thy sister with the Huguenot 
 then reduces the fair Alida to the quality of a 
 half-blood. The Ludlow connection would de- 
 stroy the leaven of the race ! I think the man is 
 penniless." 
 
 " I cannot say that, my lord, for I would not 
 willingly injure the credit of my worst enemy ; 
 but, though wealthy, he is far from having the 
 estate of the young Patroon of Kinderhook." 
 
 "He should indeed be sent into the Indies. — 
 Myndert—" 
 
 "My lord!" 
 
 " It would be unjust to my sentiments in fa- 
 vor of Mr. Oloff Van Staats, were we to exclude 
 him from the advantages of our project. This 
 much shall I exact from your friendship, in his 
 favor; the necessary sum may be divided, in 
 moieties, between you; a common bond shall 
 render the affair compact ; and then, as we shall 
 be masters of our own secret, there can be little 
 doubt of the prudence of our measures. The 
 amount is written in this bit of paper." 
 
 " i'wo thousand pounds, my lord ! " 
 
 " Pardon me, my dear sir ; not a penny more 
 than one for each of you. Justice to Tan Staats 
 requires that you let him into the affair. Were 
 it not for the suit with your niece, I should take 
 the young gentleman with me, to push his for- 
 tunes at court." 
 
 " Truly, my lord, this greatly exceeds my 
 means. The high prices of furs the past season, 
 and delays in returns, have placed a seal upon 
 our silver — " 
 
 " The premium would be high." 
 
 " Coin is getting so scarce daily, that the face 
 of a Carolus is almost as great a stranger as the 
 face of a debtor — " 
 
 " The returns certain." 
 
 "While one's creditors meet him at every 
 corner — " 
 
 " The concern would be altogether Dutch." 
 
 " And last advices from Holland tell us to re- 
 serve our gold for some extraordinary movements 
 in the commercial world." 
 
 " Mr. Alderman Myndert Tan Beverout ! " 
 
 " My Lord Tiscount Cornbury — " 
 
 " Plutus preserve thee, sir — but have a care; 
 though I scent the morning air, and must return, 
 it is not forbid to tell the secrets of my prison- 
 house. There is one in yonder cage who whis- 
 pers that the Skimmer of the Seas is on the 
 coast ! Be wary, worthy burgher, or the second 
 part of the tragedy of Kidd may yet be enacted 
 in these seas." 
 
 " I leave such transactions to my superiors," 
 retorted the alderman, with another stiff and cer- 
 emonious bow. " Enterprises that are said to 
 have occupied the Earl of Bellamont, Governor 
 Fletcher, and my Lord Cornbury, are above the 
 ambition of an humble merchant." 
 
 " Adieu, tenacious sir ; quiet thine impatience 
 for the extraordinary Dutch movements ! " said 
 Cornbury, affecting to laugh, though he secretly 
 felt the sting the other had applied, since com- 
 mon report implicated not only him, but his two 
 official predecessors, in several of the lawless pro- 
 ceedings of the American buccaneers ; " be vigi- 
 lant, or la demoiselle Barberie will give another 
 cross to the purity of the stagnant pool ! " 
 
 The bows that were exchanged were strictly 
 in character. The alderman was unmoved, rigid, 
 and formal, while his companion could not for- 
 get his ease of manner, even at a moment of so 
 much vexation. Foiled in an effort that nothing 
 but his desperate condition, and nearly desperate 
 character, could have induced him to attempt, the 
 degenerate descendant of the virtuous Clarendon 
 walked toward his place of confinement with the 
 step of one who assumed a superiority over his 
 fellows, and yet with a mind so indurated by ha- 
 bitual depravity, as to have left it scarcely the trace 
 of a dignified or virtuous quality. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles ; 
 His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate." 
 
 Two Gen-tlemen of Yebona. 
 
 The philosophy of Alderman Tan Beverout 
 was not easily disturbed. Still there was a play 
 of the nether muscles of the face, which might be 
 
OLD CUPID. 
 
 11 
 
 construed into self-complacency at his victory, 
 while a certain contraction of those which con- 
 trolled the expression of the forehead seemed to 
 betray a full consciousness of the imminent risk 
 he had run. The left hand was thrust into a 
 pocket, where it diligently fingered the provision 
 of Spanish coin without which the merchant never 
 left his abode ; while the other struck the cane it 
 held on the pavement, with the force of a reso- 
 lute and decided man. In this manner he pro- 
 ceeded in his walk for several minutes longer, 
 shortly quitting the lower streets, to enter one that 
 ran along the ridge which crowned the land in that 
 quarter of the island. Here he soon stopped be- 
 fore the door of a house which, in that provincial 
 town, had altogether the air of a patrician dwell- 
 ing. 
 
 Two false gables, each of which was sur- 
 mounted by an iron weathercock, intersected the 
 roof of this building, and the high and narrow 
 stoop was built of the red freestone of the coun- 
 try. The material of the edifice itself was, as 
 usual, the small, hard brick of Holland, painted a 
 delicate cream-color. 
 
 A single blow of the massive glittering knock- 
 er brought a servant to the door. The prompti- 
 tude with which this summons was answered 
 showed that, notwithstanding the early hour, the 
 alderman was an expected guest. The counte- 
 nance of him who acted as porter betrayed no 
 surprise when he saw the person who applied for 
 admission, and every movement of the black de- 
 noted preparation and readiness for his reception. 
 Declining his invitation to enter, however, the 
 alderman placed his back against the iron railing 
 of the stoop, and opened a discourse with the ne- 
 gro. The latter was aged, with a grizzled head, 
 a nose that was levelled nearly to the plane of his 
 face, features that were wrinkled and confused, 
 and with a form which, though still solid, was 
 bending with its load of years. 
 
 "Brave cheer to thee, old Cupid!" com- 
 menced the burgher, in the hearty and cordial man- 
 ner with which the masters of that period were 
 wont to address their indulged slaves. " A clear 
 conscience is a good nightcap, and you look 
 bright as the morning sun ! I hope my friend 
 the young patroon has slept sound as yourself, 
 and that he has shown his face already to prove 
 it." 
 
 The negro answered with the slow, clipping 
 manner that characterized his condition and 
 years. 
 
 "He'm werry wakeful, Masser Al'erman. I 
 t'ink he no sleep half he time lately. All he 
 a'tiverty and wiwacerty gone, an' he do no single 
 
 t'ing but smoke. A gentle'um who smoke alway, 
 Masser Al'erman, get to be a melercholy man at 
 last. I do t'ink 'ere be one young lady in York 
 who be he deaf some time ! " 
 
 " We'll find the means to get the pipe out of 
 his mouth," said the other, looking askance at 
 the black, as if to express more than he uttered. 
 " Romance and pretty girls play the deuse with 
 our philosophy in youth, as thou knowest by ex- 
 perience, old Cupid." 
 
 "I no good for any t'ing dat-a-way now, not'- 
 ing," calmly returned the black. " I see a one 
 time, when few color' men in York hab more re- 
 spect among a fair sec', but dat a great while gone 
 by. Now de modder of your Euclid, Masser 
 Al'erman, war' a pretty woman, do' she hab but 
 poor conduc'. Den a war' young herself, and I 
 use to visit at de al'erman's fadder's ; afore a Eng- 
 lish come, and when ole patroon war' a young 
 man. Golly ! I great affection for Euclid, do' a 
 young dog nebber come a near me ! " 
 
 " He's a blackguard ! My back is no sooner 
 turned than the rascal's atop of one of his mas- 
 ter's geldings." 
 
 " He'm werry young, Master Myn'ert ; no one 
 get wis'om 'fore a gray hair." 
 
 " He's forty, every minute ; and the rogue gets 
 impudence with his years. Age is a reverend and 
 respectable condition, when it brings gravity and 
 thought ; but, if a young fool be tiresome, an old 
 fool is contemptible. I'll warrant me, you never 
 were so thoughtless, or so heartless, Cupid, as to 
 ride an overworked beast at night." 
 
 "Well, I get pretty ole, Masser Myn'ert, an' 
 I forget all he do when a young man. But here 
 be 'e patroon, who know how to tell 'e al'erman 
 such t'ing better than a poor color' slave." 
 
 " A fair rising and a lucky day to you, pa- 
 troon," cried the alderman, saluting a large, slow- 
 moving, gentlemanly-looking young man of five- 
 and-twenty, who advanced, with the gravity of 
 one of twice that number of years, from the inte- 
 rior of the house toward its outer door. " The 
 winds are bespoken, and here is as fine a day as 
 ever shone out of a clear sky, whether it came 
 front the pure atmosphere of Holland, or of Old 
 England itself. Colonies and patronage ! If the 
 people on the other side of the ocean had more 
 faith in Mother Nature, and less opinion of them- 
 selves, they would find it very tolerable breathing in 
 the plantations. But the conceited rogues are 
 like the man who blew the bellows, and fancied 
 he made the music ; and there is never a hobbling 
 imp of them all, but he believes he is straighter 
 and sounder than the best in the colonies. Here 
 is our bay, now, as smooth as if it were shut in 
 
12 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 with twenty dikes, and the voyage will be as 
 safe as if it were made on a canal." 
 
 " Dat werry well, if 'a do it," grumbled Cupid, 
 who busied himself affectionately about the per- 
 son of his master ; " I t'ink it alway better to 
 travel on 'e land, when a gentle'um own so much 
 as Massa Oloff. Der' war' 'e time a ferry-boat go 
 down, wid crowd of people ; and nobody eber 
 come up again to say how he feel." 
 
 " Here is some mistake," interrupted the al- 
 derman, throwing an uneasy glance at his young 
 friend. "I count four-and-fifty years, and re- 
 member no such calamity." 
 
 "He'm werry sing'lar how a young folk do 
 forget ! 'Ere war' drown six people in dat werry 
 boat. A two Yankee, a Canada Frenchman, and 
 a poor woman from a Jarseys. Eberybody war' 
 werry sorry for a poor woman from a Jerseys ! " 
 
 " Thy tally is false, Master Cupid," promptly 
 rejoined the alderman, who was rather expert at 
 figures. " Two Yankees, a Frenchman, and your 
 Jersey woman, make but four." 
 
 " Well, den, I s'pose 1 'ere war' one Yankee ; 
 but I know all war' drown, for 'e gubenor lose 
 he fine coach-horses in dat werry boat." 
 
 " The old fellow is right, sure enough ; for I 
 remember the calamity of the horses, as if it were 
 but yesterday. But Death is monarch of the 
 earth, and none of us may hope to escape his 
 scythe when the appointed hour shall come ! 
 Here are no nags to lose to-day ; and we may 
 commence our voyage, patroon, with cheerful 
 faces and light hearts. Shall we proceed ? " 
 
 Oloff Yan Staats, or the Patroon of Kinder- 
 hook, as by the courtesy of the colony he was 
 commonly termed, did not want for personal firm- 
 ness. On the contrary, like most df those who 
 were descended from the Hollanders, we was rath- 
 er distinguished for steadiness in danger and ob- 
 stinacy in resistance. The little skirmish which 
 had just taken place between his friend and his 
 slave, had proceeded from their several apprehen- 
 sions ; the one feeling a sort of parental interest 
 in his safety, and the other having particular rea- 
 sons for wishing him to persevere in his intention 
 to embark, instead of any justifiable cause in the 
 character of the young proprietor himself. A 
 sign to the boy who bore his portmanteau, settled 
 the controversy ; when Mr. Van Staats intimated 
 sills readiness to move. 
 
 Cupid lingered on the stoop until his master 
 had turned a corner; then, shaking his head with 
 all the misgivings of an ignorant and supersti- 
 tious mind, he drove the young fry of blacks, 
 ■who thronged the door, into the house, closing 
 all after him with scrupulous care. How far the 
 
 presentiment of the black was warranted by the 
 event, will be seen in the course of the narrative. 
 
 The wide avenue in which Oloff Yan Staats 
 dwelt was but a few hundred yards in length. 
 It terminated, at one end, with the fortress, and 
 at the other it was crossed by a high stockade, 
 which bore the name of the city walls ; a defence 
 that was provided against any sudden irruption 
 of the Indians, who then hunted, and even dwelt, 
 in some numbers, in the lower counties of the col- 
 ony. 
 
 It requires great familiarity with the growth 
 of the town to recognize, in this description, the 
 noble street that now runs for a league through 
 the centre of the island. From this avenue, which 
 was then, as it is still, called the Broadway, our 
 adventurers descended into a lower quarter of 
 the town, holding free converse by the way. 
 
 " That Cupid is a negro to keep the roof on a 
 house, in its master's absence, patroon," ob- 
 served the alderman, soon after they had left the 
 stoop. " He looks like a padlock ; and one might 
 sleep without a dream, with such a guardian near 
 his dwelling. I wish I had brought the honest 
 fellow the key of my stable." 
 
 " I have heard my father say that the keys of 
 his own were always better near his own pillow," 
 coolly returned the proprietor of a hundred thou- 
 sand acres. 
 
 " Ah, the .curse of Cain ! It is needless to 
 look for the fur of a marten on the back of a 
 cat. But, Mr. Yan Staats, while walking to your 
 door this morning, it was my fortune to meet the 
 late governor, who is permitted by his creditors 
 to take the air at an hour when he thinks the 
 eyes of the impertinent will be shut. I believe, 
 patroon, you were so lucky as to get back your 
 moneys before the royal displeasure visited the 
 man?" 
 
 " I was so lucky as never to trust him." 
 
 u That was better still, for it would have been 
 a barren investment — great jeopardy to principal, 
 and no return. But we had discourse of various 
 interests ; and, among others, something was haz- 
 arded concerning your amatory pretensions to my 
 niece." 
 
 " Neither the wishes of Oloff Yan Staats, nor 
 the inclinations of la belle Barberie, are a subject 
 for the governor in council," said the Patroon of 
 Kinderhook, stiffly. 
 
 " Nor was it thus treated. The viscount spoke 
 me fair, and, had he not pushed the matter be- 
 yond discretion, we might have come to happier 
 conclusions." 
 
 " I am glad that there was some restraint in 
 the discourse." 
 
OLOFF VAN STAATS. 
 
 13 
 
 " The man certainly exceeded reason, for he 
 led the conference into personalities that no pru- 
 dent man could relish. Still, he said it was pos- 
 sible that the Coquette might yet be ordered for 
 service among the islands." 
 
 It has been said that Oloff Yan Staats was a 
 fair, personable young man of vast stature, and 
 with much of the air of a gentleman of his coun- 
 try ; for, though a British subject, he was rather 
 a Hollander in feelings, habits, and opinions. He 
 colored at the allusion to the presence of his 
 known rival, though his companion was at a loss 
 to discover whether pride or vexation was at the 
 bottom of his emotion. 
 
 "If Captain Ludlow prefer a cruise in the 
 Indies to duty on this coast, I hope he may 
 obtain his wish," was the cautious answer. 
 
 "Your liberal man enjoys a sounding name, 
 and an empty coffer," observed the alderman, dryly. 
 " To me it seems that a petition to the admiral 
 to send so meritorious an officer on service where 
 he may distinguish himself, should deserve his 
 thanks. The freebooters are playing the" devil's 
 game with the sugar-trade, and even the French 
 are getting troublesome, farther south." 
 
 " He has certainly the reputation of an active 
 cruiser." 
 
 " Blixum and philosophy ! If you wish to 
 succeed with Alida, patroon, you must put more 
 briskness into the adventure. The girl has a 
 cross of the Frenchman in her temper, and none 
 of your deliberations and taciturnities will gain 
 the day. This visit to the Lust in Rust is Cupid's 
 own handiwork, and I hope to see you both re- 
 turn to town as amicable as the stadtholder and the 
 States-General, after a sharp struggle for the year's 
 subsidy has been settled by a compromise." 
 
 " The success of this suit is the affair nearest 
 my — " The young man paused as if surprised at 
 his own communicativeness ; and, taking advan- 
 tage of the haste in which his toilet had been 
 made, he thrust a hand into his vest, covering 
 with its broad palm a portion of the human frame 
 which poets do not describe as the seat of the 
 passions. 
 
 " If you mean stomach, sir, you will not have 
 reason to be disappointed," retorted the alderman, 
 a little more severely than was usual with one so 
 cautious. " The heiress of Myndert Van Bever- 
 out will not be a penniless bride, and Monsieur 
 Barberie did not close the books of life without 
 taking good care of the balance-sheet — but yon- 
 der are those devils of ferrymen quitting the wharf 
 without us! — Scamper ahead, Brutus, and tell 
 them to wait the legal minute. The rogues are 
 never exact; sometimes starting before I am 
 
 ready, and sometimes keeping me waiting in the 
 sun, as if I were no better than a dried dunfish. 
 Punctuality is the soul of business, and one of my 
 habits does not like to be ahead nor behind his 
 time." 
 
 In this manner the worthy burgher, who 
 would have been glad to regulate the movements 
 of others, on all occasions, a good deal by his 
 own, vented his complaints, while he and his 
 companion hurried on to overtake the slow-mov- 
 ing boat in which they were to embark. A brief 
 description of the scene will not be without inter- 
 est to a generation that may be termed modern 
 in reference to the time in which we write. 
 
 A deep, narrow creek penetrated the island, at 
 this point, for the distance of a quarter of a mile. 
 Each of its banks had a row of buildings, as the 
 houses line a canal in the cities of Holland. As 
 the natural course of the inlet was necessarily re- 
 spected, the street had taken a curvature not un- 
 like that of a new moon. The houses were ultra- 
 Dutch, being low, angular, fastidiously neat, and 
 all erected with their gables to the street. Each 
 had its ugly and inconvenient entrance, termed a 
 stoop, its vane or weather-cock, its dormer-win- 
 dows, and its graduated battlement-walls. Near 
 the apex of one of the latter a little iron crane 
 projected into the street. A small boat of the 
 same metal swung from its end — a sign that the 
 building to which it was appended was the ferry- 
 house. 
 
 An inherent love of artificial and confined 
 navigation had probably induced the burghers to 
 select this spot as the place whence so many craft 
 departed from the town ; since it is certain that 
 the two rivers could have furnished divers points 
 more favorable for such an object, inasmuch as 
 they possess the advantage of wide and unob- 
 structed channels. 
 
 Fifty blacks were already in the street, dipping 
 their brooms into the creek, and flourishing water 
 over the sidewalks, and on the fronts of the low 
 edifices. This light but daily duty was relieved 
 by clamorous collisions of wit, and by shouts of 
 merriment, in which the whole street would join, 
 as with one joyous and reckless movement of the 
 spirit. 
 
 The language of this light-hearted and noisy 
 race was Dutch, already corrupted by English 
 idioms, and occasionally by English words — a 
 system of change that has probably given rise to 
 an opinion, among some of the descendants of 
 the earlier colonists that the latter tongue is 
 merely a patois of the former. This opinion, 
 which so much resembles that certain well-read 
 English scholars entertained of the plagiarisms 
 
14 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 of the Continental writers, when they first began 
 to dip into their works, is not strictly true ; since 
 the language of England has probably bestowed 
 as much on the dialect of which we speak, as it 
 has ever received from the purer sources of the 
 school of Holland. Here and there a grave 
 burgher, still in his nightcap, might be seen with 
 a head thrust out of an upper window, listening 
 to these barbarisms of speech, and taking note 
 of all the merry jibes that flew from mouth to 
 mouth with an indomitable gravity that no levity 
 of those beneath could undermine. 
 
 As the movement of the ferry-boat was neces- 
 sarily slow, the alderman and his companion were 
 enabled to step into it before the fasts were 
 thrown aboard. The periagua, as the craft was 
 called, partook of a European and an American 
 character. It possessed the length, narrowness, 
 and clean bow of the canoe, from which its name 
 was derived, with the flat bottom and lee-boards of 
 a boat constructed for the shallow waters of the 
 Low Countries. Twenty years ago vessels of this 
 description abounded in our rivers, and even now 
 their two long and unsupported masts, and high, 
 narrow-headed sails are daily seen bending like 
 reeds to the breeze, and dancing lightly over the 
 billows of the bay. There is a variety of the class 
 of a size and pretension altogether superior to 
 that just mentioned, which deserves a place 
 among the most picturesque and striking boats 
 that float. He who has had occasion to navigate 
 the southern shore of the sound must have often 
 seen the vessel to which we allude. It is distin- 
 guished by its great length, and masts which, 
 naked of cordage, rise from the hull like two tall 
 and faultless trees. When the eye runs over the 
 daring height of canvas, the noble confidence of 
 the rig, and sees the comparatively vast machine 
 handled with ease and grace by the dexterity of 
 two fearless and expert mariners, it excites some 
 such admiration as that which springs from the 
 view of a severe temple of antiquity. The naked- 
 ness and simplicity of the construction, coupled 
 with the boldness and rapidity of its movements, 
 impart to the craft an air of grandeur that its or- 
 dinary uses would not give reason to expect. 
 
 Though, in some respects, of singularly aquat- 
 ic habits, the original colonists of New York 
 were far less adventurous, as mariners, than their 
 present descendants. A passage across the bay 
 did not often occur in the tranquil lives of the 
 burghers ; and it is still within the memory of 
 man, that a voyage between the two principal 
 towns of the State was an event to excite the 
 solicitude of friends, and the anxiety of the trav- 
 eller. The perils of the Tappaan Zee, as one of 
 
 the wider reaches of the Hudson is still termed, 
 was often dealt with by the good wives of the 
 colony, in their relations of marvels ; and she who 
 had oftenest encountered them unharmed, was 
 deemed a sort of marine amazon. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " I have great comfort from this fellow ; methinks he 
 hath no drowning mark upon him ; his complexion is per- 
 fect gallows." 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 It has been said that the periagua was in 
 motion before our two adventurers succeeded in 
 stepping on board. The arrival of the Patroon 
 of Kinderhook and of Alderman Yan Beverout 
 was expected, and the schipper had taken his de- 
 parture at the precise moment of the turn in the 
 current, in order to show, with a sort of pretend- 
 ing independence which has a peculiar charm for 
 men in his situation, that " time and tide wait for 
 no man." Still there were limits to his decision ; 
 for, while he put the boat in motion, especial care 
 was taken that the circumstance should not sub- 
 ject a customer so important and constant as the 
 alderman, to any serious inconvenience. When 
 he and his friend had embarked, the painters 
 were thrown aboard, and the crew of the ferry- 
 boat began to set their vessel, in earnest, toward 
 the mouth of the creek. During these move- 
 ments, a young negro was seated in the bow of 
 the periagua, with his legs dangling, one on each 
 side of the cut-water, forming no bad apology for 
 a figure-head. He held a conch to his mouth, and 
 with his two glossy cheeks inflated like those of 
 Eolus, and his dark, glittering eyes expressing the 
 delight he found in drawing sounds from the 
 shell, he continued to give forth the signal for 
 departure. 
 
 " Put up the conch, thou bawler ! " cried the 
 alderman, giving the younker a rap on his naked 
 poll, in passing, with the end of his cane, that 
 might have disturbed the harmony of one less 
 bent on clamor. " A thousand windy trumpeters 
 would be silence itself, compared to such a pair of 
 lungs ! — How now, Master Schipper, is this your 
 punctuality, to start before your passengers are 
 ready ? " 
 
 The undisturbed boatman, without removing 
 the pipe from his mouth, pointed to the bubbles 
 on the water which were already floating out- 
 ward, a certain evidence that the tide was on the 
 ebb. 
 
 " I care nothing for your ins and outs, your 
 ebbs and floods," returned the alderman, in heat. 
 
THE ALDERMAN'S NIECE. 
 
 15 
 
 " There is no better timepiece than the leg and 
 eye of a punctual man. It is no more pleasant 
 to go before one is ready, than to tarry when all 
 business is done. Harkee, Master Schipper, you 
 are not the only navigator in this bay, nor is 
 your craft the swiftest that was ever launched. 
 Have a care ; though an acquiescing man by na- 
 ture, I know how to encourage an opposition, 
 when the public good seriously calls for my sup- 
 port." 
 
 To the attack on himself, the schipper was 
 stoically indifferent; but to impeach the quali- 
 ties of the periagua was to attack one who de- 
 pended solely on his eloquence for vindication. 
 Removing his pipe, therefore, he rejoined on the 
 alderman, with that sort of freedom that the stur- 
 dy Hollanders never failed to use to all offend- 
 ers, regardless alike of rank or personal quali- 
 ties. 
 
 "Der windgall and alderman," he growled, 
 in the dialect of the country ; " I should be glad 
 to see the boat in York Bay that can show the 
 Milkmaid her stern ! The mayor and council- 
 men had better order the tide to turn when they 
 please ; and then, as each man will think of his 
 own pleasure, a pretty set of whirlpools they will 
 give us in the harbor ! " 
 
 The schipper, having delivered himself of his 
 sentiments to this effect, resumed his pipe, like a 
 man who felt he deserved the meed of victory, 
 whether he were to receive it or not. 
 
 "It is useless to dispute with an obstinate 
 man," muttered the alderman, making his way 
 through vegetable-baskets, butter-tubs, and all 
 the garniture of a market-boat, to the place occu- 
 pied by his niece, in the stern-sheets. " Good- 
 morrow to thee, Alida dear ; early rising will 
 make a flower-garden of thy cheeks, and the 
 fresh air of the Lust in Rust will give even thy 
 roses a deeper bloom." 
 
 The mollified burgher then saluted the cheek 
 whose bloom had been deepened by his remark, 
 with a warmth that showed he was not with- 
 out natural affection ; touched his hat, in return 
 for a low bow that he received from an aged 
 white man-servant, in a clean but ancient livery ; 
 and nodded to a young negress, whose second- 
 hand finery sufficiently showed she was a person- 
 al attendant of the heiress. 
 
 A second glance at Alida de Barberie was 
 scarcely necessary to betray her mixed descent. 
 From her Norman father, a Huguenot of the 
 petite noblesse, she had inherited her raven hair, 
 the large, brilliant, coal-black eyes, in which wild- 
 ness was singularly relieved by sweetness, a clas- 
 sical and faultless profile, and a form which was 
 
 both taller and more flexible than commonly fell 
 to the lot of the damsels of Holland. From her 
 mother, la belle Barberie, as the maiden was of- 
 ten playfully termed, had received a skin fair and 
 spotless as the flower of France, and a bloom 
 which rivalled the rich tints of an evening sky 
 in her native land. Some of the embonpoint, for 
 which the sister of the alderman was a little re- 
 markable, had descended also to her fairer 
 daughter. In Alida, however, this peculiarity did 
 not exceed the fulness which became her years, 
 rounding her person and softening the outlines of 
 her form, rather than diminishing its ease and 
 grace. These personal advantages were embel- 
 lished by a neat but modest travelling-habit, a lit- 
 tle beaver that was shaded by a cluster of droop- 
 ing feathers, and a mien that, under the embar- 
 rassment of her situation, preserved the happi- 
 est medium between modesty and perfect sel£ 
 possession. 
 
 When Alderman Van Beverout joined this 
 fair creature, in whose future happiness he was 
 fully justified in taking the deep interest which 
 he has betrayed in some of the opening scenes of 
 this volume, he found her engaged in -i courteous 
 discourse with the young man, who was general- 
 ly considered as the one, among the numerous 
 pretenders to her favor, who was most likely to 
 succeed. Had other cause been wanting, this 
 sight alone would have been sufficient to restore 
 his good-humor ; and, making a place for himself, 
 by quietly dispossessing Francois, the domestic 
 of his niece, the persevering burgher endeavored 
 to encourage an intercourse that he had reasoD 
 to think must terminate in the result he both 
 meditated and desired. 
 
 In the present effort, however, the alderman 
 failed. There is a feeling which universally per- 
 vades landsmen and landswomen, when they first 
 embark on an element to which they are stran- 
 gers, that ordinarily shuts their mouths and ren- 
 ders them meditative. In the older and more 
 observant travellers, it is observation and compari- 
 son ; while with the younger and more suscepti- 
 ble, it is very apt to take the character of senti- 
 ment. Without stopping to analyze the cause or 
 the consequences, in the instance of the patroon 
 and la belle Barberie it will be sufficient to state 
 that, in spite of all the efforts of the worthy 
 burgher, who had navigated the sluggish creek 
 too often to be the subject of any new emotions, 
 his youthful companions gradually grew silent and 
 thoughtful. Though a celibate in his own per- 
 son, Myndert had not now to learn that the infant 
 god as often does his mischief through this qui- 
 et agency as in any other manner. He became, 
 
16 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 therefore, mute in his turn, watching the slow 
 movement of the periagua with as much assiduity 
 as if he saw his own image on the water. 
 
 A quarter of an hour of this characteristic, 
 and it is to be inferred agreeable navigation, 
 brought the boat to the mouth of the inlet. Here 
 a powerful effort forced her into the tide's- way, and 
 she might be said to put forth on her voyage. 
 But while the black crew were trimming the sails, 
 and making the other necessary preparations for 
 departure, a voice was heard hailing them from 
 the shore, with an order rather than a request, 
 that they would stay their movements. 
 
 " Hilloa, the periagua ! " it cried. " Haul over 
 your head-sheet, and jam the tiller down into the 
 lap of that comfortable-looking old gentleman. 
 Come ; bear a hand, my hummers ! or your race- 
 horse of a craft will get the bit into its mouth, and 
 run away with you." 
 
 This summons produced a pause in the move- 
 ments of the crew. After regarding each other, 
 in surprise and admiration, the watermen drew 
 the head-sheet over, put the helm a-lee, without 
 however invading the lap of the alderman, and the 
 boat became stationary, at the distance of a few 
 rods from the shore. While the new passenger 
 was preparing to come off in a yawl, those who 
 awaited his movements had leisure to examine his 
 appearance, and to form their different surmises 
 concerning his character. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that the stran- 
 ger was a son of the ocean. He was of a firmly 
 knit and active frame, standing exactly six feet 
 in his stockings. The shoulders, though square, 
 were compact, the chest full and high, the limbs 
 round, neat, and muscular — the whole indicating 
 a form in which strength and activity were ap- 
 portioned with the greatest accuracy. A small 
 bullet head was set firmly on its broad foundation, 
 and it was thickly covered with a mass of brown 
 hair that was already a little grizzled. The face 
 was that of a man of thirty, and it was worthy of 
 the frame, being manly, bold, decided, and rather 
 handsome ; though it expressed little more than 
 high daring, perfect coolness, some obstinacy, 
 and a certain degree of contempt for others, that 
 its owner did not always take the trouble to con- 
 ceal. The color was a rich, deep, and uniform 
 red, such as much exposure is apt to give to 
 men whose complexions are by nature light and 
 florid. 
 
 The dress of the stranger was quite as remark- 
 able as his person. He wore a short pea-jacket, 
 cut tight and tastefully ; a little, low, and rakish 
 cap, and full bell-mouthed trousers, all in a spot- 
 lessly white duck ; a material well adapted to the 
 
 season and the climate. The first was made with- 
 out buttons, affording an apology for the use of a 
 rich India shawl, that belted his body and kept 
 the garment tight to his frame. Faultlessly clean 
 linen appeared through the opening above, and a 
 collar of the same material fell over the gay ban- 
 danna, which was thrown, with a single careless 
 turn, around his throat. The latter was a manu- 
 facture then little known in Europe, and its use 
 was almost entirely confined to seamen of the 
 long voyage. One of its ends was suffered to 
 blow about in the wind, but the other was brought 
 down with care over the chest, where it was con- 
 fined, by springing the blade of a small knife with 
 an ivory handle, in a manner to confine the silk 
 to the linen ; a sort of breast-pin that is even now 
 much used by mariners. If we add that light 
 canvas slippers, with foul-anchors worked in 
 worsted upon their insteps, covered his feet, we 
 shall say all that is necessary of his attire. 
 
 The appearance of one, of the air and dress 
 we have just described, excited a strong sensation 
 among the blacks who scrubbed the stoops and 
 pavements. He was closely attended to the place 
 where he hailed the periagua, by four or five 
 loungers, who studied his manner and movements 
 with the admiration that men of their class sel- 
 dom fail to bestow on those who bear about them 
 the evidence of having passed lives of adventure, 
 and perhaps of hardship and daring. Beckoning 
 to one of these idlers to follow him, the hero of 
 the India shawl stepped into an empty boat, and 
 casting loose its fast, he sculled the light yawl 
 toward the craft which was awaiting his arrival. 
 There was, in truth, something in the reckless 
 air, the decision, and the manly attitudes of so 
 fine a specimen of a seaman, that might have at- 
 tracted notice from those who were more prac- 
 tised in the world than the little crowd of admir- 
 ers he left behind him. With an easy play of 
 wrist and elbow, he caused the yawl to glide 
 ahead like some indolent marine animal swim- 
 ming through its element, and as he stood, firm 
 as a planted statue, with a foot on each gunwale, 
 there was much of that confidence created by his 
 steadiness, that one acquires by viewing the re- 
 peated and successful efforts of a skilful rope- 
 dancer. When the yawl reached the side of the 
 periagua, he dropped a small Spanish coin into 
 the open palm of the negro, and sprang on the 
 side of the latter, with an exertion of muscle 
 that sent the little boat he quitted half-way back 
 toward the shore, leaving the frightened black to 
 steady himself in his rocking tenement, in the 
 best manner he could. 
 
 The tread and posture of the stranger, when 
 
A STRANGER. 
 
 17 
 
 he gained the half-deck of the periagua, were 
 finely nautical, and confident to audacity. He 
 seemed to analyze the half-maritime character of 
 the crew and passengers at a glance, and to feel 
 that sort of superiority over his companions 
 which men of his profession were then a little 
 too wont to entertain toward those whose ambi- 
 tion could be bounded by terra Jirma. His eye 
 turned upward at the simple rig and modest 
 sails of the periagua, while his upper lip curled 
 with the knowing expression of a critic. Then 
 kicking the fore-sheet clear of its cleet, and suf- 
 fering the sail to fill, he stepped from one butter- 
 tub to another, making a stepping-stone of the 
 lap of a countryman by the way, and alighted in 
 the stern-sheets, in the midst of the party of 
 Alderman Van Beverout, with the agility and 
 fearlessness of a feathered Mercury. With a 
 coolness that did infinite credit to his powers for 
 commanding, his next act was to dispossess the 
 amazed schipper of the helm, taking the tiller 
 into his own hands with as much composure as 
 if he were the every-day occupant of the post. 
 When he saw that the boat was beginning to move 
 through the water, he found leisure to bestow 
 some observation on his fellow-voyagers. The 
 first that met his bold and reckless eye was Fran- 
 cois, the domestic of Alida. 
 
 "If it come to blow in squalls, commodore," 
 observed the intruder, with a gravity that half 
 deceived the attentive Frenchman, while he point- 
 ed to the bag in which the latter wore his hair, 
 " you'll be troubled to carry your broad pennant. 
 But so experienced an officer has not put to sea 
 without having a storm-cue in readiness for foul 
 weather." 
 
 The valet did not, or affected not to under- 
 stand the allusion, maintaining an air of dignified 
 but silent superiority. 
 
 " The gentleman is in a foreign service, and does 
 not understand an English mariner ! The worst 
 that can come, after all, of too much top-hamper 
 is to cut away, and let it drift with the scud. — 
 May I make bold to ask, judge, if the courts have 
 done any thing of late concerning the freebooters 
 among the islands ? " 
 
 " I have not the honor to bear her majesty's 
 commission," coldly returned Yan Staats of Kin- 
 derhook, to whom this question had been hardily 
 put. • 
 
 " The best navigator is sometimes puzzled by 
 a hazy observation, and many an old seaman has 
 taken a fog-bank for solid ground. Since you 
 are not in the courts, sir, I wish you joy ; for it is 
 running among shoals to be cruising there, wheth- 
 er as judge or suitor. One is never fairly snug 
 2 
 
 and land-locked while in company of a lawyer, 
 and yet the devil himself cannot always give the 
 sharks a good offing. — A pretty sheet of water, 
 friends ; and one as snug as rotten cables and 
 foul winds can render desirable is this bay of 
 York." 
 
 " You are a mariner of the long voyage," re- 
 turned the patroon, unwilling that Alida should 
 not believe him equal to bandying wits with the 
 stranger. 
 
 1 4 Long or short ; Calcutta or Cape Cod ; 
 dead-reckoning, eyesight, or star-gazing ; all's one 
 to your real dolphin. The shape of the coast, 
 between Fundy and the Horn, is as familiar to 
 my eye as an admirer to this pretty young lady ; 
 and as to the other shore, I have run it down often- 
 er than the commodore here has ever set his pen- 
 nant, blow high or blow low. A cruise like this is 
 a Sunday in my navigation ; though I dare say you 
 took leave of the wife, blessed the children, over- 
 hauled the will, and sent to ask a good word from 
 the priest, before you came aboard ? " 
 
 "Had these ceremonies been observed, the 
 danger would not have been increased," said the 
 young patroon, anxious to steal a glance at la 
 belle Barberie, though his timidity caused him, 
 in truth, to look the other way. " One is never 
 nearer danger, for being prepared to meet it." 
 
 " True ; we must all die when the reckoning 
 is out. Hang or drown — gibbet or bullet clears 
 the world of a great deal of rubbish, or the decks 
 would get to be so littered that the vessel could 
 not be worked. The last cruise is the longest 
 of all ; and honest papers, with a clean bill of 
 health, may help a man into port, when he is 
 past keeping the open sea. How now, Schipper, 
 what lies are floating about the docks this morn- 
 ing ? when did the last Albanyman get his tub 
 down the river ? or whose gelding has been rid- 
 den to death in chase of a witch ? " 
 
 " The devil's babes ! " muttered the alderman, 
 " there's no want of roisterers to torment such 
 innocents ! " 
 
 "Have the buccaneers taken to praying, or 
 does their trade thrive in this heel of the war ? " 
 continued the mariner of the India shawl, disre- 
 garding the complaint of the burgher. " The 
 times are getting heavy for men of metal, as may 
 be seen by the manner in which yon cruiser wears 
 out her ground-tackle, instead of trying the open 
 sea. May I spring every spar I carry, but I 
 would have the boat out, and give her an airing 
 before to-morrow, if the queen would condescend 
 to put your humble servant in charge of the craft ! 
 The man lies there at his anchors as if he had a 
 good freight of real Hollands in hia hold, and was 
 
18 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 waiting for a few bales of beaver-skins to barter 
 for his strong waters." 
 
 As the stranger coolly expressed his opinion 
 of her majesty's ship Coquette, he rolled his 
 glance over the persons of his companions, suf- 
 fering it to rest for a moment, with a secret sig- 
 nificance, on the steady eye of the burgher. 
 
 " Well," he continued, " the sloop answers 
 for a floating vane to tell which way the tide is 
 running, if she does nothing better ; and that 
 must be a great assistance, schipper, in the navi- 
 gation of one who keeps as bright a lookout on 
 the manner in which the world whirls round as a 
 gentleman of your sagacity." 
 
 " If the news in the creek be true," rejoined 
 the unoffended owner of the periagua, " there 
 will be other business for Captain Ludlow and 
 the Coquette before many days." 
 
 " Ah ! having eaten all his meat and bread, 
 the man will be obliged to victual his ship anew. 
 'Twere a pity so active a gentleman should keep 
 a fast in a brisk tide's-way. And when his cop- 
 pers are once more filled, and the dinner is 
 fairly eaten, what dost think will be his next 
 duty?" 
 
 " There is a report, among the boatmen of the 
 South Bay, that something was seen yester'night 
 off the outer side of Long Island." 
 
 I'll answer for the truth of that rumor, for, 
 having come up with the evening flood, I saw it 
 myself." 
 
 " Der duyvel's luck ! and what dost take it to 
 be?" 
 
 " The Atlantic Ocean ; if you doubt my word, 
 I appeal to this well-ballasted old gentleman who, 
 being a school-master, is able to give you latitude 
 and longitude for its truth." 
 
 " I am Alderman Van Beverout," muttered 
 the object of this new attack between his teeth, 
 though apparently but half disposed to notice 
 one who set so little bounds to his discourse. 
 
 " I beg a thousand pardons ! " returned the 
 strange seaman, with a grave inclination of his 
 body. " The stolidity of your worship's counte- 
 nance deceived me. It may be, indeed, unreason- 
 able to expect any alderman to know the position 
 of the Atlantic Ocean ! — And yet, gentlemen, 
 on the honor of a man who has seen much salt- 
 water in his time, I do assure you the sea I speak 
 of is actually there. If there be any thing on it, 
 or in it, that should not be in reason, this worthy 
 commander of the periagua will let us know the 
 rest." 
 
 " A wood-boat from the inlet says the Skim- 
 mer of the Seas was lately seen standing along 
 the coast," returned the ferry-man, in the tone of 
 
 one who is certain of delivering matter of general 
 interest. 
 
 " Your true sea-dog, who runs in and out of 
 inlets, is a man for marvels 1 " coolly observed the 
 stranger. " They know the color of the sea at 
 night, and are forever steering in the wind's eye 
 in search of adventures. I wonder more of them 
 are not kept at making almanacs ! There was a 
 mistake concerning a thunder-storm in the last I 
 bought, and all for the want of proper science. 
 And pray, friend, who is this Skimmer of the Seas, 
 that is said to be running after his needle like 
 a tailor who has found a hole in his neighbor's 
 coat ? " 
 
 " The witches may tell ! I only know that such 
 a rover there is, and that he is here to-day, and 
 there to-morrow. Some say that it is only a craft 
 of mist that skims the top of the seas like a sail- 
 ing water-fowl ; and others think it is the sprite 
 of a vessel that was rifled and burnt by Kidd in 
 the Indian Ocean, looking for its gold and the 
 killed. I saw him once myself, but the distance 
 was so great, and his manoeuvres so unnatural, 
 that I could hardly give a good account of his hull 
 or rig." 
 
 " This is matter that don't get into the log 
 every watch ! Whereaway, or in what seas, didst 
 meet the thing ? " 
 
 " 'Twas off the Branch. We were fishing in 
 thick weather, and when the mist lifted a little, 
 there was a craft seen standing inshore, running 
 like a race-horse ; but while we got our anchor, 
 she had made a league of offing on the other tack ! " 
 
 " A certain proof of either her or your activi- 
 ty ! But what might have been the form and 
 shape of your fly-away ? " 
 
 " Nothing determined. To one she seemed a 
 full-rigged and booming ship ; and another took 
 her for a Bermudian scudder; while to me she 
 had the look of twenty periaguas built into a sin- 
 gle craft. It is well known, however, that a West- 
 Indiaman went to sea that night, and though it 
 is now three years, no tidings of her or her crew 
 have ever come to any in York. I have never 
 gone upon the banks to fish since that day, in thick 
 weather." 
 
 "You have done well," observed the stranger. 
 " I have seen many wonderful sights myself on 
 the rolling ocean ; and he whose business it is to 
 lay between wind and water like yo#, my friend, 
 should never trust himself within reach of one 
 of those devil's fliers. I could tell you a tale of 
 an affair in the calm latitudes, under the burning 
 sun, that would be a lesson to all of overbold 
 curiosity ! Commission and character are not af- 
 | fairs for your inshore coasters." 
 
THE SLOOP-OF-WAR. 
 
 19 
 
 u We have time to hear it," observed the 
 patroon, whose attention had been excited by the 
 discourse, and who read in the dark eye of 
 Alida that she felt an interest in the expected 
 narrative. 
 
 But the countenance of the stranger sudden- 
 ly grew serious. He shook his head like one who 
 had sufficient reasons for his silence ; and, relin- 
 quishing the tiller, he quite coolly obliged a gap- 
 ing countryman in the centre of the boat to yield 
 his place, where he laid his own athletic form at 
 full length, folded his arms on his breast, and 
 shut his eyes. In less than five minutes, all with- 
 in hearing had audible evidence that this extraor- 
 dinary son of the ocean was in a sound sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 *' Be patient, for the prize I'll bring thee to, 
 Shall hoodwink this mischance. 1 ' 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 The air, audacity, and language of the un- 
 known mariner, had produced a marked' sensa- 
 tion among the passengers of the periagua. It 
 was plain, by the playfulness that lurked about 
 the coal-black eye of the belle Barberie, that she 
 had been amused by his sarcasms, though the 
 boldness of his manner had caused her to main- 
 tain the reserve which she believed necessary to 
 her sex and condition. The patroon studied the 
 countenance of his mistress, and, though half 
 offended by the freedom of the intruder, he had 
 believed it wisest to tolerate his liberties, as the 
 natural excesses of a spirit that had been lately 
 released from the monotony of a sea-life. The 
 repose which usually reigned in the countenance 
 of the alderman had been a little troubled; but 
 he succeeded in concealing his discontent from 
 any impertinent observation. When the chief 
 actor in the foregoing scene, therefore, saw fit to 
 withdraw, the usual tranquillity was restored, and 
 his presence appeared to be forgotten. 
 
 An ebbing tide and a freshening breeze quick- 
 ly carried the periagua past the smaller islands 
 of the bay, and brought the cruiser called the 
 Coquette more distinctly into view. This vessel, 
 a ship of twenty guns, lay abreast of the hamlet 
 on the shores of Staten Island, which was the 
 destination of the ferry - boat. Here was the 
 usual anchorage of outward-bound ships, which 
 awaited a change of wind ; and it was here that 
 vessels then, as in our times, were subject to 
 those examinations and delays which are imposed 
 for the safety of the inhabitants of the city. 
 
 The Coquette was alone, however ; for the arri- 
 val of a trader from a distant port was an event 
 of unfrequent occurrence at the commencement 
 of the eighteenth century. 
 
 The course of the periagua brought her with- 
 in fifty feet of the sloop-of-war. As the former 
 approached, a movement of curiosity and inter- 
 est occurred among those she contained. 
 
 " Take more room for your milkmaid," grum- 
 bled the alderman, observing that the schipper 
 was willing to gratify his passengers by running 
 as near as possible to the dark sides of the cruis- 
 er. " Seas and oceans ! is not York Bay wide 
 enough, that you must brush the dust out of the 
 muzzles of the guns of yon lazy ship ? If the 
 queen knew how her money was eaten and drunk 
 by the idle knaves aboard her, she would send 
 them all to hunt for freebooters among the 
 islands. Look at the land, Alida, child, and 
 you'll think no more of the fright the gaping 
 dunce is giving thee ; he only wishes to show his 
 skill in steering." 
 
 But the niece manifested none of the terror 
 that the uncle was willing to ascribe to her fears. 
 Instead of turning pale, the color deepened on 
 her cheeks as the periagua came dancing along 
 under the lee of the cruiser, and, if her respiration 
 became quicker than usual, it was scarcely pro- 
 duced by the agitation of alarm. The near sight 
 of the tall masts, and of the maze of cordage that 
 hung nearly above their heads, however, pre- 
 vented the change from being noted, A hundred 
 curious eyes were already peeping at them 
 through the ports or over the bulwarks of the 
 ship, when suddenly an officer, who wore the un- 
 dress of a naval captain of that day, sprang into 
 the main rigging of the cruiser, and saluted the 
 party in the periagua by waving his hat hurried- 
 ly, like one who was agreeably taken by sur- 
 prise. 
 
 " A fair sky and gentle breezes to each and 
 all ! " he cried, with the hearty manner of a sea- 
 man. " I kiss my hand to the fair Alida ; and 
 the alderman will take a sailor's good wishes. 
 Mr. Van Staats, I salute you." 
 
 "Ay," muttered the burgher, "your idlers 
 have nothing better to do than make words an- 
 swer for deeds. A lazy war and a distant enemy 
 make you seamen the lords of the land, Captain 
 Ludlow." 
 
 Alida blushed still deeper, hesitated, and then, 
 by a movement that was half involuntary, she 
 waved her handkerchief The young patroon 
 arose, and answered the salutation by a courte- 
 ous bow. By this time the ferry-boat was near- 
 ly past the ship, and the scowl was quitting the 
 
20 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 face of the alderman, when the mariner of the 
 India shawl sprang to his feet, and in a mo- 
 ment he stood again in the centre of their party. 
 
 " A pretty sea-boat, and a neat show aloft ! " 
 he said, as his understanding eye scanned the 
 rigging of the royal cruiser, taking the tiller at 
 the same time, with all his former indifference, 
 from the hands of the schipper. " Her majesty 
 should have good service from such a racer, and 
 no doubt the youth in her rigging is a man to get 
 the most out of his craft. We'll take anoth- 
 er observation. Draw away your head-sheet, 
 boy." 
 
 The stranger had put the helm a-lee while 
 speaking, and by the time the order he had giv- 
 en was uttered the quick-working boat was about, 
 and nearly filled on the other tack. In another 
 minute she was again brushing along the side of the 
 sloop-of-war. A common complaint against this 
 hardy interference with the regular duty of the 
 boat was about to break out of the lips of the 
 alderman and the schipper, when he of the India 
 shawl lifted his cap and addressed the officer in 
 the rigging with all the self-possession he had 
 manifested in the intercourse with those nearer 
 his person. 
 
 " Has her majesty need of a man in her ser- 
 vice who has seen, in his time, more blue water 
 than hard ground ; or is there no empty berth, 
 in so gallant a cruiser, for one who must do a 
 seaman's duty or starve? " 
 
 The descendant of the king-hating Ludlows, 
 as the Lord Cornbury had styled the race of the 
 commander of the Coquette, was quite as much 
 surprised by the appearance of him who put this 
 question, as he was by the coolness with which 
 a mariner of ordinary condition presumed to ad- 
 dress an officer who bore so high a commission as 
 his own. He had, however, sufficient time to 
 recollect in whose presence he stood ere he re- 
 plied, for the stranger had again placed the helm 
 a-lee, and caused the foresail to be thrown back 
 — a change that made the periagua stationary. 
 
 " The queen will always receive a bold mariner 
 in her pay, if he come prepared to serve with 
 skill and fidelity," he said ; "as a proof of which, 
 let a rope be thrown the periagua ; we shall treat 
 more at our ease under her majesty's pennant. I 
 shall be proud to entertain Alderman Van Bever- 
 out, in the mean time ; and a cutter will always 
 be at his command when he shall have occasion 
 to quit us." 
 
 "Your land-loving aldermen find their way 
 from a queen's cruiser to the shore more easily 
 than a seaman of twenty years' experience," re- 
 turned the other, without giving the burgher time 
 
 to express his thanks for the polite offer of the 
 other. "You have gone through the Gibraltar 
 passage, without doubt, noble captain, being a 
 gentleman that has got so fine a boat under his 
 orders ? " 
 
 "Duty has taken me into the Italian seas 
 more than once," answered Ludlow, half disposed 
 to resent this familiarity, though to anxious to 
 keep the periagua near, to quarrel with him 
 who so evidently had produced the unexpected 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Then you know that, though a lady might 
 fan a ship through the straits eastward, it needs 
 a Levant-breeze to bring her out again. Her 
 majesty's pennants are long, and when they get 
 foul around the limbs of a thoroughly-bred sea- 
 dog, it passes all his art to clear the jam. It is 
 most worthy of remark, that the better the sea- 
 man, the less his power to cast loose the knot ! " 
 
 " If the pennant be so long, it may reach 
 farther than you wish ! — But a bold volunteer has 
 no occasion to dread a press." 
 
 " I fear the berth I wish is filled," returned 
 the other, curling his lip ; " let draw the fore-sheet, 
 lad ; we will take our departure, leaving the fly 
 of the pennant well under our lee. — Adieu, brave 
 captain ; when you have need of a thorough rover, 
 and dream of stern-chases and wet sails, think 
 of him who visited your ship at her lazy moor- 
 ings." 
 
 Ludlow bit his lips, and though his fine face 
 reddened to the temples, he met the arch-glance 
 of Alida, and laughed. But he who had so hardi- 
 ly braved the resentment of a man powerful as the 
 commander of a royal cruiser in a British colony, 
 appeared to understand the hazard of his situa- 
 tion. The periagua whirled round on her heel, and 
 the next minute it was bending to the breeze, and 
 dashing through the little waves toward the shose. 
 Three boats left the cruiser at the same moment. 
 One, which evidently contained her captain, ad- 
 vanced with the usual dignified movement of a 
 barge landing an officer of rank, but the others 
 were urged ahead with all the earnestness of a 
 hot chase. 
 
 " Unless disposed to serve the queen, you have 
 not done well, my friend, to brave one of her 
 commanders at the muzzles of his guns," observed 
 the patroon, so soon as the state of the case be- 
 came too evident to doubt of the intentions of the 
 man-of-war's men. 
 
 "That Captain Ludlow would gladly take 
 some of us out of this boat, by fair means or by 
 foul, is a fact clear as a bright star in a cloudless 
 night ; and, well knowing a seaman's duty to his 
 superiors, I shall leave him to his choice." 
 
PURSUED. 
 
 21 
 
 " In which case you will shortly eat her 
 majesty's bread," pithily returned the alderman. 
 
 " The food is unpalatable, and I reject it; yet 
 here is a boat whose crew seem determined to 
 make one swallow worse fare." 
 
 The unknown mariner ceased speaking, for 
 the situation of the periagua was truly getting to 
 be a little critical. At least, so it seemed to the 
 less-instructed landsmen who were witnesses of 
 this unexpected rencontre. As the ferry-boat 
 had drawn in with the island, the wind hauled 
 more through the pass which communicates with 
 the outer bay, and it became necessary to heave 
 about twice, in order to fetch to windward of the 
 usual landing-place. The first of these manoeu- 
 vres had been executed, and as it necessarily 
 changed their course, the passengers saw that the 
 cutter to which the stranger alluded was enabled 
 to get within-shore of them, or nearer to the wharf 
 where they ought to land, than they were them- 
 selves. Instead of suffering himself to be led off 
 by a pursuit that he knew might easily be ren- 
 dered useless, the officer who commanded this 
 boat cheered his men, and pulled swiftly to the 
 point of debarkation. On the other hand, a sec- 
 ond cutter, which had already reached the line of 
 the periagua's course, lay on its oars, and awaited 
 its approach. The unknown mariner manifested 
 no intention to avoid the interview. He still held 
 the tiller, and as effectually commanded the little 
 vessel as if his authority were of a more regular 
 character. The audacity and decision of his air 
 and conduct, aided by the consummate manner 
 in which he worked the boat, might alene have 
 achieved this momentary usurpation, had not the 
 general feeling against impressment been so much 
 in his favor. 
 
 " The devil's fangs ! " grumbled the schipper. 
 " If you should keep the Milkmaid away, we shall 
 lose a little in distance, though I think the man- 
 of-war's men will be puzzled to catch her, with a 
 flowing sheet ! " 
 
 " The queen has sent a message by the gen- 
 tleman," the mariner rejoined ; " it would be un- 
 mannerly to refuse to hear it." 
 
 " Heave-to the periagua ! " shouted the young 
 officer in the cutter. " In her majesty's name, I 
 command you, obey ! " 
 
 " God bless the royal lady ! " returned he of 
 the foul-anchors and gay shawl, while the swift 
 ferry-boat continued to dash ahead. " We owe 
 her duty, and are glad to see so proper a gentle- 
 man employed in her behalf." 
 
 By this time the boats were fifty feet asun- 
 der. No sooner was there room, than the peria- 
 gua once more flew round, and commenced anew 
 
 its course, dashing in again toward the shore. 
 It was necessary, however, to venture within an 
 oar's length of the cutter, or to keep away — a 
 loss of ground to which he who controlled her 
 movements showed no disposition to submit. 
 The officer arose, and, as the periagua drew near, 
 it was evident his hand held a pistol, though he 
 seemed reluctant to exhibit the weapon. The 
 mariner stepped aside in a manner to offer a full 
 view of all his group, as he sarcastically ob- 
 served : 
 
 " Choose your object, sir ; in such a party a 
 man of sentiment may have a preference." 
 
 The young man colored, as much with shame 
 at the degrading duty he had been commissioned 
 to perform, as with vexation at his failure. Re- 
 covering his self-composure, however, he lifted 
 his hat to la belle Barberie, and the periagua 
 dashed on in triumph. Still the leading cutter 
 was near the shore, where it soon arrived, the 
 crew lying on their oars near the end of the 
 wharf, in expectation of the arrival of the ferry- 
 boat. At this sight the schipper shook his head, 
 and looked up into the bold face of his passenger, 
 in a manner to betray how much his mind mis- 
 gave the result. But the tall mariner maintained 
 his coolness, and began to make merry allusions 
 to the service which he had braved with so much 
 temerity, and from which no one believed he was 
 yet likely to escape. By the former manoeuvres, 
 the periagua had gained a position well to wind- 
 ward of the wharf, and she was now steered close 
 upon the wind, directly for the shore. Against 
 the consequences of a perseverance in this course, 
 however, the schipper saw fit to remonstrate. 
 
 " Shipwrecks and rocky bottoms ! " exclaimed 
 the alarmed waterman. " A Holland galliot would 
 go to pieces, if you should run her in among 
 those stepping-stones with this breeze. No hon- 
 est boatman loves to sea a man stowed in a 
 cruiser's hold, like a thief caged in his prison ; 
 but when it comes to breaking the nose of the 
 Milkmaid, it is asking too much of her owner 
 to stand by and look on." 
 
 " There shall not be a dimple in her lovely 
 countenance deranged," answered his cool pas- 
 senger. — " Now, lower away your sails, and we'll 
 run along the shore, down to yon wharf. 'T would 
 be an ungallant act to treat the dairy-girl with so 
 little ceremony, gentlemen, after the lively foot 
 and quick evolutions she has shown in our be- 
 half. The best dancer in the island could not 
 have better played her part, though jigging un- 
 der the music of a three-stringed fiddle." 
 
 By this time the sails were lowered, and the 
 periagua was gliding down toward the place of 
 
22 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 landing, running always at the distance of some 
 fifty feet from the shore. 
 
 " Every craft has its allotted time, like a mor- 
 tal," continued the inexplicable mariner of the 
 India shawl. " If she is to die a sudden death, 
 there is your beam-end and stern-way, which 
 takes her into the grave without funeral service 
 or parish prayers ; your dropsy is being water- 
 logged ; gout and rheumatism kill like a broken 
 back and loose joints ; indigestion is a shifting 
 cargo, with guns adrift ; the gallows is a bottom- 
 ry-bond, with lawyers' fees ; while fire, drowning, 
 death by religious melancholy, and suicide, are a 
 careless gunner, sunken rocks, false lights, and a 
 lubberly captain." 
 
 Ere any were apprised of his intention, this 
 singular being then sprang from the boat on the 
 cap of a little rock, over which the waves were 
 washing, whence he bounded from stone to stone 
 by vigorous efforts, till he fairly leaped to land. 
 In another minute he was lost to view among the 
 dwellings of the hamlet. 
 
 The arrival of the periagua, which immediate- 
 ly after reached the wharf, the disappointment 
 of the cutter's crew, and the return of both the 
 boats to their ship, succeeded as matters of 
 course. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Olit. " Did lie write this ? " 
 Clo. "Ay, madam." 
 
 Twelfth Kight. 
 
 If we say that Alida de Barberie did not cast 
 a glance behind her as the party quitted the 
 wharf, in order to see whether the boat that con- 
 tained the commander of the cruiser followed the 
 example of the others, we shall probably portray 
 the maiden as one that was less subject to the in- 
 fluence of coquetry than the truth would justify. 
 To the great discontent of the alderman, whatever 
 might have been the feelings of his niece on the 
 occasion, the barge continued to approach the 
 shore, in a manner which showed that the young 
 seaman betrayed no visible interest in the result 
 of the chase. 
 
 The heights of Staten Island, a century ago, 
 were covered, much as they are at present, with 
 a growth of dwarf trees. Foot-paths led along 
 this meagre vegetation in divers directions ; and, 
 as the hamlet at the quarantine-ground was the 
 point whence they all diverged, it required a 
 practised guide to thread their mazes without a 
 loss of both time and distance. It would seem, 
 however, that the worthy burgher was fully equal 
 
 I to the office ; for, moving with more than his usu- 
 al agility, he soon led bis companions into the 
 wood, and, by frequently altering his course, so 
 completely confounded their sense of the relative 
 bearings of places, that it is not probable one of 
 them all could very readily have extricated him- 
 self from the labyrinth. 
 
 " Clouds and shady bowers ! " exclaimed Myn- 
 dert, when he had achieved, to his own satisfac- 
 tion, this evasion of the pursuit he wished to 
 avoid ; " little oaks and green pines are pleasant 
 on a June morning. You shall have mountain 
 air and a sea-breeze, patroon, to quicken the ap- 
 petite of the Lust in Rust. If Alida will speak, 
 the girl can say that a mouthful of the elixir is 
 better for a rosy cheek than all the concoctions 
 and washes that were ever invented to give a man 
 a heartache." 
 
 " If the place be as much changed as the road 
 that leads to it," returned la belle Barberie, glan- 
 cing her dark eye, in vain, in the direction of the 
 bay they had quitted, " I should scarcely venture 
 an opinion on a subject of which I am obliged to 
 confess utter ignorance." 
 
 " Ah, woman is naught but vanities ! To see 
 and to be seen, is the delight of the sex. Though 
 we are a thousand times more comfortable in this 
 wood than we should be in walking along the 
 water-side, why, the sea-gulls and snipes lose the 
 benefit of our company ! The salt-water, and all 
 who live on it, are to be avoided by a wise man, 
 Mr. Yaft Staats, except as they both serve to 
 cheapen freight and to render trade brisk. You'll 
 thank me for this care, niece of mine, when you 
 reach the bluff, cool as a package of furs free from 
 moth, and fresh and beautiful as a Holland tulip, 
 with the dew on it." 
 
 " To resemble the latter, one might consent to 
 walk blindfold, dearest uncle ; and so we dismiss 
 the subject. Francois, fais moi le plaisir de por- 
 ter ce petit livre ; malgre la fraicheur de la foret, 
 j'ai besoin de m'eventer." 
 
 The valet took the book with an empressement 
 that defeated the more tardy politeness of the 
 patroon ; and when he saw, by the vexed eye and 
 flushed cheek of his young mistress, that she was 
 incommoded rather by an internal than by the 
 external heat, he whispered considerately : 
 
 " Que ma chere Mademoiselle Alide ne se fache 
 pas ! Elle ne manquerait jamais d'admirateurs, 
 dans un desert. Ah ! si mam'selle allait voir la 
 patrie de ses ancetres ! — " . 
 
 " 'Merci bien, mon cher ; gardez les feuillesj 
 fortement fermees. II y a des papiers dedans." 
 
 " Monsieur Francois," said the alderman, sep- 
 arating his niece with little ceremony, from her 
 
THE VALET AND 
 
 nearly parental attendant, by the interposition of 
 his own bulky person, and motioning for the oth- 
 ers to proceed, " a word with thee in confidence. 
 I have noted, in the course of a busy and I hope 
 a profitable life, that a faithful servant is an hon- 
 est counsellor. Next to Holland and England, 
 both of which are great commercial nations, and 
 the Indies, which are necessary to these colonies, 
 together with a natural preference for the land 
 in which I was born, I have always been of opin- 
 ion that France is a very good sort of a country. 
 I think, Mr. Francis, that dislike to the seas has 
 kept you from returning thither, since the decease 
 of my late brother-in-law? " 
 
 " Wid like for Mam'selle Alide, monsieur, avec 
 votre permission." 
 
 " Your affection for my niece, honest Francois, 
 is not to be doubted. It is as certain as the pay- 
 ment of a good draft, by Crommeline, Yan Stop- 
 per, and Yan Gelt, of Amsterdam. Ah ! old 
 valet ! she is fresh and blooming as a rose, and 
 a girl of excellent qualities ! 'Tis a pity that she 
 is a little opinionated ; a defect that she doubtless 
 inherits from her Norman ancestors ; since all of 
 my family have ever been remarkable for listen- 
 ing to reason. The Normans were an obstinate 
 race, as witness the siege of Rochelle, by which 
 oversight real estate in that city must have lost 
 much in value ! " 
 
 " Mille excuses, Monsieur Bevre' ; more 
 
 beautiful as de rose, and no opiniatre du tout. 
 Mon Dieu, pour sa qualite, c'est une famille tres 
 ancienne." 
 
 " That was a weak point with my brother 
 Barberie, and, after all, it did not add a cipher 
 to the sum total of the assets. The best blood, 
 Mr. Francois, is that which has been best fed. 
 The line of Hugh Capet himself would fail without 
 the butcher ; and the butcher would certainly fail 
 without customers that can pay. Francois, thou 
 art a man who understands the value of a sure 
 footing in the world ; would it not be a thousand 
 pities that such a girl as Alida should throw her- 
 self away on one whose best foundation is no bet- 
 ter than a rolling ship ? " 
 
 " Certainement, monsieur ; mam'selle be too 
 good to roll in de ship." 
 
 ' ; Obliged to follow a husband up and down ; 
 among freebooters and dishonest traders ; in fair 
 weather and foul ; hot and cold ; wet and dry ; 
 bilge-water and salt-water ; cramps and nausea ; 
 salt-junk and no junk ; gales and calms — and all 
 for a hasty judgment formed in sanguine youth." 
 
 The face of the valet had responded to the 
 alderman's enumeration of the evils that would 
 attend so ill-judged a step in his niece, as faith- 
 
 THE ALDERMAN. 23 
 
 fully as if each muscle had been a mirror, to re- 
 flect the contortions of one suffering under the 
 malady of the sea. 
 
 "Parbleu, c'est horrible, cette mer ! " he ejac- 
 ulated, when the other had done. " It is grand 
 malheur, dere should be watair but for drink, and 
 for la proprete, avec fosse to keep de carp round 
 le chateau. Mais, mam'selle be no haste judg- 
 ment, and she shall have mari on la terre so- 
 lide." 
 
 "'Twould be better that the estate of my 
 brother-in-law should be kept in sight, judicious 
 Francois, than to be sent adrift on the high- 
 seas." 
 
 " Dere vas marin dans la famille de Barberie, 
 nevair." 
 
 " Bonds and balances ! if the savings of one I 
 could name, frugal Francois, were added in cur- 
 rent coin, the sum total would sink a common 
 ship. You know it is my intention to remember 
 Alida, in settling accounts with the world." 
 
 " If Monsieur de Barberie vas 'live, Monsieur 
 Alderman, he should say des choses convenables ; 
 mais, malheureusement, mon cher maitre est 
 mort ; and, sair, I shall be bold to remercier pour 
 lui, et pour tout sa famille." 
 
 "Women are perverse, and sometimes they 
 have pleasure in doing the very thing they are 
 desired not to do." 
 
 " Ma foi, oui ! " 
 
 " Prudent men should manage them with soft 
 words and rich gifts ; with these they become or- 
 derly as a pair of well-broke geldings." 
 
 "Monsieur know," said the old valet, rubbing 
 his hands, and laughing with the subdued voice 
 of a well-bred domestic, though he could not con- 
 ceal a jocular wink; " pourtant il est garcon ! Le 
 cadeau be good for de demoiselles, and bettair as 
 for de dames." 
 
 " Wedlock and blinkers ! it is we gassons, as 
 you call us, who ought to know. Your hen- 
 pecked husband has no time to generalize among 
 the sex, in order to understand the real quality 
 of the article. Now here is Yan Staats of Kin- 
 derhook, faithful Francois ; what think you of 
 such a youth for a husband for Alida ? " 
 
 "Pourtant, mam'selle like de vivaeite; Mon- 
 sieur le Patroon be nevair trop vif." 
 
 " The more likely to be sure. — Hist ! I hear a 
 footstep. We are followed — chased, perhaps, I 
 should say, to speak in the language of these sea- 
 gentry. Now is the time to show this Captain 
 Ludlow how a Frenchman can wind him round 
 his finger on terra firma. Loiter in the rear, and 
 draw our navigator on a wrong course. When 
 he has run into a fog, come yourself with all speed 
 
24 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 to the oak on the bluff. There we shall await 
 you." 
 
 Flattered by this confidence, and really per- 
 suaded that he was furthering the happiness of 
 her he served, the old valet nodded in reply to the 
 alderman's wink and chuckle, and immediately 
 relaxed his speed. The former pushed ahead ; 
 and in a minute he and those who followed had 
 turned short to the left, and were out of sight. 
 
 Though faithfully and even affectionately at- 
 tached to Alida, her servant had many of the 
 qualifications of a European domestic. Trained 
 in all the ? % icses of his profession, he was of that 
 school which believes civilization is to be measured 
 by artifice ; and success lost some of its value 
 when it had been effected by the vulgar machin- 
 ery of truth and common-sense. No wonder, 
 then, the retainer entered into the views of the 
 alderman with more than a usual relish for the 
 duty. He heard the cracking of the dried twigs 
 beneath the footstep of him who followed ; and, 
 in order that there might be no chance of missing 
 the desired interview, the valet began to hum a 
 French air in so loud a key as to be certain the 
 sounds would reach any ear that was nigh. The 
 twigs snapped more rapidly, the footsteps seemed 
 nearer, and the hero cf the India shawl sprang to 
 the side of the expecting Francois. 
 
 The disappointment seemed mutual, and on 
 the part of the domestic it entirely disconcerted 
 all his prearranged schemes for misleading the 
 commander of the Coquette. Not so wifch. the 
 bold mariner. So far from his self-possession be- 
 ing disturbed, it would have been no easy matter 
 to restrain his audacity, even in situations far 
 more trying than any in which he has yet been 
 presented to the reader. 
 
 "What cheer in thy woodland cruise, Mon- j 
 sieur Broad-pennant ? " he said, with infinite cool- 
 ness, the instant his steady glance had ascertained 
 they were all alone. " This is safer navigation j 
 for an officer of thy draught of water, than run- , 
 ning about the bay in a periagua. What may be 
 the longitude, and wherer.way did you part com- 
 pany from the consorts ? " 
 
 " Sair, I valk in de vood for de plaisir, and I 
 go on de bay for de — parbleu, non ! 'tis to follow | 
 ma jeune maitresse I go on de bay ; and, sair, I J 
 wish dey who do love de bay and de sea, would 
 not come into de vood, du tout." 
 
 " Well spoken, and with ample spirit ; what, 
 a student, too ! one in a wood should glean some- 
 thing from his labors. Is it the art of furling a 
 • main cue that is taught in this pretty volume ? " 
 
 As the mariner put his question, he very de- 
 liberately took the book from Francois, who, in- 
 
 ' stead of resenting the liberty, rather offered the 
 volume in exultation. 
 
 " No, sair, it is not how to furl la cue, but how 
 . to touch de soul ; not de art to haul over de calm, 
 ■ but — oui, c'est plein de connoissance et d'esprit ! 
 ! Ah ! ah ! you know de Cid ! le grand homme ! 
 1 l'homme de genie 1 If you read, Monsieur Marin, 
 you shall see la vraie poesie ! Not de big book 
 and no single rhyme. Sair, I do not vish to say 
 vat is penible, mais it is not one book widout 
 , rhyme ; it was not ecrit on de sea. Le diable ! 
 ! que le vrai genie, et les nobles sentiments, se 
 j trouvent dans ce livre, la ! " 
 
 " Ay, I see it is a log-book for every man to 
 ' note his mind in. I return you Master Cid, with 
 ; his fine sentiments in the bargain. Great as was 
 ' his genius, it would seem he was not the man to 
 | write all that I find between the leaves." 
 
 " He not write him all ! Yes, sair, he shall 
 writ him six time more dan all, if la France a 
 besoin. Quej'envie de ces Anglais se decouvre 
 quand on parle des beaux genies de la France ! " 
 " I will only say, if the gentleman wrote the 
 \ whole that is in the book, and it is as fine as you 
 would make a plain seafaring man believe, he did 
 ; wrong not to print it." 
 
 " Print ! " echoed Francois, opening his eyes 
 | and the volume, by a common impulse. "Im- 
 prime ! ha ! here is papier of Manrselle Alide as- 
 surement." 
 
 " Take better heed of it, then," interrupted 
 the seaman of the shawl. " As for your Cid, to 
 me it is a useless volume, since it teaches neither 
 the latitude of a shoal nor the shape of a coast." 
 
 " Sair, it teach de morale ; de rock of de pas- 
 sion et les grands mouvements de Tame I Oui, 
 sair ; it teach all un monsieur vish to know. Tout 
 le monde read him in la France; en province 
 comme en ville. If sa majeste le Grand Louis be 
 not so mal avise as to chasser messieurs les 
 Huguenots from his royaume, I shall go to Paris 
 to hear le Cid, moi-meme 1 " 
 
 " A good journey to you, Monsieur Queue. We 
 may meet on the road, until which time I take 
 my departure. The day may come when we shall 
 converse with a rolling sea beneath us. Till then, 
 brave cheer ! " 
 
 "Adieu, monsieur," returned Francois, bow- 
 ing with a politeness that had become too famil- 
 iar to be forgotten. " If we do not meet but in 
 de sea, we shall not meet nevair. Ah, ha. ha ! 
 Monsieur le Marin n'aime pas a entendre parler de 
 la gloirede la France! Je voudrais bien savoir lire 
 ce f — e Shak-a-spear, pour voir combien Timmortel 
 Corneille lui est superieur. Ma foi, oui ; Monsieur 
 ! Pierre Corneille est vraiment un homme illustre ! " 
 
THE ESCAPE. 
 
 25 
 
 The faithful, self-complacent, and aged valet, 
 then pursued his way toward the large oak on 
 the bluff ; for, as he ceased speaking, the mari- 
 ner of the gay sash had turned deeper into the 
 woods, and left him alone. Proud of the manner 
 in which he had met the audacity of the stranger, 
 prouder still of the reputation of the author, 
 whose fame had been known in France long be- 
 fore his own departure from Europe, and not a 
 little consoled with the reflection that he had 
 contributed his mite to support the honor of his 
 distant and well-beloved country, the honest Fran- 
 cois pressed the volume affectionately beneath 
 his arm, and hastened on after his mistress. 
 
 Though the position of Staten Island and the 
 surrounding bays is so familiar to the Manhat- 
 tanese, an explanation of the localities may be 
 agreeable to readers who dwell at a distance from 
 the scene of the tale. 
 
 It has already been said that the principal 
 communication between the bays of Raritan and 
 York is called the Narrows. At the mouth of 
 this passage, the land on Staten Island rises in a 
 high bluff, which overhangs the water, not unlike 
 the tale-fraught cape of Misenum. From this 
 elevated point, the eye not only commands a view 
 of both estuaries and the city, but it looks far 
 beyond the point of Sandy Hook into the open 
 sea. It is here that, in our own days, ships are 
 first noted in the offing, and whence the news of 
 the approach of his vessel is communicated to 
 the expecting merchant by means of the tele- 
 graph. In the early part of the last century, ar- 
 rivals were too rare to support such an establish- 
 ment. The bluff was therefore little resorted to, 
 except by some occasional admirer of scenery, 
 or by those countrymen whom business, at long 
 intervals, drew to the spot. It had been early 
 cleared of its wood, and the oak already men- 
 tioned was the only tree standing in a space of 
 some ten or a dozen acres. 
 
 It has been seen that Alderman Yan Beverout 
 had appointed this solitary oak as the place of 
 rendezvous with Francois. Thither, then, he took 
 his way on parting from the valet, and to this 
 spot we must now transfer the scene. A rude 
 seat had been placed around the root of the tree, 
 arid here the whole party, with the exception of 
 the absent domestic, were soon seated. In a 
 minute, however, they were joined by the exult- 
 ing Francis, who immediately related the particu- 
 lars of his recent interview with the stranger. 
 
 " A clear conscience, with cordial friends, and 
 a fair balance-sheet, may keep a man warm in 
 January, even in this climate," said the alder- 
 man, willing to turn the discourse ; " but what 
 
 with rebellious blacks, hot streets, and spoiling 
 furs, it passeth mortal powers to keep cool in yon- 
 der overgrown and crowded town. Thou seest, 
 patroon, the spot of white on the opposite side of 
 the bay. — Breezes and fanning ! that is the Lust 
 in Rust, where cordial enters the mouth at every 
 breath, and where a man has room to cast up the 
 sum total of his thoughts any hour in the twenty- 
 four." 
 
 " We seem quite as effectually alone on this 
 hill, with the advantage of having a city in the 
 view," remarked Alida, with an emphasis that 
 showed she meant even more than she expressed. 
 
 " We are by ourselves, niece of mine," re- 
 turned the alderman, rubbing his hands as if he 
 secretly felicitated himself that the facts were so. 
 " That truth cannot be denied, and good company 
 we are, though the opinion comes from one who 
 is not a cipher in the party. Modesty is a poor 
 maris wealth ; but as we grow substantial in 
 the world, patroon, one can afford to begin to 
 speak truth of himself as well as of his neigh- 
 bor." 
 
 " In which case, little but good will be uttered 
 from the mouth of Alderman Van Beverout," 
 said Ludlow, appearing so suddenly from behind 
 the root of the tree, as effectually to shut the 
 mouth of the burgher. " My desire to offer the 
 services of the ship to your party has led to this 
 abrupt intrusion, and I hope will obtain its par- 
 don." 
 
 " The power to forgive is a prerogative of the 
 governor, who represents the queen," dryly re- 
 turned the alderman. " If her majesty has so 
 little employment for her cruisers, that their cap- 
 tains can dispose of them in behalf of old men 
 and young maidens — why, happy is the age, and 
 commerce should flourish ! " 
 
 " If the two duties are compatible, the greater 
 the reason why a commander should felicitate 
 himself that he may be of service to so many. 
 You are bound to the Jersey Highlands, Mr. Van 
 Beverout ? " 
 
 " I am bound to a comfortable and very pri- 
 vate abode called the Lust in Rust, Captain Cor- 
 nelius Van Cuyler Ludlow." 
 
 The young man bit his lip, and his healthful 
 but brown cheek flushed a deeper red than com- 
 mon, though he preserved his composure. 
 
 "And I am bound to sea," he soon said. 
 "The wind is getting fresh, and your boat, which 
 I see at this moment standing in for the island, 
 will find it difficult to make way against its force. 
 The Coquette's anchor will be aweigh in twenty 
 minutes, and I shall find two hours of an ebbing 
 tide, and a top-gallant breeze, but too short a 
 
20 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 time for the pleasure of entertaining such guests. 
 I am certain that the fears of la Belle will favor 
 my wishes whichsoever side of the question her 
 inclination may happen to be." 
 
 "And they are with her uncle," quickly re- 
 turned Alida. " I am so little of a sailor that 
 prudence, if not pusillanimity, teaches me to de- 
 pend on the experience of older heads." 
 
 " Older I may not pretend to be," said Lud- 
 low, coloring ; " but Mr. Van Beverout will see 
 no pretension in believing myself as good a 
 judge of wind and tide as even he himself can 
 be." 
 
 " You are said to command her majesty's 
 sloop with skill, Captain Ludlow, and it is credit- 
 able to the colony that it has produced so good 
 an officer; though I believe your grandfather 
 came into the province so lately as on the restora- 
 tion of King Charles II. ? " 
 
 " We cannot claim descent from the United 
 Provinces, Alderman Tan Beverout, on the pater- 
 nal side ; but, whatever may have been the polit- 
 ical opinions of my grandfather, those of his de- 
 scendant have never been questioned. Let me 
 entreat the fair Alida to take counsel of the ap- 
 prehension I am sure she feels, and to persuade 
 her uncle that the Coquette is safer than his peri- 
 agua." 
 
 " It is said to be easier to enter than to quit 
 your ship," returned the laughing Alida. " By 
 certain symptoms that attended our passage to 
 the island, your Coquette, like others, is fond of 
 conquests. One is not safe beneath so malign an 
 influence." 
 
 " This is a reputation given by our enemies. 
 I had hoped for a different answer from la belle 
 Barberie." 
 
 The close of the sentence was uttered with an 
 emphasis that caused the blood to quicken its 
 movement in the veins of the maiden. It was for- 
 tunate that neither of their companions was very 
 observant, or else suspicions might have been 
 excited that a better intelligence existed between 
 the young sailor and the heiress, than would 
 have comported with their wishes and inten- 
 tions. 
 
 "I had hoped for a different answer from la 
 belle Barberie," repeated Ludlow, in a lower 
 voice, but with even a still more emphatic tone 
 than before. 
 
 There was evidently a struggle in the mind of 
 Alida. She overcame it before her confusion 
 could be noted ; and turning to the valet she said, 
 with the composure and grace that became a gen- 
 tlewoman : 
 
 " Rends moi le livre, Francis." 
 
 " Le voici — ah ! ma chere mam'selle Alide, que 
 ce monsieur le marin se fachait a cause de la 
 gloire, et des beaux vers de notre illustre M. 
 Pierre Corneille ! " 
 
 " Here is an English sailor that I am sure will 
 not deny the merit of an admired writer, even 
 though he come of a nation that is commonly 
 thought hostile, Francois," returned his mis- 
 tress, smiling. — " Captain Ludlow, it is now a 
 month since I am your debtor, by promise, for a 
 volume of Corneille, and I here acquit myself of 
 the obligation. When you have perused the 
 contents of this book, with the attention they de- 
 serve, I may hope — " 
 
 " For a speedy opinion of their merits." 
 
 " I was about to say, to receive the volume 
 again, as it is a legacy from my father," steadily 
 rejoined Alida. 
 
 " Legacies and foreign tongues ! " muttered 
 the alderman. " One is well enough ; but for the 
 other, English and Dutch are all that the wisest 
 man need learn. I never could understand an 
 account of profit and loss in any other tongue, 
 patroon ; and even a favorable balance never ap- 
 pears so great as it is, unless the account be 
 rendered in one or the other of these rational dia- 
 lects. Captain Ludlow, we thank you for your 
 politeness, but here is one of my fellows to tell us 
 that my own periagua is arrived ; and, wishing 
 you a happy and a long cruise, as we say of lives, 
 I bid you adieu." 
 
 The young seaman returned the salutations of 
 the party, with a better grace than his previous so- 
 licitude to persuade them to enter his ship might 
 have given reason to expect. He even saw them 
 descend the hill, toward the water of the outer 
 bay, with entire composure ; and it was only after 
 they had entered a thicket which hid them from 
 view, that he permitted his feelings to have 
 sway. 
 
 Then, indeed, he drew the volume from his 
 pocket and opened its leaves with an eagerness 
 he could no longer control. It seemed as if he 
 expected to read more, in the pages, than the au- 
 thor had caused to be placed there ; but when 
 his eye caught sight of a sealed billet, the legacy 
 of M. de Barberie fell at his feet : and the paper 
 was torn asunder, with all the anxiety of one who 
 expected to find in its contents a decree of life or 
 death. 
 
 Amazement was clearly the first emotion of 
 the young seaman. He read and reread ; struck 
 his brow with his hand ; gazed about him at the 
 land and at the water ; reperused the note ; ex- 
 amined the superscription, which was simply to 
 "Captain Ludlow, of her majesty's ship Co- 
 
AN INTERRUPTION. 
 
 2; 
 
 quette ; " smiled ; muttered between his teeth ; 
 seemed vexed, yet delighted ; read the note again 
 word by word, and finally thrust it into his pocket, 
 with the air of a man who had found reason for 
 both regret and satisfaction in its contents. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " What, has this thing appeared again, to-night ? " 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 " The face of man is the log-book of his 
 thoughts, and Captain Ludlow's seem agreeable," 
 observed a voice, that came from one who was 
 not far from the commander of the Coquette, 
 while the latter was still enacting the pantomime 
 described in the close of the preceding chapter. 
 
 " Who speaks of thoughts and log-books, or 
 who dares to pry into my movements ? " de- 
 manded the young sailor, fiercely. 
 
 " One who has trifled with the first and scrib- 
 led in the last too often, not to know how to meet 
 a squall, whether it be seen in the clouds or only 
 on the face of man. As for looking into your 
 movements, Captain Ludlow, I have watched too 
 many big ships in my time, to turn aside at each 
 light cruiser that happens to cross my course. I 
 hope, sir, you have an answer ; every hail has its 
 right to a civil reply." 
 
 Ludlow could scarce believe his senses, when, 
 on turning to face the intruder, he saw himself 
 confronted by the audacious eye and calm mien 
 of the mariner who had, once before that morn- 
 ing, braved his resentment. Curbing his indig- 
 nation, however, the young man endeavored to 
 enmlate the coolness which, notwithstanding his 
 inifrior condition, imparted to the air of the other 
 something that was imposing, if it were not ab- 
 solutely authoritative. Perhaps the singularity 
 of the adventure aided in effecting an object, that 
 was a little difficult of attainment in one accus- 
 tomed to receive so much habitual deference from 
 most of those who made the sea their home. 
 Swallowing his resentment, the young commander 
 answered : 
 
 " He that knows how to face his enemies with 
 spirit, may be accounted sufficiently bold; but 
 he who braves the anger of his friend is fool- 
 hardy." % 
 
 "And he who does neither is wiser than 
 both," rejoined the reckless hero of the sash. 
 " Captain Ludlow, we meet on equal terms, at 
 present, and the parley may be managed with 
 some freedom." 
 
 "Equality is a word that ill applies to men 
 of stations so different." 
 
 " Of our stations and duties it is noTneifessa- 
 ry to speak. I hope that, when the proper time 
 shall come, both may be found ready to be at the 
 first, and equal to discharge the last. But Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, backed by the broadside of the 
 Coquette and the cross-fire of his marines, is not 
 Captain Ludlow alone, on a sea-bluff, with a crutch 
 no better than his own arm, and a stout heart. 
 As the first, he is like a spar supported by back- 
 stays and forestays, braces and standing rigging ; 
 while as the latter, he is the stick, which keeps 
 its head aloft by the soundness and quality of its 
 timber. You have the appearance of one who 
 can go alone, even though it blew heavier than 
 at present, if one may judge of the force of the 
 breeze, by the manner it presses on the sails of 
 yonder boat in the bay." 
 
 "Yonder boat begins to feel the wind, tru- 
 ly ! " said Ludlow, suddenly losing all other inter- 
 est in the appearance of the periagua which held 
 Alida and her friends, and which, at that instant, 
 shot out from beneath the cover of the hill into 
 the broad opening of Raritan Bay. " What think 
 you of the time, my friend ? a man of your years 
 should speak with knowledge of the weather." 
 
 "Women and winds are only understood, 
 when fairly in motion," returned he.of the sash ; 
 " now, any mortal who consulted comfort and the 
 skies, would have preferred a passage in her 
 majesty's ship Coquette, to one in yonder dancing 
 periagua; yet the fluttering silk we see in the 
 boat, tells us there is one who has thought other- 
 wise." 
 
 " You are a man of singular intelligence," 
 cried Ludlow, again facing the intruder ; " as well 
 as one of singular — " 
 
 " Effrontery," rejoined the other, observing 
 that the commander hesitated. "Let the com- 
 missioned officer of the queen speak boldly ; I am 
 no better than a top-man, or at most a quarter- 
 master." 
 
 " I wish to say nothing disagreeable, but I 
 find your knowledge of my offer to convey the 
 lady and her friends to the residence of Alderman 
 Van Beverout a little surprising." 
 
 "And I see nothing to wonder at, in your 
 offer to convey the lady anywhere, though the 
 liberality to her friends is not an act of so clear 
 explanation. When young men speak from the 
 heart, their words are not uttered in whispers." 
 
 " Which would imply that you overheard our 
 conversation. I believe it, for here is cover at 
 hand to conceal you. It may be, sir, that you 
 have eyes as well as ears." 
 
 " I confess to have seen your countenance 
 changing sides, like a member of Parliament 
 
28 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 turning to a new leaf in his conscience at the 
 minister's signal, while you overhauled a bit of 
 paper — " 
 
 " Whose contents you could not know ! " 
 
 " Whose contents I took to be some private 
 orders, given by a lady who is too much of a 
 coquette herself, to accept your offer to sail in a 
 vessel of the same name." 
 
 " By Heavens, the fellow has reason in his in- 
 explicable impudence ! " muttered Ludlow, pacing 
 backward and forward beneath the shadow of the 
 tree. " The language and the acts of the girl are 
 in contradiction ; and I am a fool to be trifled with, 
 like a midshipman fresh broken loose from his 
 mother's apron-string. Harkee, Master-a-a — 
 You've a name, I suppose, like any other strag- 
 gler on the ocean." 
 
 " Yes. When the hail is loud enough to be 
 heard, I answer to the call of Thomas Tiller." 
 
 " Well, then, Master Tiller, so clever a seaman 
 should be glad to serve the queen." 
 
 " Were it not for duty to another, whose claim 
 comes first, nothing could be more agreeable 
 to me than to lend a lady in distress a helping 
 hand." 
 
 " And who is he, who may prefer a claim to 
 your services, in competition with the majesty 
 of these realms ? " demanded Ludlow, with a lit- 
 tle of the pretension that, when speaking of its 
 privileges, is apt to distinguish the manner of 
 one who has been accustomed to regard royalty 
 with reverence. 
 
 " Myself. When our affairs call us the same 
 way, no one can be readier than I, to keep her 
 majesty's company; but — " 
 
 " This is presuming too far, on the trifling 
 of a moment," interrupted Ludlow ; " you know, 
 sirrah, that I have the right to command your ser- 
 vices, without entering into a parley for them ; and 
 which, notwithstanding your gay appearance, 
 may after all be little worth the trouble." 
 
 " There is no need to push matters to extrem- 
 ity between us, Captain Ludlow," resumed the 
 stranger, who had appeared to muse for a mo- 
 ment. " If I have baffled your pursuit once to- 
 day, it was perhaps to make my merit in entering 
 the ship freely, less undeniable. We are here 
 alone, and your honor will account it no boasting 
 if I say that a man, well-limbed and active, who 
 stands six feet between plank and carline, is not 
 likely to be led against his will, like a yawl tow- 
 ing at the stern of a four-and-forty. I am a sea- 
 man, sir; and, though the ocean is my home, I 
 never venture on it without sufficient footing. 
 Look abroad from this hill, and say whether there 
 is any craft in view, except the cruiser of the 
 
 i queen, which would be likely to suit the taste of 
 
 j a mariner of the long vovage ? " 
 
 " By which you would have me understand, 
 
 j you are here in quest of service ? " 
 
 " Nothing less ; and, though the opinion of a 
 
 ! foremast Jack may be of little value, you will not 
 be displeased to hear that I might look farther 
 without finding a prettier sea-boat, or a swifter, 
 than the one which sails under your own orders. 
 A seaman of your station, Captain Ludlow, is not 
 
 j now to learn that a man speaks differently, 
 while his name is his own, and after he has given 
 it away to the crown : and therefore I hope my 
 present freedom will not be long remembered." 
 
 " I have met men of your humor before, my 
 friend, and I have not now to learn that a 
 thorough man-of-war's man is as impudent on 
 shore as he is obedient afloat. Is that a sail, in 
 the offing, or is it the wing of a sea-fowl, glitter- 
 ing in the sun ? " 
 
 " It may be either," observed the audacious 
 mariner, turning his eyes leisurely toward the 
 open ocean, "for we have a wide lookout from 
 this windy bluff. Here are gulls sporting above 
 the waves, that turn their feathers toward the 
 light." 
 
 " Look more seaward. That spot of shining 
 white should be the canvas of some craft, hover- 
 ing in the offing ! " 
 
 " Nothing more probable, in so light a breeze. 
 Your coasters are in and out, like water-rats on 
 a wharf, at any hour of the twenty-four — and yet 
 to me it seems the comb of a breaking sea." 
 
 "'Tis snow-white duck; such as your swift 
 rover wears on his loftier spars ! " 
 
 " A duck that is flown," returned the strarkier, 
 dryly, " for it is no longer to be seen. These^y- 
 aways, Captain Ludlow, give us seamen many 
 sleepless nights and idle chases. I was once 
 running down the coast of Italy, between the isl- 
 and of Corsica and the main, when one of these 
 delusions beset the crew, in a manner that hath 
 taught me to put little faith in eyes, unless backed 
 by a clear horizon and a cool head." 
 
 " I'll hear the circumstance," said Ludlow, 
 withdrawing his gaze from the distant ocean, 
 like one who was satisfied his senses had been 
 deceived. " What of this marvel of the Italian 
 seas ? " # 
 
 " A marvel truly, as your honor will confess, 
 when I read you the affair, much in the words I 
 had it logged, for the knowledge of all concerned. 
 It was the last hour of the second dog-watch, on 
 Easter Sunday, with the wind here at southeast- 
 easterly. A light air filled the upper canvas, and 
 just gave us command of the ship. The moun- 
 
MASTER TILLER AND CAPTAIN LUDLOW. 
 
 20 
 
 tains of Corsica, with Monte Christo and Elba, 
 had all been sunk some hours, and we were on 
 the yards, keeping a lookout for a landfall on the 
 Roman coast. A low, thick bank of drifting fog 
 lay along the sea, inshore of us, which all believed 
 to be the sweat of the land, and thought no more 
 of; though none wished to enter it, for that is a 
 coast where foul airs rise, and through which the 
 gulls and land-birds refuse to fly. Well, here we 
 lay, the mainsail in the brails, the topsails beating 
 the mast-heads, like a maiden fanning herself 
 when she sees her lover, and nothing full but the 
 upper duck, with the sun fairly below the water 
 in the western board. I was then young, and 
 quick of eye, as of foot, and therefore among the 
 first to see the sight ! " 
 
 " Which was — ?" said Ludlow, interested in 
 spite of his assumed air of indifference. 
 
 " Why, here just above the bank of foul air, 
 that ever rests on that coast, there was seen an 
 object, that looked like ribs of bright light, as if 
 a thousand stars had quitted their usual berths 
 in the heaven, to warn us off the land by a super- 
 natural beacon. The sight was in itself altogether 
 out of nature and surprising. As the night 
 thickened, it grew brighter and more glowing, as 
 if 'twere meant in earnest to warn us from the 
 coast. But when the word was passed to send 
 the glasses aloft, there was seen a glittering cross 
 on high, and far above the spars on which earthly 
 ships carry their private signals." 
 
 " This was indeed extraordinary ! and what 
 did you, to come at the character of the heavenly 
 symbol ! " 
 
 '1 We wore off-shore, and left it a clear berth 
 for folder mariners. Glad enough was I to see, 
 witji the morning sun, the snowy hills of Corsica 
 again ! " 
 
 " And the appearance of that object was never 
 explained ? " 
 
 " Nor ever will be. I have since spoke with 
 the mariners of that sea concerning the sight, but 
 never found any who could pretend to have seen 
 it. There was indeed one bold enough to say, 
 there is a church, far inland, of height and magni- 
 tude sufficient to be seen some leagues at sea, 
 and that, favored by our position and the mists 
 that hung above the low grounds, we had seen its 
 upper works, looming above the fogs, and lighted 
 for some brilliant ceremony ; but we were all too 
 old in seaman's experience to credit so wild a tale. 
 I know not but a church may loom, as well as a 
 hill or a ship ; but he who pretends to say that 
 the hands of man can thus pile stones among the 
 clouds, should be certain of believers, ere he 
 pushes the tale too far." 
 
 "Your narrative is extraordinary^ and the 
 marvel should have been looked into closer. It 
 may truly have been a church, for there stands 
 an edifice at Rome, which towers to treble the 
 height of a cruiser's masts." 
 
 " Having rarely troubled churches, I know not 
 why a church should trouble me," said the mari- 
 ner of the sash, while he turned his back on the 
 ocean, as if indisposed to regard the waste of water 
 longer. " It is now twelve years since that sight 
 was seen, and, though a seaman of many voyages, 
 my eyes have not looked upon the Roman coast 
 from that hour to this. Will your honor lead the 
 way from the bluff, as becomes your rank ? " 
 
 " Your tale of the burning cross and looming 
 church, Master Tiller, had almost caused me to 
 forget to watch the movements of yon peria- 
 gua," returned Ludlow, who still continued to 
 face the bay. "That obstinate old Dutchman — 
 I say, sir, that Mr. Alderman Van Beverout has 
 greater confidence in this description of craft 
 than I feel myself. I like not the looks of yon- 
 der cloud, which is rising from out the mouth of 
 Raritan ; and here, seaward, we have a gloomy 
 horizon. By Heaven ! there is a sail playing in 
 the offing, or my eye hath lost its use and judg- 
 ment." 
 
 " Your honor sees the wing of the sporting 
 gull again ; it had been nigh to deceive my sight, 
 which would be to cheat the lookout of a man 
 that has the advantage of some ten or fifteen 
 years' more practice in marine appearances. I 
 remember once, when beating in among the 
 islands of the China seas, with the trades here at 
 southeast — " 
 
 " Enough of your marvels, friend ; the church 
 is as much as I can swallow, in one morning. — It 
 may have been a gull ! for I confess the object 
 small : yet it had the steadiness and size of a 
 distant sail ! There is some reason to expect one 
 on our coast, for whom a bright and seaman's 
 watch must be had." 
 
 " This may then leave me a choice of ships," 
 rejoined Tiller. "I thank your honor for having 
 spoken, before I had given myself away to the 
 queen ; who is a lady that is much more apt to 
 receive gift3 of this nature than to return them." 
 
 " If your respect aboard shall bear any pro- 
 portion to your hardihood on shore, you may be 
 accounted a model of civility ! But a mariner 
 of your pretension should have some regard to 
 the character of the vessel in which he takes 
 service." 
 
 " That of which your honor spoke is, then, a 
 buccaneer ? " 
 
 " If not a buccaneer, one but little better. A 
 
30 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 lawless trader, under the most favorable view ; and 
 there are those who think that he, who has gone 
 so far, has not stopped short of the end. But 
 the reputation of the Skimmer of the Seas' must 
 be known to one who has navigated the ocean, 
 long as you." 
 
 " You will overlook the curiosity of a seafar- 
 ing man, in a matter of his profession," returned 
 the mariner of the sash, with strong and evident 
 interest in his manner. " I am lately from a dis- 
 tant ocean, and, though many tales of the buc- 
 caneers of the islands have been narrated, I do 
 not remember to have heard of that rover, before 
 bis name came into the discourse between me and 
 the schipper of the boat that plies between this 
 landing and the city. I am not altogether what 
 I seem, Captain Ludlow ; and, when further ac- 
 quaintance and hard service shall have brought 
 me more before the eyes of my commander, he 
 may not repent having induced a thorough sea- 
 man to enter his ship, by a little condescension 
 and good-nature shown while the man was still 
 his own master. Your honor will take no offence 
 at my boldness, when I tell you I should be glad 
 to know more of this unlawful trader." 
 
 Ludlow riveted his eyes on the unmoved and 
 manly countenance of his companion. There 
 was a vague and undefined suspicion in the 
 look ; but it vanished, as the practised organs 
 drank in the assurance, which so much physical 
 promise afforded, of the aid of a bold and active 
 mariner. Rather amused than offended by the 
 freedom of the request, he turned upon his heel, 
 and as they descended the bluff, on their way 
 toward the place of landing, he contin%ed the 
 dialogue. 
 
 " You are truly from a distant ocean," said 
 the young captain of the Coquette, smiling like 
 a man who apologizes to himself for an act of 
 what he thought undue condescension, " if the 
 exploits of a brigantine known by the name of 
 the Water- Witch, and of him who commands 
 her, under the fit appellation of the Skimmer 
 of the Seas, have not yet reached your ears. 
 It is now five summers since orders have been 
 in the colonies for the cruisers to be on the alert 
 to hunt the picaroon ; and it is even said the 
 daring smuggler has often braved the pennants 
 of the narrow seas. 'Twould be a bigger ship, 
 if not knighthood, to the lucky officer who should 
 catch the knave !" 
 
 " He must drive a money-gaining trade to run 
 these risks, and to brave the efforts of so many 
 skilful gentlemen ! May I add to a presumption 
 that your honor already finds too bold, if one may 
 judge by a displeased eye, by asking if report 
 
 speaks to the face and other particulars of the 
 person of this — free-trader, one must call him, 
 though freebooter should be a better word." 
 
 " What matters the personal condition of a 
 rogue ! " said Captain Ludlow, who perhaps re- 
 membered that the freedom of their intercourse 
 had been carried as far as comported with pru- 
 dence. 
 
 " What matter, truly ! I asked because the de- 
 scription answers a little to that of a man I once 
 knew, in the seas of farther India, and who has 
 long since disappeared, though no one can say 
 whither he has gone. But this Skimmer of the 
 Seas is some Spaniard of the Main, or perhaps a 
 Dutchman come from the country that is awash, 
 in order to taste of terra jmria." 
 
 " Spaniard of the southern coast never carried 
 so bold a sail in these seas, nor was there ever 
 known a Dutchman with so light a heel. The 
 fellow is said to laugh at the swiftest cruiser out 
 of England ! As to his figure, I have heard little 
 good of it. 'Tis said he is some soured officer 
 of better days, who has quitted the intercourse 
 qf honest men, because roguery is so plainly writ- 
 ten on his face that he vainly tries to hide it." 
 
 " Mine was a proper man, and one that need 
 not have been ashamed to show his countenance 
 among his fellows," said he of the sash. " This 
 cannnot be the same, if indeed there be any on 
 the coast. Is't known, your honor, that the man 
 is truly here ? " 
 
 " So goes a rumor ; though so many idle tales 
 have led me before to seek the smuggler where 
 he was not, that I give but little faith to the re- 
 port. — The periagua has the wind more at ^est, 
 and the cloud in the mouth of the Rarita^ is 
 breaking into scud. The alderman will hate a 
 lucky run of it ! " 
 
 " And the gulls have gone more seaward — a 
 certain sign of pleasant weather," returned the 
 other, glancing a quick but keen look over the 
 horizon, in the offing. " I believe our rover, with 
 his light duck, has taken flight among them ! " 
 
 " We will then go in pursuit. My ship is bound 
 to sea ; and it is time, Master Tiller, that I know in 
 what berth you are willing to serve the queen." 
 
 " God bless her majesty ! Anne is a royal 
 lady, and she had a lord high-admiral for her 
 husband. As for a berth, sir, one always ^wishes 
 to be captain, even though he maybe compelled to 
 eat his rations in the lee-scuppers. 1 suppose the 
 first-lieutenancy is filled to your honor's liking? " 
 
 " Sirrah, this is trifling ; one of your years 
 and experience need not be told that commissions 
 are obtained by service." 
 
 " Under favor ; I confess the error. Captain 
 
MASTER TILLER'S CONDITIONS. 
 
 31 
 
 Ludlow, you are a man of honor, and will not de- 
 ceive a sailor who puts trust in your word." 
 
 "Sailor or landsman, he is safe who has the 
 gage." 
 
 u Then, sir, I ask it. Suffer me to enter your 
 ship ; to look into my future messmates, and to 
 judge of their characters ; to see if the vessel 
 suits my humor ; and then to quit her, if I find it 
 convenient." 
 
 " Fellow," said Ludlow, " this impudence al- 
 most surpasseth patience ! " 
 
 " The request is reasonable, as can be shown," 
 gravely returned the unknown mariner. " Now, 
 Captain Ludlow of the Coquette would gladly tie 
 himself, for better for worse, to a fair lady who 
 has lately gone on the water, and yet there are 
 thousands who might be had with less difficulty." 
 
 " Still deeper and deeper in thy effrontery ! 
 And what if this be true ? " 
 
 "Sir, a ship is a seaman's mistress — nay, 
 when fairly under a pennant, with a war declared, 
 he may be said to be wedded to her, lawfully or 
 not. He becomes ' bone of her bone, and flesh of 
 her flesh, until death doth them part.' To such a 
 long compact there should be liberty of choice. 
 Has not your mariner a taste as well as your lov- 
 er ? The harpings and counter of his ship are 
 the waist and shoulders ; the rigging, the ringlets ; 
 the cut and fit of the sails, the fashion of the mil- 
 linery ; the guns are always called the teeth, and 
 her paint is the blush and bloom ! Here is a 
 matter of choice, sk ; and, without leave to make 
 it, I must wish your honor a happy cruise, and 
 the queen a better servitor." 
 
 " Why, Master Tiller," cried Ludlow, laugh- 
 ing, " you trust too much to these stunted oaks, 
 if you believe it exceeds my power to hunt you 
 out of their cover at pleasure. But I take you at 
 your word. The Coquette shall receive you on 
 these conditions, and with the confidence that a 
 first-rate city belle would enter a country ball- 
 room." 
 
 " I follow in your honor's wake without more 
 words," returned he of the sash, for the first time 
 respectfully raising his canvas cap to the young 
 commander. " Though not actually married, con- 
 sider me a man betrothed." 
 
 It is not necessary to pursue the discourse 
 between the two seamen any further. It was 
 maintained, and with sufficient freedom on the 
 part of the inferior, until they reached the shore 
 and came in full view of the pennant of the 
 queen, when, with the tact of an old man-of-war's 
 man, he threw into his manner all the respect 
 that was usually required by the difference of 
 rank. 
 
 Half an hour later, the Coquette was rolling at 
 a single anchor, as the puffs of wind came off the 
 hills on her three topsails ; and shortly after she 
 was seen standing through the Narrows, with a 
 fresh southwesterly breeze. In all these move- 
 ments there was nothing to attract attention. 
 Notwithstanding the sarcastic allusions of Alder- 
 man Yan Beverout, the cruiser was far from be- 
 ing idle ; and her passage outward was a circum- 
 stance of so common occurrence, that it excited 
 no comment among the boatmen of the bay and 
 the coasters, who alone witnessed her departure. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far 
 As that vast shore washed with the furthest sea, 
 I would adventure for such merchandise. 1 ' 
 
 Eomeo and Juliet. 
 
 A happy mixture of land and water, seen by 
 a bright moon, and beneath the sky of the fortieth 
 degree of latitude, cannot fail to make a pleasing 
 picture. Such was the landscape which the read- 
 er must now endeavor to present to his mind. 
 
 The wide estuary of Raritan is shut in from 
 the winds and billows of the open sea by a long, 
 low, and narrow cape, or point, which by a med- 
 ley of the Dutch and English languages, that is 
 by no means rare in the names of places that lie 
 within the former territories of the United Prov- 
 inces of Holland, is known by the name of Sandy 
 Hook. This tongue of land appears to have been 
 made by the unremitting and opposing actions of 
 the waves on one side, and of the currents of the 
 different rivers, that empty their waters into the 
 bay, on the other. It is commonly connected 
 with the low coast of New Jersey, to the south ; 
 but there are periods of many years in succes- 
 sion, during which there exists an inlet from the 
 sea, between what may be termed the inner end of 
 the cape and the main-land. During these periods, 
 Sandy Hook of course becomes an island. Such 
 was the fact at the time of which it is our busi- 
 ness to write. 
 
 The outer or ocean side of this low and nar- 
 row bank of sand, is a smooth and regular beach, 
 like that seen on most of the Jersey coast, while 
 the inner is indented, in a manner to form sever- 
 al convenient anchoring-grounds, for ships that 
 seek a shelter from easterly gales. One of the 
 latter is a circular and pretty cove, in which ves- 
 sels of a light draught are completely embayed, 
 and where they may in safety ride secure from 
 any winds that blow. The harbor — or, as it is 
 
32 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 always called, the cove — lies at the point where 
 the cape joins the main, and the inlet just named 
 communicates directly with its waters whenever 
 the passage is open. The Shrewsbury, a river of 
 the fourth or fifth class, or, in other words, a 
 stream of a few hundred feet in width, and of no 
 great length, comes from the south, running near- 
 ly parallel with the coast, and becomes a tributa- 
 ry of the bay, also, at a point near the cove. 
 Between the Shrewsbury and the sea, the land re- 
 sembles that on the cape, being low and sandy, 
 though not entirely without fertility. It is cov- 
 ered with a modest growth of pines and oaks, 
 where it is not either subject to the labors of the 
 husbandman, or in natural meadow. But the 
 western bank of the river is an abrupt and high 
 acclivity, which rises to the elevation of a moun- 
 tain. It was near the base of the latter that 
 Alderman Van Beverout, for reasons that may be 
 more fully developed as we proceed in our tale, 
 had seen fit to erect his villa, which, agreeably to 
 a usage of Holland, he had called the Lust in Rust ; 
 an appellation that the merchant, who had read a 
 few of the classics in his boyhood, was want to 
 say meant nothing more nor less than "Otium 
 cum dignitate." 
 
 If a love of retirement and a pure air had its 
 influence in determining the selection of the 
 burgher of Manhattan, be could not have made a 
 better choice. The adjoining lands had been oc- 
 cupied, early in the previous century, by a respect- 
 able family of the name of Hartshorne, which con- 
 tinues seated at the place to the present hour. 
 The extent of their possessions served, at that 
 day, to keep others at a distance. If to this fact 
 be added the formation and quality of the ground, 
 which was, at so early a period, of trifling value 
 for agricultural purposes, it will be seen there 
 was as little motive as there was opportunity for 
 strangers to intrude. As to the air, it was re- 
 freshed by the breezes of the ocean, which was 
 scarcely a mile distant ; while it had nothing to 
 render it unhealthy or impure. With this sketch 
 of the general features of the scene where so 
 many of our incidents occurred, we shall proceed 
 to describe the habitation of the alderman a little 
 more in detail. 
 
 The villa of the Lust in Rust was a low, irreg- 
 ular edifice, in bricks, whitewashed to the color 
 of the driven snow, and in a taste that was alto- 
 gether Dutch. There were many gables and 
 weathercocks, a dozen small and twisted chim- 
 neys, with numberless facilities that were intended 
 for the nests of the storks. These airy sites 
 were, however, untenanted, to the great admi- 
 ration of the honest architect, who, like many 
 
 others that bring with them into this hemisphere 
 habits and opinions that are better suited to the 
 other, never ceased expressing his surprise on the 
 subject, though all the negroes of the neighbor- 
 hood united in affirming there was no such bird in 
 America. In front of the house there was a nar- 
 row but an exceedingly neat lawn, encircled by 
 shrubbery ; while two old elms that seemed coe- 
 val with the mountain, grew in the rich soil of 
 which the base of the latter was composed. Nor 
 was there a want of shade on any part of the na- 
 tural terrace that was occupied by the buildings. 
 It was thickly sprinkled with fruit-trees, and 
 here and there was a pine or an oak of the native 
 growth. A declivity that was rather rapid, fell away 
 in front to the level of the mouth of the river. In 
 short, it was an ample but an unpretending coun- 
 try-house, in which no domestic convenience had 
 been forgotten ; while it had little to boast of in 
 the way of architecture, except its rusty vanes 
 and twisted chimneys. A few out-houses for the 
 accommodation of the negroes, were nigh and 
 nearer to the river ; there were barns and stables 
 of dimensions and materials altogether superior 
 to those that the appearance of arable land or the - 
 condition of the small farm would seem to render 
 necessary. The periagua in which the proprietor 
 had made his passage across the outer bay, lay 
 at a small wooden wharf immediately below. 
 
 For the earlier hours of the evening, the flash- 
 ing of candles, and a general and noisy movement 
 among the blacks, had denoted the presence of 
 the master of the villa. But the activity had grad- 
 ually subsided ; and, before the clock struck nine, 
 the manner in which the lights were distributed, 
 and the general silence, showed that the party, 
 most probably fatigued with their journey, had 
 already separated for the night. The clamor of 
 the negroes had ceased, and the quiet of deep 
 sleep was already prevailing among their humble 
 dwellings. 
 
 At the northern extremity of the villa, which, 
 it will be remembered, leaned against the moun- 
 tain, and facing the east, or fronting the river 
 and the sea, there stood a little wing, even more 
 deeply embowered in shrubbery and low trees, 
 than the other parts of the edifice, and which 
 was constructed altogether in a different style. 
 This was a pavilion erected for the particular ac- 
 commodation and at the cost of la belle Barberie. 
 Here the heiress of the two fortunes was accus- 
 tomed to keep her own little menage during the 
 weeks- passed in the country; and here she 
 amused herself in those pretty and feminine em- 
 ployments that suited her years and tastes. In 
 compliment to the beauty and origin of its inhab- 
 
/ 
 
 A BOLD INTRUSION. 
 
 itant, the gallant Francois had christened this par- 
 ticular portion of the villa la Cour des Fees, a name 
 that had got into general use, though somewhat 
 corrupted in sound. 
 
 On the present occasion the blinds of the 
 principal apartment of the pavilion were open, 
 and its mistress was still to be seen at one of the 
 windows. Alida was at an age when the sex is 
 most sensible of lively impressions, and she looked 
 abroad on the loveliness of the landscape, and on 
 the soft stillness of the night, with the pleasure 
 that such a mine was wont to receive from ob- 
 jects of natural beauty. 
 
 There wa3 a young moon, and a firmament 
 glowing with a myriad of stars. The light was 
 shed softly on the water, though here and there 
 the ocean glittered with its rays. A nearly imper- 
 ceptible, but what seamen call a heavy air, came 
 oif the sea, bringing with it the refreshing cool- 
 ness of the hour. The surface of the immense 
 waste was perfectly unruffled, both within and 
 without the barrier of sand that forms the cape ; 
 but the body of the element was heaving and 
 settling heavily, in a manner to resemble the sleep- 
 ing respiration of some being of huge physical 
 frame. The roar of the surf, which rolled up in 
 long and white curls upon the sands, was the only 
 audible sound ; but that was heavy and incessant, 
 sometimes swelling on the air hollow and threat- 
 ening, and at others dying in dull and distant 
 murmurs on the ear. There was a charm in these 
 varieties of sound, |ind in the solemn stillness of 
 such a night, that drew Alida into her little bal- 
 cony ; and she leaned forward beyond its shadow 
 of sweet-brier, to gaze at a part of the bay that 
 was not visible in the front view, from her win- 
 dows. 
 
 La belle Barberie smiled when she saw the 
 dim masts and dark hull of a ship which was an- 
 chored near the end of the -cape, and within its 
 protection. There was the look of womanly pride 
 in her dark eye, and haply some consciousness of 
 womanly power in the swell of her rich lip, while 
 a taper finger beat the bar of the balcony rapidly, 
 and without consciousness of its employment. 
 
 "The loyal Captain Ludlow has quickly ended 
 his cruise ! " said the maiden aloud, for she spoke 
 under the influence of a triumph that was too 
 natural to be suppressed. "I shall become a 
 convert to my uncle's opinions, and think the 
 queen badly served." 
 
 " He who serves one mistress faithfully has no 
 light task," returned a voice from among the 
 shrubbery that grew beneath, and nearly veiled 
 the window; "but he who is devoted to two, 
 may well despair of success with both ! " 
 3 
 
 33 
 
 Alida recoiled, and at the next instant she 
 saw her place occupied by the commander of the 
 Coquette. Before venturing to cross the low bar- 
 rier that still separated him from the little parlor, 
 the young man endeavored to read the eye of its 
 occupant ; and then, either mistaking its expres- 
 sion, or bold in his years or hopes, he entered the 
 room. 
 
 Though certainly unused to have her apart- 
 ment scaled with so little ceremony, there was 
 neither apprehension nor wonder in the counte- 
 nance of the fair descendant of the Huguenot. 
 The blood mantled more richly on her cheek, and 
 the brightness of an eye that was never dull, in- 
 creased, while her fine form became firm and 
 commanding. 
 
 "I have heard that Captain Ludlow gained 
 much of his renown by gallantry in boarding," 
 she said, in a voice whose meaning admitted of 
 no misconception ; " but I had hoped his ambi- 
 tion was satisfied with laurels so fairly won from 
 the enemies of his country ! " 
 
 "A thousand pardons, fairest Alida," inter- 
 rupted the youth ; " you know the obstacles that 
 the jealous watchfulness of your uncle opposes 
 to my desire to speak with you." 
 
 " They are then opposed in vain, for Alder- 
 man Yan Beverout has weakly believed the sex 
 and condition of his ward would protect her from 
 these coups-de-main." 
 
 " Nay, Alida ; this is being more capricious 
 than the winds ! You know too well how far 
 my suit is unpleasant to your guardian, to torture 
 a slight departure from cold observances into 
 cause of serious complaint. I had hoped — per- 
 haps, I should say, I have presumed on the con- 
 tents of your letter, for which I return a thousand 
 thanks ; but do not thus cruelly destroy expecta- 
 tions that have so lately been raised beyond the 
 point, perhaps, which reason may justify." 
 
 The glow, which had begun to subside on the 
 face of la belle Barberie, again deepened, and for 
 a moment it appeared as if her high self-depend- 
 ence was a little weakened. After an instant of 
 reflection, however, she answered steadily, though 
 not entirely without emotion : 
 
 " Reason, Captain Ludlow, has limited female 
 propriety within narrow limits," she said. " In 
 answering your letter, I have consulted good- 
 nature more than prudence; and I find that you 
 are not slow in causing me to repent the error." 
 
 " If I ever cause you to repent confidence in 
 me, sweet Alida, may disgrace in my profession^ 
 and the distrust of the whole sex, be my punish- 
 ment ! But, have I not reason to complain of 
 this inconstancy on your part ? Ought I to ex- 
 
THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 pect so severe a reprimand — severe, because cold 
 and ironical — for an offence, venial as the wish 
 to proclaim my gratitude ? " 
 
 " Gratitude ! " repeated Alida, and this time 
 her wonder was not feigned. " The word is 
 strong, sir ; and it expresses more than an act of 
 courtesy, so simple as that which may attend the 
 lending a volume of popular poetry can have any 
 right to claim." 
 
 " I have strangely misconceived the meaning 
 of the letter, or this has been a day of folly ! " 
 said Ludlow, endeavoring to swallow his discon- 
 tent. " But, no ; I have your own words to re- 
 fute that averted eye and cold look ; and, by the 
 faith of a sailor, Alida, I will believe your delib- 
 erate and well-reflected thoughts, before these 
 capricious fancies, which are unworthy of your 
 nature. Here are the very words ; I shall not 
 easily part with the flattering hopes they con- 
 vey ! " 
 
 La belle Barberie now regarded the young 
 man in open amazement. Her color changed; 
 for of the indiscretion of writing she knew she 
 was not guiltless — but of having written in terms 
 to justify the confidence of the other, she felt no 
 consciousness. The customs of the age, the pro- 
 fession of her suitor, and the hour, induced her 
 to look steadily into his face, to see whether, the 
 man stood before her in all the decency of his 
 reason. But Ludlow had the reputation of being 
 exempt from a vice that was then but too com- 
 mon among seamen, and there was nothing in his 
 ingenuous and really handsome features to cause 
 her to distrust his present discretion. She touched 
 a bell, and signed to her companion to be 
 seated. 
 
 "Francis," said his mistress when the old 
 valet, but half awake, entered the apartment, 
 " fais moi le plaisir de m'apporter de cette eau 
 de la fontaine du bosquet, et du vin — le Capitaine 
 Ludlow a soif; et rappelle-toi, bon Francis, il 
 ne faut pas deranger mon oncle a cette heure; il 
 doit etre bien fatigue de son voyage." 
 
 When her respectful and respectable servitor 
 had received his commission and departed, Alida 
 took a seat herself, in the confidence of having de- 
 prived the visit of Ludlow of its clandestine char- 
 acter, and at the same time having employed the 
 valet on an errand that would leave her sufficient 
 leisure to investigate the inexplicable meaning of 
 her companion. 
 
 " You have my word, Captain Ludlow, that 
 this unseasonable appearance in the pavilion is 
 indiscreet, not to call it cruel," she said, so soon 
 as they were again alone; "but that you have 
 it, in any manner to justify your imprudence, 
 
 I must continue to doubt until confronted by 
 proof." 
 
 " I had thought to have made a very different 
 use of this," returned Ludlow, drawing a letter — 
 we admit it, with some reluctance in one so simple 
 and so manly — from his bosom ; " and even now 
 I take shame in producing it, though at your own 
 orders." 
 
 " Some magic has wrought a marvel, or the 
 scrawl has no such importance," observed Alida, 
 taking a billet that she now began to repent hav- 
 ing ever written. " The language of politeness 
 and female reserve must admit of strange perver- 
 sions, or all who read are not the best interpret- 
 ers." 
 
 La belle Barberie ceased speaking, for, the in- 
 stant her eye fell on the paper, an absorbing and 
 intense curiosity got the better of her resentment. 
 We shall give the contents of the letter, precisely 
 in the words which caused so much amazement 
 and possibly some little uneasiness to the fair 
 creature who was perusing it. 
 
 " The life of a seaman," said . the paper, in a 
 delicate and beautiful female hand, " is one of 
 danger and exposure. It inspires confidence in 
 woman, by the frankness to which, it gives birth, 
 and it merits indulgence by its privations. She 
 who writes this, is not insensible to the merit of 
 men of this bold calling. Admiration for the sea 
 and for those who live on it, has been her weak- 
 ness through life ; and her visions of the future, 
 likeher recollections of the past, are not entirely 
 exempt from a contemplation of its pleasures. 
 The usages of different nations — glory in arms — 
 change of scene — with constancy in the affections, 
 all sweetened by affluence, are temptations too 
 strong for a female imagination, and they should 
 not be without their influence on the judgment 
 of man. Adieu." 
 
 This note was read, reperused, and for the 
 third time conned, ere Alida ventured to raise 
 her eyes to the face of the expectant young 
 man. 
 
 " And this indelicate and unfeminine rhapsody 
 Captain Ludlow has seen proper to ascribe to 
 me ! " she said, while her voice trembled between 
 pride and mortification. 
 
 " To whom else can I impute it ? No other, 
 lovely Alida, could utter language so charming, 
 in words so properly chosen." 
 
 The long lashes of the maiden played quickly 
 above their dark organs ; then, conquering feel- 
 ings that were strangely in contradiction to each 
 other, she said with dignity, turning to a little 
 ebony escritoire which lay beside her dressing- 
 box: 
 
ALIDA'S EXPLANATION. 
 
 35 
 
 "My correspondence is neither very impor- 
 tant nor very extensive ; but such as it is, happi- 
 ly for the reputation of the writer's taste, if not 
 for her sanity, Ibelieve it is in my power to show 
 the trifle I thought it decorous to write, in reply 
 to your own letter. Here is a copy," she added, 
 opening what in fact was a draught, and reuding 
 aloud. 
 
 " I thank Captain Ludlow for his attention in 
 affording me an opportunity of reading a narra- 
 tive of the cruel deeds of the buccaneers. In ad- 
 dition to the ordinary feelings of humanity, one 
 cannot but regret that men so heartless are to be 
 found in a profession that is commonly thought 
 to be generous and tender of the weak. We will 
 however, hope, that the very wicked and coward- 
 ly among seamen exist only as foils to render the 
 qualities of the Very bold and manly more con- 
 spicuous. No one can be more sensible of this 
 truth than the friends of Captain Ludlow " (the 
 voice of Alida fell a little, as she came to this 
 sentence), " who has not now to earn a reputation 
 for mercy. In return, I send the copy of the 
 Cid, which honest Francois affirms to be superior 
 to all other poems, not even excepting Homer — 
 a book which I believe he is innocent of calum- 
 niating, from ignorance of its contents. Again 
 thanking Captain Ludlow for this instance of his 
 repeated attentions, I beg he will keep the volume 
 until he shall return from his intended' cruise." 
 
 <( This note is but a copy of the one you have, 
 or ought to have," said the niece of the alderman, 
 as she raised her glowing face from leaning over 
 the paper, " though it is not signed, like that, 
 with the name of Alida de Barberie." 
 
 When this explanation was over, both parties 
 sat looking at each other in silent amazement. 
 Still Alida saw, or thought she saw, that, notwith- 
 standing the previous professions of her admirer, 
 the young man rejoiced he had been deceived. 
 /Respect for delicacy and reserve in the other 
 sex is so general and so natural among men, that 
 they who succeed the most in destroying its bar- 
 riers, rarely fail to regret their triUmph ; and he 
 who truly loves can never long exult in any vio- 
 lation of propriety in the object of his affections, 
 even though the concession be made in his own 
 favor. Under the influence of this commendable 
 and healthful feeling, Ludlow, while he was in 
 some respects mortified at the turn affairs had 
 taken, felt sensibly relieved from a load of doubt, 
 to which the extraordinary language of the letter 
 he believed his mistress to have written, had 
 given birth. His companion read the state of his 
 mind in a countenance that was frank as face of 
 sailor could be ; and, though secretly pleased to 
 
 gain her former place in his respect, she was also 
 vexed and wounded that he had ever presumed to 
 distrust her reserve. She still held the inexpli- 
 cable billet, and her eyes naturally sought the 
 lines. A sudden thought seemed to strike her 
 mind, and, returning the paper, she said, coldly : 
 
 " Captain Ludlow should know his correspond- 
 ent better ; I much mistake if this be the first 
 of her communications." 
 
 The young man colcred to the temples and' 
 hid his face, for a moment, in the hollow of his 
 hands. 
 
 " You admit the truth of my suspicions," con- 
 tinued la belle Barberie, " and cannot be insensi- 
 ble of my justice, when I add that henceforth — " 
 
 " Listen to me, Alida," cried the youth, half 
 breathless in his haste to interrupt a decision 
 that he dreaded ; " hear me, and, as Heaven is 
 my judge, you shall hear only truth. I confess 
 this is not the first of the letters, written in the 
 same hand — perhaps I should say in the same 
 spirit— but, on the -honor of a loyal officer, I af- 
 firm that until circumstances led me to think my- 
 self so happy— so — very happy — " 
 
 " T understand you, sir ; the work was anony- 
 mous, until you saw fit to inscribe my name as 
 its author. Ludlow ! Ludlow ! bow meanly you 
 have thought of the woman you profess to 
 love!" 
 
 " That were impossible ! I mingle little with 
 those who study the finesse of life ; and loving, 
 as* I do, my noble profession, Alida, was it so 
 unnatural to believe that another might view it 
 with the same eyes ? But since you disavow the 
 letter — nay, your disavowal is unnecessary — I see 
 my vanity has even deceived me in the writing — 
 but, since the delusion is over, I confess that I re- 
 joice it is not so." 
 
 La belle Barberie smiled, and her counte- 
 nance grew brighter. She enjoyed the triumph 
 of knowing that she merited the respect of her 
 suitor, and it was a triumph heightened by recent 
 mortification. Then succeeded a pause of more 
 than a minute. The embarrassment of the si- 
 lence was happily interrupted by the return of 
 Fran 901s. 
 
 "Mam'selle Alide, voici de l'eau de la fon- 
 taine," said the valet ; " mais, monsieur votre on- 
 cle s'est couche, et il a mis la clef de la cave au 
 vin dessous son oreiller. Ma foi, ce n'est pas 
 facile d'avoir du bon vin du tout, en Amerique, 
 mais apres que monsieur le maire s'est couche, 
 c'est toujours impossible ; voila ! " 
 
 " N'importe, mon cher ; le capitaine va partir, 
 et il n'a plus soif." 
 
 "Dere is assez de jin," continued the valet, 
 
36 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 who felt for the captain's disappointment, "mais, 
 Monsieur Loodle have du gout, an' he n'aime pas 
 so strong liqueur." 
 
 V He has swallowed already more than was 
 necessary for one occasion," said Alida, smiling 
 on her admirer in a manner that left him doubt- 
 ful whether he ought most to repine or to rejoice. 
 " Thank you, good Francois ; your duty for the 
 night shall end with lighting the captain to the 
 door." 
 
 Then, saluting the young commander in a 
 manner that would not admit of denial, la belle 
 Barberie dismissed her lover and the valet to- 
 gether. 
 
 " You have a pleasant office, Monsieur Fran- 
 .cois," said the former, as he was lighted to the 
 outer door of the pavilion ; " it is one that many 
 a gallant gentleman would envy." 
 
 "Oui, sair — it be grand plaisir to serve Mam- 
 'selle Alide. Je porte de fan, de book, mais 
 quant au vin, Monsieur le Capitaine, parole 
 d'honneur, c'est toujours impossible apres que 
 l'aldermain s'est couche." 
 
 " Ay — the book — I think you had the agree- 
 able duty, to-day, of carrying the book of la 
 Belle ? " 
 
 " Vraiment, oui ! 'Twaa ouvrage de Monsieur 
 Pierre Corneille. On pretend, que Monsieur 
 Shak-a-spear en a emprunte d'assez beaux senti- 
 ments ! " 
 
 " And the paper between the leaves ? — you 
 were charged also with that note, good Fran- 
 cois ? " 
 
 The valet paused, shrugged his shoulders, and 
 laid one of his long yellow fingers on the plane 
 of an enormous aquiline nose, while he seemed to 
 muse. Then shaking his head perpendicularly, 
 he preceded the captain as before, muttering as 
 usual, half in French and half in English : 
 
 " For le papier, I know rien du tout ; c'est 
 bien possible, parceque, voyez vous, Monsieur le 
 Capitaine, Mam'selle Alide did say, prenez-y 
 garde ; but I no see him, depuis. Je suppose 
 'twas beaux compliments ecrits on de vers of M, 
 Pierre Corneille. Quel genie que celui de cet 
 homme la ! — n'est ce pas, monsieur ? " 
 
 "It is of no consequence, good Francois," 
 said Ludlow, slipping a guinea into the hands of 
 the valet. " If you should ever discover what be- 
 came of that paper, however, you will oblige me 
 by letting me know. Good-night ; mes devoirs 
 a la BeUe ! " 
 
 " Bon soir, Monsieur le Capitaine ; c'est un 
 brave monsieur que celui-la, et de tres bonne 
 famille! II n'a pas de si grandes terres, que 
 Monsieur le Patteroon, pourtant, on dit, qu'il doit 
 
 avoir de jolies maisons et assez de rentes pu- 
 bliques ! J'aime a servir un si genereux et loyal 
 maitre, mais, malheureusement, il est marin! 
 M. de Barberie n'avait pas trop d'amitie pour les 
 gens de cette profession la." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Well, Jessica, go in ; 
 Perhaps, I will return immediately : 
 Do as I bid you, 
 
 Shut doors after you ; Fast bind, fast find ; 
 A proverb never stale, in thrifty mind." 
 
 Mee chant op "Venice. 
 
 The decision with which la demoiselle Barberie 
 had dismissed her suitor, was owing to some 
 consciousness that she had need of opportunity to 
 reflect on the singular nature of the events which 
 had just happened, no less than to a sense of the 
 impropriety of his visiting her at that hour, and 
 in a manner so equivocal. But, like others who 
 act from feverish impulses, when alone the maiden 
 repented of her precipitation; and she remem- 
 bered fifty questions which might aid in clear- 
 ing the affair of its mystery, that she would now 
 gladly put. It was too late, however, for she had 
 heard Ludlow take his leave, and had listened, in 
 breathless silence, to his footstep, as he passed 
 the shrubbery of her little lawn. Francois reap- 
 peared at the door, to repeat his wishes for her 
 rest and happiness, and then she believed she was 
 finally alone for the night, since the ladies of that 
 age and country were little apt to require the as- 
 sistance of their attendants, in assuming or in 
 divesting themselves of their ordinary attire. 
 
 It was still early, and the recent interview had 
 deprived Alida of all inclination for sleep. She 
 placed the lights in a distant corner of the apart- 
 ment, and approached a window. The moon had 
 so far changed its position as to cast a different 
 light upon the water. The hollow washing of the 
 surf, the dull but heavy breathing of the air from 
 the sea, and the soft shadows of the trees and 
 mountain, were much the same. The Coquette 
 lay, as before, at her anchor near the cape, and 
 the Shrewsbury glittered toward the south, until 
 its surface was concealed by the projection of a 
 high and nearly perpendicular bluff. 
 
 The stillness was profound, for, with the ex- 
 ception of the dwelling of the family who occu- 
 pied the estate nearest the villa, there was no 
 other habitation within some miles of the place. 
 Still the solitude of the situation was undisturbed 
 by any appehension of danger, or any tradition 
 of violence from rude and lawless men. The 
 
A STRANGE VESSEL. 
 
 37 
 
 peaceable character of the colonists who dwelt 
 in the interior country was proverbial, and their 
 habits simple ; while the ocean was never entered 
 by those barbarians who then rendered some of 
 the seas of the other hemisphere as fearful as 
 they were pleasant. 
 
 Notwithstanding this known and customary 
 character of tranquillity, and the lateness of the 
 hour, Alida had not been many moments in. her 
 balcony before she heard the sound of oars. The 
 stroke was measured, and the noise low and dis- 
 tant, but it was too familiar to be mistaken. She 
 wondered at the expedition of Ludlow, who was 
 not accustomed to show such haste in quitting 
 her presence, and leaned over the railing to catch 
 a glimpse of his departing boat. Each moment 
 she expected to see the little bark issue from out 
 of the shadows of the land, into the sheet of 
 brightness which stretched nearly to the cruiser. 
 She gazed long, and in vain, for no barge appeared, 
 yet the sound had become inaudible. A light 
 still hung at the peak of the Coquette, a sign that 
 the commander was out of his vessel. 
 
 The view of a fine ship, seen by the aid of 
 the moon, with its symmetry of spars and its deli- 
 cate tracery of cordage, and the heavy and grand 
 movements of the hull as it rolls on the sluggish 
 billows of a calm sea, is ever a pleasing and in- 
 deed an imposing spectacle. Alida knew that 
 more than a hundred human beings slept within 
 the black and silent mass, and her thoughts in- 
 sensibly wandered to the business of their daring 
 lives, their limited abode, and yet wandering ex- 
 istence, their frank and manly qualities, their de- 
 votion to the cause of those who occupied the 
 land, their broken and interrupted connection 
 with the rest of the human family, and finally to 
 those weakened domestic ties, and to that reputa- 
 tion for inconstancy, which are apparently a nat- 
 ural consequence of all. She sighed, and her 
 eye wandered from the ship to that ocean on 
 which it was constructed to dwell. From the dis- 
 tant, low, and nearly imperceptible shore of the 
 island of Nassau, to the coast of New Jersey, 
 there was one broad and untenanted waste. Even 
 the sea-fowl rested his tired wing, and slept tran- 
 quilly on the water. The broad space appeared 
 like some great and unfrequented desert, or rather 
 like a denser and more material copy of the fir- 
 mament by which it was canopied. 
 
 It has been mentioned that a stunted growth 
 of oaks and pines covered much of the sandy 
 ridge that formed the cape. The same covering 
 furnished a dark setting to the waters of the 
 cove. Above this outline of wood, which fringed 
 the margin of the sea, Alida now fancied she saw 
 
 an object in motion. At first, she believed some 
 ragged and naked tree, of which the coast had 
 many, was so placed as to deceive her vision, 
 and had thrown its naked lines upon the back- 
 ground of water, in a manner to assume the shape 
 and tracery of a light-rigged vessel. But when 
 the dark and symmetrical spars were distinctly 
 seen, gliding past objects that were known to be 
 stationary, it was impossible to doubt their char- 
 acter. The maiden wondered, and her surprise 
 was not unmixed with apprehension. It seemed 
 as if the stranger, for such the vessel must needs 
 be, was recklessly approaching a surf that, in its 
 most tranquil moments, was dangerous to such a 
 fabric, and that he steered, unconscious of hazard, 
 directly upon the land. Even the movement was 
 mysterious and unusual. Sails there were none ; 
 and yet the light and lofty spars were soon hid 
 behind a thicket that covered a knoll near the 
 margin of the sea. Alida expected, each moment, 
 to hear the cry of mariners in distress ; then, as 
 the minutes passed on and no such fearful sound 
 interrupted the stillness of the night, she began 
 to bethink her of those lawless rovers, who were 
 known to abound among the Caribbean isles, and 
 and who were said sometimes even to enter and 
 to refit in the smaller and more secret inlets of 
 the American Continent. The tales, coupled 
 with the deeds, character, and fate of the notori- 
 ous Kidd, were then still recent, and although 
 magnified and colored by vulgar exaggerations, 
 as all such tales are known to be, enough was 
 believed, by the better instructed, to make his 
 life and death the subject of many curious and 
 mysterious rumors. At this moment, she would 
 have gladly recalled the young commander of the 
 Coquette, to apprise him of the enemy that was 
 nigh ; then, ashamed of terrors that she was fain 
 to hope savored more of woman's weakness than 
 of truth, she endeavored to believe the whole 
 some ordinary movement of a coaster, who, famil- 
 iar with his situation, could not possibly be either 
 in want of aid, or an object of alarm. Just as this 
 natural and consoling conclusion crossed her 
 mind, she very audibly heard a step in her pavil- 
 ion. It seemed near the door of the room she 
 occupied. Breathless, more with the excitement 
 of her imagination, than with any actual fear 
 created by this new cause of alarm, the maiden 
 quitted the balcony, and stood motionless to lis- 
 ten. The door, in truth, was opened with singu- 
 lar caution, and, for an instant, Alida saw nothing 
 but a confused area, in the centre of which ap. 
 peared the figure of a menacing and rapacious 
 freebooter. 
 
 "Northern lights and moonshine ! " growled 
 
38 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 Alderman Van Beverout, for it was no other than 
 the uncle of the heiress, whose untimely and un- 
 expected visit had caused her so much alarm. 
 "This sky-watching, and turning of night into 
 day, will be the destruction of thy beauty, niece ; 
 and we shall see how plenty patroons are for 
 husbands ! A bright eye and a blooming cheek 
 are thy stock in trade, girl ; and she is a spend- 
 thrift of both who is out of her bed when the 
 clock hath struck ten." 
 
 " Your discipline would deprive many a beauty 
 of the means of using her power," returned la 
 demoiselle, smiling as much at the folly of her 
 recent fears, as with affection for her reprover. 
 " They tell me that ten is the witching time of 
 night, for the necromancy of the dames of Europe." 
 
 " Witch me no witches ! The name reminds 
 one of the cunning Yankees, a race that would 
 outwit Lucifer himself, if left to set the conditions 
 to their bargain. Here is the patroon, wishing to 
 let in a family of the knaves among the honest 
 Dutchmen of his manor ; and we have just settled 
 a dispute between us, on this subject, by making 
 the lawful trial." 
 
 "Which, it may be proper to hope, dearest 
 uncle, was not the trial by battle? " 
 
 " Peace and olive-branches, no ! The patroon 
 of Kinderhook is the last man in the Americas 
 that is likely to suffer by the blows of Myndert 
 Yan Beverout. I challenged the boy to hold a 
 fine eel, that the blacks have brought out of the 
 river to help in breaking our morning fasts, that 
 it might be seen if he were fit to deal with the 
 slippery rogues. By the merit of the peaceable 
 St. Nicholas ! but the son of old Hendrick Yan 
 Staats had a busy time of it ! The lad griped 
 the fish, as the ancient tradition has it that thy 
 uncle clinched the Holland florin, when my father 
 put it between my fingers, within the month, in 
 order to see if the true saving grace was likely to 
 abide in the family for another generation. My 
 heart misgave me for a moment ; for young Oloff 
 has the fist of a vise, and I thought the goodly 
 names of the Harmans and Rips, Corneliuses and 
 Dircks of the manor rent-roll were likely to be 
 contaminated by the company of an Increase or 
 a Peleg ; but.just as the patroon thought he had 
 the watery viper by the throat, the fish gave an 
 unexpected twist, and slid through his fingers by 
 the tail. Flaws and loop-holes ! but that experi- 
 ment has as much wisdom as wit in it ! " 
 
 "And to me, it seemeth better, now that 
 Providence has brought all the colonies under one 
 government, that these prejudices should be for- 
 gotten. We are a people sprung from many na- 
 tions, and our effort should be to preserve the 
 
 liberality and intelligence, while we forget the 
 weaknesses of all." 
 
 " Bravely said, for the child of a Huguenot ! 
 But I defy the man who brings prejudice to my 
 door. I like a merry trade, and a quick cal- 
 culation. Let me see the man in all New Eng- 
 land that can tell the color of a balance-sheet 
 quicker than one that can be named, and I'll 
 gladly hunt up the satchel and go to school again. 
 I love a man the better for looking to his own in- 
 terests, I ; and yet, common honesty teaches us 
 that there should be a convention between men, 
 beyond which none of reputation and character 
 ought to go." 
 
 "Which convention shall be understood, by 
 every man, to be the limits of his own faculties ; 
 by which means the dull may rival the quick 
 of thought. I fear me, uncle, there should be 
 an eel kept on every coast to which a trader 
 comes ! " • 
 
 "Prejudice and conceit, child, acting on a 
 drowsy head ; 'tis time thou seekest thy pillow, 
 and in the morning we shall see if young Oloff of 
 the manor shall have better success with thy fa- 
 vor, than with the prototype of the Jonathans. 
 Here, put out these flaring candles, and take a 
 modest lamp to light thee to thy bed. Glaring 
 windows, so near midnight, give a house an ex- 
 travagant name in the neighborhood." 
 
 " Our reputation for sobriety may suffer in 
 the opinion of the eels," returned Alida, laughing, 
 " but here are few others, I believe, to call us 
 dissipated." 
 
 " One never knows, one never knows," mut- 
 tured the alderman, extinguishing the two large 
 candles of his niece, and substituting his own lit-, 
 tie hand-lamp in their place. " This broad light 
 only invites to wakefuluess, while the dim taper 
 I leave is good as a sleeping draught. Kiss me, 
 wilful one, and draw thy curtains close, for the 
 negroes will soon rise to load the periagua, that 
 they may go up with the tide to the city. The 
 noise of the chattering blackguards may disturb 
 thy slumbers." 
 
 " Truly, it would seem there is little here to 
 invite such active navigation," returned Alida, sa- 
 luting the cheek of her uncle, at his order. " The 
 love of trade must be strong, when it finds the 
 materials of commerce in a solitude like this." 
 
 " Thou hast divined the reason, child. Thy 
 father, Monsieur de Barberie, had his peculiar 
 opinions upon the subject, and doubtless he did 
 not fail to transmit some of them to his offspring. 
 And yet, when the Huguenot was driven from his 
 chateau and his clayey Norman lands, the man 
 had no distaste himself for an account-current, 
 
THE BRIGANTINE AT ANCHOR. 
 
 30 
 
 provided the balance was in his own favor. Na- 
 tions and characters ! I find but little difference, 
 after all, in trade, whether it be driven with a 
 Mohawk for his pack of furs, or with a seigneur, 
 who has been driven from his lands. Each strives 
 to get the profit on his own side of the account, 
 and the loss on that of his neighbor. So rest 
 thee well, girl ; and remember that matrimony is 
 no more than a capital bargain, on whose success 
 depends the sum total of a woman's comfort — and 
 so, once more, good-night." 
 
 La belle Barberie attended her uncle dutifully 
 to the door of her pavilion, which she bolted after 
 him ; and then, finding her little apartment gloomy 
 by the light of the small and feeble lamp he had 
 left, she was pleased to bring its flame in con- 
 tact with the' wicks of the two candles he had just 
 extinguished. Placing the three near each other 
 on a table, the maiden again drew nigh a window. 
 The unexpected interview with the alderman had 
 consumed several minutes, and she was curious 
 to know more of the unaccountable movements of 
 the mysterious vessel. 
 
 The same deep silence reigned about the villa, 
 and the slumbering ocean was heaving and setting 
 as heavily as before. Alida again looked for the 
 boat of Ludlow ; but her eye ran over the whole 
 distance of the bright and broad streak between 
 her and the cruiser in vain. There was the 
 slight ripple of the water in the glittering of the 
 moon's rays, but no speck like that the barge 
 would make was visible. The lantern still shone 
 at the cruiser's peak. Once, indeed, she thought 
 the sound of oars was again to be heard, and 
 much nearer than before; yet no effort of her 
 quick and roving sight could detect the position 
 of the boat. To all these doubts succeeded an 
 alarm which sprang from a new and very differ- 
 ent source. 
 
 The existence of the inlet which united the 
 ocean with the waters of the cove was but little 
 known, except to the few whose avocations kept 
 them near the spot The pass being much more 
 than half the time closed, its varying character, 
 and the little use that could be made of it under 
 any circumstances, prevented the place from being 
 a subject of general interest with the coasters. 
 Even when open, the depth of its water was un- 
 certain, since a week or two of calms, or of west- 
 erly winds, would permit the tides to clean its 
 channel, while a single easterly gale was sufficient 
 ^to choke the entire inlet with sand. No wonder, 
 then, that Alida felt an amazement which was not 
 quite free from superstitious alarm, when, at that 
 hour and in such a scene, she saw a vessel glid- 
 ing, as it were, unaided by sails or sweeps, out 
 
 of the thicket that fringed the ocean-side of the 
 cove, into its very centre. 
 
 The strange and mysterious craft was a brigan- 
 tine of that mixed construction, which is much 
 used even in the most ancient and classical seas 
 of the other hemisphere, and which is supposed 
 to unite the advantages of both a square and of a 
 fore-and-aft rigged vessel, but which is nowhere 
 seen to display the same beauty of form, and sym- 
 metry of equipment, as on the coasts of this 
 Union. The first and smallest of its masts had 
 all the complicated machinery of a ship, with its 
 superior and inferior spars, its wider reaching, 
 though light and manageable yards, and its va- 
 rious sails, shaped and arranged to meet every 
 vicissitude and caprice of the winds ; while the 
 latter, or larger of the two, rose like the straight 
 trunk of a pine from the hull, simple in its cord- 
 age, and spreading a single sheet of canvas, that 
 in itself was sufficient to drive the fabric with vast 
 velocity through the water. The hull was low, 
 graceful in its outlines, dark as the raven's wing, 
 and so modelled as to float on its element like a 
 sea-gull riding the billows. There were many 
 delicate and attenuated lines among its spars, 
 which were intended to spread broader folds of 
 canva3 to, the light airs when necessary; but 
 these additions to the tracery of the machine, 
 which added so much to its beauty by day, were 
 now, seen as it was by the dimmer and more 
 treacherous rays of the moon, scarcely visible. 
 In short, as the vessel had entered the cove float- 
 ing with the tide, it was so singularly graceful 
 and fairy -like in form, that Alida at first was fain 
 to discredit her senses, and to believe it no more 
 than some illusion of the fancy. Like most 
 others, she was ignorant of the temporary inlet, 
 and, under the circumstances, it was not difficult 
 to lend a momentary credence to so pleasing an 
 idea. 
 
 But the delusion was only momentary. The 
 brigantine turned in its course, and, gliding into 
 the part of the cove where the curvature of the 
 shores offered most protection from the winds 
 and waves, and perhaps from curious eyes, its 
 motion ceased. A heavy plunge in the water 
 was audible even at the villa, and Alida then 
 knew that an anchor had fallen into the bay. 
 
 Although the coast of North America offered 
 little to invite lawless depredation, and it was in 
 general believed to be so safe, yet the possibility 
 that cupidity might be invited by the retired situ- 
 ation of her uncle's villa did not fail to suggest 
 itself to the mind of the young heiress. Both 
 she and her guardian were reputed to be wealthy ; 
 and disappointment on the open sea might drive 
 
40 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 desperate men to the commission of crimes that 
 in more prosperous moments would not suggest 
 themselves. The freebooters were said to have 
 formerly visited the coast of the neighboring isl- 
 and, and men were just then commencing those 
 excavations for hidden treasures and secreted 
 booty which have been, at distant intervals, con- 
 tinued to our own time. 
 
 There are situations, in which the mind insen- 
 sibly gives credit to impressions that the reason 
 in common disapproves. The present was one in 
 which Alida de Barberie, though of a resolute 
 and even a masculine understanding, felt disposed 
 to believe there might be truth in those tales 
 that she had hitherto heard only to deride. 
 Still keeping her eye on the motionless vessel, 
 she drew back into her window, and wrapped the 
 curtain round her form, undecided whether to 
 alarm the family or not, and acting under a vague 
 impression that, though so distant, her person 
 might be seen. She was hardly thus secreted, 
 before the shrubbery was violently agitated, a 
 footstep was heard in the lawn beneath her win- 
 dow, and one leaped so lightly into the balcony, 
 and from the balcony into the centre of the room, 
 that the passage of the figure seemed like the flit- 
 ting of some creature of supernatural attributes. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Why look yon, how you stare ! 
 I would be friends with you, and have your love.'* 
 
 Shtlock. 
 
 The first impulse of Alida, at this second in- 
 vasion of her pavilion, was certainly to flee. But 
 timidity was not her weakness, and as natural 
 firmness gave her time to examine the person of 
 the individual who had so unceremoniously en- 
 tered, curiosity aided in inducing her to remain. 
 Perhaps a vague but a very natural expectation 
 that she was again to dismiss the commander of 
 the Coquette, had its influence on her first deci- 
 sion. In order that the reader may judge how 
 far this boldness was excusable, we shall describe 
 the person of the intruder. 
 
 The stranger was one in the very bud of 
 young and active manhood. His years could not 
 have exceeded two-and-twenty, nor would he 
 probably have been thought so old, had not his 
 features been shaded by a rich brown hue, that 
 in some degree served as a foil to a natural com- 
 plexion which, though never fair, was still clear 
 and blooming. A pair of dark, bushy, and jet- 
 black silken whiskers, that were in singular con- 
 
 trast to eyelashes and brows of feminine beauty 
 and softness, aided also in giving a decided ex- 
 pression to a face that might otherwise have 
 been wanting in some of that character which is 
 thought essential to the comeliness of man. The 
 forehead was smooth and low ; the nose, though 
 prominent and bold in outline, of exceeding deli- 
 cacy in detail ; the mouth and lips full, a little 
 inclined to be arch, though the former appeared 
 as if it might at times be pensive ; the teeth were 
 even and unsullied, and the chin was small, round, 
 dimpled, and so carefully divested of the distin- 
 guishing mark of the sex, that one could fancy 
 Nature had contributed all its growth to adorn 
 the neighboring cheeks and temples. If to these 
 features be added a pair of full and brilliant coal- 
 black eyes, that appeared to vary their expres- 
 sion at their master's will, the reader will at once 
 see that the privacy of Alida had been invaded 
 by one whose personal attractions might, under 
 other circumstances, have been dangerous to the 
 imagination of a female whose taste was in some 
 degree influenced by a standard created by her 
 own loveliness. 
 
 The dress of the stranger was as unique as 
 his personal attractions were extraordinary. The 
 fashion of the garments resembled that of those 
 already described as worn by the man who has an- 
 nounced himself as Master Tiller ; but the materi- 
 als were altogether richer, and, judging only from 
 the exterior, more worthy of the wearer. 
 
 The light frock was of a thick purple silk, of 
 an Indian manufacture, cut with exceeding care to 
 fit the fine outlines of a form that was rather 
 round than square, active than athletic. The 
 loose trousers were of a fine white jean, the cap of 
 scarlet velvet, ornamented with gold, and the body 
 was belted with a large cord of scarlet silk, 
 twisted in the form of a ship's cable. At the 
 ends of the latter, little anchors wrought in bull- 
 ion were attached as gay and fitting append- 
 ages. 
 
 In contrast to an attire so whimsical and un- 
 common, however, a pair of small and richly- 
 mounted pistols were at the stranger's girdle ; and 
 the haft of a curiously-carved. Asiatic dagger was 
 seen projecting rather ostentatiously from be- 
 tween the folds of the upper garment. 
 
 "What cheer! what cheer!" cried a voice, 
 that was more in harmony with the appearance 
 of the speaker than with the rough, professional 
 salutation he uttered, so soon as he had fairly 
 landed in the centre of Alida's little saloon. 
 " Come forth, my dealer in the covering of the 
 beaver, for here is one who brings gold to thy 
 coffers. Ha ! now that this trio of lights hath done 
 
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR. 41 
 
 its office, it may be extinguished, lest it pilot 
 others to the forbidden haven ! " 
 
 " Your pardon, sir," said the mistress of the 
 pavilion, advancing from behind the curtain with 
 an air of coolness that her beating heart had nigh 
 betrayed to be counterfeit; "having so unex- 
 pected a guest to entertain, the additional candles 
 are necessary." 
 
 The start, recoil, and evident alarm of the 
 intruder, lent Alida a little more assurance ; for 
 courage is a quality that appears to gain force in 
 a degree proportioned to the amount in which it 
 is abstracted from the dreaded object. Still, 
 when she saw a hand on a pistol, the maiden was 
 again about to flee ; nor was her resolution to re- 
 main confirmed until she met the mild and allur- 
 ing eye of the intruder, as, quitting his hold of 
 the weapon, he advanced with an air so mild and 
 graceful as to cause generosity to take the place 
 of fear. 
 
 " Though Alderman Van Beverout be not 
 punctual to his appointment," said the gay young 
 stranger, " he has more than atoned for his ab- 
 sence by the substitute he sends. I hope she 
 comes authorized to arrange the whole of our 
 treaty ? " 
 
 " I claim no right to hear or to dictate in mat- 
 ters not my own. My utmost powers extend to 
 expressing a desire that this pavilion may be ex- 
 empt from the discussion of affairs as much be- 
 yond my knowledge as they are separated from 
 my interests." 
 
 "Then why this signal?" demanded the 
 stranger, pointing with a serious air to the lights 
 that still burned near each other in face of an 
 open window. " It is awkward to mislead in 
 transactions that are so delicate ! " 
 
 " Your allusion, sir, is not understood. These 
 lights are no more than what are usually seen in 
 my apartment at this hour, with, indeed, the ad- 
 dition of a lamp left by my uncle, Alderman Van 
 Beverout." 
 
 " Your uncle ! " exclaimed the other, advan- 
 cing so near Alida as to cause her to retire a step, 
 his countenance expressing a deep and newly- 
 awakened interest—" your uncle ! This, then, is 
 one far-famed and justly extolled, la belle Barbe- 
 rie ! " he added, gallantly lifting his cap, as if he 
 had just discovered the condition and the unusual 
 personal attractions of his companion. 
 
 It was not in nature for Alida to be displeased. 
 All her fancied causes of terror were forgotten; 
 for, in addition to their improbable and uncertain 
 nature, the stranger had sufficiently given her to 
 understand that he was expected by her uncle. 
 If we add that the singular attraction and soft- 
 
 ness of his face and voice aided in quieting her 
 fears, we shall probably do no violence either to 
 the truth or to a very natural feeling. Profound- 
 ly ignorant of the details of commerce, and ac- 
 customed to hear its mysteries extolled as exer- 
 cising the keenest and best faculties of man, she 
 saw nothing extraordinary in those who were ac- 
 tively engaged in the pursuit having reason for 
 concealing their movements from the jealousy and 
 rivalry of competitors. Like most of her sex, she 
 had great dependence on the characters of those 
 she loved ; and, though nature, education, and 
 habit, had created a striking difference between 
 the guardian and his ward, their harmony had 
 never been interrupted by any breach of affec- 
 tion. 
 
 " This, then, is la belle Barberie ! " repeated 
 the young sailor, for such his dress denoted him 
 to be, studying her features with an expression 
 of face in which pleasure vied with evident and 
 touching melancholy. " Fame hath done no in- 
 justice, for here is all that might justify the folly 
 or madness of man ! " 
 
 " This is familiar dialogue for an utter stran- 
 ger," returned Alida, blushing, though the quick 
 dark eye that seemed to fathom all her thoughts 
 saw it was not in anger. " I do not deny that 
 the partiality of friends, coupled with my origin, 
 have obtained the appellation, which is given, 
 however, more in playfulness than in any serious 
 opinion of its being merited ; and now, as the 
 hour is getting late, and this visit is at least un- 
 usual, you will permit me to seek my uncle." 
 
 "Stay!" interrupted the stranger — "it is 
 long — very long, since so soothing, so gentle a 
 pleasure has been mine ! This is a life of mys- 
 teries, beautiful Alida, though its incidents seem 
 so vulgar, and of every-day occurrence. There is 
 mystery in its beginning and its end ; in its im- 
 pulses ; its sympathies and all its discordant pas- 
 sions. No, do not quit me. I am from off the 
 sea, where none but coarse and vulgar-minded 
 men have long been my associates ; and thy pres- 
 ence is a balm to a bruised and wounded spirit." 
 
 Interested, if possible, more by the touching 
 and melancholy tones of the speaker, than by his 
 extraordinary language, Alida hesitated. Her 
 reason told her that propriety, and even pru- 
 dence, required she should apprise her uncle of the 
 stranger's presence ; but propriety and prudence 
 lose much of their influence, when female curiosi- 
 ty is sustained by a secret and powerful sympa- 
 thy. Her own eloquent eye met the open and 
 imploring look of organs that seemed endowed 
 with the fabled power to charm ; and, while her 
 judgment told her there was so much to alarm, 
 
42 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 her senses pleaded powerfully in behalf of the 
 gentle mariner. 
 
 "An expected guest of my uncle will have 
 leisure to repose, after the privations and hard- 
 ships of so weary a voyage," she said. " This is 
 a house whose door is never closed against the 
 rites of hospitality." 
 
 " If there is aught about my person or attire 
 to alarm you," returned the stranger, earnestly, 
 " speak, that it may be cast away ; these arms — 
 these foolish arms, had better not have been 
 here," he added, casting the pistols and dagger 
 indignantly through a window, into the shrub- 
 bery ; " ah ! if you knew how unwillingly I would 
 harm any — and, least of all, a woman — you would 
 not fear me." 
 
 " I fear you not," returned la Belle, firmly. 
 " I dread the misconceptions of the world." 
 
 " What world is here to disturb us ? Thou 
 livest in thy pavilion, beautiful Alida, remote 
 from towns and envy, like some favored damsel, 
 over whose happy and charmed life presides a 
 benignant genius. See, here are all the pretty 
 materials with which thy sex seeks innocent 
 and happy amusement. Thou touchest this lute, 
 when melancholy renders thought pleasing ; here 
 are colors to mock, or to eclipse, the beauties of 
 the fields and the mountains, the flower, and the 
 tree ; and from these pages are culled thoughts, 
 pure and rich in imagery, as thy spirit is spotless 
 and thy person lovely ! " 
 
 Alida listened in amazement; for, while he 
 spoke, the young mariner touched the different 
 articles he named, with a melancholy interest, 
 which seemed to say how deeply he regretted 
 that Fortune had placed him in a profession in 
 which their use was nearly denied. 
 
 " It is not common for those who live on the 
 sea to feel this interest in the trifles which con- 
 stitute a woman's pleasure," she said, lingering, 
 spite of her better resolution to depart. 
 
 " The spirit of our rude and boisterous trade 
 is then known to you? " 
 
 "It were not possible for the relation of a 
 merchant, so extensively known as my . uncle, to 
 be ignorant altogether of mariners." 
 
 " Ay, here is proof of it," returned the stran- 
 ger, speaking so quick as again to betray how 
 sensitively his mind was constructed. . " The 
 1 History of the American Buccaneers,' is a rare 
 book to be found in a lady's library! What 
 pleasure can a mind like that of la belle Barberie 
 find in these recitals of bloody violence ? " 
 
 " What pleasure, truly ! " returned Alida, 
 half tempted, by the wild and excited eye of her 
 companion, notwithstanding all the contradictory 
 
 evidence which surrounded him, to believe she was 
 addressing one of the very rovers in question. 
 " The book was lent me by a brave seaman, who 
 holds himself in readiness to repress their depre- 
 dations ; and, while reading of so much wicked- 
 ness, I endeavor to recall the devotion Of those 
 who risk their lives, in order to protect the weak 
 and innocent. — My uncle will be angered, should 
 I longer delay to apprise him of your presence." 
 
 " A single moment ! It is long-^-very long, 
 since I have entered a sanctuary like this ! Here 
 is music, and there the frame for the gaudy tam- 
 bour — these windows look on a landscape, soft 
 as thine own nature ; and yonder ocean can be 
 admired without dreading its terrific power, or 
 feeling disgust at its coarser scenes. Thou shouldst 
 be happy here." 
 
 The stranger turned and perceived that he 
 was alone. Disappointment was strongly painted 
 on his handsome face ; but, ere there was time 
 for second thought, another voice was heard 
 grumbling at the door of the saloon. 
 
 " Compacts and treaties ! What, in the name 
 of good faith, hath brought thee hither ? Is this 
 the way to keep a cloak on our movements ? or 
 dost suppose that the queen will knight me, for 
 being known as thy correspondent ? " 
 
 " Lanterns and false beacons ! " returned the 
 other, mimicking the voice of the discontented 
 burgher, and pointing to the lights that still stood 
 where last described. " Can the port be en- 
 tered without respecting the land -marks and 
 signals ? » - • - 
 
 " This comes of moonlight and sentiment ! 
 When the girl should have been asleep, she is up 
 gazing at the stars, and disconcerting a burgher's 
 speculations. — But fear thee not, Master Seadrift ; 
 my niece has discretion, and, if we have no better 
 pledge for her silence, there is that of necessity ; 
 since there is no one here for a confidant, but her 
 old Norman valet, and the Patroon of Kinderhook, 
 both of whom are dreaming of other matter than 
 a little gainful traffic." 
 
 " Fear thee not, alderman," returned the 
 other, still maintaining his air of mockery. " We 
 have the pledge of character, if no other ; since 
 the uncle cannot part with reputation, without 
 the niece sharing in the loss." 
 ■ " What sin is there in pushing commerce a 
 step beyond the limits of the law ? These Eng- 
 lish are a nation of monopolists ; and they make 
 no scruple of tying us of the colonies hand and 
 foot, heart and soul, with their acts of Parliament, 
 saying ' With us shalt thou trade, or not at all.' 
 By the character of the best burgomaster of Am- 
 sterdam, and they came by the province, too, in 
 
DEALING IN CONTRABAND. 
 
 43 
 
 .no such honesty that we should lie down and 
 obey ! " 
 
 " Wherein there is much comfort to a dealer 
 in the contraband. Justly reasoned, my worthy 
 alderman. Thy logic will at any time make a 
 smooth pillow, especially if the adventure be not , 
 without its profit. And now, having so commend- 
 ably disposed of the moral of our bargain, let us 
 approach its legitimate, if not its lawful, conclu- 
 sion. There," he added, drawing a small bag 
 from an inner pocket of his frock, and tossing it 
 carelessly on a table ; " there is thy gold. Eighty 
 broad Johannes is no bad return for a few pack- 
 ages of furs ; and even avarice itself will own 
 that six months is no long investment for the 
 usury." 
 
 " That boat of thine, most lively Seadrift, is a 
 marine humming-bird ! " returned Myndert, with 
 a joyful tremor of the voice, that betrayed his 
 deep and entire satisfaction. "Didst say just 
 eighty ? But spare thyself the trouble of looking 
 for the memorandum ; I will tell the gold myself, 
 to save thee the trouble. Truly the adventure 
 hath not been bad ! a few kegs of Jamaica, with 
 a little powder and lead, and a blanket or two, 
 with now and then a penny bawble for a chief, 
 are knowingly, ay ! and speedily transmuted into 
 the yellow metal, by thy good aid. — This affair 
 was managed on the French coast ? " 
 
 " More northward, where the frost helped the 
 bargain. Thy beavers and martens, honest burgh- 
 er, will be flaunting in the presence of the emper- 
 or at the next holidays. What is there in the 
 face of the Braganza that thou studiest it so 
 hard ? " 
 
 " The piece seems none of the heaviest — but, 
 luckily, I have scales at hand — " 
 
 " Hold ! " said the stranger, laying his hand, 
 which, according to a fashion of that day, was 
 clad in a delicate and scented glove, lightly on the 
 arm of the other ; " no scales between us, sir ! 
 That was taken in return for thy adventure ; heavy 
 or light, it must go down. We deal in confi- 
 dence, and this hesitation offends me. Another 
 such doubt of my integrity, and our connection 
 is at an end." 
 
 " A calamity I should deplore, quite or nearly 
 as much as thyself," returned Myndert, affecting 
 to laugh ; though he slipped the suspected doub- 
 loon into the bag again, in a manner that at once 
 removed the object of contention from view. " A 
 little particularity in the balance part of com- 
 merce serves us to maintain friendships, But a 
 trifle shall not cause us to waste the precious 
 time. — Hast brought goods suited to the colo- 
 nies ? " 
 
 " In plenty." 
 
 "And ingeniously assorted? Colonists and 
 monopoly ! — But there is twofold satisfaction in 
 this clandestine traffic ; I never get the notice of 
 thy arrival, Master Seadrift, but the heart within 
 me leapeth of gladness. There is a double pleas- 
 ure in circumventing the legislation of your Lon- 
 don wiseacres." 
 
 " The chiefest of which is— ? " 
 
 " A goodly return for the investment, truly — 
 I desire not to deny the agency of natural causes ; 
 but, trust me, there is a sort of professional glory 
 in thus defeating the selfishness of our rulers. v 
 What ! are we born of woman, to be used as the 
 instruments of their prosperity ? Give us equal 
 legislation, a right to decide on the policy of en- > 
 actments, and then, like a loyal and obedient sub- 
 ject—" 
 
 "Thou would st still deal in the contra- 
 band S " 
 
 "Well, well, multiplying idle words is not 
 multiplying gold. The list of the articles intro- 
 duced can be forthcoming ? " 
 
 " It is here, and ready to be examined. But 
 there is a fancy come over me, Alderman Van 
 Beverout, which, like others of my caprices, thou 
 knowest must have its way. There should be a 
 witness to our bargain." 
 
 " Judges and juries ! Thou forgettest, man, 
 that a clumsy galliot could sail through the tight- 
 est clause of these extra-legal compacts. The 
 courts receive the evidence of this sort of traffic, 
 as the grave receives the dead — to swallow all and 
 be forgotten." 
 
 "I care not for the courts, and little desire do 
 I feel to enter them. But the presence of la belle 
 Barberie may serve to prevent any misconcep- 
 tions that might bring our connection to a pre- 
 mature close. Let her be summoned." 
 
 " The girl is altogether ignorant of traffic, and 
 it might unsettle her opinions of her uncle's sta- 
 bility. If a man does not maintain credit within 
 his own doors, how can he expect it in the 
 streets ? " 
 
 " Many have credit on the highway, who re- 
 ceive none at home. . But thou knowest my hu- 
 mor; no niece — no traffic." 
 
 "Alida is a dutiful and affectionate child, and 
 I would not willingly disturb her slumbers. Here 
 is the Patroon of Kinderhook, a man who loves 
 English legislation as little as myself — he will 
 be less reluctant to see an honest shilling turned 
 into gold. I will awake him : no man was ever 
 yet offended at an offer to share in a profitable 
 adventure." 
 
 " Let him sleep on. I deal not with your lords 
 
44 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 of manors and mortgages. Bring forth the lady, 
 for there will be matter fit for her delicacy." 
 
 " Duty and the ten commandments ! You 
 never had the charge of a child, Master Sea- 
 drift, and cannot know the weight of responsibil- 
 ity-" 
 
 " No niece — no traffic ! " interrupted the wil- 
 ful dealer in contraband, returning his invoice to 
 his pocket, and preparing to rise from the table, 
 where he had already seated himself. " The lady 
 knows of my presence ; and it were safer for us 
 both that she entered more deeply into our confi- 
 dence." 
 
 " Thou art as despotic as the English Naviga- 
 tion-law ! I hear the foot of the child still pacing 
 her chamber, and she shall come. But there 
 need be no explanations, to recall old intercourse. 
 The affair can pass as a bit of accidental specula- 
 tion — a by-play, in the traffic of life." 
 
 "As thou pleasest. I shall deal less in words 
 than in business. Keep thine own secrets, burgh- 
 er, and they are safe. Still, I would have the 
 lady, for there is a presentiment that our connec- 
 tion is in danger." 
 
 " I like not that word presentiment," grum- 
 bled the alderman, taking a light, and snuffing it 
 with deliberate care ; " drop but a single letter, 
 and one dreams of the pains and penalties of the 
 Exchequer. — Remember thou art a trafficker, who 
 conceals his appearance on account of the clever- 
 ness of his speculations." 
 
 " That is my calling to the letter. Were all 
 others as clever, the trade would certainly cease. 
 — Go, bring the lady." 
 
 The alderman, who probably saw the necessity 
 of making some explanation to his niece, and 
 who, it would seem, fully understood the positive 
 character of his companion, no longer hesitated ; 
 but, first casting a suspicious glance out of the 
 still open window, he left the room. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " Alack, what heinous sin is it in me, 
 To he ashamed to he my father's child ! 
 But though I am a daughter to his blood, 
 I am not to his manners." 
 
 Merchant of Venice. 
 
 The moment the stranger was again alone, 
 the entire expression of his countenance under- 
 went a change. The reckless and bold expres- 
 sion deserted his eye, which once more became 
 soft, if not pensive, as it wandered over the dif- 
 ferent elegant objects that served to amuse the 
 
 leisure of la belle Barberie. He arose and 
 touched the strings of a lute, and then, like 
 Fear, started back, as if recoiling at the sound 
 he had made. All recollection of the object of 
 his visit was evidently forgotten in a new and 
 livelier interest ; and, had there been one to 
 watch his movements, the last motive imputed to 
 his presence would probably have been the one 
 that was true. There was so little of that vul- 
 gar and common character which is usually seen . 
 in men of his pursuit, in the gentle aspect and 
 subdued air of his fine features, that it might 
 be fancied he was thus singularly endowed by 
 Nature, in order that deception might triumph. 
 If there were moments when a disregard of opin- 
 ion was seen in his demeanor, it rather appeared 
 assumed than easy; and even when most dis- 
 posed to display lawless indifference to the ordi- 
 nary regulations of society, in his interview with 
 the alderman, it had been blended with a reserve 
 of manner that was strangely in contrast with 
 his humor. 
 
 On the other hand, it were idle to say that 
 Alida de Barberie had no unpleasant suspicions 
 concerning the character of her uncle's guest. 
 That baneful influence which necessarily exerts 
 itself near an irresponsible power, coupled with 
 the natural indifference with which the principal 
 regards the dependant, had caused the English 
 ministry to fill too many of their posts of honor 
 and profit, in their colonies, with needy and dis- 
 solute men of rank, or of high political connec- 
 tions at home. The province of New York had, 
 in this respect, been particularly unfortunate. 
 The gift of it by Charles to his brother and suc- 
 cessor, had left it without the protection of those 
 charters and other privileges that had been grant- 
 ed to most of the governments of America. The 
 connection with the crown was direct, and for a 
 long period the majority of the inhabitants were 
 considered as of a different race, and of course 
 as of one less to be considered than that of their 
 conquerors. Such was the laxity of the times 
 on the subject of injustice to the people of this 
 hemisphere, that the predatory expeditions of 
 Drake and others against the wealthy occupants 
 of the more southern countries seem to have 
 left no spots on their escutcheons ; and the hon- 
 ors and favors of Queen Elizabeth had been lib- 
 erally extended to men who would now be deemed 
 freebooters. In short, that system of violence and 
 specious morality which commenced with the gifts 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella, and the bulls of the 
 popes, was continued with more or less of modi- 
 fication, until the descendants of those single- 
 minded and virtuous men who peopled the Union, 
 
THE ALDERMAN'S INSPECTION. 
 
 45 
 
 took the powers of government into their own 
 hands, and proclaimed political ethics that were 
 previously as little practised as understood. 
 
 Alida knew that both the Earl of Bellamont 
 /and the unprincipled nobleman who has been 
 J introduced in the earlier pages of this tale, 
 had not escaped the imputation of conniving at 
 acts on the sea far more flagrant than any of an 
 unlawful trade ; and it will therefore create little 
 surprise that she saw reason to distrust the le- 
 gality of some of her uncle's speculations, with 
 less pain than might be felt by one of her sex 
 and opinions at the present hour. Her sus- 
 picions, however, fell far short of the truth ; for 
 it were scarce possible to have presented a mari- 
 ner who bore about him fewer of those signs of 
 his rude calling than he whom she had so unex- 
 pectedly met. 
 
 Perhaps, too, the powerful charm that existed 
 • in the voice and countenance of one so singularly 
 ^ gifted by Nature, had its influence in persuading 
 Alida to reappear. At all events, she was soon 
 seen to enter the room with an air that manifest- 
 ed more of curiosity and wonder than of dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 " My niece has heard that thou comest from 
 the old countries, Master Seadrift," said the wary 
 alderman, who preceded Alida, " and the woman 
 1 is uppermost in her heart. Thou wilt never be 
 forgiven should the eye of any maiden in Man- 
 hattan get sight of thy finery before she has 
 passed judgment on its merit." 
 
 " I cannot wish a more impartial or a fairer 
 judge," returned the other, doffing his cap in the 
 gallant and careless manner of his trade. " Here 
 are silks from the looms of Tuscany, and Lyon- 
 nois brocades, that any Lombard or dame of 
 France might envy. Ribbons of every hue and 
 dye, and laces that seem to copy the fretwork of 
 the richest cathedral of your Fleming ! " 
 
 " Thou hast journeyed much in thy time, 
 Master Seadrift, and speakest of countries and 
 usages with understanding," said the alderman. 
 "But how stand the prices of these precious 
 goods ? Thou knowest the long war, and moral 
 certainty of its continuance ; this German suc- 
 cession to the throne, and the late earthquakes 
 in the country, too, have much unsettled prices, 
 and cause us thoughtful burghers to be wary in 
 our traffic. Didst inquire the cost of geldings 
 when last in Holland ? " 
 
 " The animals go a-begging ! As to the value 
 of my goods, that, you know, is fixed ; for I ad- 
 mit of no parley between friends." 
 
 " Thy obstinacy is unreasonable, Master Sea- 
 drift. A wise merchant will always look to the 
 
 state of the market, and one so practised should 
 know that a nimble sixpence multiplies faster 
 than a slow-moving shilling. 'Tis the constant 
 rolling of the ball that causes the snow to cleave ! 
 Goods that come light should not go heavy, and 
 quick settlements follow sudden bargains. Thou 
 knowest our York saying, that ' first offers are 
 the best.' " 
 
 " He that likes may purchase, and he that 
 prefers his gold to fine laces, rich silks, and stiff 
 brocades, has only to sleep with his money-bags 
 under his pillow. There are others who wait with 
 impatience to see the articles; and I have not 
 crossed the Atlantic with a freight that scarcely 
 ballasts the brigantine, to throw away the valu- 
 ables on the lowest bidder." 
 
 " Nay, uncle," said Alida, in a little trepida- 
 tion, " we cannot judge of the quality of Master 
 Seadrift's articles by report. I dare to say he has 
 not landed without a sample of his wares ? " 
 
 " Custom and friendships ! " muttered Myn- 
 dert ; " of what use is an established correspond- 
 ence if it is to be broken on account of a little 
 cheapening ? But produce thy stores, Mr. Dog- 
 matism ; I warrant me the fashions are of some 
 rejected use, or that the color of the goods be 
 impaired by the usual negligence of thy careless 
 mariners. We will at least pay thee the compli- 
 ment to look at the effects." 
 
 " 'Tis as you please," returned the other. 
 " The bales are in the usual place at the wharf, 
 under the inspection of honest Master Tiller — but 
 if so inferior in quality they will scarce repay the 
 trouble of the walk." 
 
 "I'll go, I'll go," said the alderman, adjusting 
 his wig and removing his spectacles ; " 'twould 
 not be treating an old correspondent well, to re- 
 fuse to look at his samples — thou wilt follow, 
 Master Seadrift, and so I will pay thee the compli- 
 ment to examine the effects — though the long war, 
 the glut of furs, the over-abundance of the last 
 year's harvests, and the perfect quiet in the min- 
 ing districts, have thrown all commerce fiat on its 
 back. I'll go, however, lest thou shouldst say 
 thy interests were neglected. Thy Master Tiller 
 is an indiscreet agent ; he gave me a fright to-day 
 that exceeds any alarm I have felt since the fail- 
 ure of Yan Halt, Balance, and Diddle." 
 
 The voice of Myndert became inaudible, for, 
 in his haste not to neglect the interests of his 
 guest, the tenacious trader had already quitted 
 the room, and half of his parting speech was ut- 
 tered in the antechamber of the pavilion. 
 
 " 'Twould scarce comport with the propriety 
 of my sex, to mingle with the seamen, and the 
 others who doubtless surround the bales," said 
 
46 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 Alida, in whose face there was a marked expres- 
 sion of hesitation and curiosity. 
 
 " It will not be necessary," returned her com- 
 panion. " I have, at hand, specimens of all that 
 you would see. But why this haste ? We are 
 yet in the early hours of the night, and the alder- 
 man will be occupied long, ere he comes to the 
 determination to pay the prices my people are 
 sure to ask. I am lately from off the sea, beauti- 
 ful Alida, and thou canst not know the pleasure 
 I find in breathing even the atmosphere of a wom- 
 an's presence." 
 
 La belle Barberie retired a step or two, she 
 knew not why ; and her hand was placed upon 
 the cord of the bell, before she was aware of the 
 manner in which she betrayed her alarm. 
 
 " To me it does not seem that I am a creature 
 so terrific that thou need'st dread my presence," 
 continued the gay mariner, with a smile that ex- 
 pressed as much of secret irony, as of that pen- 
 sive character which had again taken possession 
 of his countenance ; " but ring, and bring your 
 attendants to relieve fears that are natural to thy 
 sex, and therefore seducing to mine. Shall I pull 
 the cord ? — for this pretty hand trembles too much 
 to do its office. 1 ' 
 
 " I know not that any would answer, for it is 
 past the hour of attendance ; it is better that I go 
 to the examination of the bales." 
 
 The strange and singularly - attired being, 
 who occasioned so much uneasiness to Alida, re- 
 garded her a moment with a kind and melancholy 
 solicitude. 
 
 " Thus they are all, till altered by too much 
 intercourse with a cold and corrupt world ! " he 
 rather whispered, than uttered aloud. " Would 
 that thus they might all continue ! Thou art a 
 singular compound of thy sex's weakness and of 
 manly resolution, belle Barberie; but trust me," 
 and he laid his hand on his heart with an ear- 
 nestness that spoke well for his sincerity, " ere 
 word, or act, to harm or to offend thee, should 
 proceed from any who obey will of mine, Nature 
 itself must undergo a change. Start not, for I 
 call one to show the specimen you would see." 
 
 He then applied a little silver whistle to his 
 lips, and drew a low signal from the instrument, 
 motioning to Alida to await the result without 
 alarm. In half a minute, there was a rustling 
 among the leaves of the shrubbery, a moment 
 of attentive pause, and then a dark object en- 
 tered the window, and rolled heavily to the cen- 
 tre of the floor. 
 
 " Here are our commodities, and trust me the 
 price shall not be dwelt on between us," re- 
 sumed Master Seadrift, undoing the fastenings 
 
 of the little bale, that had entered the saloon 
 seemingly without the aid of hands. "These 
 goods are so many gages of neutrality between 
 us ; so approach and examine without fear. 
 You will find some among them to reward the 
 hazard." 
 
 ; The bale was now open, and, as its master ap- 
 peared to be singularly expert in suiting a female 
 fancy, it became impossible for Alida to resist 
 any longer. She gradually lost her reserve, as 
 the examination proceeded ; and before the own- 
 er of the treasures had got into the third of his 
 packages, the hands of the heiress were as ac- 
 tively employed as his own, in gaining access to 
 their view. 
 
 " This is a stuff of the Lombard territories," 
 said the vender of the goods, pleased with the 
 confidence he had succeeded in establishing be- 
 tween his beautiful customer and himself. " Thou 
 eest, it is rich, flowery, and variegated as the 
 land it came from. One might fancy the vines 
 and vegetation of that deep soil were shooting 
 from this labor of the loom — nay, the piece is 
 sufficient for any toilet, however ample ; see, it 
 is endless as the plains that reared the little ani- 
 mal who supplies the texture. I have parted of 
 that fabric to many dames of England, who have 
 not disdained to traffic with one that risks much 
 in their behalf." 
 
 " I fear there are many who find a pleasure 
 in these stuffs, chiefly because their use is for- 
 bidden." 
 
 " 'Twould not be out of nature ! Look ; this 
 box contains ornaments of the elephant's tooth, 
 cut by a cunning artificer in the far Eastern 
 lands ; they do not disfigure a lady's dressing- 
 table, and have a moral, for they remind her of 
 countries where the sex is less happy than at 
 home. Ah ! here is a treasure of Mechlin, 
 wrought in a fashion of my own design." 
 
 " 'Tis beautifully fancied, and might do credit 
 to one who professed the painter's art." 
 
 " My youth was much employed in these con- 
 ceits," returned the trader, unfolding the rich 
 and delicate lace, in a manner to show that he 
 had still pleasure in contemplating its texture 
 and quality. " There was a compact between 
 me and the maker, that enough should be fur- 
 nished to reach from the high church-tower of 
 his town to the pavement beneath ; and yet, you 
 see how little remains ! The London dames 
 found it to their taste, and it was not easy to 
 bring even this trifle into the colonies." 
 
 "You chose a remarkable measure for an 
 article that was to visit so many different coun- 
 tries, without the formalities of law." 
 
ALIDA AND THE SMUGGLER. 
 
 47 
 
 " We thought to start in favor of the Church, 
 which rarely frowns on those who respect its 
 privileges. Under the sanction of such authority, 
 I will lay aside all that remains, certain it will 
 be needed for thy use." 
 
 " So rare a manufacture should be costly ? " 
 
 La belle Barberie spoke hesitatingly, and, as 
 she raised her eyes, they met the dark organs of 
 her companion, fixed on her face, in a manner 
 that seemed to express a consciousness of the 
 ascendency he was gaining. Startled, at sbe 
 knew not what, the maiden again added, hastily : 
 
 " This may be fitter for a court lady than a 
 girl of the colonies." 
 
 "None who have yet worn of it so well be- 
 come it ; I lay it here," as a make-weight in my 
 bargain with the alderman. — This is satin of Tus- 
 cany ; a country where Nature exhibits its ex- 
 tremes, and one whose merchants were princes. 
 Your Florentine was subtle in his fabrics, and 
 happy in his conceits of forms and colors, for 
 which he stood indebted to the riches of his 
 own climate/ Observe — the hue of this glossy 
 surface is scarcely so delicate as I have seen the 
 rosy light, at even, playing on the sides of his 
 Apennines ! " 
 
 "You have then visited the regions in whose 
 fabrics you deal ? " said Alida, suffering the arti- 
 cles to fall from her hand, in the stronger inter- 
 est she began to feel, in their owner. 
 
 " 'Tis my habit. Here have we a chain from 
 the city of the isles. The hand of a Venetian 
 could alone form these delicate and nearly insen- 
 sible links. I refused a string of spotless pearls 
 for that same golden web." 
 
 " It was indiscreet, in one who trades at so 
 much hazard." 
 
 " I kept the bawble for my pleasure ! — Whim 
 is sometimes stronger than the thirst of gain^nd 
 this chain does not quit me till I bestowUtjDnjtiie 
 lady of my love." 
 
 " One so actively employed can scarcely spare 
 time to seek a fitting object for the gift." 
 
 " Is merit and loveliness in the sex so rare? 
 La belle Barberie speaks in the security of many 
 conquests, or she would not deal thus lightly in a 
 matter that is so serious with most females." 
 
 " Among other countries your vessel hath vis- 
 ited a land of witchcraft, or you would not pretend 
 to a knowledge of things, that, in their very na- 
 ture, must be hidden from a stranger. — Of what 
 value may be those beautiful feathers of the os- 
 trich ? " 
 
 "They came of swarthy Africa, though so 
 spotless themselves. The bunch was had, by 
 secret traffic, from a Moorish man, in exchange 
 
 for a few skins of Lachryma Christi, that he 
 swallowed with his eyes shut. I dealt with the 
 fellow only in pity for his thirst, and do not pride 
 myself on the value of the commodity. It shall 
 go, too, to quicken love between me and thy 
 uncle." 
 
 Alida could not object to this liberality, though 
 she was not without a secret opinion that the 
 gifts were no more than delicate and well-con- 
 cealed offerings to herself. The effect of this 
 suspicion was twofold : it caused the maiden to 
 become more reserved in the expression of her 
 tastes, though it in no degree lessened her confi- 
 dence in, and admiration of, the wayward and re- 
 markable trader. 
 
 " My uncle will have cause to commend thy 
 generous spirit," said the heiress, bending her 
 head a little coldly, at this repeated declaration 
 of her companion's intentions, "though it would 
 seem that, in trade, justice is as much to be de- 
 sired as generosity— this seemeth a curious design, 
 wrought with the needle ! " 
 
 " It is the labor of many a day, fashioned by 
 the hand of a recluse. I bought it of a nun, in 
 France, who passed years in toil upon the con- 
 ceit, which is of more value than the material. 
 The meek daughter of solitude wept when she 
 parted with the fabric, for, in her eyes, it had the 
 tie of association and habit. A companion might 
 be lost to one who lives in the confusion of the 
 world, and it should not cause more real sorrow 
 than parting from the product of her needle gave 
 that mild resident of the cloisters ! " 
 
 "And is it permitted for your sex to visit 
 those places of religious retirement ? " asked 
 Alida. " I come of a race that pays little defer- 
 ence to monastic life, for we are refugees from the 
 severity of Louis ; but yet I never heard my father 
 charge these females with being so regardless of 
 their vows." 
 
 " The fact was so repeated to me ; for, surely, 
 my sex are not admitted to traffic, directly, with 
 the modest sisters " (a smile, that Alida was half 
 disposed to think bold, played about the hand- 
 some mouth of the speaker); "but it was so re- 
 ported. What is your opinion of the merit of 
 woman, in thus seeking refuge from the cares, 
 and haply from the sins, of the world, in institu- 
 tions of this order ? " 
 
 " Truly the question exceedethmy knowledge. 
 This is not a country to immure females, and the 
 custom causes us of America little thought." 
 
 " The usage hath its abuses," continued the 
 dealer in contraband, speaking thoughtfully ; 
 " but it is not without its good. There are many 
 of the weak and vain, that would be happier in 
 
4:8 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 the cloisters, than if left to the seductions and 
 follies of life. Ah ! here is work of English hands. 
 I scarcely know how the articles found their way 
 into the company of the products of the foreign 
 looms. My bales contain, in general, little that is 
 vulgarly sanctioned by the law. Speak me frank- 
 ly, belle Alida, and say if you share in the preju- 
 dices against the character of us free-traders? " 
 
 " I pretend not to judge of regulations that 
 exceed the knowledge and practices of my sex," 
 returned the maiden, with commendable reserve^ 
 " There are some who think the abuse of power 
 a justification of its resistance, while others deem . 
 a breach of law to be a breach of morals." 
 
 " The latter is the doctrine of your man of in- 
 vested moneys and established fortune ! He has 
 intrenched his gains behind acknowledged bar- 
 riers, and he preaches their sanctity, because 
 they favor his selfishness. We skimmers of the 
 sea—" 
 
 Alida started so suddenly as to cause her 
 companion to cease speaking. 
 
 " Are my words frightful, that you pale at 
 their sound ? " 
 
 " I hope they are used rather in accident than 
 with their dreaded meaning. I would not have it 
 said — no ! 'tis but a chance that springs from 
 some resemblance in your callings. One like you 
 can never be the man whose name has grown in- 
 to a proverb ! " 
 
 "One like me, beautiful Alida, is much as 
 Fortune wills. Of what man, or of what name 
 wouldst speak ? " 
 
 " 'Tis nothing," returned la belle Barberie, 
 gazing unconsciously at the polished and graceful 
 features of the stranger, longer than was wont in 
 maiden. " Proceed with your explanation — 
 these are rich velvets ! " 
 
 " They come of Venice, too ; but commerce is 
 like the favor which attends the rich, and the 
 queen of the Adriatic is already far on the 
 decline. That which causes the increase of the 
 husbandman occasions the downfall of a city. 
 The lagunes are filling with fat soil, and the keel 
 of the trader is less frequent there than of old. 
 Ages hence, the plough may trace furrows where 
 the Bucentaur has floated! The outer India 
 passage has changed the current of prosperity, 
 which ever rushes in the widest and newest 
 track. Nations might learn a moral, by studying 
 the sleepy canals and instructive magnificence of 
 that fallen town ; but pride fattens on its own 
 lazy recollections, to the last ! — As I was saying, 
 we rovers deal little in musty maxims, that are 
 made by the great and prosperous at home, and 
 are trumpeted abroad, in order that the weak and 
 
 unhappy should be the more closely riveted in 
 their fetters." 
 
 " Methinks you push the principle further 
 than is necessary, for one whose greatest offence 
 against established usage is a little hazardous 
 commerce. These are opinions that might unset- 
 tle the world." 
 
 " Rather settle it, by referring all to the rule 
 of right. When governments shall lay their 
 foundations in natural justice, when their object 
 shall be to remove the temptations to err, instead 
 of creating them, and when bodies of men shall 
 feel and acknowledge the responsibilities of indi- 
 viduals — why, then the Water- Witch herself 
 might become a revenue-cutter, and her owner an 
 officer of the customs." 
 
 The velvet fell from the hands of la belle Bar- 
 berie, and she arose from her seat with precipita- 
 tion. 
 
 "Speak plainly," said Alida, with all her 
 natural firmness. " With whom am I about to 
 traffic ? " 
 
 "An outcast of society — a man condemned 
 in the opinions of the world — the outlaw — the 
 flagrant wanderer of the ocean — the lawless Skim- 
 mer of the Seas ! " cried a voice at the open win- 
 dow. 
 
 In another minute Ludlow was in the room. 
 Alida uttered a shriek, veiled her face in her 
 robe, and rushed from the apartment. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "Truth, will come to light ; 
 Murder cannot be hid long, a man's son may ; 
 But in the end, truth will out" 
 
 Latjncelot. 
 
 The officer of the queen had leaped into the 
 pavilion with the flushed features and all the hur- 
 ry of an excited man. The exclamations and re- 
 treat of la belle Barberie, for a single moment, 
 diverted his attention ; then he turned, suddenly, 
 not to say fiercely, toward her companion. It is 
 not necessary to repeat the description of the 
 stranger's person, in order to render the change 
 which instantly occurred in the countenance of 
 Ludlow intelligible to the reader. His eye, at 
 first, refused to believe there was no other pres- 
 ent ; and when it had, again and again, searched 
 the whole apartment, it returned to the face and 
 form of the dealer in contraband, with an expres- 
 sion of incredulity and wonder. 
 
 » Here is some mistake ! " exclaimed the com- 
 mander of the Coquette, after time had been giv- 
 en for a thorough examination of the room. 
 
THE SMUGGLER AND CAPTAIN LUDLOW. 
 
 49 
 
 " Your gentle manner of entrance," returned 
 the stranger, across whose face there had passed 
 a glow that might have come equally of anger or 
 surprise, "has driven the lady from the room. 
 But, as you wear the livery of the queen, I pre- 
 sume you have authority for invading the dwell- 
 ing of the subject ? " 
 
 " I had believed — nay, there was reason to 
 be certain, that one whom all of proper loyalty exe- 
 crate, was to be found here," stammered the still 
 confused Ludlow. " There can scarce be a de- 
 ception, for I plainly heard the discourse of my 
 captors, and yet here is none ! " 
 
 " I thank you for the high consideration you 
 bestow on my presence." 
 
 The manner, rather than the words, of the 
 speaker, induced Ludlow to rivet another look on 
 his countenance. There was a mixed expression 
 of doubt, admiration, and possibly of uneasiness, 
 if not of actual jealousy, in the eye, which slowly 
 read all his lineaments, though the former seemed 
 the stronger sensation of the three. 
 
 " We have never met before ! " cried Ludlow, 
 when the organ began to grow dim with the 
 length and steadiness of its gaze. 
 
 " The ocean has many paths, and men may 
 journey on them long without crossing each 
 other." 
 
 " Thou hast served the queen, though I see 
 thee in this doubtful situation ? " 
 
 " Never. I am not one to bind myself to the 
 servitude of any woman that lives," returned the 
 free-trader, while a mild smile played about his 
 lip, " though she wore a thousand diadems ; Anne 
 never had an hour of my time nor a single wish 
 of my heart." 
 
 " This is bold language, sir, for the ear of her 
 officer. The arrival of an unknown brigantine, 
 certain incidents which have occurred to myself 
 this night, your presence here, that bale of articles 
 forbidden by the law, create suspicions that must 
 be satisfied. Who are you ? " 
 
 " The flagrant wanderer of the ocean — the 
 outcast of society — the condemned in the opin- 
 ions of the world — the lawless Skimmer of the 
 Seas!" 
 
 " This cannot be ! The tongues of men speak 
 of the personal deformity of that wanderer, no 
 less than of his bold disregard of the law. You 
 would deceive me." 
 
 J" If, then, men err so much in that which is 
 visible and unimportant," returned the other, 
 proudly, " is there not reason to doubt their 
 accuracy in matters of more weight ? I am 
 surely what I seem, if I am not what I say." 
 
 "I will not credit so improbable a tale. 
 4 
 
 Give me some proof that what I hear is 
 true." 
 
 " Look at that brigantine, whose delicate spars 
 are almost confounded with the background of 
 trees," said the other, approaching the window, 
 and directing the attention of his companion to 
 the cove, f 'Tis the bark that has so often foiled 
 the efforts of all thy cruisers, and which trans- 
 ports me and my wealth whither I will, without 
 the fetters of arbitrary laws, and the meddling in- 
 quiries of venal hirelings. The scud, which floats 
 above the sea, is not freer than that vessel, and 
 scarcely more swift. Well is she named the 
 Water-Witch ! for her performances on the wide 
 ocean have been such as seem to exceed all nat- 
 ural means. The froth of the sea does not dance 
 more lightly above the waves than yonder grace- 
 ful fabric, when driven by the breeze. She is a 
 thing to be loved, Ludlow ; trust me, I never yet 
 set affections on woman with the warmth I feel 
 for the faithful and beautiful machine ! " 
 
 " This is little more than any mariner could 
 say, in praise of a vessel that he admired." 
 
 " Will you say it, sir, in favor of yon lumber- 
 ing sloop of Queen Anne ? Your Coquette is none 
 of the fairest, and there was more of pretension 
 than of truth at her christening." 
 
 "By the title of my royal mistress, young 
 beardless, but there is an insolence in this lan- 
 guage that might become him you wish to repre- 
 sent ! My ship, heavy or light of foot as she may 
 be, is fated to bring yonder false trader to the 
 judgment." 
 
 " By the craft and qualities of the Water- 
 Witch ! but this is language that might become 
 one who was at liberty to act his pleasure," re- 
 turned the stranger, tauntingly imitating the tone 
 in which his angry companion had spoken. " You 
 would have proof of my identity : listen. There 
 is one who vaunts his power, that forgets he is a 
 dupe of my agent ; and that even while his words 
 are so full of boldness, he is a captive ! " 
 
 The brown cheek of Ludlow reddened, and he 
 turned toward the lighter and far less vigorous 
 frame of his companion as if about to strike him 
 to the earth, when a door opened, and Alida ap- 
 peared in the saloon. 
 
 The meeting between the commander of the 
 Coquette and his mistress was not without em- 
 barrassment. The anger of the former and the 
 confusion of the latter for a moment kept both 
 silent ; but, as la belle Barberie had not returned 
 without an object, she was quick to speak. 
 
 " I know not whether to approve or to condemn 
 the boldness that has prompted Captain Ludlow 
 to enter my pavilion, at this unseasonable hour, 
 
50 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 and in so unceremonious a manner," she said, 
 " for I am still ignorant of his motive. When he 
 shall please to let me hear it, I may judge better 
 of the merit of the excuse." 
 
 " True, we will hear his explanation, before 
 condemnation," added the stranger, offering a 
 seat to Alida, which she coldly declined. " Be- 
 yond a doubt the gentleman has a motive." 
 
 If looks could have destroyed, the speaker 
 would have been annihilated. But, as the lady 
 seemed indifferent to the last remark, Ludlow 
 prepared to enter on his vindication. 
 
 " I shall not attempt to conceal that an arti- 
 fice has been practised," he said, " which is ac- 
 companied by consequences that I find awkward. 
 The air and manner of the seaman whose bold 
 conduct you witnessed in the boat, induced me 
 to confide in him more than was prudent, and I 
 have been rewarded by deception." 
 
 " In other words, Captain Ludlow is not as 
 sagacious as he had reason to believe," said an 
 ironical voice at his elbow. 
 
 " In what manner am I to blame, or why is 
 my privacy to be interrupted, because a wander- 
 ing seaman has deceived the commander of the 
 Coquette ? " rejoined Alida. " Not only that au- 
 dacious mariner, but this — this person," she 
 added, adopting a word that use has appropriated 
 to the multitude, " is a stranger to me. There 
 is no other connection between us than that you 
 see." 
 
 " It is not necessary to say why I landed," 
 continued Ludlow ; " but I was weak enough to 
 allow that unknown mariner to quit my ship in 
 my company ; and, when I would return, he found 
 means to disarm my men, and make me a pris- 
 oner." 
 
 " And yet art thou, for a captive, tolerably 
 free ! " added the ironical voice. 
 
 " Of what service is this freedom, without the 
 means of using it ? The sea separates me from 
 my ship, and my faithful boat's crew are in fetters. 
 I have been little watched myself; but though 
 forbidden to approach certain points, enough has 
 been seen to leave no doubts of the character 
 of those whom Alderman Van Beverout enter- 
 tains." 
 
 " Thou wouldst also say, and his niece, Lud- 
 low." 
 
 " I would say nothing harsh to, or disrespect- 
 ful of, Alida de Barberie. I will not deny that a 
 harrowing idea possessed me ; but I see my error, 
 and repent having been so hasty." 
 
 " We may then resume our commerce," said 
 the trader, coolly seating himself before the open 
 bale, while Ludlow and the maiden stood regard- 
 
 ing each other in mute surprise. " It is pleasant 
 to exhibit these forbidden treasures to an officer 
 of the queen. It may prove the means of gain- 
 ing the royal patronage. We were last among 
 the velvets, and on the lagunes, of Venice. Here 
 is one of a color and quality to form a bridal dress 
 for the doge himself, in his nuptials with the sea. 
 We men of the ocean look upon that ceremony as 
 a pledge Hymen will not forget us, though we 
 may wander from his altars. Do I justice to the 
 faith of the craft, Captain Ludlow ? — or are you 
 a sworn devotee of Neptune, and content to 
 breathe your sighs to Venus, when afloat ? Well, 
 if the damps and salt air of the ocean rust the 
 golden chain, it is the fault of cruel Nature ! — Ah ! 
 here is — " 
 
 A shrill whistle sounded among the shrubbery, 
 and the speaker became mute. Throwing his 
 cloths carelessly on the bale, he arose again, and 
 seemed to hesitate. Throughout the interview 
 with Ludlow, the air of the free-trader had been 
 mild, though at times it was playful ; and not for 
 an instant had he seemed to return the resent- 
 ment which the other had so plainly manifested. 
 It now became perplexed, and, by the workings 
 of his features, it would seem that he vacillated in 
 his opinions. The sounds of the whistle were 
 heard again. 
 
 " Ay, ay, Master Tom ! " muttered the dealer 
 in contraband. " Thy note is audible, but why 
 this haste ? — Beautiful Alida, this shrill summons 
 is to say, that the moment of parting is ar- 
 rived ! " 
 
 " We met with less of preparation," returned 
 la belle Barberie, who preserved all the distant 
 reserve of her sex, under the jealous eyes of her 
 admirer. 
 
 "We met without a warning, but shall our 
 separation be without a memorial ? Am I to re- 
 turn with all these valuables to the brigantine, or 
 in their place must I take the customary golden 
 tribute ? " 
 
 " I know not that I dare make a traffic which 
 is not sanctioned by the law in presence of a ser- 
 vant of the queen," returned Alida, smiling. " I 
 will not deny that you have much to excite a 
 woman's envy ; but our royal mistress might for- 
 get her sex, and show little pity, were she to hear 
 of my weakness." 
 
 " No fear of that, lady. 'Tis they who are 
 most stern in creating these harsh regulations 
 that show most frailty in their breach. By 
 the virtues of honest Leadenhall itself, but I 
 should like to tempt the royal Anne in her closet 
 with such a display of goodly laces and heavy bro- 
 cades." 
 
CAPTAIN LUDLOW A PRISONER. 
 
 51 
 
 " That might be more hazardous than wise ! " 
 
 "I know not. Though seated on a throne, 
 she is but woman. Disguise Nature as thou wilt, 
 she is a universal tyrant, and governs all alike. 
 The head that wears a crown dreams of the con- 
 quests of the sex, rather than of the conquests of 
 states ; the hand that wields the sceptre is fitted 
 to display its prettiness with the pencil or the nee- 
 dle ; and, though words and ideas may be taught 
 and sounded forth with the pomp of royalty, the 
 tone is still that of woman." 
 
 " Without bringing into question the merits 
 of our present royal mistress," said Alida, who 
 was a little apt to assert her sex's rights, " there 
 is the example of the glorious Elizabeth, to refute 
 his charge." 
 
 " Ay, we have had our Cleopatras in the sea- 
 fight, and fear was found stronger than love! 
 The sea has monsters, and so may have the land.^ 
 He that made the earth gave it laws that 'tis not 
 good to break. We men are jealous of our quali- 
 ties, and little like to see them usurped; and 
 trust me, lady, she that forgets the means that 
 Nature bestows, may mourn in sorrow over the 
 fatal error. But shall we deal in velvet, or is your 
 taste more leaning to brocade ? " 
 
 Alida and Ludlow listened in admiration to 
 the capricious and fanciful language of the unac- 
 countable trader, and both were equally at a loss 
 to estimate his character. The equivocal air was 
 in general well maintained, though the command- 
 er of the Coquette had detected an earnestness 
 and feeling in his manner, when he more particu- 
 larly addressed la belle Barberie, that excited an 
 uneasiness he was ashamed to admit, even to him- 
 self. That the maiden herself observed this 
 change, might also be inferred from a richer glow 
 which diffused itself over her features, though it is 
 scarce probable that she was conscious of its ef- 
 fects. When questioned as to her determination 
 concerning his goods, she again regarded Ludlow 
 doubtingly, ere she answered. 
 
 " That you have not studied woman in vain," 
 she laughingly replied, " I must fain acknowledge. 
 And yet ere I make decision, suffer me to con- 
 sult those who, being more accustomed to deal 
 with the laws, are better judges of the propriety 
 of the purchases." 
 
 " If this request were not reasonable in itself, 
 it were due to your beauty and station, lady, to 
 grant it. I leave the bale in your care ; and, before 
 to-morrow's sun has set, one will await the an- 
 swer. — Captain Ludlow, are we to part in friend- 
 ship, or does your duty to the queen proscribe 
 the word ? " 
 
 " If what you seem," said Ludlow, " you are a 
 
 being inexplicable ! If this be some masquerade, 
 as I half suspect, 'tis well maintained at least, 
 though not worthily assumed." 
 
 " You are not the first who has refused credit 
 to his senses in a manner wherein the Water- 
 Witch and her commander have been concerned. 
 — Peace, honest Tom ; thy whistle will not hasten 
 Father Time ! — Friend or not, Captain Ludlow 
 need not be told he is my prisoner." 
 
 " That I have fallen into the power of a mis- 
 creant — " 
 
 " Hist ! — if thou hast love for bodily ease and 
 whole bones. Master Thomas Tiller is a man of 
 rude humor, and he as little likes contumely as 
 another. Besides, the honest mariner did but 
 obey my orders, and his character is protected by a 
 superior responsibility." 
 
 / " Thy orders ! " repeated Ludlow, with an ex- 
 ^/pression of eye and lip that might have offended 
 one more disposed to take offence than him he 
 addressed. " The fellow who so well succeeded 
 in his artifice is one much more likely to com- 
 mand than to obey. If any here be the Skimmer 
 of the Seas, it is he." 
 
 " We are no more than the driving spray 
 which goes whither the winds list. But in what 
 hath the man offended that he finds so little favor 
 with the queen's captain ? He has not had the 
 boldness to propose a secret traffic with so loyal 
 a gentleman." 
 
 " 'Tis well, sir ; you choose a happy occasion 
 for this pleasantry. I landed to manifest the re- 
 spect that I feel for this lady, and I care not if 
 the world knows the object of the visit. 'Twas 
 no silly artifice that led me hither." 
 
 "Spoken with the frankness of a seaman!" 
 said the inexplicable dealer in contraband, though 
 his color lessened and his voice appeared to hesi- 
 tate. "I admire this loyalty in man to woman ; 
 for, as custom has so strongly fettered them in 
 the expression of their inclinations, it is due from 
 us to leave as little doubt as possible of our 
 intentions. It is difficult to think that la belle Bar- 
 berie can do wiser than to reward so much manly 
 admiration." 
 
 The stranger cast a glance, which Alida fan- 
 cied betrayed solicitude, as he spoke, at the maid- 
 en, and he appeared to expect she would reply. 
 
 " When the time shall come for a decision," 
 returned the half-pleased and yet half-offended 
 subject of his allusion, " it may be necessary to 
 call upon very different counsellors for advice. I 
 hear the step of my uncle. — Captain Ludlow, I 
 leave it to your discretion to meet him or not." 
 
 The heavy footstep was approaching through 
 the outer rooms of the pavilion. Ludlow hesi- 
 
52 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 tated ; cast a reproachful look at his mistress ; 
 then he instantly quitted the apartment by the 
 place through which he had entered. A noise in 
 the shrubbery sufficiently proved that his return 
 was expected, and that he wa3 closely watched. 
 
 " Noah's Ark, and our grandmothers ! " ex- 
 claimed Myndert, appearing at the door with a 
 face red with his exertions. " You have brought 
 us the cast-off finery of our ancestors, Master Sea- 
 drift. Here are stuffs of an age that is past, and 
 they should be bartered for gold that hath been 
 spent." 
 
 "What now! what now!" responded the 
 free-trader, whose tone and manner seemed to 
 change at will, in order to suit the humor of whom- 
 soever he was brought to speak with. " What 
 now, pertinacious burgher, that thou shouldst 
 cry down wares that are but too good for these 
 distant regions ! Many is the English duchess 
 who pines to possess but the tithe of these beau- 
 tiful stuffs I offer thy niece ; and, faith, rare is the 
 English duchess that would become them half so 
 well ! " 
 
 "The girl is seemly, and thy velvets and bro- 
 cades are passable, but the heavy articles are not 
 fit to offer to a Mohawk sachem. There must be 
 a reduction of prices, or the invoice cannot pass." 
 
 " The greater the pity. But if sail we must, 
 sail we will ! The brigantine knows the channel 
 over the Nantucket sands ; and, my life on it ! the 
 Yankees will find others than the Mohawks for 
 chapmen." 
 
 " Thou art as quick in thy notions, Master 
 Seadrift, as the boat itself. Who said that a com- 
 promise might not be made when discussion was 
 prudently and fairly exhausted ? Strike off the 
 odd florins, leave the balance in round thousands, 
 and thy trade is done for the season !" 
 
 "Not a stiver. Here, count me back the 
 faces of the Braganza; throw enough of thin 
 ducats into the scales to make up the sum, and 
 let thy slaves push inland with the articles, be- 
 fore the morning light comes to tell the story. 
 Here has been one among us who may do mis- 
 chief, if he will ; though I know not how far he 
 is master of the main secret." 
 
 Alderman Van Beverout stared a little wildly 
 about him, adjusted his wig, like one fully con- 
 scious of the value of appearances in this world, 
 and then cautiously drew the curtains before the 
 windows. 
 
 " I know of none more than common, my niece 
 excepted," he said, when all these precautions 
 had been observed. " 'Tis true, the Patroon of 
 Kinderhook is in the house; but, as the man 
 sleeps, he is a witness in our favor. We have 
 
 the testimony of his presence, while his tongue is 
 silent." 
 
 " Well, be it so," rejoined the free-trader, read- 
 ing, in the imploring eyes of Alida, a petition that 
 he would say no more. " I knew by instinct there 
 was one unusual, and it was not for me to dis- 
 cover that he sleeps. There are dealers on the 
 coast, who, for the sake of insurance, would 
 charge his presence in their bills." 
 
 " Say no more, worthy Master Seadrift, and 
 take the gold. To confess the truth, the goods 
 are in the periagua and fairly out of the river. I 
 knew we should come to conclusions in the mat- 
 ter, and time is precious, as there is a cruiser of 
 the queen so nigh. The rogues will pass the 
 pennant, like innocent market-people, and I'll 
 risk a Flemish gelding against a Virginia nag, 
 that they inquire if the captain has no need of 
 vegetables for his soup! Ah-ha-ha-ha! That 
 Ludlow is a simpleton, niece of mine, and he is 
 not yet fit to deal with men of mature years. 
 You'll think better of his qualities, one day, and 
 bid him be gone like an unwelcome dun." 
 
 " I hope these proceedings may be legally 
 sanctioned, uncle ? " 
 
 "Sanctioned! Luck sanctions all. It is in 
 trade as in war ; success gives character and booty 
 in both. Your rich dealer is sure to be your hon- 
 est dealer. Plantations and orders in Council ! 
 What are our rulers doing at home, that they 
 need be so vociferous about a little contraband ? 
 The rogues will declaim by the hour concerning 
 bribery and corruption, while more than half of 
 them get their seats as clandestinely — ay, and as 
 illegally, as you get these rare Mechlin laces. — 
 Should the queen take offence at our dealings, 
 Master Seadrift, bring me another season or two 
 as profitable as the last, and I'll be your passen- 
 ger to London, go on 'change, buy a seat in Parlia- 
 ment, and answer to the royal displeasure from 
 my place, as they call it. By the responsibility 
 of the States-General ! but I should expect, in 
 such a case, to return Sir Myndert, and then 
 the Manhattanese might hear of a Lady Van 
 Beverout, in which case, pretty Alida, thy assets 
 would be sadly diminished ! — so go to thy bed, 
 child, and dream of fine laces, and rich velvets, 
 and duty to old uncles, and discretion, and all 
 manner of agreeable things — kiss me, jade, and 
 to thy pillow." 
 
 Alida obeyed, and was preparing to quit the 
 room, when the free-trader presented himself be- 
 fore her with an air at once so gallant and re- 
 spectful, that she could scarce take offence at 
 the freedom. 
 
 " I should fail in gratitude," he said, "were I 
 
THE ALDERMAN'S FEAES. 
 
 53 
 
 to part from so generous a customer without 
 thanks for her liberality. The hope of meeting 
 again will hasten my return." 
 
 " I know not that you are my debtor for these 
 thanks," returned Alida, though she saw that the 
 alderman was carefully collecting the contents 
 of the bale, and that he had already placed three 
 or four of the most tempting of its articles on 
 her dressing-table. " We cannot be said to have 
 bargained." 
 
 " I have parted with more than is visible to 
 vulgar eyes," returned the stranger, dropping his 
 voice, and speaking with an earnestness that 
 caused his auditor to start. "Whether there 
 will be a return for the gift, or perhaps I had bet- 
 ter call it loss, time and my stars must show ! " 
 
 He then took her hand, and raised it to his 
 lips, by an action so graceful and so gentle, as^j 
 not to alarm the maiden until the freedom was 
 done. La belle Barberie reddened to her fore- 
 head, seemed disposed to condemn the liberty, 
 frowned, smiled, and, courtesying in confusion, 
 withdrew. 
 
 Several minutes passed in profound silence, 
 after Alida had disappeared. The stranger was 
 thoughtful, though his bright eye kindled, as if 
 merry thoughts were uppermost ; and he paced 
 the room, entirely heedless of the existence of 
 the alderman. The latter, however, soon took 
 occasion to remind his companion of his pres- 
 ence. 
 
 *' No fear of the girl's prating," exclaimed 
 the alderman, when his task was ended. " She 
 is an excellent and dutiful niece ; and here, you 
 see, is a balance on her side of the account, that 
 would shut the mouth of the wife of the first 
 lord of the treasury. I disliked the manner in 
 which you would have the child introduced ; for, 
 look you, I do not think that either Monsieur 
 Barberie, or my late sister, would altogether ap- 
 prove of her entering into traffic so very young ; 
 — but what is done, is done ; and the Norman 
 himself could not deny that I have made a fair 
 set-off, of very excellent commodities, for his 
 daughter's benefit. — When dost mean to sail, 
 Master Seadrift ? " 
 
 "With the morning tide. I little like the 
 neighborhood of these meddling guardacostas." 
 
 " Bravely answered ! Prudence is a cardinal 
 quality in a private trader ; and it is a quality that 
 I esteem in Master Skimmer, next to his punctu- 
 ality. Dates and obligations ! I wish half of the 
 firms, of three and four names, without counting 
 the Co.'s, were as much to be depended on. Dost 
 not think it safer to repass the inlet under favor 
 of the darkness ? " 
 
 " 'Tis impossible. The flood is entering it like 
 water rushing through a race-way, and we have 
 the wind at east. But, fear not ; the brigantine 
 carries no vulgar freight, and your commerce has 
 given us a swept hold. The queen and the Bra- 
 ganza, with Holland ducats, might show their 
 faces even in the Royal Exchequer itself! We 
 have no want of passes, and the Miller's-Maid is 
 just as good a name to hail by as the Water- 
 Witch. We begin to tire of this constant run- 
 ning, and have half a mind to taste the pleasures 
 of your Jersey sports for a week. There should 
 be shooting on the upper plains ? " 
 
 " Heaven forbid ! Heaven forbid ! Master 
 Seadrift. I had all the deer taken for the skins, 
 ten years ago ; and as to birds, they deserted us 
 to a pigeon, when the last tribe of the savages 
 went west of the Delaware. Thou hast dis- 
 charged thy brigantine to better effect than thou 
 couldst ever discharge thy fowling-pieces. I 
 hope the hospitality of the Lust in Rust is no 
 problem — but, blushes and curiosity ! I could 
 wish to keep a fair countenance among my 
 neighbors. Art sure the impertinent masts of 
 the brigantine will not be seen above the trees, 
 when the day comes ? This Captain Ludlow is 
 no laggard when he thinks his duty actually con- 
 cerned." 
 
 " We shall endeavor to keep him quiet. The 
 cover of the trees and the berth of the boat make 
 all snug, as respects his people. I leave worthy 
 Tiller to settle balances between us; and so, I 
 take my leave. Master Alderman — a word at 
 parting. Does the Viscount Cornbury still tarry 
 in the provinces ? " 
 
 "Like a fixture. There is not a • mercantile 
 house in the colony more firmly established." 
 
 " There are unsettled affairs between us — a 
 small premium would buy the obligations — " 
 
 "Heaven keep thee, Master Seadrift, and 
 pleasant voyages back and forth ! As for the 
 viscount's responsibility — the queen may trust 
 him with another province, but Myndert Van 
 Beverout would not give him credit for the tail 
 of a marten; and so, again, Heaven preserve 
 thee ! " 
 
 The dealer in contraband appeared to tear 
 himself from the sight of all the little elegances 
 that adorned the apartment of la belle Barberie, 
 with reluctance. His adieus to the alderman 
 were rather cavalier, for he still maintained a cold 
 and abstracted air ; but as the other scarcely ob- 
 served the forms of decorum, in his evident de- 
 sire to get rid of his guest, the latter was finally 
 obliged to depart. He disappeared by the low 
 balcony, where he had entered. 
 
54 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 When Myndert Van Beverout was alone, he 
 shut the windows of the pavilion of his niece, 
 and retired to his own part of the dwelling. 
 Here the thrifty burgher first busied himself in 
 making sundry calculations, with a zeal that 
 proved how much his mind was engrossed by the 
 occupation. After this preliminary step, he gave 
 a short but secret conference to the mariner of 
 the India shawl, during which there was much 
 clinking of gold-pieces. But when the latter re- 
 tired, the master of the villa first looked to the 
 trifling securities which were then, as now, ob- 
 served in the fastenings of an American country- 
 house ; when he walked forth upon the lawn, like 
 one who felt the necessity of breathing the open 
 air. He cast more than one inquiring glance at 
 the windows of the room which was occupied by 
 OlofF Van Staats, where all was happily silent ; 
 at the equally immovable brigantine in the cove ; 
 and at the more distant and still motionless hull 
 of the cruiser of the crown. All around him was 
 in the quiet of midnight. Even the boats, which 
 he knew to be plying between the land and the lit- 
 tle vessel at anchor, were invisible ; and he reen- 
 tered hi3 habitation, with the security one would 
 be apt to feel, under similar circumstances, in a 
 region so little tenanted, and so little watched, 
 as that in which he lived. 
 
 / CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Come on, Nerissa ; I have work in hand, 
 That you, yet, know not of." 
 
 Merchant of Venice. 
 
 Notwithstanding the active movements which 
 had taken place in and around the buildings of 
 the Lust in Rust, during the night which ended 
 with our last chapter, none but the initiated were 
 in the smallest degree aware of their existence, 
 OlofF Van Staats was early afoot ; and when he 
 appeared on the lawn, to scent the morning air, 
 there was nothing visible to give rise to a suspi- 
 cion that aught extraordinary had occurred during 
 his slumbers. La Cour des Fees was still closed, 
 but the person of the faithful Francois was seen, 
 near the abode of his young mistress, busied in 
 some of those pretty little offices that can easily 
 be imagined would be agreeable to a maiden of 
 her years and station. Van Staats of Kinder- 
 hook had as little of romance in his composition 
 as could well be in a youth of five-and-twenty 
 who was commonly thought to be enamoured, and 
 who was not altogether ignorant of the conven- 
 tional sympathies of the passion. The man was 
 
 mortal, and as the personal attractions of la belle 
 Barberie were sufficiently obvious, he had not 
 entirely escaped the fate, which seems nearly in- 
 separable from young fancy, when excited by 
 beauty. He drew nigh to the pavilion, and, by a 
 guarded but decisive manoeuvre, he managed to 
 come so close to the valet as to render a verbal 
 communication not only natural, but nearly un- 
 avoidable. 
 
 " A fair morn and a healthful air, Monsieur 
 Francois," commenced the young patroon, ac- 
 knowledging the low salute of the domestic, by 
 gravely lifting his own beaver. " This is a com- 
 fortable abode for the warm months, and one it 
 might be well to visit oftener." 
 
 " When Monsieur le Patteron shall be de lor' 
 of ce manor, aussi, he shall come when he shall 
 have la volonte," returned Francois, who knew 
 that a pleasantry of his ought not to be con- 
 strued into an engagement on the part of her he 
 served, while it could not fail to be agreeable to 
 him who heard it. " Monsieur de Van Staats 
 est grand proprietaire sur la riviere, and one day, 
 peut-etre, he shall be proprietaire sur la mer ! " 
 
 " I have thought of imitating the example of 
 the alderman, honest Francis, and of building a 
 villa on the coast : but there will be time for that 
 when I shall find myself more established in life ! 
 Your young mistress is not yet moving, Fran- 
 cis?'' 
 
 " Ma foi, non — Mam'selle Alide sleep ! — 'ti3 
 good symptome, Monsieur Patteron, pour les 
 jeunes personnes, to tres-bien sleep. Monsieur, 
 et toute la famille de Barberie sleep a merveille ! 
 Oui, c'est toujours une famille remarquable pour 
 le sommeil ! " 
 
 " Yet one would wish to breath this fresh and 
 invigorating air, which comes from off the sea, 
 like a balm in the early hours of the day." 
 
 " Sans doute, monsieur. C'est un miracle, 
 how mam'selle love de air ! Personne do not 
 love air more, as Mam'selle Alide. Bah ! — it was 
 grand plaisir to see how Monsieur de Barberie 
 love de air ! " 
 
 " Perhaps, Mr. Francis, your young lady is 
 ignorant of the hour. It might be well to knock 
 at the door, or perhaps at the window. I confess 
 I should much admire to see her bright face 
 smiling from that window on this soft morning 
 scene." 
 
 It is not probable that the imagination of the 
 Patroon of Kinderhook ever before took so high 
 a flight ; and there was reason to suspect, by the 
 wavering and alarmed glance that he cast around 
 him after so unequivocal an expression of weak- 
 ness, that he already repented his temerity. 
 
TIIE BURGHER'S GUEST. 
 
 55 
 
 Francois, who would not willingly disoblige a man 
 that was known to possess a hundred thousand 
 acres of land, with manorial rights, besides per- 
 sonals of no mean amount, felt embarrassed by 
 the request ; but was enabled to recollect in time 
 that the heiress was known to possess a decision 
 of character that might choose to control her own 
 pleasures. 
 
 " Well, I shall be too happy to knock ; mais, 
 monsieur, sais dat sleep est si agreable pour les 
 jeunes personnes ! On n'a jamais knock, dans 
 la famille de Monsieur de Barberie, and je suis 
 sur que Mam'selle Alide do not love to hear de 
 knock — pourtant, si Monsieur le Patteron le veut, 
 I shall consult ses — voila ! Monsieur Bevre, 
 qui vient sans knock a la fenetre. J'ai l'hon- 
 neur de vous laisser avec Monsieur Al'erman." 
 
 And so the complaisant but still considerate 
 valet bowed himself out of a dilemma, that he 
 found, as he muttered to himself, while retiring, 
 " Tant soit peu ennuyant." 
 
 The air and manner of the alderman, as he 
 approached his guest, were like the character of 
 the man, hale, hearty, and a little occupied with 
 his own enjoyments and feelings. He hemmed 
 thrice, ere he was near enough to speak ; and 
 each of the strong expirations seemed to invite 
 the admiration of the patroon, for the strength 
 of his lungs, and for the purity of the atmos- 
 phere around a villa which acknowleged him for 
 its owner. 
 
 " Zephyrs and spas ! but this is the abode of 
 health, patroon ! " cried the burgher, as soon as 
 these demonstrations of his own bodily condition 
 had been sufficiently repeated. " One sometimes 
 feels in this air equal to holding a discourse across 
 the Atlantic with his friends at Scheveling or the 
 Helder. A broad and deep chest air like this 
 from the sea, with a clear conscience and a lucky 
 hit in the way of trade, cause the lungs of a man 
 to play as easily and as imperceptibly as the 
 wings of a humming-bird. Let me see ; there 
 are few fourscore men in thy stock. The last 
 patroon closed the books at sixty-six ; and his 
 father went but a little beyond seventy. I won- 
 der there has never been an intermarriage 
 among you with the Yan Courtlandts ; that blood 
 is as good as an insurance to fourscore and ten 
 of itself." 
 
 " I find the air of your villa, Mr. Van Bever- 
 out, a cordial that one could wish to take often," 
 returned the other, who had far less of the 
 brusque manner of the trader than his compan- 
 ion. " It is a pity that all who have the choice 
 do not profit by their opportunities to breathe 
 it." 
 
 " You allude to the lazy mariners in yon ves- 
 sel ! Her majesty's servants are seldom in a 
 hurry ; and as for this brigantine in the cove, the 
 fellow seems to have got in by magic ! I war- 
 rant me, now, the rogue is there for no good, 
 and that the queen's exchequer will be none the 
 richer for his visit. — Harkee, you Brom," calling 
 to an aged black who was working at no great 
 distance from the dwelling, and who was deep in 
 his master's confidence, " hast seen any boats 
 plying between yonder roguish-looking brigantine 
 and the land ? " 
 
 The negro shook his head like the earthen 
 image of a mandarin, and laughed loud and 
 heartily. 
 
 " I b'rieve he do all he mischief among a 
 Yankee, an' he only come here to take he breat'," 
 said the wily slave. " Well, I wish wid all a 
 heart dere would come free-trader some time 
 along our shore. Dat gib a chance to poor 
 black man to make an honest penny ! " 
 
 " You see, patroon, human nature itself rises 
 against monopoly ! That was the voice of in- 
 stinct speaking with the tongue of Brom ; and it 
 is no easy task for a merchant to keep his de- 
 pendants obedient to laws which in themselves 
 create so constant a temptation to break them. 
 Well, well ; we will always hope for the best, and 
 endeavor to act like dutiful subjects. The boat 
 is not amiss as to form and rig, let her come from 
 where she will. Dost think the wind will be off 
 the land this morning ? " 
 
 " There are signs of a change in the clouds. 
 One could wish that all should be out in the air 
 to taste this pleasant sea-breeze while it lasts." 
 
 " Come, come," cried the alderman, who had 
 for a moment studied the state of the heavens 
 with a solicitude that he feared might attract 
 his companion's attention, " we will taste our 
 breakfast. This is the spot to show the use of 
 teeth ! The negroes have not been idle during 
 the night, Mr. Yan Staats — he-e-em — I say, sir, 
 they have not been idle : and we shall have a 
 choice among the dainties of the river and bay. 
 That cloud above the mouth of the Raritan ap- 
 pears to rise, and we may yet have a breeze at 
 west ! " 
 
 "Yonder comes a boat in the direction of the 
 city," observed the other, reluctantly obeying a 
 motion of the alderman to retire to the apartment 
 where they were accustomed to break their fasts. 
 " To me it seems to approach with more than or- 
 dinary speed." 
 
 " There are stout arms at its oars ! Can it be 
 a messenger for the cruiser ? no — it rather steers 
 more for our own landing. These Jerseymen are 
 
56 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 often overtaken by the night, between York and 
 their own doors. And now, patroon, we will to 
 our knives and forks, like men who have taken 
 the best stomachics." 
 
 "And are we to refresh ourselves alone?" 
 demanded the young man, who ever and anon 
 cast a sidelong and wistful glance at the closed 
 and immovable shutters of la Cour des Fees. 
 
 " Thy mother hath spoilt thee, young Oloff; 
 unless the coffee comes from a pretty female hand, 
 it loses its savor. I take thy meaning, and think 
 none the worse of thee ; for the weakness is nat- 
 ural at thy years. Celibacy and independence ! 
 A man must get beyond forty, before he is ever 
 sure of being his own master. — Come hither, Mas- 
 ter Francis. It is time my niece had shaken off 
 this laziness, and shown her bright face to the sun. 
 We wait for her fair services at the table. — I see 
 nothing of that lazy hussy, Dinah, any more than 
 of her mistress." 
 
 "Assurement non, monsieur," returned the 
 valet ; " Mam'selle Dinah do not love trop d'acti- 
 vite. Mais, Monsieur AVerman, elles sont jeunes, 
 toutes les deux ! Le sommeil est bien salutaire 
 pour la jeunesse." 
 
 " The girl is no longer in her cradle, Francis, 
 and it is time to rattle at the windows. As for 
 the black minx, who should have been up and at 
 her duty this hour, there will be a balance to set- 
 tle between us. — Come, patrocn — the appetite 
 will not await the laziness of a wilful girl ; we 
 will to the table. — Dost think the wind will stand 
 at west this morning ? " 
 
 Thus saying, the alderman led the way into 
 the little parlor, where a neat and comfortable ser- 
 vice invited them to break their morning fast. 
 He was followed by Oloff Tan Staats with a lin- 
 gering step, for the young man really longed to 
 see the windows of the pavilion open, and the 
 fair face of Alida smiling amid the other beauti- 
 ful objects of the scene. Francois proceeded to 
 take such measures to arouse his mistress as he 
 believed to comport with his duty to her uncle, 
 and his own ideas of bienseance. After some lit- 
 tle delay, the alderman and his guest took their 
 seats at the table; the former loudly protesting 
 against the necessity of waiting for the idle, and 
 throwing in an occasional moral concerning the 
 particular merit of punctuality in domestic econo- 
 my, as well as in the affairs of commerce. 
 
 " The ancients divided time," said the somewhat 
 pertinacious commentator, "into years, months, 
 weeks, days, hours, minutes, and moments, as 
 they divided numbers into units, tens, hundreds, 
 thousands, and tens of thousands ; and both with 
 an object. If we commence at the bottom, and 
 
 employ well the moments, Mr. Tan Staats, we turn 
 the minutes into tens, the hours into hundreds, 
 and the weeks and months into thousands — ay ! 
 and when there is a happy state of trade, into tens 
 of thousands! Missing an hour, therefore, is 
 somewhat like dropping an important figure in a 
 complex calculation, and the whole labor may be 
 useless, for want of punctuality in one, as for want 
 of accuracy in the other. Your father, the late 
 patroon, was what may be called a minute-man. 
 He was as certain to be seen in his pew, at church, 
 at the stroke of the clock, as to pay a bill when its 
 items had been properly examined. Ah ! it was 
 a blessing to hold one of his notes, though they 
 were far scarcer than broad pieces or bullion. I 
 have heard it said, patroon, that the manor is 
 backed by plenty of Johannes and Dutch duc- 
 ats ! " 
 
 " The descendant has no reason to reproach 
 his ancestors with want of foresight." 
 
 " Prudently answered — not a word too much 
 nor too little — a principle on which all honest 
 men settle their accounts. By proper manage- 
 ment, such a foundation might be made to up- 
 hold an estate that should count thousands with 
 the best of Holland or England. Growth and 
 majority! patroon; but we of the colonies must 
 come to man's estate in time, like our cousins on 
 the dikes of the Low Countries, or our rulers 
 among the smithies of England. — Erasmus, look 
 at that cloud over the Raritan, and tell me if it 
 rises." 
 
 The negro reported that the vapor was station- 
 ary ; and, at the same time, by way of episode, 
 he told his master that the boat which had been 
 seen approaching the land had reached the wharf, 
 and that some of its crew were ascending the hill 
 toward the Lust in Rust. 
 
 " Let them come of all hospitality," returned 
 the alderman, heartily ; " I warrant me, they are 
 honest farmers from the interior, a-hungered with 
 the toil of the night. Go tell the cook to feed 
 them with the best, and bid them welcome. And 
 harkee, boy — if there be among them any com- 
 fortable yeoman, bid the man enter and sit at our 
 table. This is not a country, patroon, to be nice 
 about the quality of the cloth a man has on his 
 back, or whether he wears a wig or only his own 
 hair. — What is the fellow gaping at ? " 
 
 Erasmus rubbed his eyes, and then showing 
 his teeth to the full extent of a double row, that 
 glittered like pearls, he gave his master to under- 
 stand that the negro, introduced to the reader 
 under the name of Euclid, and who was certainly 
 his own brother of the half-blood, or by themoth- 
 j er's side, was entering the villa. The intelligence 
 
CONFLICTING REPORTS. 
 
 57 
 
 caused a sudden cessation of the masticating pro- 
 cess in the alderman, who had not, however, time 
 to express his wonder ere two doors simultane- 
 ously opened, and Francois presented himself at 
 the one, while the shining and doubting face of 
 the slave from town darkened the other. The 
 eyes of Myndert rolled first to this side, then to 
 that, a certain misgiving of the heart preventing 
 him from speaking to either ; for he saw, in the 
 disturbed features of each, omens that bade him 
 prepare himself for unwelcome tidings. The 
 reader will perceive, by the description we shall 
 give, that there was abundant reason for the 
 sagacious burgher's alarm. 
 
 The visage of the valet, at all times meagre 
 and long, seemed extended to far more than its 
 usual dimensions, the under jaw appearing fallen 
 and trebly attenuated. The light-blue, protruding 
 eyes were open to the utmost, and they expressed 
 a certain confused wildness, that was none the 
 less striking for the painful expression of the 
 mental suffering with which it was mingled. 
 Both hands were raised, with the palms outward ; 
 while the shoulders of the poor fellow were ele- 
 vated so high as entirely to destroy the little sym- 
 metry that nature had bestowed on that particu- 
 lar part of his frame. 
 
 On the other hand, the look of the negro was 
 guilty, dogged, and cunning. His eye leered 
 askance, seeming to wish to play around the per- 
 son of his master, as it will be seen his language 
 endeavored to play around his understanding. The 
 hands crushed the crown of a woollen hat between 
 their fingers, and one of his feet described semi- 
 circles with its toe, by performing nervous evolu- 
 tions on its heel. 
 
 " Well ! " ejaculated Myndert, regarding each 
 in turn, "what news from the Canadas? — Is 
 the queen dead, or has she restored the colony to 
 the United Provinces ? " 
 
 " Mam'selle Alide ! " exclaimed, or rather 
 groaned, Francois. 
 
 " The poor dumb beast ! — " muttered Eu- 
 clid. 
 
 The knives and the forks fell from the hands 
 of Myndert and his guest, as it were by a simul- 
 taneous paralysis. The latter involuntarily arose ; 
 while the former planted his solid person still 
 more firmly it its seat, like one who was prepar- 
 ing to meet some severe and expected shock with 
 all the physical resolution he could muster. 
 
 " What of my niece ? — What of my geldings ? 
 — You have called upon Dinah ? " 
 
 " Sans doute, monsieur!" 
 
 " — And you kept the keys of the stable ? " 
 
 " I nebber let him go at all ! " 
 
 " — And you bade her call her mistress ? " 
 
 " She no make answair, du tout." 
 
 " — The animals were fed and watered, as I 
 ordered ? " 
 
 " 'Em neber take he food better ! " 
 
 " — You entered the chamber of my niece, 
 yourself, to awake her ? " 
 
 " Monsieur a raison." 
 
 " What the devil has befallen the innocent ? " 
 
 " He lose he stomach quite, and I t'ink it 
 great time 'fore it ebber come back." 
 
 " Mister Francis, I desire to know the answer 
 of Monsieur Barberie's daughter." 
 
 " Mam'selle no repond, monsieur ; pas un syl- 
 lable!" 
 
 " Drenchers and fleams ! The beauty should 
 have been drenched and blooded — " 
 
 " Hem'm too late for dat, masser, on honor." 
 
 " — The obstinate hussy ! This comes of her 
 Huguenot breed, a race that would quit house 
 and lands rather than change its place of wor- 
 ship ! " 
 
 " La famille de Barberie est honorable, mon- 
 sieur, mais le Grand Monarque fut un peu trop 
 exigeant. Vraiment, la dragonade etait mal 
 avisee, pour faire des Chretiens ! " 
 
 " Apoplexies and hurry ! you should have 
 sent for the farrier to administer to the sufferer, 
 thou black hound ! " 
 
 " 'Em go for a butcher, masser, to save he 
 skin, for he war too soon dead." 
 
 The word dead produced a sudden pause. 
 The preceding dialogue had been so rapid, and 
 question and answer, no less than the ideas of 
 the principal speaker, had got so confused, that, 
 for a moment, he was actually at a loss to under- 
 stand whether the last great debt of Nature had 
 been paid by la belle Barberie or one of the 
 Flemish geldings. Until now, consternation, as 
 well as the confusion of the interview, had eon- 
 strained the patroon to be silent, but he profited 
 by the breathing-time to interpose. 
 
 " It is evident, Mr. Yan Beverout," he said, 
 speaking with a tremor in the voice which be- 
 trayed his own uneasiness, " that some untoward 
 event has occurred. Perhaps the negro and I 
 had better retire, that you may question Francis 
 concerning that which hath befallen Mademoiselle 
 Barberie, more at your leisure." 
 
 The alderman was recalled from a profound 
 stupor, by this gentlemanlike and considerate 
 proposal. He bowed his acknowledgments, and 
 permitted Mr. Van Staats to quit the room ; when 
 Euclid would have followed, he signed to the ne- 
 gro to remain. 
 
 " I may have occasion to question thee fur- 
 
58 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 ther," he said, in a voice that had lost most of 
 that compass and depth for which it was so re- 
 markable. " Stand there, sirrah, and be in readi- 
 ness to answer. — And now, Mr. Francis, I desire 
 to know why my niece declines taking breakfast 
 with myself and my guest ? " 
 
 " Mon Dieu, monsieur, it is not possible y re- 
 pondre. Les sentiments des demoiselles are 
 nevair decides ! " 
 
 u Go, then, and say to her that my sentiments 
 are decided to curtail certain bequests and de- 
 vises, which have consulted her interest more 
 than strict justice to others of my blood, ay, 
 and even of my name, might dictate." 
 
 " Monsieur y reflechira. Mam'selle Alide be 
 so young personne ! " 
 
 " Old or young, my mind is made up ; and so 
 to your Cour des Fees, and tell the lazy minx as 
 much. — Thou hast ridden that innocent, thou 
 scowling imp of darkness ! " 
 
 " Mais, pensez-y, je vous en prie, monsieur. 
 Mam'selle shall nevair se sauver encore ; jamais, 
 je vous en repond." 
 
 " What is the fellow jabbering about?" ex- 
 claimed the alderman, whose mouth fell nearly 
 to the degree that rendered the countenance of 
 the valet so singularly expressive of distress. 
 " Where is my niece, sir ? — and what means this 
 allusion to her absence ? " 
 
 "'La fille de Monsieur de Barberie n'y est 
 pas ! " cried Fran cois, whose heart was too full 
 to utter more. The aged and affectionate do- 
 mestic laid his hand on his breast, with an air 
 of acute suffering ; then, remembering the pres- 
 ence of his superior, he turned, bowed with a 
 manner of profound condolence, struggled man- 
 fully with his own emotion, and succeeded in 
 getting out of the room with dignity and steadi- 
 ness. 
 
 It is due to the character of Alderman Van 
 Beverout to say that the blow occasioned by the 
 sudden death of the Flemish gelding lost some of 
 its force, in consequence of so unlooked-for a re- 
 port concerting the inexplicable absence of his 
 niece. Euclid was questioned, menaced, and even 
 anathematized, more than once, during the next 
 ten minutes ; but the cunning slave succeeded in 
 confounding himself so effectually with the rest 
 of his connections of the half blood, during the 
 search which instantly followed the report of Fran- 
 cois, that his crime was partially forgotten. 
 
 On entering la Cour des Fees, it was, in truth, 
 found to want her whose beauty and grace had 
 lent its chief attraction. The outer rooms, which 
 were small, and ordinarily occupied during the 
 day by Francois and the negress called Dinah, 
 
 and in the night by the latter only, were in a state 
 in which they might be expected to be seen. 
 The apartment of the attendant furnished evi- 
 dence that its occupant had quitted it in haste, 
 though there was every appearance of her having 
 retired to rest at the usual hour. Clothes were 
 scattered carelessly about ; and though most of 
 her personal effects had disappeared, enough re- 
 mained to prove that her departure had been hur- 
 ried and unforeseen. 
 
 On the other hand, the little saloon, and the 
 dressing-room and bedroom of la belle Barberie, 
 were in a state of the most studied arrangement. 
 Not an article of furniture was displaced, a door 
 ajar, or a window open. The pavilion had evi- 
 dently been quitted by its ordinary passage, and 
 the door had been closed in the customary man- 
 ner, without using the fastenings. The bed 
 had evidently not been entered, for the linen 
 was smooth and untouched. In short, so com- 
 plete was the order of the place that, yielding 
 to a powerful natural feeling, the alderman called 
 aloud on his truant niece, by name, as if he ex- 
 pected to see her appear from some place, in 
 which she had secreted her person, in idle sport. 
 But this touching expedient was vain. The voice 
 sounded hollow through the deserted rooms ; 
 and, though all waited long to listen, there came 
 no playful or laughing answer back. 
 
 " Alida ! " cried the burgher, for the fourth and 
 last time, "come forth, child; I forgive thee thy 
 idle sport, and all I have said of disinheritance 
 was but a jest. Come forth, my sister's daughter, 
 and kiss thy old uncle ! " 
 
 The patroon turned aside, as he heard a man 
 so known for his worldliness yielding to the power 
 of Nature ; and the lord of a hundred thousand 
 acres forgot his own disappointment, in the force 
 of sympathy. 
 
 " Let us retire," he said, gently urging the 
 burgher to quit the place. " A little reflection 
 will enable us to decide what should be done." 
 
 The alderman complied. Before quitting the 
 place, however, its closets and drawers were ex- 
 amined ; and the search left no further doubts of 
 the step which the young heiress had taken. 
 Her clothes, books, utensils for drawing, and even 
 the lighter instruments of music, had disap- 
 peared. 
 
ALIDA'S DISAPPEARANCE DISCUSSED. 
 
 59 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Ay, that way goes the game, 
 Now I perceive that she hath made compare 
 Between our statures. 1 ' 
 
 Midsttmmee-Night's Deeam. 
 
 The tide of existence floats downward, and 
 with it go, in their greatest strength, all those affec- 
 tions that unite families and kindred. We learn 
 to know our parents in the fulness of their rea- 
 son, and commonly in the perfection of their bod- 
 ily strength. Reverence and respect both mingle 
 with our love ; but the affection with which we 
 watch the helplessness of infancy, the interest 
 with which we see the ingenious and young profit- 
 ing by our care, the pride of improvement, and 
 the magic of hope, create an intensity of sympathy 
 in their favor, that almost equals the identity of 
 self-love. There is a mysterious and double exist- 
 ence in the tie that binds the parent to the child. 
 With a volition and passions of its own, the lat- 
 ter has power to plant a sting in the bosom of the 
 former, that shall wound as acutely as the errors 
 which arise from mistakes, almost from crimes, 
 of its own. But, when the misconduct of the 
 descendant can be traced to neglect, or to a vi- 
 cious instruction, then, indeed, even the pang of 
 a wounded conscience may be added to the suffer- 
 ings of those who have gone before. Such, in 
 some measure, was the nature of the pain that 
 Alderman Van Beverout was condemned to feel, 
 when at leisure to reflect on the ill-judged meas- 
 ure that had been taken by la belle Barberie. 
 
 " She was a pleasant and coaxing minx, pa- 
 troon," said the burgher, pacing the room they 
 occupied with a quick and heavy step, and speak- 
 ing unconsciously of his niece, as of one already 
 beyond the interests of life ; " and as wilful and 
 headstrong as an unbroken colt. — Thou hard-rid- 
 ing imp ! I shall never find a match for the poor 
 disconsolate survivor. — But the girl had a thou- 
 sand agreeable and delightful ways with her, that 
 made her the delight of my old days. She has not 
 done wisely, to desert the friend and guardian of 
 her youth, ay, even of her childhood, in order to 
 seek protection from strangers. This is an un- 
 happy world, Mr. Van Staats. All our calcula- 
 tions come to naught ; and it is in the power of 
 Fortune to reverse the most reasonable and wisest 
 of our expectations. A gale of wind drives the 
 richly-freighted ship to the bottom; a sudden 
 fall in the market robs us of our gold, as the 
 November wind strips the oak of its leaves ; and 
 bankruptcies and decayed credit often afflict the 
 days of the oldest houses, a3 disease saps the 
 
 strength of the body. — Alida ! Alida ! thou hast 
 wounded one that never harmed thee, and ren- 
 dered my age miserable ! " 
 
 " It is vain to contend with the inclinations," 
 returned the proprietor of the manor, sighing in 
 a. manner that did no discredit to the sincerity of 
 his remark. " I could have been happy to have 
 placed your niece in the situation that my re- 
 spected mother filled with so much dignity and 
 credit, but it is now too late — " 
 
 " We don't know that ; we don't know that," 
 interrupted the alderman, who still clung to the 
 hope of effecting the first great wish of his heart, 
 with the pertinacity with which he would have 
 clung to the terms of any other fortunate bargain. 
 " We should never despair, Mr. Van Staats, as 
 long as the transaction is left open." 
 
 " The manner in which Mademoiselle Barbe- 
 rie has expressed her preference is so very de- 
 cided, that I see no hope of completing the ar- 
 rangement." 
 
 " Mere coquetry, sir, mere coquetry ! The 
 girl has disappeared in order to enhance the val- 
 ue of her future submission. One should never 
 regard a treaty at an end, so long as reasonable 
 hopes remain that it may be productive to the 
 parties." 
 
 " I fear, sir, there is more of the coquette in 
 this step of the young lady than a gentleman can 
 overlook," returned the patroon, a little dryly, 
 and with far more point than he was accustomed 
 to use. "If the commander of her majesty's 
 cruiser be not a happy man, he will not have oc- 
 casion to reproach his mistress with disdain ! " 
 
 " I am not certain, Mr. Van Staats, that in the 
 actual situation of our stipulations, I ought to 
 overlook an innuendo that seems to reflect on the 
 discretion of my ward. Captain Ludlow — well, 
 sirrah ! what is the meaning of this imperti- 
 nence ? " 
 
 " He'm waiting to see masser," returned the 
 gaping Erasmus, who stood with the door in his 
 hand, admiring the secret intelligence of his mas- 
 ter, who had so readily anticipated his errand. 
 
 " Who is waiting ? — What does the simpleton 
 mean ? " 
 
 "I mean a gentle'um masser say." 
 
 " The fortunate man is here to remind us of 
 his success," haughtily observed Van Staats of 
 Kinderhook. " There can be no necessity for my 
 presence at an interview between Alderman Van 
 Beverout and his nephew." 
 
 The justly-mortified patroon bowed ceremo- 
 niously to the equally disappointed burgher, and 
 left the room the moment he had done speaking. 
 The negro took his retreat as a favorable symp- 
 
60 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 torn for one who was generally known to be his 
 rival ; and he hastened to inform the young cap- 
 tain that the coast was clear. 
 
 The meeting that succeeded was sufficiently 
 constrained and awkward. Alderman Van Bev- 
 erout assumed a manner of offended authority 
 and wounded affection ; while the officer of the 
 queen wore an air of compelled submission to a 
 duty that he found to be disagreeable. The in- 
 troduction of the discourse was consequently 
 ceremonious, and punctiliously observant of cour- 
 tesy. 
 
 "It has become my office," continued Lud- 
 low, after the preliminaries had been observed, 
 " to express the surprise I feel that a vessel of 
 the exceedingly equivocal appearance of the brig- 
 antine, that is anchored in the cove, should be 
 found in a situation to create unpleasant suspi- 
 cions concerning the commercial propriety of a 
 merchant so well known as Mr. Alderman Yan 
 Beverout." 
 
 " The credit of Myndert Van Beverout is too 
 well established, Captain Cornelius Ludlow, to 
 be affected by the accidental position of ships 
 and bays. I see two vessels anchored near the 
 Lust in Rust, and if called upon to give my testi- 
 mony before the queen in council, I should de- 
 clare that the one which wears her royal pennant 
 had done more wrong to her subjects than the 
 stranger. But what harm is known of the lat- 
 ter ? " 
 
 "I shall not conceal any of the facts; for I 
 feel that this is a case in which a gentleman of 
 your station has the fullest right to the benefit of 
 explanations — " 
 
 " Hem — " interrupted the burgher, who dis- 
 liked the manner in which his companion had 
 opened the interview, and who thought he saw the 
 commencement of a forced compromise in the turn 
 it was taking. " Hem — I commend yourmodera- 
 tion, Captain Ludlow. Sir, we are flattered in 
 having a native of the province in so honorable 
 a command on the coast. Be seated, I pray you, 
 young gentleman, that we may converse more at 
 leisure. The Ludlows are an ancient and well- 
 established family in the colonies ; and, though 
 they were no friends of King Charles, why — we 
 have others here in the same predicament. There 
 are few crowns in Europe that might not trace 
 some of their discontented subjects to these col- 
 onies ; and the greater the reason, say I, why we 
 should not be too hasty in giving faith to the 
 wisdom of this European legislation. I do not 
 pretend, sir, to admire all the commercial regula- 
 tions which flow from the wisdom of her majesty's 
 counsellors. Candor forbids that I should deny 
 
 this truth; but — what of the brigantine in the 
 cove ? " 
 
 " It is not necessary to tell one so familiar 
 with the affairs of commerce, of the character of 
 a vessel called the Water-Witch, nor that of its 
 lawless commander, the notorious Skimmer of the 
 Seas." 
 
 " Captain Ludlow is not about to accuse Alder- 
 man Van Beverout of a connection with such a 
 man ! " exclaimed the burgher, rising as it were 
 involuntarily, and actually recoiling a foot or two 
 apparently under the force of indignation and sur- 
 prise. 
 
 " Sir, I am not commissioned to accuse any 
 of the queen's subjects. My duty is to guard her 
 interests on the water, to oppose her open ene- 
 mies, and to uphold her royal prerogatives." 
 
 "An honorable employment, and one I doubt 
 not that is honorably discharged. Resume your 
 seat, sir; for I foresee that the conference is 
 likely to end as it should, between a son of the 
 late very respectable king's counsellor and his 
 father's friend. You have reason then for think- 
 ing that this brigantine which has so suddenly 
 appeared in the cove, has some remote connec- 
 tion with the Skimmer of the Seas ? " 
 
 w I believe the vessel to be the famous Water- 
 Witch itself, and her commander to be, of course, 
 the well-known adventurer." 
 
 " Well, sir — well, sir— this may be so. It is 
 impossible for me to deny it ; but what should 
 such a reprobate be doing here, under the guns 
 of a queen's cruiser ? " 
 
 " Mr. Alderman, my admiration of your niece 
 is not unknown to you." 
 
 " I have suspected it, sir," returned the burgh- 
 er, who believed the tenor of the compromise was 
 getting clearer, but who still waited to know the 
 exact value of the concessions the other party 
 would make, before he closed a bargain in a hurry, 
 of which he might repent at his leisure. "In- 
 deed, it has even been the subject of some dis- 
 course between us." 
 
 "This admiration induced me to visit your 
 villa the past night—" 
 
 " This is a fact too well established, young 
 gentleman." 
 
 " Whence I took away — " Ludlow hesitated, 
 as if anxious to select his words— 
 
 " Alida Barberie." 
 
 " Alida Barberie ! " 
 
 " Ay, sir ; my niece, or perhaps I should say 
 my heiress, as well as the heiress of old Etienne 
 de Barberie. The cruise was short, Captain Cor- 
 nelius Ludlow ; but the prize-money will be ample 
 —unless, indeed, a claim to neutral privileges 
 
MUTUAL MISUNDERSTANDING. 
 
 61 
 
 should be established in favor of part of the 
 cargo ! " 
 
 " Sir, your pleasantry is amusing, but I have 
 little leisure for its enjoyment. That I visited the 
 Cour des Fees shall not be denied. I think la belle 
 Barberie will not be offended, under the circum- 
 stances, with this acknowledgment." 
 
 " If she is, the jade has a rare squeamishness, 
 after what has passed ! " 
 
 " I pretend not to judge of more than my duty. 
 The desire to serve my royal mistress had induced 
 me, Mr. Yan Beverout, to cause a seaman of odd 
 attire and audacious deportment to enter the Co- 
 quette. You will know the man when I tell you that 
 he was your companion in the island ferry-boat." 
 
 " Yes, yes, I confess there was a mariner of 
 the long voyage there, who caused much surprise, 
 and some uneasiness to myself and niece, as well 
 as to Yan Staats of Kinderhook." 
 
 Ludlow smiled like one hot to be deceived, as 
 he continued : 
 
 " Well, sir, this man so far succeeded as to 
 tempt me to suffer him to land under the obliga- 
 tion of some half-extorted promise — we came into 
 the river together, and entered your grounds in 
 company." 
 
 Alderman Yan Beverout now began to listen 
 like a man who dreaded, while he desired, to catch 
 each syllable. Observing that Ludlow paused, 
 and watched his countenance with a cool and 
 steady eye, he recovered his self-command, and 
 affected a mere ordinary curiosity, while he signed 
 to him to proceed. 
 
 "I am not sure I tell Alderman Yan Beverout 
 any thing that is new," resumed the young officer, 
 " when I add that the fellow suffered me to visit 
 the pavilion, and then contrived to lead me into 
 an ambush of lawless men, having previously suc- 
 ceeded in making captives of my boat's crew." 
 
 "Seizures and warrants!" exclaimed the 
 burgher, in his natural strong and hasty manner 
 of speaking. " This is the first I have heard of 
 the affair. It was ill-judged, to call it by no other 
 term." 
 
 Ludlow seemed relieved when he saw by the 
 undisguised amazement of his companion that the 
 latter was, in truth, ignorant of the manner in 
 which he had been detained. 
 
 " It might not have been, sir, had our watch 
 been as vigilant as their artifice was deep," he 
 continued. " But I was little guarded, and hav- 
 ing no means to reach my ship, I — " 
 
 " Ay, ay, Captain Ludlow ; it is not neces- 
 sary to be so circumstantial; you proceeded to 
 the wharf, and — " 
 
 " Perhaps, sir, I obeyed my feelings rather 
 
 than my duty," observed Ludlow, coloring high, 
 when he perceived that the burgher paused to clear 
 his throat. " I returned to the pavilion,where — " 
 
 " You persuaded a niece to forget her duty to 
 her uncle and protector." 
 
 " This is a harsh and most unjustifiable charge, 
 both as respects the young lady and myself. I 
 can distinguish between a very natural desire to 
 possess articles of commerce that are denied by 
 the laws, and a more deliberate and mercenary 
 plot against the revenue of the country. I be- 
 lieve there are few of her years and sex who 
 would refuse to purchase the articles I saw pre- 
 sented to the eyes of la belle Barberie, especially 
 when the utmost hazard could be no more than 
 their loss, as they were already introduced into 
 the country." 
 
 "A just discrimination, and one likely to ren- 
 der the arrangement of our little affairs less diffi- 
 cult ! I was sure that my old friend the coun- 
 sellor would not have left a son of his ignorant 
 of principles, more especially as he was about to 
 embark in a profession of so much responsibility. 
 And so my niece had the imprudence to entertain 
 a dealer in contraband ? " 
 
 " Alderman Yan Beverout, there were boats 
 in motion on the water between this landing and 
 the brigantine in the cove. A periagua even left 
 the river for the city, at the extraordinary hour 
 of midnight ! " 
 
 " Sir, boats will move on the water, when the 
 hands of man set them in motion ; but what have 
 I to answer for in the matter ? If goods have 
 entered the province without license, why, they 
 must be found and condemned ; and if free-trad- 
 ers are on the coast, they should be caught. 
 Would it not be well to proceed to town, and lay 
 the fact of this strange brigantine's presence be- 
 fore the governor, without delay ? " 
 
 " I have other intentions. If, as you say, 
 goods have gone up the bay, it is too late for me 
 to stop them ; but it is not too late to attempt to 
 seize yon brigantine. Now, I would perform this 
 duty in a manner as little likely to offend any of 
 reputable name, as my allegiance will admit." 
 
 " Sir, I extol this discretion — not that there 
 is any testimony to implicate more than the crew, 
 but credit is a delicate flower, and it should be 
 handled tenderly. I see an opening for an ar- 
 rangement — but, we will, as in duty bound, hear 
 your propositions first, since you may be said to 
 speak with the authority of the queen. I will 
 merely surmise that terms should be moderate, 
 between friends — perhaps I should say, between 
 connections, Captain Ludlow." 
 
 " I am flattered by the word, sir," returned 
 
02 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 the young sailor, smiling with an expression of 
 delight. " First suffer me to be admitted to the 
 charming Cour des Fees but for a moment." 
 
 " That is a favor which can hardly be refused 
 you, who may be said to have a right, now, to 
 enter the pavilion at pleasure," returned the 
 alderman, unhesitatingly leading the way through 
 the long passage to the deserted apartments of 
 his niece, and continuing the blind allusions to 
 the affairs of the preceding night, in the same in- 
 direct manner as had distinguished the dialogue 
 during the whole interview. " I shall not be un- 
 reasonable, young gentleman, and here is the pa- 
 vilion of my niece ; I wish I could add, and here 
 also is its mistress ! " 
 
 " And is la belle Barberie no longer a tenant 
 of la Cour des Fees," demanded Ludlow, in a 
 surprise too natural to be feigned. 
 
 Alderman Van Beverout regarded the young 
 man in wonder ; pondered a moment, to consider 
 how far denying a knowledge of the absence of 
 his niece might benefit the officer, in the pending 
 negotiations ; and he dryly observed : " Boats 
 passed on the water, during the night. If the men 
 of Captain Ludlow were at first imprisoned, I pre- 
 sume they were set at liberty at the proper time." 
 
 " They are carried I know not whither — the 
 boat itself is gone, and I am here alone." 
 
 " Am I to understand, Captain Ludlow, that 
 Alida Barberie has not fled my house, during 
 the past night, to seek a refuge in your ship ? " 
 
 " Fled ! " echoed the young man, in a voice 
 of horror. " Has Alida de Barberie fled from 
 the house of her uncle at all ? " 
 
 " Captain Ludlow, this is not acting. On the 
 honor of a gentleman, are you ignorant of my 
 niece's absence ? " 
 
 The young commander did not answer ; but, 
 striking his head fiercely, he smothered words 
 that were unintelligible to his companion. When 
 this momentary burst of feeling was past, he 
 sank into a chair, and gazed about him in stupid 
 amazement. All this pantomime was inexplicable 
 to the alderman, who, however, began to see 
 that more of the conditions of the arrangement 
 in hand were beyond the control of his compan- 
 ion than he had at first believed. Still the plot 
 thickened, rather than grew clear ; and he was 
 afraid to speak, lest he might utter more than 
 was prudent. The silence, therefore, continued 
 for quite a minute ; during which time, the par- 
 ties sat gazing at each other in dull wonder. 
 
 "I shall not deny, Captain Ludlow, that I 
 believed you had prevailed on my niece to fly 
 aboard the Coquette ; for, though a man who 
 has always kept his feelings in his own command, 
 
 as the safest manner of managing particular in- 
 terests, yet I am not to learn that rash youth is 
 often guilty of folly. I am now equally at a loss 
 with yourself to know what has become of her, 
 since here she is not." 
 
 " Hold ! " eagerly interrupted Ludlow. " A 
 boat left your wharf, for the city, in the earlier 
 hours of the morning. Is it not possible that 
 she may have taken a passage in it ? " 
 
 " It is not possible. I have reasons to know 
 — in short, sir, she is not there." 
 
 " Then is the unfortunate — the lovely — the 
 indiscreet girl forever lost to herself and us ! " 
 exclaimed the young sailor, groaning under his 
 mental agony. " Rash, mercenary man ! to what 
 an act of madness has this thirst of gold driven 
 one so fair — would I could say, so pure and so 
 innocent ! " 
 
 But while the distress of the lover was thus 
 violent, and caused him to be so little measured 
 in his terms of reproach, the uncle of the fair 
 offender appeared to be lost in surprise. Though 
 la belle Barberie had so well preserved the de- 
 corum and reserve of her sex, as to leave even 
 her suitors in doubt of the way her inclinations 
 tended, the watchful alderman had long suspect- 
 ed that the more ardent, open, and manly com- 
 mander of the Coquette was likely to triumph 
 over one so cold in exterior, and so cautious in 
 his advances, as the Patroon of Kinderhook. 
 When, therefore, it became apparent Alida had 
 disappeared, he quite naturally inferred that she 
 had taken the simplest manner of defeating all 
 his plans for favoring the suit of the latter, by 
 throwing herself, at once, into the arms of the 
 young sailor. The laws of the colonies offered 
 few obstacles to the legality of their union ; and 
 when Ludlow appeared that morning, he firmly 
 believed that he beheld one who, if he were not 
 so already, was inevitably soon to become his 
 nephew. But the suffering of the disappointed 
 youth could not be counterfeited ; and the per- 
 plexed alderman seemed utterly at a loss to con- 
 jecture what could have become of his niece. 
 Wonder, rather than pain, possessed him ; and 
 when he suffered his ample chin to repose on the 
 finger and thumb of one hand, it was with the air 
 of a man that revolved, in his mind, all the 
 plausible points of some knotty question. 
 
 " Holes and corners ! " he muttered, after a 
 long silence ; " the wilful minx cannot be play- 
 ing at hide-and-seek with her friends ! The hussy 
 had ever too much of la famille de Barberie, and 
 her high Norman blood about her, as that silly 
 old valet has it, to stoop to such childish trifling. 
 Gone she certainly is," he continued, looking 
 
-The young commander did not answer; but, striking his head fiercely, he smothered 
 words that were unintelligible to his companion." 
 
 The Water-Witch, p 62. 
 
JOINT EFFORTS. 
 
 G3 
 
 again into the empty drawers and closets, " and 
 with her the valuables have disappeared. The 
 guitar is missing — the lute I sent across the 
 ocean to purchase, an excellently-toned Dutch 
 lute, that cost every stiver of one hundred guild- 
 ers, is also wanting, and all the — hem — the re- 
 cent accessions have disappeared. And there, 
 too, are my sister's jewels, that I persuaded her 
 to bring along, to guard against accidents while 
 our backs are turned — they are not to be seen. 
 — Francois ! Francois ! Thou long-tried servitor 
 of Etienne Barberie, what the devil has become 
 of thy mistress ? " 
 
 " Mais, monsieur," returned the disconsolate 
 valet, whose decent features exhibited all the 
 signs of unequivocal suffering, " she no tell le 
 pauvre Francois ! En ' supposant, que monsieur 
 ask le capitaine, he shall probablement know." 
 
 The burgher cast a quick, suspicious glance at 
 Ludlow, and shook his head, to express his belief 
 that the young man was true. 
 
 " Go ; desire Mr. Van Staats of Kinderhook to 
 favor us with his company." 
 
 " Hold ! " cried Ludlow, motioning to the valet 
 to withdraw. " Mr. Beverout, an uncle should be 
 tender of the errors of one so dear as this, cruel, 
 unreflecting girl. You cannot think of abandon- 
 ing her to so frightful a fortune ? " 
 
 " I am not addicted to abandoning any thing, 
 sir, to which my title is just and legal. But you 
 speak in enigmas. If you are acquainted with the 
 place where my niece is secreted, avow it frankly, 
 and permit me to take those measures which the 
 case requires." 
 
 Ludlow reddened to his forehead, and he 
 struggled powerfully with his pride and his regrets. 
 
 " It is useless to attempt concealing the step 
 which Alida Barberie has been pleased to take," 
 he said, a smile so bitter passing over his features 
 as to lend them the expression of severe mockery ; 
 " she has chosen more worthily than either of us 
 could have believed ; she has found a companion 
 more suited to her station, her character, and her 
 sex, than Yan Staats of Kinderhook, or a poor 
 commander of a queen's ship ! " 
 
 " Cruisers and manors ! What in the name 
 of mysteries is thy meaning? The girl is not 
 here ; you declare she is not on board the Co- 
 quette ; and there remains only — " 
 
 " The brigantine ! " groaned the young sailor, 
 uttering the word by a violent effort of the will. 
 
 "The brigantine!" repeated the alderman, 
 slowly. " My niece can have nothing to do 
 aboard a dealer in contraband. That is to say, 
 Alida Barberie is not a trader." 
 
 u Alderman Yan Beverout, if we wish to es- 
 
 cape the contamination of vice, its society must 
 be avoided. There was one in the pavilion, of a 
 mien and assurance the past night, that might 
 delude an angel. — Ah! woman! woman! thy 
 mind is composed of vanities, and thy imagination 
 is thy bitterest foe ! " 
 
 u Women and vanities ! " echoed the amazed 
 burgher. " My niece, the heiress of old Etienne 
 Marie de Barberie, and the sought of so many of 
 honorable names and respectable professions, to 
 be a refugee with a rover — always supposing your 
 opinions of the character of the brigantine to be 
 just. This is a conjecture too improbable to be 
 true." 
 
 " The eye of a lover, sir, may be keener than 
 that of a guardian — call it jealousy, if you will — 
 would to Heaven my suspicions were untrue ! — 
 but if she be not there, where is she ? " 
 
 The opinion of the alderman seemed stag- 
 gered. If la belle Barberie had not yielded to 
 the fascinations of that wayward but seductive 
 eye and smile, to that singular beauty of face, and 
 to the secret and often irresistible charm that 
 encircles eminent personal attractions, when aid- 
 ed by mystery — to what had she yielded, and 
 whither had she fled ? 
 
 These were reflections that now began to pass 
 through the thoughts of the alderman, as they 
 had already planted stings in the bosom of Lud- 
 low. With reflection, conviction began slowly to 
 assert its power. But the truth did not gleam 
 upon the mind of the calculating and wary mer- 
 chant, with the same instinctive readiness that it 
 had flashed upon the jealous faculties of the lov- 
 er. He pondered on each circumstance of the in- 
 terview between the dealer in contraband and his 
 niece ; recalled the manner and discourse of the 
 former ; drew certain general and vague conjec- 
 tures concerning the power which novelty, when 
 coupled with circumstances of romance, might 
 exercise over a female fancy ; and dwelt long and 
 secretly on some important facts that were alone 
 known to himself, before his judgment finally set- 
 tled down into the same opinion as that which 
 his companion had formed, with all the sensitive- 
 ness of jealous alarm. 
 
 " Women and vagaries ! " muttered the burgh- 
 er, after his study was ended. " Their conceits are 
 as uncertain as the profits of a whaling-voyage, 
 or the luck of a sportsman. Captain Ludlow, 
 your assistance will be needed in this affair ; and 
 as it may not be too late, since there are few 
 priests in the brigantine — always supposing her 
 character to be what you affirm — my niece may 
 yet see her error, and be disposed to reward so 
 much assiduity and attachment." 
 
64 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 " My services shall always be ready, so long 
 as they can be useful to Alida Barberie," returned 
 the young officer with haste, and yet a little cold- 
 ly. " It will be time enough to speak of the re- 
 ward when we shall have succeeded." 
 
 " The less noise that is made about a little 
 domestic inconvenience like this, the better ; and 
 I would therefore suggest the propriety of keeping 
 our suspicions of the character of the vessel a 
 secret, until we shall be better informed." 
 
 The captain bowed his assent to the proposal. 
 
 " And now that we are of the same mind in 
 the preliminaries, we will seek the Patroon of 
 Kinderhook, who has a claim to participate in our 
 confidence." 
 
 Myndert then led the way from the empty and 
 melancholy Cour des Fees, with a step that had 
 regained its busy and firm tread, and a counte- 
 nance that expressed far more of vexation and 
 weariness than of real sorrow. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "—I'll give thee a wind. 
 —Thou art kind. 
 — And I another. 
 — I myself have all the other." 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 The cloud above the mouth of the Raritan had 
 not risen. On the contrary, the breeze still came 
 from off the sea ; and the brigantine in the cove, 
 with the cruiser of the queen, still lay at their an- 
 chors, like two floating habitations that were not 
 intended to be removed. The hour was that at 
 which the character of the day becomes fixed ; 
 and there was no longer any expectation that a 
 land-wind would enable the vessel of the free- 
 trader to repass the inlet before the turn of the 
 tide, which was again running swiftly on the flood. 
 
 The windows of the Lust in Rust were open, 
 as when its owner was present ; and the menials 
 were employed in and about the villa in their cus- 
 tomary occupations ; though it was evident, by 
 the manner in which they stopped to converse, 
 and by the frequent conferences which had place 
 in secret corners, that they wondered none the 
 less at the unaccountable disappearance of their 
 young mistress. In all other respects, the villa 
 and its grounds were, as usual, quiet and seeming- 
 ly deserted. 
 
 But there was a group collected beneath the 
 shade of an oak on the margin of the cove, and 
 at a point where it was rare for man to be seen. 
 This little party appeared to be in waiting for 
 some expected communication from the brigan- 
 
 tine ; since they had taken post on the side of the 
 inlet next the cape, and in a situation so retired 
 as to be entirely hid from any passing observa- 
 tion of those who might enter or leave the mouth 
 of the Shrewsbury. In short, they were on the 
 long, low, and narrow barrier of sand, that now 
 forms the projection of the Hook, and which, by 
 the temporary breach that the cove had made 
 between its own waters and that of the ocean, was 
 then an island. 
 
 " Snug should be the motto of a merchant," 
 observed one of these individuals, whose opinions 
 will sufficiently announce his name to the reader. 
 " He should be snug in his dealings, and snug in 
 his manner of conducting them ; snug in his cred- 
 its, and, above all, snug in his speculations. 
 There is as little need, gentlemen, in calling in the 
 aid of a posse-comitatus for a sensible man to keep 
 his household in order, as that a discreet trader 
 should go whistling through the public markets, 
 with the history of his operations. I gladly court 
 two so worthy assistants as Captain Cornelius 
 Ludlow and Mr. Oloff Van Staats ; for I know 
 there will be no useless gossip concerning the 
 trifling derangement that hath occurred. Ah ! 
 the black hath had communications with the free- 
 trader — always supposing the opinion of Mr. Lud- 
 low concerning the character of the vessel to be 
 just — and he is quitting the brigantine." 
 
 Neither of the companions of the alderman 
 made any reply. Each watched the movement of 
 the skiff that contained their messenger, and each 
 seemed to feel an equal interest in the result of 
 his errand. Instead, however, of approaching the 
 spot where his master and his two friends ex- 
 pected him, the negro, though he knew that his 
 boat was necessary to enable the party to recross 
 the inlet, pulled directly for the mouth of the 
 r iy er — a course that was exactly contrary to the 
 one he was expected to take. 
 
 " Rank disobedience ! " grumbled the incensed 
 master. u The irreverent dog is deserting us, on 
 this neck of barren sand, where we are cut off 
 from all communication with the interior, and are as 
 completely without intelligence of the state of the 
 market, and other necessaries, as men in a desert ! " 
 
 «» Here comes one that seems disposed to bring 
 us to a parley," observed Ludlow, whose prac- 
 tised eye had first detected a boat quitting the 
 side of the brigantine, as well as the direction it 
 was about to steer. 
 
 The young commander was not deceived ; for 
 a light cutter, that played like a bubble on its 
 element, was soon approaching the shore, where 
 the three expectants were seated. When it was 
 near enough to render sight perfectly distinct, and 
 
CAPTAIN LUDLOW DEMANDS THE NAME OF THE BRIGANTINE. 
 
 65 
 
 speech audible without an effort, the crew ceased 
 rowing, and permitted the boat to lie in a state 
 of rest. The mariner of the India shawl then 
 arose in the stem-sheets, and examined the thicket 
 behind the party with a curious and suspicious 
 eye. After a sufficient search, he signed to his 
 I crew to force the cutter still nigher to the land, 
 and spoke: 
 
 " Who has affairs with any of the brigantine ? " 
 he coolly demanded, wearing the air of one who had 
 no reason to anticipate the object of their visit. 
 " She has little left that can turn to profit, unless 
 she parts with her beauty." 
 
 "Truly, good stranger," returned the alder- 
 man, laying a sufficient emphasis on the latter 
 word, " here are none disposed to a traffic, which 
 might not be pleasing to the authorities of the 
 country, were its nature known. We come with 
 a desire to be admitted to a conference with the 
 commander of the vessel, on a matter of especial 
 but private concern." 
 
 " Why send a public officer on the duty ? I 
 see one, there, in the livery of Queen Anne. We 
 are no lovers of her majesty's servants, and would 
 not willingly form disagreeable acquaintances." 
 
 Ludlow nearly bit through his lip, in endeav- 
 oring to repress his anger at the cool confidence 
 of one who had already treated him with so little 
 ceremony, and then momentarily forgetting his 
 object, in professional pride, and perhaps we 
 might add in the habits of his rank, he inter- 
 rupted the dialogue : 
 
 " If you see the livery of the royal authority," 
 he said, haughtily, "you must be sensible it is 
 worn by one who is commissioned to cause its 
 rights to be respected. I demand the name and 
 character of yon brigantine ! " 
 
 " As for character, she is, like many another 
 beauty, something vituperated ; nay, some carry 
 their envy so far as to call it cracked ! But we 
 are jolly mariners that sail her, and little heed 
 crazy reports at the expense of our mistress. As 
 for a name, we answer any hail that is fairly 
 spoken, and well meant. Call us ' Honesty,' if 
 you will, for want of the register." 
 
 "There is much reason to suspect your ves- 
 sel of illegal practices ; and, in the name of the 
 queen, I demand access to her papers, and the 
 liberty of a free search into her cargo and crew. 
 Else will there be necessity to bring her under the 
 guns of the cruiser, which lies at no great distance, 
 waiting only for orders." 
 
 " It takes no scholar to read our documents, 
 Captain Ludlow ; they are written by a light keel 
 on the rolling waters, and he who follows in our 
 wake may guess at their authority. If you wish 
 5 
 
 to overhaul our cargo, you must look sharply in 
 to the cuffs and aprons, the negliges and stom- 
 achers of the governor's lady, at the next ball at 
 the fort ; or pry into the sail that is set above 
 the farthingales of the wife and daughters of your 
 admiralty judge ! We are no cheese-mongers, to 
 break the shins of a boarding-officer among boxes 
 and butter-tubs." 
 
 " Your brigantine has a name, sirrah ; and, 
 in her majesty's authority, I demand to know 
 it." 
 
 " Heaven forbid that any here should dispute 
 the queen's right ! You are a seaman, Captain 
 Ludlow, and have an eye for comeliness in a craft, 
 as well as in a woman. Look at those harpings ! 
 There is no fall of a shoulder can equal that 
 curve, in grace or richness ; this shear surpasses 
 the justness and delicacy of any waist ; and there 
 you see the transoms, swelling and rounded like 
 the outlines of a Yenus. Ah ! she is a bewitching 
 creature ; and no wonder that, floating as she 
 does, on the seas, they should have called her — " 
 
 " Water- Witch ! " said Ludlow, finding that 
 the other paused. 
 
 " You deserve to be one of the sisterhood 
 yourself, Captain Ludlow, for this readiness in 
 divination ! " 
 
 "Amazement and surprise, patroon!" ex- 
 claimed Myndert, with a tremendous hem. " Here 
 is a discovery to give a respectable merchant 
 more uneasiness than the undutiful conduct of 
 fifty nieces ! This vessel is then the famous 
 brigantine of the notorious Skimmer of the Seas ! 
 a man whose misdeeds in commerce are as uni- 
 versally noted as the stoppage of a general deal- 
 er ! — Pray, Master Mariner, do not distrust our 
 purposes. We do not come, sent by any authori- 
 ty of the country, to pry into your past transac- 
 tions, of which it is quite unnecessary for you to 
 speak ; and far less to indulge in any unlawful 
 thirst of gain, by urging a traffic that is forbid- 
 den by the law. We wish solely to confer with 
 the celebrated free-trader and rover, who must, 
 if your account be true, command the vessel, for 
 a few minutes, on an affair of common interest to 
 the three. This officer of the queen is obliged, 
 by his duty, to make certain demands of you, 
 with which you will comply, or not, at your own 
 good discretion ; and since her majesty's cruiser 
 is so far beyond reach of bullet, it cannot be 
 expected you will do otherwise ; but, further than 
 that, he has no present intention to proceed. — 
 Parley and civilities ! Captain Ludlow, we must 
 speak the man fair, or he will leave us to get over 
 the inlet, and back to the Lust in Rust, as we may ; 
 and that too, as empty-handed as we came. Re- 
 
66 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 member our stipulations, without observing which 
 I shall withdraw from the adventure altogether." 
 
 Ludlow bit his lip, and continued silent. The 
 seaman of the shawl, or Master Tiller, as he has 
 been more than once called, again narrowly ex- 
 amined the background, and caused his boat to 
 approach so near the land, that it was possible to 
 step into it by the stern. 
 
 " Enter," he said to the captain of the Coquette, 
 who needed no second invitation ; " enter, for a 
 valuable hostage is a safe pledge in a truce. 
 The Skimmer is no enemy to good company ; and 
 I have done justice to the queen's servitor, by in- 
 troducing him already, by name and character." 
 
 " Fellow, the success of your deception may 
 cause you to triumph for a time ; but remember 
 that the Coquette — " 
 
 " Is a wholesome boat, whose abilities I have 
 taken, to the admeasurement of her moment-glass," 
 observed Tiller, very coolly taking the words out 
 of the other's mouth. " But as there is business 
 to be done with the Skimmer, we will speak more 
 of this anon." 
 
 The mariner of the shawl, who had maintained 
 his former audacious demeanor, now became 
 grave ; and he spoke to his crew with authority, 
 bidding them pull the boat to the side of the brig- 
 antine. 
 
 The exploits, the mysterious character, and 
 the daring of the Water- Witch, and of him who 
 ' sailed her, were, in that day, the frequent subjects 
 of anger, admiration, and surprise. Those who 
 found pleasure in the marvellous, listened to the 
 wonders that were recounted of her speed and 
 boldness with pleasure ; they who had been so 
 often foiled in their attempts to arrest the hardy 
 dealers in contraband, reddened at her name ; 
 and all wondered at the success and intelligence 
 with which her movements were controlled. It 
 will, therefore, create no astonishment when we 
 say that Ludlow and the patroon drew near to 
 the light and graceful fabric with an interest that 
 deepened at each stroke of the oars. So much 
 of a profession which, in that age, was particu- 
 larly marked and apart from the rest of mankind 
 in habits and opinions, had been interwoven into 
 the character of the former, that he could not see 
 the just proportions, the graceful outlines of the 
 hull, or the exquisite symmetry and neatness of 
 the spars and rigging, without experiencing a 
 feeling somewhat allied to that which undeniable 
 superiority excites in the heart of even a rival. 
 There was also a taste in the style of the merely 
 ornamental parts of the delicate machine, which 
 caused as much surprise as her model and rig. 
 Seamen, in all ages, and in every state of their 
 
 art, have been ambitious of bestowing on their 
 floating habitations a style of decoration which, 
 while appropriate to their element, should be 
 thought somewhat analogous to the architectural 
 ornaments of the land. Piety, superstition, and 
 national usages, affect these characteristic orna- 
 ments, which are still seen, in different quarters 
 of the world, to occasion broad distinctions be- 
 tween the appearances of vessels. In one, the 
 rudder-head is carved with the resemblance of 
 some hideous monster; another shows goggling 
 eyes and lolling tongues from its catheads ; this 
 has the patron saint, or the ever-kind Marie, em- 
 bossed upon its mouldings or bows ; while that is 
 covered with the allegorical emblems of country 
 and duty. Few of these efforts of nautical art are 
 successful ; though a better taste appears to be 
 gradually redeeming even this branch of human 
 industry from the rubbish of barbarism, and to 
 be elevating it to a state which shall do no vio- 
 lence to the more fastidious opinions of the age. 
 But the vessel of which we write, though con- 
 structed at so remote a period, would have done 
 credit to the improvements of our own time. 
 
 It has been said that the hull of this celebrated 
 smuggler was low, dark, moulded with exquisite 
 art, and so justly balanced as to ride upon its 
 element like a sea-fowl. For a little distance* 
 above the water, it showed a blue that vied with 
 the color of the deep ocean, the use of copper be- 
 ing then unknown ; while the more superior parts 
 were of a jet black, delicately relieved by two 
 lines of a straw-color, that were drawn with mathe- 
 matical accuracy, parallel to the plane of her up- 
 per works, and consequently converging slightly 
 toward the sea, beneath her counter. Glossy 
 hammock-cloths concealed the persons of those 
 who were on the deck, while the close bulwarks 
 gave the brigantine the air of a vessel equipped 
 for war. Still the eye of Ludlow ran curiously 
 along the whole extent of the two straw-colored 
 lines, seeking in vain some evidence of the weight 
 and force of her armament. If she had ports at 
 all, they were so ingeniously concealed as to es- 
 cape the keenest of his glances. The nature of 
 the rig has been already described. Partaking 
 of the double character of brig and schooner, the 
 sails and spars of the forward-mast being of the 
 former, while those of the after-mast were of the 
 latter construction, seamen have given to this class 
 of shipping the familiar name of hermaphrodites. 
 But though there might be fancied by this term, 
 some want of the proportions that constitute seem- 
 liness, it will be remembered that the departure 
 was only from some former rule of art, and that 
 no violence had been done to those universal and 
 
A VISIT TO THE SMUGGLER. 
 
 67 
 
 permanent laws which constitute the charm of Na- 
 ture. The models of glass which are seen repre- 
 senting the machinery of a ship, are not more ex- 
 act or just in their lines than were the cordage 
 and spars of this brigantine. Not a rope varied 
 from its true direction ; not a sail, but it resem- 
 bled the neat folds of some prudent housewife ; 
 not a mast or a yard was there but it rose into 
 the air, or stretched its arms, with the most fas- 
 tidious attention to symmetry. All was airy, fan- 
 ciful, and full of grace, seeming to lend to the fab- 
 ric a character of unreal lightness and speed. As 
 the boat drew near her side, a change of the air 
 caused the buoyant bark to turn like a vane in 
 its current; and as all the long and pointed pro- 
 portions of her head-gear came into view, Ludlow 
 saw beneath the bowsprit an image that might 
 be supposed to make, by means of allegory, some 
 obvious allusions to the character of the vessel. 
 A female form, fashioned with the carver's best 
 skill, stood on the projection of the cutwater. 
 The figure rested lightly on the ball of one foot, 
 while the other was suspended in an easy attitude, 
 resembling the airy posture of the famous Mercu- 
 ry of the Bolognese. The drapery was fluttering, 
 scanty, and of a light sea-green tint, as if it had 
 imbibed a hue from the element beneath. The 
 face was of that dark bronzed color which human 
 ingenuity has, from time immemorial, adopted as 
 the best medium to portray a superhuman expres- 
 sion. The locks were dishevelled, wild, and rich ; 
 the eye full of such a meaning as might be fan- 
 cied to glitter in the organs of a sorceress ; while 
 a smile so strangely meaning and malign played 
 about the mouth, that the young sailor started 
 when it first met his view, as if a living thing had 
 returned his look. 
 
 " Witchcraft and necromancy! " grumbled the 
 alderman, as this extraordinary image came sud- 
 denly on his vision also. " Here is a brazen-look- 
 ing hussy ! and one who might rob the queen's 
 treasury itself, without remorse ! Your eyes are 
 young, patroon ; what is that the minx holds so 
 impudently above her head? " 
 
 " It seems an open book, with letters of red 
 written on its pages. One need not be a con- 
 jurer to divine it is no extract from the Bible." 
 
 " Nor from the statute-books of Queen Anne. 
 I warrant me 'tis a leger of profit gained in her 
 many wanderings. Goggling and leers ! the bold 
 air of the confident creature is enough to put an 
 honest man out of countenance ! " 
 
 "Wilt read the motto of the witch?" de- 
 manded he of the India shawl, whose eye had 
 been studying the detail of the brigantine's equip- 
 ment, rather than attending to the object which 
 
 so much attracted the looks of his companions. 
 " The night air has tautened the cordage of that 
 flving jib-boom, fellows, until it begins to lift its 
 nose like a squeamish cockney, when he holds it 
 over salt-water ! See to it, and bring the spar 
 in line ; else we shall have a reproof from the 
 sorceress, who little likes to have any of her 
 limbs deranged. Here, gentlemen, the opinions 
 of the lady may be read as clearly as woman's 
 mind can ever be fathomed." 
 
 While speaking to his crew, Tiller had changed 
 the direction of the boat ; and it was soon lying, 
 in obedience to a motion of his hand, directly be- 
 neath the wild and significant-looking image just 
 described. The letters in red were now distinct- 
 ly visible ; and when Alderman Van Beverout 
 had adjusted his spectacles, each of the party 
 read the following sentence : 
 
 " Albeit I never lend nor borrow, 
 By taking, nor by giving of excess, 
 Yet to supply the ripe wants of my friend, 
 I'll break a custom." 
 
 Merchant op Venice. 
 
 " The brazen ! " exclaimed Myndert, when he 
 had gone through this quotation from the immor- 
 tal bard. u Ripe or green, one could not wish to 
 be the friend of so impudent a thing ; and then 
 to impute such sentiments to any respectable 
 commercial man, whether of Venice or Amster- 
 dam ! Let us board the brigantine, friend mari- 
 ner, and end the connection ere foul mouths begin 
 to traduce our motives for the visit." 
 
 " The over-driven ship ploughs the seas too 
 deep for speed ; we shall get into port in better 
 season without this haste. Wilt take another 
 look into the lady's pages ? A woman's mind 
 is never known at the first answer." 
 
 The speaker raised the rattan he still carried 
 and caused a page of painted metal to turn on 
 hinges that were so artfully concealed as not to 
 be visible. A new surface, with another extract, 
 was seen. 
 
 " What is it, what is it, patroon ? " demanded 
 the burgher, who appeared greatly to distrust the 
 discretion of the sorceress. " Follies and rhymes ! 
 but this is the way of the whole sex ; when Na- 
 ture has denied them tongues, they invent other 
 means of speech." 
 
 " Porters of the sea and land, 
 Thus do go about, about ; 
 Thrice to thine, and thrice to thine, 
 And thrice again to make up nine." 
 
 : ' Rank nonsense ! " continued the burgher. 
 " It is well for those who can, to add thrice and 
 thrice to their stores; but look you, patroon — it 
 is a thriving trade that can double the value of 
 
68 THE WAT.1 
 
 the adventure, and that with reasonable risks, 
 and months of patient watching." 
 
 " "We have other pages," resumed Tiller, " but 
 our affairs drag for want of attending to them. 
 One may read much good matter in the book of 
 the sorceress, when there is leisure and opportu- 
 nity. I often take occasion, in the calms, to look 
 into her volume ; and it is rare to find the same 
 moral twice told, as these brave seamen can 
 swear." 
 
 The mariners at the oars confirmed this as- 
 sertion by their grave and believing faces, while 
 their superior caused the boat to quit the place, 
 and the image of the Water- Witch was left float- 
 ing in solitude above her proper element. 
 
 The arrival of the cutter produced no sensa- 
 tion among those who were found on the deck of 
 the brigantine. The mariner of the shawl wel- 
 comed his companions frankly and heartily ; and 
 then he left them for a minute to make their ob- 
 servations, while he discharged some duty in the 
 interior of the vessel. The moments were not 
 lost, as powerful curiosity induced all the visitors 
 to gaze about them, in the manner in which men 
 study the appearance of any celebrated object, 
 that has long been known only by reputation. It 
 was quite apparent that even Alderman Van Be- 
 verout had penetrated farther into the mysteries 
 of the beautiful brigantine, than he had ever be- 
 fore been. But it was Ludlow who gathered most 
 from this brief opportunity, and whose under- 
 standing glances so rapidly and eagerly ran over 
 all that a seaman could wish to examine. 
 
 An admirable neatness reigned in every part. 
 The planks of the deck resembled the work of 
 the cabinet-maker, rather than the coarser labor 
 which is generally seen in such a place; and 
 the same excellence of material, and exactness 
 in the finish, were visible in the ceilings of 
 the light bulwarks, the railings, and all the other 
 objects which necessarily came conspicuously 
 into view, in the construction of such a fabric. 
 Brass was tastefully rather than lavishly used, on 
 many of those parts where metal was necessary ; 
 and the paint of the interior was everywhere a light 
 and delicate straw-color. Armament there was 
 none, or at least none visible ; nor did the fifteen 
 or twenty grave-looking seamen, who were silent- 
 ly lounging with folded arms, about the . vessel, 
 appear to be those who would find pleasure in 
 scenes of violence. They were, without an ex- 
 ception, men who had reached the middle age, 
 of weather-worn and thoughtful countenances, 
 many of them even showing heads that had be- 
 gun to be grizzled more by time than even by ex- 
 posure. Thus much Ludlow had been enabled to 
 
 1R-WITCH. 
 
 ascertain, ere they were rejoined by Tiller. When 
 the latter again came on deck, he showed, how- 
 ever, no desire to conceal any of the perfections 
 of his habitation. 
 
 " The wilful sorceress is no niggard in accom- 
 modating her followers," said the mariner, observ- 
 ing the manner in which the queen's officer was 
 employed. " Here, you see, the skimmer keeps 
 room enough for an admiral, in his cabins ; and 
 the fellows are berthed aft, far beyond the fore- 
 mast. Wilt step to the hatch, and look be- 
 low ? " 
 
 The captain and his companions did as de- 
 sired, and, to the amazement of the former, he 
 perceived that, with the exception of a sort of 
 room fitted with large and water-tight lockers, 
 which were placed in full view, all the rest of the 
 brigantine was occupied by the accommodations 
 of her officers and crew. 
 
 " The world gives us the reputation of free- 
 traders," continued Tiller, smiling maliciously ; 
 " but if the Admiralty Court were here, big wigs 
 and high staffs, judge and jury, it would be at a 
 loss to bring us to conviction. There is iron to 
 keep the lady on her feet, and water, with some 
 garnish of Jamaica, and the wines of old Spain 
 and the islands, to cheer the hearts and cool the 
 mouths of my fellows, beneath that deck; and 
 more than that, there is not. We have stores 
 for the table and the breeze, beyond yon bulk- 
 head ; and here are lockers beneath you, that are 
 — empty ! See, one is open ; it is neat as any 
 drawer Jn a lady's bureau. This is no place for 
 your Dutchman's strong waters, or the coarse 
 sSins of your tabacconist. Odd's my life ! He 
 who would go on the scent of the Water-Witch's 
 lading, must follow your beauty in her satins, or 
 your parson in his band and gown. There would 
 be much lamentation in the Church, and many a 
 heavy-hearted bishop, were it known that the 
 good craft had come to harm ! " 
 . " There must be an end to this audacious tri- 
 fling with the law," said Ludlow ; " and the time 
 may be nearer than you suppose." 
 
 " I look at the pages of the lady's book, in 
 the pride of each morning ; for we have it aboard 
 here, that when she intends to serve us foul, she 
 will at least be honest enough to give a warning. 
 The mottoes often change, but her words are 
 ever true. 'Tis hard to overtake the driving 
 mist, Captain Ludlow, and he must hold good way 
 with the wind itself, who wishes to stay long in 
 our company." 
 
 "Many a boastful sailor has been caught. 
 The breeze that is good for the light of draught, 
 and the breeze that is good for the deep keel, are 
 
THE INTERIOR OF 
 
 THE BRIG AN TINE. 
 
 69 
 
 different. You may live to learn what a stout 
 spar, a wide arm, and a steady hull, can do." 
 
 " The lady of the wild eye and wicked smile 
 protect me ! I have seen the witch buried fathoms 
 deep in brine, and the glittering water falling 
 from her tresses like golden stars; but never 
 have I read an untruth in her pages. There is 
 good intelligence between her and some on board ; 
 and, trust me, she knows the paths of the ocean 
 too well ever to steer a wrong course. But we 
 prate like gossiping river-men. — Wilt see the 
 Skimmer of the Seas ? " 
 
 " Such is the object of our visit," returned 
 Ludlow, whose heart beat violently at the name 
 of the redoubtable rover. " If you are not he, 
 bring us where he is." 
 
 " Speak lower ; if the lady under the bowsprit 
 bear such treason against her favorite, I'll not 
 answer for her good-will. If I am not he ! " add- 
 ed the hero of the India shawl, laughing freely. 
 " "Well, an ocean is bigger than a sea, and a bay 
 is not a gulf. You shall have an opportunity of 
 judging between us, noble captain, and then I 
 leave opinions to each man's wisdom. Follow." 
 
 He quitted the hatchway, and led his com- 
 panions toward the accommodations in the stern 
 of the vessel. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 " God save you, sir ! 
 And you, sir ; you are welcome. 
 Travel you, sir, or are you at the furthest ? " 
 
 Taming of the Shkew, 
 
 If the exterior of the brigantine was so grace- 
 ful in form and so singular in arrangement, the 
 interior was still more worthy of observation. 
 There were two small cabins beneath the main- 
 deck, one on each side of, and immediately ad- 
 joining, the limited space that was destined to 
 receive her light but valuable cargoes. It was 
 into one of these that Tiller had descended like 
 a man who freely entered into his own apart- 
 ment ; but partly above, and nearer to the stern, 
 was a suite of little rooms that were fitted and 
 furnished in a style altogether different. The 
 equipments were those of a yacht, rather than those 
 which might be supposed suited to the pleasures 
 of even the most successful dealer in contraband. 
 
 The principal deck had been sunk several 
 feet, commencing at the aftermost bulkhead of 
 the cabins of the subordinate officers, in a man- 
 ner to give the necessary height, without interfer- 
 ing with the line of the brigantine's shear. The 
 ' arrangement was consequently not to be seen by 
 
 an observer who was not admitted into the ves- 
 sel itself. A descent of a step or two, however, 
 brought the visitors to the level of the cabin-floor, 
 and into an anteroom that was evidently fitted for 
 the convenience of the domestics. A small silver 
 hand-bell lay on a table, and Tiller rang it lightly, 
 like one whose ordinary manner was restrained 
 by respect. It was answered by the appearance 
 of a boy, whose years could not exceed ten, and 
 whose attire was so whimsical as to merit descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 The material of the dress of this young servi- 
 tor of Neptune, was a light rose-colored silk, cut 
 in a fashion to resemble the habits formerly worn 
 by pages of the great. His body was belted by a 
 band of gold, a collar of fine thread lace floated 
 on his neck and shoulders, and even his feet were 
 clad in a sort of buskins, that were ornamented 
 with fringes of real lace and tassels of bullion. 
 The form and features of the child were" delicate, 
 and his air as unlike as possible to the coarse 
 and brusque manner of a vulgar ship-boy. 
 
 "Waste and prodigality!" muttered the al- 
 derman, when this extraordinary little usher pre- 
 sented himself, in answer to the summons of Tiller. 
 " This is the very wantonness of cheap goods and 
 an unfettered commerce! There is enough of 
 Mechlin, patroon, on the shoulders of that urchin, 
 to deck the stomacher of the queen. 'Fore George, 
 goods were cheap in the market, when the young 
 scoundrel had his livery ! " 
 
 The surprise was not confined, however, to 
 the observant and frugal burgher. Ludlow and 
 Yan Staats of Kinderho ok manifested equal amaze- 
 ment, though their wonder was exhibited in a less 
 characteristic manner. The former turned short 
 to demand the meaning of this masquerade, when 
 he perceived that the hero of the India shawl had 
 disappeared. They were then alone with the fan- 
 tastic page, and it became necessary to trust to 
 his intelligence for directions how to proceed. 
 
 " Who art thou, child ? — and who has sent 
 thee hither ? " demanded Ludlow. The boy raised 
 a cap of the same rose-colored silk, and pointed 
 to an image of a female, with a swarthy face 
 and a malign smile, painted, with exceeding art, 
 on its front. 
 
 " I serve the sea-green lady, with the others 
 of the brigantine." 
 
 " And who is this lady of the color of shallow 
 water, and whence come you, in particular ? " 
 
 " This is her likeness — if you would speak 
 with her, she stands on the cutwater, and rarely 
 refuses an answer." 
 
 " 'Tis odd that a form of wood should have 
 the gift of speech ! " 
 
70 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 "Dost think her, then, of wood?" returned 
 the child, looking timidly, and yet curiously, up 
 into the face of Ludlow. " Others have said the 
 same ; but those who know best, deny it. She 
 does not answer with a tongue, but the book has 
 always something to say." 
 
 " Here is a grievous deception practised on 
 the superstition of this boy ; I have read the 
 book, and can make but little of its meaning." 
 
 "Then read again. 'Tis by many reaches 
 that the leeward vessel gains upon the wind. 
 My master has bid me bring you in — " 
 
 " Hold — thou hast both master and mistress ? 
 You have told us the latter, but we would know 
 something of the former. Who is thy master ? " 
 
 The boy smiled and looked aside, as if he hes- 
 itated to answer. 
 
 " Nay, refuse not to reply. I come with the 
 authority of the queen." 
 
 " He tells us that the sea-green lady is our 
 queen, and that we have no other." 
 
 " Rashness and rebellion ! " muttered Myn- 
 dert ; " but this foolhardiness will one day br ing 
 as pretty a brigantine as ever sailed in the nar- 
 row seas to condemnation ; and then will there 
 be rumors abroad, and characters cracked, till 
 every lover of gossip in the Americas shall be 
 tired of defamation." 
 
 " It is a bold subject that dares say this ! " re- 
 joined Ludlow, who heeded not the by-play of 
 the alderman ; " your master has a name ? " 
 
 " We never hear it. When Neptune boards 
 us, under the tropics, he always hails the Skim- 
 mer of the Seas, and then they answer. The old 
 god knows us well, for we pass his latitude often- 
 er than other ships, they say." 
 
 "You are then a cruiser of some service in 
 the brigantine — no doubt you have trod many 
 distant shores, belonging to so swift a craft." 
 
 " I ! — I never was on the land ! " returned the 
 boy, thoughtfully. " It must be droll to be there ; 
 they say one can hardly walk, it is so steady ! I 
 put a question to the sea-green lady before we 
 came to the narrow inlet, to know when I was to 
 go ashore." 
 
 " And she answered ? " 
 
 " It was some time first. Two watches were 
 past before a word was to be seen ; at last I got 
 the lines. I believe she mocked me, though I 
 have never dared show it to my master, that he 
 might say." 
 
 " Hast the words here ? — perhaps we might 
 assist thee, as there are some among us who know 
 most of the sea-paths." 
 
 The boy looked timidly and suspiciously 
 around ; then, thrusting a hand hurriedly into a 
 
 pocket, he drew forth two bits of paper, each of 
 which contained a scrawl, and both of which had 
 evidently been much thumbed and studied. 
 
 " Here," he said, in a voice that was suppressed 
 nearly to a whisper. " This was on the first 
 page. I was so frightened, lest the lady should 
 be angry, that I did not look again till the next 
 watch; and then," turning the leaf, "I found 
 this." 
 
 Ludlow took the bit of paper first offered, 
 and read, written in a child's hand, the following 
 extract : 
 
 " I pray thee 
 Eemember, I have done thee worthy service ; 
 Told thee no lies, made no mistakings, served 
 "Without or grudge or grumblings. 1 ' 
 
 " I thought that 'twas in mockery," continued 
 the boy, when he saw by the eye of the young cap- 
 tain that he had read the quotation ; " for 'twas 
 very like, though more prettily worded, than that 
 which I had said myself! " 
 
 "And what was the second answer? " 
 
 "This was found in the first morning-watch," 
 the child returned, reading the second extract 
 himself: 
 
 " Thou think'st 
 It much to tread the ooze of the salt deep, 
 And run upon the sharp wind of the north 1 " 
 
 " I never dared to ask again. But what mat- 
 ters that ? They say the ground is rough and 
 difficult to walk on ; that earthquakes shake it, 
 and make holes to swallow cities ; that men slay 
 each other op the highways for money, and that 
 the houses I see on the hills must always remain 
 in the same spot. It must be very melancholy to 
 live always in the same spot ; but then it must be 
 odd never to feel a motion ! " 
 
 "Except the occasional rocking of an earth- 
 quake. Thou art better afloat, child — but thy 
 master, this Skimmer of the Seas — " 
 
 " — Hist ! " whispered the boy, raising a fin- 
 ger for silence. " He has come up into the great 
 cabin. In a moment, we shall have his signal to 
 enter." 
 
 A few light touches on the strings of a guitar 
 followed, and then a symphony was rapidly and 
 beautifully executed, by one in the adjoining 
 apartment. 
 
 " Alida, herself, is not more nimble-fingered," 
 whispered the alderman ; " and I never heard the 
 girl touch the Dutch lute, that cost a hundred 
 Holland guilders, with a livelier movement ! " 
 
 Ludlow signed for silence. A fine, manly 
 voice, of great richness and depth, was soon 
 heard, singing to an accompaniment on the same 
 instrument. The air was grave, and altogether 
 unusual for the social character of one who dwelt 
 
THE MAIS CABIN. 
 
 71 
 
 upon the ocean, being chiefly in recitative. The 
 words, as near as might be distinguished, ran as 
 follows : 
 
 " My brigantine 1 
 Just in thy mould, and beauteous in thy form, 
 Gentle in roll, and buoyant on the surge, 
 Light as the sea-fowl, rocking in the storm, 
 In breeze and gale, thy onward course we urge ; 
 
 My water-queen ! 
 
 " Lady of mine ! 
 More light and swift than thou, none thread the sea, 
 With surer keel, or steadier on its path : 
 We brave each waste of ocean-mystery, 
 And laugh to hear the howling tempest's wrath ! 
 
 For we are thine 1 
 
 " My brigantine 1 
 Trust to the mystic power that points thy way, 
 Trust to the eye that pierces from afar, 
 Trust the red meteors that around thee play, 
 And fearless trust the sea-green lady's star; 
 
 Thou bark divine ! " 
 
 "He often sings thus," whispered the boy, 
 when the song was ended ; " they say, the sea- 
 green lady loves music that tells of the ocean, 
 and of her power. — Hark ! he has bid me enter." 
 
 "He did but touch the strings of the guitar 
 again, boy." 
 
 " 'Tis his signal, when the weather is fair. 
 When we have the whistlings of the wind and 
 the roar of the water, then he has a louder call." 
 
 Ludlow would have gladly listened longer ; 
 but the boy opened a door, and, pointing the way 
 to those he conducted, he silently vanished him- 
 self, behind a curtain. 
 
 The visitors, more particularly the young com- 
 mander of the Coquette, found new subjects of 
 admiration and wonder, on entering the main 
 cabin of the brigantine. The apartment, consid- 
 ering the size of the vessel, was spacious and 
 high. It received light from a couple of windows 
 in the stern, and it was evident that two smaller 
 rooms, one on each of the quarters, shared with 
 it in this advantage. The space between these 
 state-rooms, as they are called in nautical language, 
 necessarily formed a deep alcove, which might be 
 separated from the outer portion of the cabin by 
 a curtain of crimson damask, that now hung in 
 festoons from a beam fashioned into a gilded cor- 
 nice. A luxuriously -looking pile of cushions, 
 covered with red morocco, lay along the transom, 
 in the manner of an Eastern divan ; and against 
 the bulkhead of each state-room stood an agrip- 
 pina of mahogany, that was lined with the same 
 material. Neat and tasteful cases for books were 
 suspended here and there ; and the guitar which 
 had so lately been used, lay on a small table of 
 some precious wood, that occupied the centre of 
 
 the alcove. There were also other implements, 
 like those which occupy the leisure of a cultivated 
 but perhaps an effeminate rather than a vigorous 
 mind, scattered around, some evidently long neg- 
 lected, and others appearing to have been more 
 recently in favor. 
 
 The outer portion of the cabin was furnished 
 in a similar style, though it contained many more 
 of the articles that ordinarily belong to domestic 
 economy. It had its agrippina, its piles of cush- 
 ions, its chairs of beautiful wood, its cases for 
 books, and its neglected instruments, intermixed 
 with fixtures of more solid and permanent appear- 
 ance, which were arranged to meet the violent 
 motion that was often unavoidable in so small a 
 bark. There was a slight hanging of crimson 
 damask around the whole apartment ; and, here 
 and there, a small mirror was let into the bulk- 
 heads and ceilings. All the other parts were of 
 a rich mahogany, relieved by panels of rosewood, 
 that gave an appearance of exquisite finish to the 
 cabin. The floor was covered with a mat of the 
 finest texture, and of a fragrance that announced 
 both its freshness, and the fact that the grass had 
 been the growth of a warm and luxuriant climate. 
 The place, as was indeed the whole vessel, so far 
 as the keen eye of Ludlow could detect, was en- 
 tirely destitute of arms, not even a pistol or a 
 sword being suspended in those places where weap- 
 ons of that description are usually seen in all ves- 
 sels employed either in war or in a trade that 
 might oblige those who sail them to deal in vio- 
 lence. 
 
 In the centre of the alcove stood the youthful- 
 looking and extraordinary person who, in so un- 
 ceremonious a manner, had visited la Cour des 
 Fees the preceding night. His dress was much 
 the same, in fashion and material, as when last 
 seen ; still, it had been changed ; for on the 
 breast of the silken frock was painted an image 
 of the sea-green lady, done with exquisite skill, 
 and in a manner to preserve the whole of the 
 wild and unearthly character of the expression. 
 The wearer of this singular ornament leaned light- 
 ly against the little table, and, as he bowed with 
 entire self-possession to his guests, his face was 
 lighted with a smile that seemed to betray melan- 
 choly no less than courtesy. At the same time 
 he raised his cap, and stood in the rich jet-black 
 locks with which Nature had so exuberantly 
 shaded his forehead. 
 
 The manner of the visitors was less easy. 
 The deep anxiety with which both Ludlow and 
 the patroon had undertaken to board the notori- 
 ous smuggler, had given place to an amazement 
 and a curiosity that caused them nearly to forget 
 
72 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 their errand ; while Alderman Van Beverout ap- 
 peared shy and suspicious, manifestly thinking 
 - less of his niece than of the consequences of so 
 remarkable an interview. They all returned the 
 salutation of their host, though each waited for 
 him to speak. 
 
 " They tell me I have the pleasure to receive 
 a commander of Queen Anne's service, the wealthy 
 and honorable Patroon of Kinderhook, and a 
 most worthy and respectable member of the city 
 corporation, known as Alderman Yan Beverout," 
 commenced the individual who did the honors of 
 the vessel on this occasion. " It is not often that 
 my poor brigantine is thus favored, and, in the 
 name of my mistress, I would express our thanks." 
 
 As he ceased speaking, he bowed again with 
 ceremonious gravity, as if all were equally stran- 
 gers to him ; though the young man saw plainly 
 that a smothered smile played about a mouth that 
 even they could not refuse the praise of being of 
 rare and extraordinary attraction. 
 
 "As we have but one mistress," said Ludlow, 
 "it is our common duty to wish to do her pleas- 
 ure." 
 
 " I understand you, sir. It is scarce neces- 
 sary to say, however, that the wife of George of 
 Denmark has little authority here. Forbear, I 
 pray you," he added quickly, observing that Lud- 
 low was about" to answer. " These interviews 
 with the servants of that lady are not unfrequent ; 
 and as I know other matters have sent you hither, 
 we will imagine all said that a vigilant officer and 
 a most loyal subject could utter to an outlaw and 
 a trifler with the regulations of the customs. 
 That controversy must be settled between us under 
 our canvas, and by virtue of our speed or other 
 professional qualities, at proper time and in a 
 proper place. We will now touch on different 
 matters." 
 
 "I think the gentleman is right, patroon. 
 When matters are ripe for the exchequer there is 
 no use in worrying the lungs with summing up 
 the testimony, like a fee'd advocate. Twelve dis- 
 creet men, who have bowels of compassion for 
 the vicissitudes of trade, and who know how hard 
 it is to earn, and how easy it is to spend, will deal 
 with the subject better than all the idle talkers 
 in the provinces." 
 
 " When confronted to the twelve disinterested 
 Daniels, I shall be fain to submit to their judg- 
 ment," rejoined the other, still suffering the wil- 
 ful smile to linger around his lips. "You, sir, I 
 think, are called Mr. Myndert Yan Beverout. To 
 what fall in peltry, or what rise in markets, do 
 I owe the honor of this visit ? " 
 
 "It is said that some from this vessel were so 
 
 bold as to land on my grounds, during the past 
 night, without the knowledge and consent of their 
 owner — you will observe the purport of our dis- 
 course, Mr. Yan Staats, for it may yet come be- 
 for the authorities — as I said, sir, without their 
 owner's knowledge, and that there were dealings 
 in articles that are contraband of law, unless they 
 enter the provinces purified and embellished by 
 the air of the queen's European dominions — God 
 bless her majesty ! " 
 
 "Amen. — That which quitteth the Water- 
 Witch commonly comes purified by the air of 
 many different regions. We are no laggards in 
 movement, here ; and the winds of Europe scarce- 
 ly cease to blow upon our sails, before we scent 
 the gales of America. But this is rather excheq- 
 uer matter, to be discussed before the twelve 
 merciful burghers, than entertainment for such 
 a visit." 
 
 " I open with the facts, that there may be no 
 errors. But in addition to so foul an imputation 
 on the credit of a merchant, there has a great ca- 
 lamity befallen me and my household, during the 
 past night. The daughter and heiress of old 
 Etienne de Barberie has left her abode, and we 
 have reason to think that she has been deluded 
 so far as to come hither. Faith and correspond- 
 ence! Master Seadrift; but I think this is ex- 
 ceeding the compass of even a trader in contra- 
 band ! I can make allowances for some errors in. 
 an account ; but women can be exported and im- 
 ported without duty, and when and where one 
 pleases, and therefore the less necessity for run- 
 ning them out of their old uncle's habitation in 
 so secret a manner." 
 
 " An undeniable position, and a feeling con- 
 clusion ! I admit the demand to be made in all 
 form, and I suppose these two gentlemen are to 
 be considered as witnesses of its legality." 
 
 "We have come to aid a wronged and dis- 
 tressed relative and guardian, in searching for his 
 misguided ward," Ludlow answered. 
 
 The free-trader turned his eyes on the pa- 
 troon, who signified his assent by a silent bow. 
 
 " 'Tis well, gentlemen ; I also admit the tes- 
 timony. But, though in common believed so 
 worthy a subject for justice, I have hitherto had 
 but little direct communication with the blind 
 deity. Do the authorities usually give credit to 
 these charges without some evidence of their 
 truth ? " 
 
 " Is it denied ? " 
 
 " You are still in possession of your senses, 
 Captain Ludlow, and may freely use them. But 
 this is an artifice to divert pursuit. There are 
 other vessels besides the brigantine, and a capri- 
 
MYSTERY. 
 
 73 
 
 cious fair may have sought a protector even un- 
 der a pennant of Queen Anne ! " 
 
 " This is a truth that has been but too obvi- 
 ous to my mind, Mr. Van Beverout," observed the 
 sententious patroon. " It would have been well 
 to have ascertained whether she we seek has not 
 taken some less exceptionable course than this, 
 before we hastily believe that your niece would so 
 easily become the wife of a stranger." 
 
 "Has Mr. Yan Staats any hidden meaning 
 in his words, that he speaks ambiguously?" 
 demanded Ludlow. 
 
 "A man conscious of his good intentions, 
 has little occasion to speak equivocally. I be- 
 lieve, with this reputed smuggler, that la belle 
 Barberie would be more likely to fly with one she 
 has long known, and whom I fear she has but too 
 well esteemed, than with an utter stranger, over 
 whose life there is cast a shade of so dark mys- 
 tery." 
 
 " If the impression that the lady could yield 
 her esteem with too little discretion be any ex- 
 cuse for suspicions, then may I advise a search 
 in the manor of Kinderhook ! " 
 
 " Consent and joy ! The girl need not have 
 stolen to church to become the bride of Oloff Yan 
 Staats ! " interrupted the alderman. " She should 
 have had my benediction on the match, and a* fat 
 gift to give it unction." 
 
 " These suspicions are but natural, between 
 men bent on the same object," resumed the free- 
 trader. " The officer of the queen thinks a glance 
 of the eye, from a wilful fair, means admiration 
 of broad lands and rich meadows ; and the lord 
 of the manor distrusts the romance of warlike 
 service, and the power of an imagination which 
 roams the sea. Still may I ask, what is there 
 here, to tempt a proud and courted beauty to for- 
 get station, sex, and friends ? " 
 
 " Caprice and vanity ! There is no answering 
 for a woman's mind ! Here we bring articles, 
 at great risk and heavy charges, from the farther 
 Indies to please their fancies, and they change 
 their modes easier than the beaver casts his coat. 
 Their conceits sadly unsettle trade, and I know 
 not why they may not cause a wilful girl to do 
 any other act of folly." 
 
 "This reasoning seems conclusive with the 
 uncle. Do the suitors assent to its justice ? " 
 
 The Patroon of Kinderhook had stood gazing, 
 iong and earnestly, at the countenance of the ex- 
 traordinary being who asked this question. A 
 movement, which bespoke equally his conviction 
 and his regret, escaped him, but he continued si- 
 lent. Not so Ludlow. Of a more ardent tempera- 
 ment, though equally sensible of the temptation 
 
 which had caused Alida to err, and as keenly 
 alive to all the consequences to herself, as well as 
 to others, there was something of professional 
 rivalry and of an official right to investigate, 
 which still mingled with his feelings. He had 
 found time to examine more closely the articles 
 that the cabin contained, and when their singular 
 host put his question, he pointed, with an ironical 
 but mournful smile, to a footstool richly wrought 
 in flowers of tints and shades bo just as to seem 
 natural, 
 
 " This is no work of a sail-maker's needle ! " 
 said the captain of the Coquette. " Other beau- 
 ties have been induced to pass an idle hour in 
 your gay residence, hardy mariner ; but, sooner 
 or later, judgment will overtake the light-heeled 
 craft." 
 
 " On the wind, or off, she must some day lag, 
 as we seamen have it ! Captain Ludlow, I excuse 
 some harshness of construction, that your lan- 
 guage might imply ; for it becomes a commissioned 
 servant of the crown to use freedom with one 
 who, like the lawless companion of the princely 
 Hal, is but too apt to propose to 1 rob me the 
 king's exchequer.' But, sir, this brigantine and 
 her character are little known to you. We have 
 no need of truant damsels, to let us into the mys- 
 tery of the sex's taste ; for a female spirit guides 
 all our humors, and imparts something of her 
 delicacy to all our acts, even though it be the 
 fashion among burghers to call them lawless. 
 See," throwing a curtain carelessly aside, and ex- 
 hibiting, behind it, various articles of womanly 
 employment, " here are the offspring of both pen- 
 cil and needle. The sorceress," touching the im- 
 age on his breast, "will not be entertained, 
 without some deference to her sex." 
 
 "This affair must be arranged, I see, by 
 a compromise," observed the alderman. — " By 
 your leave, gentlemen, I will make proposals in 
 private to this bold trader, who perhaps will listen 
 to the offers I have to propose." 
 
 "Ah ! This savors more of the spirit of trade 
 than of that of the sea-goddess I serve," cried the 
 other, causing his fingers to run lightly over the 
 strings of the guitar. " Compromise and offers 
 are sounds that become a burgher's lips. — My 
 tricksy spirit, commit these gentlemen to the care 
 of bold Thomas Tiller, while I confer with the 
 merchant. The character of Mr. Yan Beverout, 
 Captain Ludlow, will protect us both from the 
 suspicion of any designs on the revenue ! " 
 
 Laughing at his own allusion, the free-trader 
 signed to the boy, who had appeared from behind 
 a curtain, to show the disappointed suitors of la 
 belle Barberie into another part of the vessel. 
 
74 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 "Foul tongues and calumnies! Master Sea- 
 drift, this unlawful manner of playing round busi- 
 ness, after accounts are settled and receipts passed, 
 may lead to other loss besides that of character. 
 The commander of the Coquette is not more than 
 half satisfied of my ignorance of your misdoings 
 in behalf of the customs, already ; and these jokes 
 are like so many punches into a smouldering fire 
 on a dark night. They only give light, and cause 
 people to seethe clearer — though, Heaven knows, 
 no man has less reason to dread an inquiry into 
 his affairs than myself ! I challenge the best ac- 
 countant in the colonies to detect a false footing, 
 or a doubtful entry, in any book I have, from the 
 memorandum to the ledger." 
 
 " The Proverbs are not more sententious, nor 
 the Psalms half as poetical, as your library. But 
 why this secret parley? — The brigantine has a 
 swept hold." 
 
 " Swept ? Brooms and Yan Tromp ! Thou 
 hast swept the pavilion of my niece of its mis- 
 tress, no less than my purse of its johannes. This 
 is carrying a little innocent barter into a most 
 forbidden commerce, and I hope the joke is to 
 end before the affair gets to be sweetening to the 
 tea of the province gossips. Such a tale would 
 affect the autumn importation of sugars ! " 
 
 " This is more vivid than clear. You have 
 my laces and velvets ; my brocades and satins are 
 already in the hands of the Manhattan dames ; 
 and your furs and johannes are safe where no 
 boarding-officer from the Coquette — " 
 
 " Well, there is no need of speaking-trumpets 
 to tell a man what he knows already, to his cost ! 
 I should expect no less than bankruptcy from 
 two or three such bargains, and you wish to add 
 loss of character to loss of gold. Bulkheads 
 have ears in a ship, as well as walls in houses. I 
 wish no more said of the trifling traffic that 
 has been between us. If I lose a thousand 
 florins by the operation, I shall know how to be 
 resigned. Patience and afflictions ! Have I not 
 buried as full-fed and promising a gelding this 
 morning, as ever paced a pavement, and has any 
 man heard a complaint from my lips ? I know 
 how to meet losses, I hope ; and so no more of an 
 unlucky purchase." 
 
 " Truly, if it be not for trade, there is little in 
 common between the mariners of the brigantine 
 and Alderman Van Beverout." 
 
 " The greater the necessity thou shouldst end 
 this silly joke, and restore his niece. I am not sure 
 the affair can be at all settled with either of these 
 hot-headed young men, though I should even 
 offer to throw in a few thousands more, by way 
 of make-weight. When female reputation gets 
 
 a bad name in the market, 'tis harder to dispose of 
 than falling stock ; and your young lords of manors 
 and commanders of cruisers have stomachs like 
 usurers ; no percentage will satisfy them ; it 
 must be all or nothing ! There was no such fool- 
 ery in the days of thy worthy father ! The hon- 
 est trafficker brought his cutter into port with as 
 innocent a look as a mill-boat. We had our dis- 
 courses on the qualities of his wares, when here 
 was his price and there was my gold. Odd or 
 even ! It was all a chance which had the best 
 of the bargain. I was a thriving man in those 
 days, Master Seadrift ; but thy spirit seems the 
 spirit of extortion itself ! " 
 
 There was momentarily contempt on the lip 
 of the handsome smuggler, but it disappeared in 
 an expression of evident and painful sadness. 
 
 " Thou hast softened my heart, ere now, most 
 liberal burgher," he answered, " by these allusions 
 to my parent ; and many is the doubloon that I 
 have paid for his eulogies." 
 
 " I speak as disinterestedly as a parson 
 preaches! What is a trifle of gold between 
 friends ? Yes, there was happiness in trade dur- 
 ing the time of thy predecessor. He had a 
 comely and a deceptive craft, that might be lik- 
 ened to an untrimmed racer. There was motion 
 in it, at need, and yet it had the air of a leisurely 
 Amsterdammer. I have known an exchequer 
 cruiser hail him, and ask the news of the famous 
 free-trader, with as little suspicion as he would 
 have in speaking the lord high-admiral. There 
 were no fooleries in his time ; no unseemly hus- 
 sies stuck under his bowsprit, to put an honest man 
 out of countenance ; no high-fliers in sail and 
 paint ; no singing and luting — but all was rational 
 and gainful barter. Then, he was a man to 
 ballast his boat with something valuable. I have 
 known him throw in fifty ankers of gin, with- 
 out a farthing for freight, when a bargain has 
 been struck for the finer articles— ay, and finish 
 by landing them in England, for a small premium, 
 when the gift was made ! " 
 
 " He deserves thy praise, grateful alderman ; 
 but to what conclusion does this opening tend ? " 
 
 " Well, if more gold must pass between us," 
 continued the reluctant Myndert, " we shall not 
 waste time in counting it ; though, Heaven knows, 
 Master Seadrift, thou hast already drained me dry. 
 Losses have fallen heavy on me, of late. There 
 is a gelding, dead, that fifty Holland ducats will 
 not replace on the boom-key of Rotterdam, to 
 say nothing of freight and charges, which come 
 particularly heavy — " 
 
 " Speak to thy offer ! " interrupted the other, 
 who evidently wished to shorten the interview. 
 
THE SECRET 
 
 " Restore the girl, and take five-and-twenty 
 thin pieces." 
 
 " Half-price for a Flemish gelding ! La belle 
 would blush, with honest pride, did she know her 
 value in the market ! " 
 
 " Extortion and bowels of compassion! Let 
 it be a hundred, and no further words between 
 us." 
 
 "Harkee, Mr. Van Beverout ; that I some- 
 times trespass on the queen's earnings is not to 
 be denied, and least of all to you ; for I like 
 neither this manner of ruling a nation by deputy, 
 nor the principle which says that one bit of 
 earth is to make laws for another. 'Tis not my 
 humor, sir, to wear an English cotton when my 
 taste is for the Florentine ; nor to swallow beer, 
 when I more relish the delicate wines of Gascony. 
 Beyond this, thou knowest I do not trifle, even 
 with fancied rights ; and, had I fifty of thy nieces, 
 sacks of ducats should not purchase one ! " 
 
 The alderman started in a manner that might 
 have induced a spectator to believe he was lis- 
 tening to an incomprehensible proposition. Still 
 his companion spoke with a warmth that gave 
 him no small reason to believe he uttered no more 
 than he felt, and, inexplicable as it might prove, 
 that he valued treasure less than feeling. 
 
 " Obstinacy and extravagance ! " muttered 
 Myndert ; " what use can a troublesome girl be 
 to one of thy habits ? If thou hast deluded — " 
 
 " I have deluded none. The brigantine is 
 not an Algerine, to ask and take ransom." 
 
 " Then let it submit to what I believe it is yet 
 a stranger. If thou hast not enticed my niece 
 away, by, Heaven knows, a most vain delusion ! 
 let the vessel be searched. This will make the 
 minds of the young men tranquil, and keep the 
 treaty open between us, and the value of the 
 article fixed in the market." 
 
 " Freely — but mark ! If certain bales con- 
 taining worthless furs of martens and beavers, 
 with other articles of thy colony trade, should 
 discover the character of my correspondents, I 
 stand exonerated of all breach of faith." 
 
 " There is prudence in that. Yes, there must 
 be no impertinent eyes peeping into bales and 
 packages. Well, I see, Master Seadrift, the im- 
 possibility of immediately coming to an under- 
 standing ; and therefore I will quit thy vessel, 
 for truly a merchant of reputation should have 
 no unnecessary connection with one so suspected." 
 
 The free-trader smiled, partly in scorn, and 
 yet much in sadness, and passed his fingers over 
 the strings of the guitar. 
 
 "Show this worthy burgher to his friends, 
 Zephyr," he said ; and, bowing to the alderman, 
 
 CONFERENCE. 75 
 
 he dismissed him in a manner that betrayed a 
 singular compound of feeling. One quick to dis- 
 cover the traces of human passion, might have 
 fancied that regret, and even sorrow, was blended 
 with the natural or assumed recklessness of the 
 smuggler's air and language. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "This will prove a brave kingdom to me ; 
 "Where I shall have my music for nothing." 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 During the time passed in the secret confer- 
 ence of the cabin, Ludlow and the patroon were 
 held in discourse on the quarter-deck by the hero 
 of the India shawl. The dialogue was profes- 
 sional, as Van Staats maintained his ancient rep- 
 utation for taciturnity. The appearance of 
 Myndert, thoughtful, disappointed, and most evi- 
 dently perplexed, caused the ideas of all to take 
 a new direction. It is probable that the burgher 
 believed he had not yet bid enough to tempt the 
 free-trader to restore his niece ; for by his air it 
 was apparent his mind was far from being satis- 
 fied that she was not in the vessel. Still, when 
 questioned by his companions concerning the re- 
 sult of his interview with the free-trader, for rea- 
 sons best understood by himself, he was fain to 
 answer evasively. 
 
 " Of one thing rest satisfied," he said ; " the 
 misconception in this affair will yet be explained, 
 and Alida Barberie return unfettered, and with 
 a character as free from blemish as the credit of 
 the Yan Stoppers of Holland. The fanciful-looking 
 person in the cabin denies that my niece is here, 
 and I am inclined to think the balance of truth 
 is on his side. I confess, if one could just look 
 into the cabins, without the trouble of rummaging 
 lockerg and cargo, the statement would give more 
 satisfaction ; but — hem — gentlemen, we must take 
 the assertion on credit, for want of more suffi- 
 cient security." 
 
 Ludlow looked at the cloud above the mouth 
 of the Raritan, and his lip curled in a smile. 
 
 " Let the wind hold here, at east," he said, 
 " and we shall act our pleasure with both lockers 
 and cabins." 
 
 "Hist! the worthy Master Tiller may over- 
 hear this threat — after all, I do not know wheth- 
 er prudence does not tell us to let the brigantine 
 depart." 
 
 " Mr. Alderman Yan Beverout," rejoined the 
 captain, whose cheek had reddened to a glow, 
 " my duty must not be gauged by your affection for 
 
76 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 your niece. Though content that Alida Barberie 
 should quit the country, like an article of vulgar 
 commerce, the commander of this vessel must get 
 a passport of her majesty's cruiser ere she again 
 enter the high-sea." 
 
 " Wilt say as much to the sea-green lady ? " 
 asked the mariner of the shawl, suddenly appear- 
 ing at his elbow. 
 
 The question was so unexpected and so strange 
 that it caused an involuntary start ; but, recover- 
 ing his recollection on the instant, the young sail- 
 or haughtily replied : 
 
 " Or to any other monster thou canst conjure." 
 
 " We will take you at the word. There is no 
 more certain method of knowing the past or the 
 future, the quarter of the heavens from which the 
 winds are to come, or the season of the hurri- 
 canes, than by putting a question to our mistress. 
 She who knows so much of hidden matters may 
 tell us what you wish to know. Wo will have 
 her called by the usual summons." 
 
 Thus saying, the mariner of the shawl grave- 
 ly quitted his guests, and descended into the 
 inferior cabins of the vessel. It was but a mo- 
 ment before there arose sounds from some se- 
 cret though not distant quarter of the brigantine, 
 that caused, in some measure, both surprise and 
 pleasure to Ludlow and the patroon. Their com- 
 panion had his motives for being insensible to 
 either of these emotions. 
 
 After a short and rapid symphony, a wind- 
 instrument took up a wild strain, while a hu- 
 man voice was again heard chanting to the music 
 words which were so much involved, by the com- 
 position of the air, as to render it impossible to 
 trace more than that their burden was a sort of 
 mysterious incantation of some ocean deity. 
 
 " Squeaking and flutes ! " grumbled Myndert, 
 ere the last sounds were fairly ended. " This is 
 downright heathenish ; and a plain-dealing man, 
 who does business above-board, has good reason 
 to wish himself honestly at church. What have 
 we to do with land-witches, or water-witches, or 
 any other witchcraft, that we stay in the brigan- 
 tine, now it is known that my niece is not to be 
 found aboard her ; and, moreover, even admitting 
 that we were disposed to traffic, the craft has noth- 
 ing in her that a man of Manhattan should want. 
 The deepest bog of thy manor, patroon, is safer 
 ground to tread on than the deck of a vessel that 
 has got a reputation like that of this craft." 
 
 The scenes of which he was a witness had 
 produced their effect on Van Staats of Kinder- 
 hook. Of a slow imagination, but of a powerful 
 and vast frame, he was not easily excited, either 
 to indulge in fanciful images, or to suffer personal 
 
 apprehension. Only a few years had passed since 
 men, who in other respects were enlightened, firm- 
 ly believed in the existence of supernatural agen- 
 cies in the control of the affairs of this life ; and 
 though the New-Netherlanders had escaped the 
 infatuation which prevailed so generally in the 
 religious provinces of New England, a credulous 
 superstition, of a less active quality, possessed the 
 minds of the most intelligent of the Dutch colo- 
 nists, and even of their descendants so lately as in 
 our own times. The art of divination was par- 
 ticularly in favor; and it rarely happened that 
 any inexplicable event affected the fortunes or 
 comforts of the good provincialists, without their 
 having recourse to some one of the more renowned 
 fortune-tellers of the country for an explanation. 
 Men of slow faculties love strong excitement, be- 
 cause they are insensible to less powerful impulses, 
 as men of hard heads find most enjoyment in 
 strong liquors. The patroon was altogether of 
 the sluggish cast ; and to him there was conse- 
 quently a secret but deep pleasure in his present 
 situation. 
 
 " What important results may flow from this 
 adventure, we know not, Mr. Alderman Van Be- 
 verout," returned Oloff Van Staats ; " and I con- 
 fess a desire to see and hear more, before we 
 land. This Skimmer of the Seas is altogether a 
 different man from what our rumors in the city 
 have reported ; and, by remaining, we may set 
 public opinion nearer to the truth. I have heard 
 my late venerable aunt — " 
 
 " Chimney-corners and traditions ! The good 
 lady was no bad customer of these gentry, pa- 
 troon ; and it is lucky that they got no more of thy 
 inheritance, in the way of fees. You see the Lust 
 in Rust against the mountain there ; well, all 
 that is meant for the public is on the outside, and 
 all that is intended for my own private gratifica- 
 tion is kept within-doors. — But here is Captain 
 Ludlow, who has matters of the queen on his 
 hands, and the gentleman will find it disloyal to 
 waste the moments in this juggling." 
 
 " I confess the same desire to witness the 
 end," dryly returned the commander of the Co- 
 quette. " The state of the wind prevents any 
 immediate change in the positions of the two 
 vessels ; and why not get a further insight into 
 the extraordinary character of those who belong 
 to the brigantine ? " 
 
 "Ay, there it is ! " muttered the alderman be- 
 tween his teeth. " Tour insights and outsights 
 lead to all the troubles of life. One is never 
 snug with these fantastics, which trifle with a 
 secret, like a fly fluttering round a candle, until 
 his wings get burnt." 
 
A VISIT TO THE 
 
 As his companions seemed resolved to stay, 
 however, there remained no alternative for the 
 burgher but patience. Although apprehension 
 of some indiscreet exposure was certainly the 
 feeling uppermost in his miud, he was not entirely 
 without some of the weakness which caused OlofF 
 Van Staats to listen and to gaze with so much ob- 
 vious interest and secret awe. Even Ludlow 
 himself felt more affected than he would have 
 willingly owned, by the extraordinary situation in 
 which he was placed. No man is entirely insen- 
 sible to the influence of sympathy, let it exert its 
 power in what manner it will. Of this the young 
 sailor was the more conscious, through the effect 
 that was produced on himself, by the grave ex- 
 terior and attentive manner of all the mariners 
 of the brigantine. He was a seaman of no mean 
 accomplishments ; and, among other attainments 
 that properly distinguish men of his profession, 
 he had learned to know the country of a sailor, 
 by those general and distinctive marks which 
 form the principal difference between men whose 
 common pursuit has in so great a degree created 
 a common character. Intelligence, at that day, 
 was confined to narrow limits among those who 
 dwelt on the ocean. Even the officer was but too 
 apt to be one of rude and boisterous manners, of 
 limited acquirements, and of deep and obstinate 
 prejudices. No wonder, then, that the commonman 
 was, in general, ignorant of most of those opin- 
 ions which gradually enlighten society. Ludlow 
 had seen, on entering the vessel, that her crew 
 was composed of men of different countries. Age 
 and personal character seemed to have been more 
 consulted, in their selection, than national distinc- 
 tions. There was a Finlander, with a credulous 
 and oval physiognomy, sturdy but short frame, and 
 a light vacant eye ; and a dark-skinned seaman of 
 the Mediterranean, whose classical outline of feat- 
 ure was often disturbed by uneasy and sensitive 
 glances at the horizon. These two men had come 
 and placed themselves near the group on the 
 quarter-deck, when the last music was heard ; and 
 Ludlow had ascribed the circumstance to a sen- 
 sibility to melody, when the child Zephyr stole 
 to their side, in a manner to show that more was 
 meant by the movement than was apparent in the 
 action itself. The appearance of Tiller, who in- 
 vited the party to reenter the cabin, explained 
 its meaning, by showing that these men, like 
 themselves, had business with the being who, it 
 was pretended, had so great an agency in control- 
 ling the fortunes of the brigantine. 
 
 The party, who now passed into the little ante- 
 room, was governed by very different sensations. 
 The curiosity of Ludlow was lively, fearless, and 
 
 SEA-GREEN LADY. 77 
 
 a little mingled with an interest that might be 
 termed professional ; while that of his two com- 
 panions was not without some inward reverence 
 for the mysterious power of the sorceress. The 
 two seamen manifested dull dependence, while 
 the boy exhibited, in his ingenuous and half- 
 terrified countenance, most unequivocally the in- 
 fluence of childish awe. The mariner of the 
 shawl was grave, silent, and, what was unusual 
 in his deportment, respectful. After a moment's 
 delay, the door of the inner apartment was opened 
 by Seadrift himself, and he signed for the whole 
 to enter. 
 
 A material change had been made in the ar- 
 rangement of the principal cabin. The light was 
 entirely excluded from the stern, and a crimson 
 curtain had been lowered before the alcove. A 
 small window, whose effect was to throw a dim 
 obscuri ty within, had been opened in the side. 
 The objects on which its light fell the strongest, 
 received a soft covering from the hues of the 
 hangings. 
 
 The free-trader received his guests with a 
 chastened air, bowing silently, and with less of 
 levity in his mien than in the former interview. 
 Still Ludlow thought there lingered a forced but 
 sad smile about his handsome mouth ; and the 
 patroon gazed at his fine features, with the ad- 
 miration that one might feel for the most favored 
 of those who were believed to minister at some 
 supernatural shrine. The feelings of the alder- 
 man were exhibited only by some half-suppressed 
 murmurs of discontent, that from time to time es- 
 caped him, notwithstanding a certain degree of 
 reverence, that was gradually prevailing over his 
 ill-concealed dissatisfaction. 
 
 " They tell me, you would speak with our mis- 
 tress," said the principal personage of the vessel, in 
 a subdued voice. " There are others, too, it would 
 seem, who wish to seek counsel from her wisdom. 
 It is now many months since we have had direct 
 converse with her, though the book is ever open 
 to all applicants for knowledge. You have nerves 
 for the meeting ? " 
 
 " Her majesty's enemies have never reproached 
 me with their want," returned Ludlow, smiling 
 incredulously. " Proceed with your incantations, 
 that we may know." 
 
 " We are not necromancers, sir, but faithful 
 mariners, who do their mistress's pleasure. I 
 know that you are skeptical ; but bolder men 
 have confessed their mistakes, with less testimony. 
 Hist ! we are not alone. I hear the opening and 
 shutting of the brigantine's transoms." 
 
 The speaker then fell back nearly to the line 
 in which the others had arranged themselves, and 
 
78 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 awaited the result in silence. The curtain rose 
 to a low air on the same wind-instrument ; and 
 even Ludlow felt an emotion more powerful than 
 interest, as he gazed on the object that was re- 
 vealed to view. 
 
 A female form, attired, as near as might be, 
 like the figure-head of the vessel, and standing 
 in a similar attitude, occupied the centre of the 
 alcove. As in the image, one hand held a book 
 with its page turned toward the spectators, while 
 a finger of the other pointed ahead, as if giving 
 to the brigantine its course. The sea-green dra- 
 pery was floating behind, as if it felt the influence 
 of the air ; and the face had the same dark and 
 unearthly hue, with its malign and remarkable 
 smile. 
 
 When the start and the first gaze of astonish- 
 ment were over, the alderman and his companions 
 glanced their eyes at each other in wonder. The 
 smile on the look of the free-trader became less 
 hidden, and it partook of triumph. 
 
 " If any here has aught to say to the lady of 
 our bark, let him now declare it. She has come 
 far, at our call, and will not tarry long." 
 
 " I would then know," said Ludlow, drawing 
 a heavy breath, like one recovering from some 
 sudden and powerful sensation, u if she I seek 
 be within the brigantine ? " 
 
 He who acted the part of mediator in this 
 extraordinary ceremony, bowed and advanced to 
 the book, which, with an air of deep reverence, 
 he consulted, reading, or appearing to read, from 
 its pages. 
 
 " You are asked here, in return for that you 
 inquire, if she you seek is sought in sincerity ? " 
 
 Ludlow reddened ; the manliness of the profes- 
 sion to which he belonged, however, overcame 
 the reluctance natural to self-esteem ; and he an- 
 swered, firmly : 
 
 " She is." 
 
 "But you are a mariner; men of the sea 
 place their affections, often, on the fabric in 
 which they dwell. Is the attachment for her you 
 seek stronger than love of wandering, of your 
 ship, your youthful expectations, and the glory 
 that forms a young sailor's dreams ? " 
 
 The commander of the Coquette hesitated. 
 After a moment of pause, like that of self-exami- 
 nation, he said : 
 
 " As much so as may become a man." 
 
 A cloud across the brow of his interrogator, 
 who advanced and again consulted the pages of 
 the book. 
 
 " You are required to say, if a recent event 
 has not disturbed your confidence in her you 
 seek ? " 
 
 " Disturbed — but not destroyed." 
 
 The sea-green lady moved, and the pages of 
 the mysterious volume trembled, as if eager to 
 deliver their oracles. 
 
 14 And could you repress curiosity, pride, and 
 all the other sentiments of your sex, and seek 
 her favor, without asking explanation, as before 
 the occurrence of late events ? " 
 
 " I would do much to gain a kind look from 
 Alida de Barberie ; but the degraded spirit, of 
 which you speak, would render me unworthy 
 of her esteem. If I found her as I lost her, my 
 life should be devoted to her happiness ; if not, 
 to mourning that one so fair should have fall- 
 en!" 
 
 " Have you ever felt jealousy ? " 
 
 " First let me know if I have cause ! " cried 
 the young man, advancing a step toward the mo- 
 tionless form with an'evident intent to look closer 
 into its character. 
 
 The hand of the mariner of the shawl arrested 
 him with the strength of a giant. 
 
 " None trespass on the respect due our mis- 
 tress," coolly observed the vigorous seaman, 
 while he motioned to the other to retreat. 
 
 A fierce glance shot from his eye ; and then 
 the recollection of his present helplessness came, 
 in season, to restrain the resentment of the offend- 
 ed officer. 
 
 " Have you ever felt jealousy ? " continued 
 his undisturbed interrogator. 
 
 " Would any love, that have not ? " 
 
 A gentle respiration was heard in the cabin, 
 during the short pause that succeeded, though 
 none could tell whence it came. The alderman 
 turned to regard the patroon, as if he believed 
 the sign was his ; while the startled Ludlow looked 
 curiously around him, at a loss to know who ac- 
 knowledged, with so much sensibility, the truth 
 of his reply. 
 
 " Your answers are well," resumed the free- 
 trader, after a pause longer than usual. Then, 
 turning to Oloff Yan Staats, he said, " Whom or 
 what do you seek ? " 
 
 " We come on a common errand." 
 
 " And do you seek in all sincerity? " 
 
 " I could wish to find." 
 
 u You are rich in lands and houses ; is she you 
 seek dear to you as this wealth ? " 
 
 " I esteem them both, since one could not 
 wish to tie a woman he admired to beggary." 
 
 The alderman hemmed so loud as to fill the 
 cabin, and then, startled at his own interruption, 
 he involuntarily bowed an apology to the motion- 
 less form in the alcove, and regained his compos- 
 ure. 
 
CONSULTING 
 
 " There is more of prudence than of ardor in 
 your answer. Have you ever felt jealousy ? " 
 
 " That has he ! " eagerly exclaimed Myndert. 
 "I've known the gentleman raving as a bear that 
 has lost its cub, when my niece has smiled, in 
 church, for instance, though it were only in an- 
 swer to a nod from an old lady. Philosophy and 
 composure, patroon ! Who the devil knows but 
 Alida may hear of this questioning ? — and then 
 her French blood will boil, to find that your 
 love has always gone as regularly as the town- 
 clock." 
 
 " Could you receive her without inquiring into 
 past events ? " 
 
 " That would he — that would he ! " returned 
 the alderman. " I answer for it, that Mr. Yan 
 Staats complies with all engagements as punctu- 
 ally as the best house in Amsterdam itself." 
 
 The book again trembled, but it was with a 
 waving and dissatisfied motion. 
 
 " What is thy will with our mistress ? " de- 
 manded the free-trader, of the fair-haired sailor. 
 
 " I have bargained with some of the dealers 
 of my country, for a wind to carry the brigantine 
 through the inlet." 
 
 " Go. — The Water- Witch will sail when there 
 is need — and you ? " 
 
 " I wish to know whether a few skins I bought 
 last night, for a private venture, will turn to good 
 account ? " 
 
 " Trust the sea-green lady for your profits. 
 When did she ever let any fail in a bargain ! — 
 Child, what has brought thee hither ? " 
 
 The boy trembled, and a little time elapsed 
 before he found resolution to answer. 
 
 " They tell me it is so queer to be upon the 
 land ! " 
 
 " Sirrah ! thou hast been answered. When 
 others go, thou shalt go with them." 
 
 " They say 'tis pleasant to taste the fruits 
 from off the very trees — " 
 
 " Thou art answered. — Gentlemen, our mis- 
 tress departs. She knows that one among you 
 has threatened her favorite brigantine with the 
 anger of an earthly queen ; but it is beneath her 
 office to reply to threats so idle. Hark ! her at- 
 tendants are in waiting ? " 
 
 The wind-instrument was once more heard, 
 and the curtain slowly«fell to its strains. A sud- 
 den and violent noise, resembling the opening 
 and shutting of some massive door, succeeded — 
 then all was still. When the sorceress had dis- 
 appeared, the free-trader resumed his former ease 
 of manner, seeming to speak and act more natu- 
 rally. Alderman Van Beverout drew a long 
 breath, like one relieved ; and even the mariner 
 
 THE ORACLE. ?9 
 
 of the gay shawl stood in an easier and more 
 reckless attitude than while in her presence. 
 The two seamen and the child withdrew. 
 
 "Few who wear that livery have ever before 
 seen the lady of our brigantine," continued the 
 free-trader, addressing himself to Ludlow ; " and 
 it is proof that she has less aversion to your cruis- 
 er than she in common feels to most of the long 
 pennants that are abroad on the water." 
 
 "Thy mistress, thy vessel, and thyself, are 
 alike amusing ! " returned the young seaman, 
 again smiling incredulously, and with some little 
 official pride. " It will be well, if you maintain 
 this pleasantry much longer, at the expense of 
 her majesty's customs." 
 
 " We trust to the power of the Water-Witch. 
 She has adopted our brigantine as her abode, 
 given it her name, and guides it with her hand, 
 'Twould be weak to doubt, when thus protected." 
 
 " There may be occasion to try her virtues. 
 Were she a spirit of the deep waters, her robe 
 would be blue. Nothing of a light draught can 
 escape the Coquette ? " 
 
 " Dost not know that the color of the sea dif- 
 fers in different climes ? We fear not, but you 
 would have answers to your questions. Honest 
 Tiller will carry you all to the land, and, in pass- 
 ing, the book may again be consulted. I doubt 
 not she will leave us some further memorial of 
 her visit." 
 
 The free-trader then bowed, and retired be- 
 hind the curtain, with the air of a sovereign dis- 
 missing his visitors from an audience ; though his 
 eye glanced curiously behind him, as he disap- 
 peared, as if to trace the effect which had been 
 produced by the interview. Alderman Van Be- 
 verout and his friends where in the boat again, 
 beforea syllable was exchanged between them. 
 They had followed the mariner of the shawl, in 
 obedience to his signal ; and they quitted the side 
 of the beautiful brigantine, like men who pondered 
 on what they had just witnessed. 
 
 Enough has been betrayed, in the course of the 
 narrative, perhaps to show, that Ludlow distrust- 
 ed, though he could not avoid wondering at, what 
 he had seen. He was not entirely free from the 
 superstition that was then so common among sea- 
 men ; but his education and native good sense 
 enabled him in a great measure to extricate his 
 imagination from that love of the marvellous 
 which is more or less common to all. He had 
 fifty conjectures concerning the meaning of what 
 had passed, and not one of them was true ; though 
 each, at the instant, seemed to appease his curi- 
 osity, while it quickened his resolution to pry 
 further into the affair. As for the Patroon of 
 
80 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 Kinderhook, the present day was one of rare and 
 unequalled pleasure. He had all the gratification 
 which strong excitement can produce in slow na- 
 tures ; and he neither wished a solution of his 
 doubts, nor contemplated any investigation that 
 might destroy so agreeable an illusion. His fan- 
 cy was full of the dark countenance of the sorcer- 
 ess ; and, when it did not dwell on a subject so un- 
 natural, it saw the handsome features, ambiguous 
 smile, and attractive air, of her scarcely less ad- 
 mirable minister. 
 
 As the boat got to a little distance from the 
 vessel, Tiller stood erect, and ran his eye com- 
 placently over the perfection of her hull and rig- 
 gmg. 
 
 " Our mistress has equipped and sent upon 
 the wide and unbeaten sea many a bark," he 
 said ; " but never a lovelier than our own. — Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, there has been some double-dealing 
 between us ; but that which is to follow shall de- 
 pend on our skill, our seamanship, and our heels. 
 You serve Queen Anne, and I the sea-green lady. 
 Let each be true to his mistress, and Heaven pre- 
 serve the deserving ! — Wilt see the book before 
 we make the trial ? " 
 
 Ludlow intimated his assent, and the boat ap- 
 proached the figure-head. It was impossible to 
 prevent the feeling which each of our three ad- 
 venturers, not excepting the alderman, felt when 
 they came in full view of the motionless image. 
 The mysterious countenance appeared endowed 
 with thought, and the malign smile seemed still 
 more ironical than before. 
 
 " The first question was yours, and yours must 
 be the first answered," said Tiller, motioning for 
 Ludlow to consult the page which was open. 
 " Our mistress deals chiefly in verses from the old 
 writer whose thoughts are almost as common to 
 us all as to human nature." 
 
 " What means this ? " said Ludlow, hastily : 
 
 " She, Claudio, that you wronged, look you restore 
 — love her, Angelo ; 
 I have confessed her, and I know her virtue." 
 
 " These are plain words ; but I would rather 
 that another priest should shrive her whom I 
 love ! " 
 
 "Hist! — Young blood is swift and quickly 
 heated. Our lady of the bark will not relish hot 
 speech over her oracles. — Come, Master Patroon, 
 turn the page with the rattan, and see what For- 
 tune will give." 
 
 Oloff Yan Staats raised his powerful arm, with 
 the hesitation and yet with the curiosity of a 
 girl. It was easy to read in his eye the pleasure 
 his heavy nature felt in the excitement ; yet it 
 was easy to detect the misgivings of an erroneous 
 
 education, by the seriousness of all the other 
 members of his countenance. He read aloud : 
 
 " I have a motion much imports your good ; 
 Whereto, if you'll a willing ear incline, 
 What's mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. — 
 So bring us to our palace, where we'll show, 
 What's yet behind, that's meet you all should know." 
 
 Measure fob Measttee. 
 
 " Fair-dealing, and fairer speech ! ' What's 
 yours is mine, and what is mine is yours,' is meas- 
 ure for measure, truly, patroon ! " cried the alder- 
 man. " A more equitable bargain cannot be made, 
 when the assets are of equal value. Here is en- 
 couragement, in good sooth ; and now, Master 
 Mariner, we will land and proceed to the Lust in 
 Rust, which must be the place meant in the verses. 
 ' What's yet behind,' must be Alida, the torment- 
 ing baggage ! who has been playing hide-and-seek 
 with us, for no other reason than to satisfy her 
 womanish vanity, by showing how uncomfortable 
 she could make three grave and responsible men. 
 — Let the boat go, Master Tiller, since that is thy 
 name ; and many thanks for thy civilities." 
 
 " 'Twould give grave offence to leave the lady, 
 without knowing all she has to say. The answer 
 now concerns you, worthy alderman ; and the rat- 
 tan will do its turn, in your hand, as well as in 
 that of another." 
 
 " I despise a pitiful curiosity, and content my- 
 self with knowing what chance and good luck 
 teach," returned Myndert. " There are men in 
 Manhattan ever prying into their neighbors' 
 credit, like frogs lying with their noses out of 
 water ; but it is enough for me to know the state 
 of my books, with some insight into that of the 
 market." 
 
 " It will not do. This may appease a quiet 
 conscience, like your own, sir; but we of the 
 brigantine may not trifle with our mistress. One 
 touch of the rattan will tell you whether these 
 visits to the Water- Witch are likely to prove to 
 your advantage." 
 
 Myndert wavered. It has been said that, 
 like most others of his origin in the colony, he 
 had a secret leaning to the art of divination : and 
 the words of the hero of the shawl contained a flat- 
 tering allusion to the profits of his secret commerce. 
 He took the offered stick, and, by the time the 
 page was turned, his eyes s were ready enough to 
 consult its contents. There was but a line, which 
 was also quoted as coming from the well-known 
 comedy of " Measure for Measure : " 
 
 " Proclaim it, provost, round about the city." 
 
 In his eagerness Myndert read the oracle aloud ; 
 then he sank into his seat, affecting to laugh at 
 the whole as a childish and vain conceit. 
 
BONNIE. 
 
 " Proclamation me no proclamations ! Is it a 
 time of hostilities, or of public danger, that one 
 should go shouting with his tidings through the 
 streets ? Measure for measure, truly ! Harkee, 
 Master Tiller, this sea-green trull of thine is no 
 better than she should be ; and unless she mend 
 her manner of dealing, no honest man will be found 
 willing to be seen in her company. I am no be- 
 liever in necromancy— though the inlet has cer- 
 tainly opened this year altogether in an unusual 
 manner — and therefore I put little faith in her 
 words ; but as for saying aught of me or mine, in 
 town or country, Holland or America, that can 
 shake my credit, why, I defy her ! Still, I would 
 not willingly have any idle stories to contradict ; 
 and I shall conclude by saying, you will do well 
 to stop her mouth." 
 
 " Stop a hurricane, or a tornado ! Truth will 
 come in her book, and he that reads must expect 
 to see it. — Captain Ludlow, you are master of 
 your movements again ; for the inlet is no longer 
 between you and your cruiser. Behind yon hil- 
 lock is the boat and crew you missed. The latter 
 expect you. — And now, gentlemen, we leave the 
 rest to the green lady's guidance, our own good 
 skill, and the winds ! I salute you." 
 
 The moment his companions were on the 
 shore, the hero of the shawl caused his boat to 
 quit it ; and in less than five minutes it was seen 
 swinging by its tackles at the stern of the brigan- 
 tine. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 " like Ai'ion on the dolphin's back 
 
 I saw him hold acquaintance with the waves, 
 So long as I could see. 1 ' 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 There was one curious though half-confounded 
 observer of all that passed in and around the 
 cove, on the morning in question. This person- 
 age was no other than the slave called Bonnie, 
 who was the factotum of his master, over the 
 demesnes of the Lust in Rust, during the time 
 when the presence of the alderman was required 
 in the city ; which was, in truth, at least four- 
 fifths of the year. Responsibility and confidence 
 had produced their effect on this negro, as on more 
 cultivated minds. He had been used to act in 
 situations of care ; and practice had produced a 
 habit of vigilance and observation, that was not 
 common in men of his unfortunate condition. 
 There is no moral truth more certain than that 
 men, when once accustomed to this species of 
 domination, as readily submit their minds as their 
 6 
 
 81 
 
 bodies to the control of others. Thus it is that 
 we see entire nations maintaining so many errone- 
 ous maxims, merely because it has suited the in- 
 terests of those who do the thinking, to give forth 
 these fallacies to their followers. Fortunately, 
 however, for the improvement of the race and the 
 advancement of truth, it is only necessary to give 
 a man an opportunity to exercise his natural facul- 
 ties in order to make him a reflecting and in some 
 degree an independent being. Such, though to a 
 very limited extent certainly, had been the conse- 
 quence in the instance of the slave just men- 
 tioned. 
 
 How far Bonnie had been concerned in the 
 proceedings between his master and the mariners 
 of the brigantine, it is unnecessary to say. Lit- 
 tle passed at the villa of which he was ignorant ; 
 and as curiosity, once awakened, increases its own 
 desire for indulgence, could he have had his wish, 
 little would have passed anywhere near him, with- 
 out his knowing something of its nature and im- 
 port. He had seen, while seemingly employed 
 with his hoe in the garden of the alderman, the 
 trio conveyed by Erasmus across the inlet ; and 
 watched the manner in which they followed its 
 margin to the shade of the oak, and had seen 
 them enter the brigantine, as related. That this 
 extraordinary visit on board a vessel which was in 
 common shrouded by so much mystery, had given 
 rise to much and unusual reflection in the mind 
 of the black, was apparent by the manner in which 
 he so often paused in his labor, and stood leaning 
 on the handle of his hoe. He had never known 
 his master so far overstep his usual caution as to 
 quit the dwelling during the occasional visits of 
 the free-trader ; yet he hadnow gone as it were in- 
 to the very jaws of the lion, accompanied by the 
 commander of a royal cruiser. No wonder, then, 
 that the vigilance of the negro became still more 
 active, and that not even the slightest circumstance 
 was suffered to escape his admiring eye. During 
 the whole time consumed by the visit related in 
 the preceding chapter, not a minute had been suf- 
 fered to pass without an inquiring look in the di- 
 rection either of the brigantine or of the adjacent 
 shore. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say how keen the 
 attention of the slave became, when his master 
 and his companions were seen to return to the 
 land. They immediately ascended to the foot 
 of the oak, where there was a long and appar- 
 ently a serious conference between them. Dur- 
 ing this consultation, the negro never suffered his 
 gaze, for an instant, to alter its direction. In- 
 deed, be scarcely drew breath, until the whole 
 party quitted the spot together, and buried them- 
 
32 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 selves in the thicket that covered the cape, tak- 
 ing the direction of its outer or northern extrem- 
 ity, instead of retiring by the shore of the cove, 
 toward the inlet. Then Bonnie respired heavily, 
 and began to look about him at the other objects 
 that properly belonged to the interest of the 
 scene. 
 
 The brigantine had run up her boat, and she 
 now lay, as when first seen, a motionless, beauti- 
 ful, aud exquisitely graceful fabric, without the 
 smallest sign, about her of an intention to move, 
 or indeed without exhibiting any other proof, ex- 
 cept in her admirable order and symmetry, that 
 any of human powers dwelt within her hull. The 
 royal cruiser, though larger and of far less aerial 
 mould and fashion, presented the same picture 
 of repose. The distance between the two was 
 about a league ; and Bonnie was sufficiently 
 familiar with the formation of the land and the 
 position of the vessels to be quite aware that 
 this inactivity on the part of those whose duty 
 it was to protect the rights of the queen, pro- 
 ceeded from their utter ignorance of the proxim- 
 ity of their neighbor. The thicket which bounded 
 the cove, and the growth of oaks and pines that 
 stretched along the narrow, sandy spit of land 
 quite to its extremity, sufficiently accounted for 
 the fact. The negro, therefore, after gazing for 
 several minutes at the two immovable vessels, 
 turned his eye askance on the earth, shook his 
 head, and burst into a laugh, which was so noisy 
 that it caused his sable partner to thrust her va- 
 cant and circular countenance through an open 
 window of the scullery of the villa, to demand 
 the reason of a merriment that to her faithful 
 feelings appeared to be a little unsocial. 
 
 " Hey ! you alway' keep 'e queer t'ing to he- 
 self, Bonnie, but ! " cried the vixen, " I'm werry 
 glad to see old bones like a hoe ; an' I wonner' 
 dere ar' time to laugh, wid'e garden full of 
 weed ! " 
 
 " Grach ! " exclaimed the negro, stretching out 
 an arm in a forensic attitude; "what a black 
 woman know of politic ! If a hab time to talk, 
 better cook a dinner. Tell one t'ing, Phyllis, and 
 that be dis : vy 'e ship of Captain Ludlow no 
 lif 'e anchor, an' come take dis rogue in 'e cove ? 
 can a tell dat much, or no ? — if no, let a man, who 
 understan' heself, laugh much as he like. A lit- 
 tle fun no harm Queen Anne nor kill 'e gubbe- 
 nor!" 
 
 " All work and no sleep make old bone ache, 
 Bonnie, but ! " returned the consort. " Ten 
 o'clock — twelve o'clock — free o'clock, and no 
 bed ; veil I see 'e sun afore a black fool put 'e 
 head on a pillow ! — An' now a hoe go all 'e same 
 
 as if he sleep a ten hour. Masser Myn'ert got a 
 heart, and he no wish to kill he people wid work, J 
 or old Phyllis war' dead, fifty year, next winter." 
 
 " I t'ink a wench's tongue nebber satisfy ! ] 
 What for tell a whole world when Bonnie go to 
 bed ? He sleep for heself, and he no sleep for 'e 
 neighborhood ! Dere ! A man can't t'ink of 
 ebery t'ing in a minute. Here a ribbon long 
 enough to hang heself — take him and den re- I 
 mem'er, Phyllis, dat you be 'e wife of a man who J 
 hab care on he shoul'er." 
 
 Bonnie then set up another laugh, in which ] 
 his partner, having quitted her scullery to seize I 
 the gift, which in its colors resembled the skin 
 of a garter-snake, did not fail to join through 
 mere excess of animal delight. The effect of the 
 gift, however, was to leave the negro to make his ; 
 observations, without any further interruption j 
 from one who was a little too apt to disturb his 
 solitude. 
 
 A boat was now seen to pull out from among j 
 the bushes that lined the shore ; and Bonnie was 
 enabled to distinguish, in its stern-sheets, the 
 persons of his master, Ludlow, and the patroon. 
 He had been acquainted with the seizure of the I 
 Coquette's barge the preceding night, and with 
 the confinement of the crew. Its appearance in 
 that place, therefore, occasioned no new surprise 
 But the time which passed while the men were j 
 rowing up to the sloop-of-war, was filled with 
 minutes of increasing interest. The black aban- 
 doned his hoe, and took a position on the side of 
 the mountain that gave him a view of the whole 
 bay. So long as the mysteries of the Lust in 
 Rust had been confined to the ordinary combina- 
 tions of a secret trade, he had been fully able to 
 comprehend them ; but now that there apparent- 
 ly existed an alliance so unnatural as one between 
 his master and the cruiser of the crown, he felt 
 the necessity of double observation and of great- 
 er thought. 
 
 A far more enlightened mind than that of the 
 slave might have been excited by the expectation 
 and the objects which now presented themselves, 
 especially if sufficiently prepared for events, by a 
 knowledge of the two vessels in sight. Though 
 the wind still hung at east, the cloud above the 
 mouth of the Raritan at length began to rise. The 
 broad fleeces of white vapor, that had lain the 
 whole morning over the continent, were rapidly 
 uniting ; and they formed already a dark and 
 dense mass, that floated in the bottom of the estu- 
 ary, threatening shortly to roll over the whole of i 
 its wide waters. The air was getting lighter, and 
 variable ; and while the wash of the surf sounded 
 still more audible, its roll upon the beach was less 
 
THE COQUETTE 
 
 regular than in the earlier hours of the day. Such 
 was the state of the two elements, when the boat 
 touched the side of the ship. In a minute it was 
 hanging by its tackles, high in the air ; then it 
 disappeared in the bosom of the dark mass. 
 
 It far exceeded the intelligence of Bonnie to 
 detect, now, any further signs of preparation in 
 either of the two vessels which absorbed the 
 whole of his attention. They appeared to him to 
 be alike without motion, and equally without peo- 
 ; pie. There were, it is true, a few specks in the 
 rigging of the Coquette, which might be seen ; 
 but the distance prevented him from being sure 
 of the fact ; and, admitting them to be seamen 
 busied aloft, there were no visible consequences 
 of their presence, that his uninstructed eye could 
 trace. In a minute or two, even these scattered 
 specks were seen no longer ; though the attentive 
 black thought that the mast-heads and the rig- 
 ging beneath the tops thickened, as if surrounded 
 by more than their usual mazes of ropes. At 
 that moment of suspense, the cloud over the Rari- 
 tan emitted a flash. This seemed to be a signal 
 for the cruiser ; for when the eye of Bonnie, 
 which had been directed to the heavens, returned 
 toward the ship, he saw that she had opened and 
 hoisted her three topsails, seemingly with as little 
 exertion as an eagle would have spread his wings. 
 The ship now became uneasy ; for the wind came 
 in puffs, and the vessel rolled lightly, as if strug- 
 gling to extricate itself from the hold of its an- 
 chor ; and precisely at the moment when the shift 
 of wind was felt, and the breeze came from the 
 cloud in the west, the cruiser whirled away from its 
 constrained position, and, appearing for a short 
 space restless as a steed that had broken from its 
 fastenings, it came up heavily to the wind, and lay 
 balanced by the action of its sails. There was an- 
 other minute or two of seeming inactivity, after 
 which the broad surfaces of the top-sails were 
 brought in parallel lines. One white sheet was 
 spread after another upon the fabric; and Bonnie 
 saw that the Coquette, the swiftest cruiser of the 
 crown in those seas, was dashing out from the land 
 under a cloud of canvas. 
 
 All this time the brigantine in the cove lay 
 quietly at her anchor. When the wind shifted, 
 the light hull swung with its currents, and the im- 
 age of the sea-green lady was seen offering her 
 dark cheek to be fanned by the breeze. But she 
 alone seemed to watch over the fortunes of her 
 followers ; for no other eye could be seen looking 
 out on the danger that began so seriously to 
 threaten them, both from the heavens, and from a 
 more certain and intelligible foe. 
 
 As the wind was fresh, though unsteady, the Co- 
 
 UNDER CANVAS. 83 
 
 quette moved through the water with a velocity 
 that did no discredit to her reputation for speed. 
 At first it seemed to be the intention of the royal 
 cruiser to round the cape, and gain an offing in 
 the open sea, for her head was directed north- 
 wardly ; but no sooner had she cleared the curve 
 of the little bight which, from its shape, is known 
 by the name of the Horseshoe, than she was 
 seen shooting directly into the eye of the wind, 
 and falling off with the graceful and easy motion 
 of a ship in stays, her head looking toward the 
 Lust in Rust. Her design on the notorious dealer 
 in contraband was now too evident to admit of 
 doubt. 
 
 Still, the Water-Witch betrayed no symptoms 
 of alarm. The meaning eye of the image seemed 
 to study the motions of her adversary with all 
 the understanding of an intelligent being; and 
 occasionally the brigantine turned slightly in the 
 varying currents of the air, as if volition directed 
 the movements of the little fabric. These changes 
 resembled the quick and slight movements of the 
 hound, as he lifts his head in his lair, to listen to 
 some distant sound, or to scent some passing taint 
 in the gale. 
 
 In the mean time, the approach of the ship was 
 so swift as to cause the negro to shake his head 
 with a meaning that exceeded even his usually 
 important look. Every thing was propitious to 
 her progress ; and as the water of the cove, dur- 
 ing the periods that the inlet remained open, was 
 known to be of a sufficient depth to admit of her 
 entrance, the faithful Bonnie began to anticipate 
 a severe blow to the future fortunes of his master. 
 The only hope that he could perceive for the es- 
 cape of the smuggler, was in the changes of the 
 heavens. 
 
 Although the threatening cloud had now 
 quitted the mouth of the Raritan, and was rolling 
 eastward with fearful velocity, it had not yet 
 broken. The air had the unnatural and heated 
 appearance which precedes a gust ; but, with the 
 exception of a few large drops, that fell seemingly 
 from a clear sky, it was as yet what is called a 
 dry squall. The water of the bay was occasion- 
 ally dark, angry, and green ; and there were mo- 
 ments when it would appear as if heavy currents 
 of air descended to its surface, wantonly to try 
 their power on the sister element. Notwithstand- 
 ing these sinister omens, the Coquette stood on 
 her course, without lessening the wide surfaces 
 of her canvas by a single inch. They who gov- 
 erned her movements were no men of the lazy 
 Levant, nor of the mild waters of the Mediterra- 
 nean, to tear their hair, and call on saints to stand 
 between their helplessness and harm ; but mari- 
 
84 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 ners trained in a boisterous sea, and accustomed 
 to place their first dependence on their own good 
 manhood, aided by the vigilance and skill of a 
 long and severely exercised experience. A hun- 
 dred eyes on board that cruiser watched the ad- 
 vance of the rolling cloud, or looked upon the 
 play of light and shade, that caused the color of 
 the water to vary ; but it was steadily, and with 
 an entire dependence on the discretion of the 
 young officer who controlled the movements of 
 the ship. 
 
 Ludlow himself paced the deck with all his 
 usual composure, so far as might be seen by ex- 
 ternal signs ; though in reality his mind was 
 agitated by feelings that were foreign to the duties 
 of his station. He, too, had thrown occasional 
 glances at the approaching squall, but his eye 
 was far oftener riveted on the motionless brigan- 
 tine, which was now distinctly to be seen from 
 the deck of the Coquette, still riding at her an- 
 chor. The cry of " A stranger in the cove ! " which 
 a few minutes before came out of one of the tops, 
 caused no surprise in the commander ; while the 
 crew, wondering but obedient, began for the first 
 time to perceive the object of their strange ma- 
 noeuvres. Even the officer next in authority to 
 the captain had not presumed to make any inquiry, 
 though now that the object of their search was so 
 evidently in view, he felt emboldened to presume 
 on his rank, and to venture a remark. 
 
 " It is a sweet craft! " said the staid lieuten- 
 ant, yielding to an admiration natural to his 
 habits, "and one that might serve as a yacht for 
 the queen! This is some trifler with the reve- 
 nue, or perhaps a buccaneer from the islands. 
 The fellow shows no ensign!" 
 
 " Give him notice, sir, that he has to do with 
 one who bears the royal commission," returned 
 Ludlow, speaking from habit, and half uncon- 
 scious of what he said. " We must teach these 
 rovers to respect a pennant." 
 
 The report of the cannon startled the absent 
 man, and caused him to remember the order. 
 
 "Was that gun shotted?" he asked, in a 
 tone that sounded like rebuke. 
 
 "Shotted, but pointed wide, sir; merely a 
 broad hint. We are no dealers in dumb show in 
 the Coquette, Captain Ludlow." 
 
 " I would not injure the vessel, even should 
 it prove a buccaneer. Be careful that nothing 
 strikes her, without an order." 
 
 " Ay, 'twill be well to take the beauty alive, 
 sir ; so pretty a boat should not be broken up, 
 like an old hulk. Ha ! there goes his bunting, at 
 last! He shows a white field — can the fellow 
 be a Frenchman, after all ? " 
 
 The lieutenant took a glass, and for a moment 
 applied it to his eye with the usual steadiness. 
 Then he suffered the instrument to fall, and it 
 would seem that he endeavored to recall the dif- 
 ferent flags that he had seen during the experi- 
 ence of many years. 
 
 " This joker should come from some terra in- 
 cognita," he said. " Here is a woman in his field, 
 with an ugly countenance, too, unless the glass 
 play me false — as I live, the rogue has her coun- 
 terpart for a figure-head ! Will you look at the 
 ladies, sir ? " 
 
 Ludlow took the glass, and it was not without 
 curiosity that he turned it toward the colors the 
 hardy smuggler dared to exhibit in presence of a 
 cruiser. The vessels were, by this time, sufficient- 
 ly near each other to enable him to distinguish 
 the swarthy features and malign smile of the sea- 
 green lady, whose form was wrought in the field 
 of the ensign, with the same art as that which 
 he had seen so often displayed in other parts of 
 the brigantine. Amazed at the daring of the 
 free-trader, he returned the glass and continued 
 to pace the deck in silence. There stood near 
 the two speakers an officer whose head and form 
 began to show the influence of time, and who, 
 from his position, had unavoidably been an audi- 
 tor of what passed. Though the eye of this per^ 
 son, who was the sailing-master of the sloop, was 
 rarely off the threatening cloud, except to glance 
 along the wide show of canvas that was spread, he 
 found a moment to take a look at the stranger. 
 
 "A half-rigged brig, with her foretop-gallant- 
 mast fidded abaft, a double martingale, and a 
 standing gaft," observed the methodical and 
 technical mariner, as another would have re- 
 counted the peculiarities of complexion or of 
 feature in some individual who was the subject 
 of a personal description. " The rogue has no 
 need of showing his brazen-faced trull to be 
 known ! I chased him, for six-and-thirty hours, 
 in the chops of St. George's, no later than the 
 last season ; and the fellow ran about us, like a 
 dolphin playing under a ship's fore-foot. We had 
 him now on our weather-bow, and now crossing 
 our course, and once in a while in our wake, as 
 if he had been a Mother Carey's chicken looking 
 for our crumbs. He seems snug enough in that 
 cove, to be sure, yet I'll wager the pay of any 
 month in the twelve, that he gives us the slip. 
 Captain Ludlow, the brigantine under our lee 
 here, in Spermaceti, is the well-known Skimmer 
 of the Seas!" 
 
 " The Skimmer of the Seas ! " echoed twenty 
 voices, in a manner to show the interest created 
 by the unexpected information. 
 
THE SAILING-MASTER'S OPINION. 
 
 85 
 
 "I'll swear to his character before any ad- 
 miralty judge in England or even in France, should 
 there be occasion to go into an outlandish court ; 
 but no need of an oath, when here is a written 
 account I took, with my own hands, having the 
 chase in plain view, at noonday." While speak- 
 ing, the sailing-master drew a tobacco-box from 
 his pocket, and, removing a coil of pigtail, he 
 came to a deposit of memorandums that vied with 
 the weed itself in color. "Now, gentlemen," he 
 continued, "you shall have her build, as justly 
 as if the master-carpenter had laid it down with 
 his rule. ' Remember to bring a muff of marten's 
 fur from America, for Mrs. Trysail — buy it in 
 London, and swear ' — this is not the paper — I let 
 your boy, Mr. Luff, stow away the last entry of 
 tobacco for me, and the young dog has disturbed 
 every document I own. This is the way the gov- 
 ernment accounts get jammed, when Parliament 
 wants to overhaul them. But I suppose young 
 blood will have its run ! I let a monkey into a 
 church of a Saturday night myself, when a young- 
 ster, and he made such a stowage of the prayer- 
 books that the whole parish was by the ears for 
 six months; and there is one quarrel between 
 two old ladies that has not been made up to this 
 hour. — Ah! here we have it: ' Skimmer of the 
 Seas. Full-rigged forward, with fore-and-aft main- 
 sail abaft ; a gaff-topsail ; taut in his spars, with 
 light top-hamper ; neat in his gear, as any beau- 
 ty — carries a ring-tail in light weather ; main-boom 
 like a frigate's topsail-yard, with a main-topmast- 
 staysail as big as a jib. Low in the water, with 
 a woman figure-head; carries sail more like a 
 devil than a human being, and lies within four 
 and a half points, when jammed up hard on a 
 wind.' Here are marks by which one of Queen 
 Anne's maids of honor might know the rogue ; 
 and there you see them all, as plainly as human 
 nature can show them in a ship ! " 
 
 " The Skimmer of the Seas ! " repeated the 
 young officers, who had crowded around the vet- 
 eran tar to hear this characteristic description of 
 the notorious free-trader. 
 
 " Skimmer or flier, we have him now, dead 
 under our lee, with a sandy beach on three of his 
 sides, and the wind in his eye ! " cried the first-lieu- 
 tenant. " You shall have an opportunity, Mas- 
 ter Trysail, of correcting your account by actual 
 measurement." 
 
 The sailing-master shook his head, like one 
 who doubted, and again turned his eye on the ap- 
 proaching cloud. 
 
 The Coquette, by this time, had run so far as 
 to have the entrance of the cove open ; and she 
 was separated from her object only by a distance 
 
 of a few cables' length. In obedience to an order 
 given by Ludlow, all the light canvas of the ship 
 was taken in, and the vessel was left under her 
 three topsails and jib. There remained, however, 
 a question as to the channel ; for it was not usual 
 for ships of the Coquette's draught to be seen in 
 that quarter of the bay, and the threatening state 
 of the weather rendered caution doubly necessary. 
 The pilot shrank from a responsibility which did 
 not properly belong to his office, since the ordina- 
 ry navigation had no concern with that secluded 
 place ; and even Ludlow, stimulated as he was 
 by so many powerful motives, hesitated to incur 
 a risk which greatly exceeded his duty. There 
 was something so remarkable in the apparent se- 
 curity of the smuggler, that it naturally led to the 
 belief he was certain of being protected by some 
 known obstacle, and it was decided to sound be- 
 fore the ship was hazarded. An offer to carry the 
 free-trader with the boats, though plausible in it- 
 self, and perhaps the wisest course of all, was re- 
 jected by the commander, on an evasive plea of 
 its being of uncertain issue, though, in truth, be- 
 cause he felt an interest in one whom he believed 
 the brigantine to contain, which entirely forbade 
 the idea of making the vessel the scene of so vio- 
 lent a struggle. A yawl was therefore lowered 
 into the water, the main-topsail of the ship was 
 thrown to the mast ; and Ludlow himself, accom- 
 panied by the pilot and the master, proceeded to 
 ascertain the best approach to the smuggler. A 
 flash of lightning, with one of those thunder-claps 
 that are wont to be more terrific on this conti- 
 nent than in the other hemisphere, warned the 
 young mariner of the necessity of haste, if he 
 would regain his ship before the cloud, which still 
 threatened them, should reach the spot where she 
 lay. The boat pulled briskly into the cove, both 
 the master and the pilot sounding on each side, 
 as fast as the leads could be cast from their hands 
 and recovered. 
 
 " This will do," said Ludlow when they had 
 ascertained that they could enter. " I would lay 
 the ship as close as possible to the brigantine, for 
 I distrust her quiet. We will go nearer." 
 
 " A brazen witch, and one whose saucy eye 
 and pert figure might lead any honest mariner in- 
 to contraband, or even into a sea-robbery ! " half- 
 whispered Trysail, perhaps afraid to trust his 
 voice within hearing of a creature that seemed 
 almost endowed with the faculties of life. "Ay, 
 this is the hussy ! I know her by the book and 
 her green jacket ! But where are her people ? 
 The vessel is as quiet as the royal vault on a cor- 
 onation day, when the last king and those who 
 went before him commonly have the place to 
 
86 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 themselves. Here would be a pretty occasion 
 to throw a boat's crew on her decks, and haul 
 down yon impudent ensign, which bears the 
 likeness of this wicked lady so bravely in the air, 
 if—" 
 
 " If what ? " asked Ludlow, struck with the 
 plausible character of the proposal. 
 
 " Why, if one were sure of the nature of such 
 a minx, sir ; for, to own the truth, I would rather 
 deal with a regularly-built Frenchman, who showed 
 his guns honestly, and kept such a jabbering 
 aboard that one might tell his bearings in the dark. 
 — The creature spoke ! " 
 
 Ludlow did not reply, for a heavy crash of 
 thunder succeeded the vivid glow of a flash of 
 lightning, and glared so suddenly across the swar- 
 thy lineaments as to draw the involuntary exclama- 
 tion from Trysail. The intimation that came from 
 the cloud was not to be disregarded. The wind, 
 which had so long varied, began to be heard in 
 the rigging of the silent brigantine ; and the two 
 elements exhibited unequivocal evidence, in their 
 menacing and fitful colors, of the near approach 
 of the gust. The young sailor, with an absorbing 
 interest, turned his eyes on his ship. The yards 
 were on the caps, the bellying canvas was flutter- 
 ing far to leeward, and twenty or thirty human 
 forms on each spar, showed that the nimble- 
 fingered topmen were gathering in and knotting 
 the sails down to a close reef. 
 
 " Give way, men, for your lives ! " cried the ex- 
 cited Ludlow. 
 
 A single dash of the oars was heard, and the 
 yawl was already twenty feet from the mysteri- 
 ous image. Then followed a desperate struggle 
 to regain the cruiser, ere the gust should strike 
 her. The sullen murmur of the wind, rushing 
 through the rigging of the ship, was audible some 
 time before they reached her side ; and the strug- 
 gles between the fabric and the elements were at 
 moments so violent as to cause the young com- 
 mander to fear he would be too late. 
 
 The foot of Ludlow touched the deck of the 
 Coquette at the instant the weight of the squall 
 fell upon her sails. He no longer thought of any 
 interest but that of the moment ; with all the 
 feelings of a seaman, his mind was now full of 
 his ship. 
 
 " Let run every thing ! " shouted the ready 
 officer, in a voice that made itself heard above 
 the roar of the wind. " Clew down, and hand ! 
 — Away aloft, you topmen ! — lay out ! — furl 
 away ! " 
 
 These orders were given in rapid succession, 
 and without a trumpet, for the young man could, 
 at need, speak loud as the tempest. They were 
 
 succeeded by one of those exciting and fearful 
 minutes that are so familiar to mariners. Each 
 man was intent on his duty, while the elements 
 worked their will around him as madly as if the 
 hand by which they were ordinarily restrained 
 was forever removed. The bay was a sheet of 
 foam, while the rushing of the gust resembled the 
 dull rumbling of a thousand chariots. The ship 
 yielded to the pressure, until the water was seen 
 gushing through her lee-scuppers, and her tall 
 line of masts inclined toward the plane of the 
 bay, as if the ends of the yards were about to 
 dip into the water. But this was no more than 
 the first submission to the shock. The well- 
 moulded fabric recovered its balance, and strug- 
 gled through its element, as if conscious that 
 there was security only in motion. Ludlow 
 glanced his eye to leeward. The' opening of the 
 cove was favorably situated, and he caught a 
 glimpse of the spars of the brigantine, rocking 
 violently in the squall. He spoke to demand if 
 the anchors were clear ; then he was heard, shout- 
 ing again from his station in the weather-gang- 
 way: 
 
 " Hard a-weather ! — " 
 
 The first efforts of the cruiser to obey her 
 helm, stripped as she was of canvas, were labored 
 and slow. But when her head began to fall off, 
 the driving scud was scarce swifter than her mo- 
 tion. At that moment, the sluices of the cloud 
 opened, and a torrent of rain mingled in the up- 
 roar, and added to the confusion. Nothing was 
 now visible but the lines of the falling water, and 
 the sheet of white foam through which the ship 
 was glancing. 
 
 " Here is the land, sir ! " bellowed Trysail, 
 from a cat-head, where he stood resembling some 
 venerable sea-god, dripping with his native ele- 
 ment. " We are passing it, like a race-horse ! " 
 
 " See your bowers clear! " shouted back the 
 captain. 
 
 " Ready, sir, ready — " 
 Ludlow motioned to the men at the wheel to 
 bring the ship to the wind ; and, when her way 
 was sufficiently deadened, two ponderous anchors 
 dropped, at another signal, into the water. The 
 vast fabric was not checked without a further and 
 tremendous struggle. When the bows felt the re- 
 straint, the ship swung head to wind, and fathom 
 after fathom of the enormous ropes was ex- 
 tracted, by surges so violent as to cause the hull to 
 quiver to its centre. But the first-lieutenant and 
 Trysail were no novices in their duty, and in less 
 than a minute they had secured the vessel steadily 
 at her anchors. When this important service was 
 performed, officers and crew stood looking at each 
 
DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BRIGANTINE. 
 
 37 
 
 other, like men who had just made a hazardous 
 and fearful experiment. The view again opened, 
 and objects on the land became visible through the 
 still falling rain. The change was like that from 
 night to day. Men who had passed their lives 
 on the sea drew long and relieving breaths, con- 
 scious that the danger was happily passed. As 
 the more pressing interest of their own situation 
 abated," they remembered the object of their 
 search. All eyes were turned in quest of the 
 smuggler ; but, by some inexplicable means, he had 
 disappeared. 
 
 " The Skimmer of the Seas ! " and " What has 
 become of the brigantine ? " were exclamations 
 that the discipline of a royal cruiser could not re- 
 press. They were repeated by a hundred mouths, 
 while twice as many eyes sought to find the beau- 
 tiful fabric. All looked in vain. The spot where 
 the Water-Witch had so lately lain was vacant, 
 and no vestige of her wreck lined the shores of 
 the cove. During the time the ship was handing 
 her sails, and preparing to enter the cove, no one 
 had leisure to look for the stranger ; and after 
 the vessel had anchored, until that moment, it 
 was not possible to see her length on any side of 
 them. There was still a dense mass of falling 
 water moving seaward ; but the curious and anx- 
 ious eyes of Ludlow made fruitless efforts to 
 penetrate its secrets. Once, indeed, more than 
 an hour after the gust had reached his own ship, 
 and when the ocean in the offing was clear and 
 calm, he thought he could distinguish, far to sea- 
 ward, the delicate tracery of a vessel's spars, 
 drawn against the horizon, without any canvas 
 set. But a second look did not assure him of 
 the truth of the conjecture. 
 
 There were many extraordinary tales related 
 that night, on board her Britannic majesty's ship 
 Coquette. The boatswain affirmed that, while pip- 
 ing below in order to overhaul the cables, he had 
 heard a screaming in the air, that sounded as if 
 a hundred devils were mocking him, and which 
 he told the gunner, in confidence, he believed was 
 no more than the winding of a call on board the 
 brigantine, who had taken occasion, when other 
 vessels were glad to anchor, to get under way, in 
 her own fashion. There was also a foretop-man 
 named Kobert Yarn, a fellow whose faculty for 
 story-telling equalled that of Scheherazade, and 
 who not only asserted, but who confirmed the dec- 
 laration by many strange oaths, that while he lay 
 on the lee-foretop-sail-yard-arm, stretching forth 
 an arm to grasp the leech of the sail, a dark-look- 
 ing female fluttered over his head, and caused her 
 long hair to whisk into his face, in a manner that 
 compelled him to shut his eyes, which gave occa- 
 
 sion to a smart reprimand from the reefer of the 
 top. There was a feeble attempt to explain this 
 assault, by the man who lay next to Yarn, who 
 affected to think the hair was no more than the 
 end of a gasket whipping in the wind ; but his 
 shipmate, who had pulled one of the oars of the 
 yawl, soon silenced this explanation, by the virtue 
 of his long-established reputation for veracity. 
 Even Trysail ventured several mysterious con- 
 jectures concerning the fate of the brigantine, in 
 the gun-room ; but, on returning from the duty 
 of sounding the inlet, whither he had been sent 
 by his captain, he was less communicative and 
 more thoughtful than usual. It appeared, indeed, 
 from the surprise that was manifested by every 
 officer that heard the report of the quartermas- 
 ter, who had given the casts of the lead on this 
 service, that no one in the ship, with the excep- 
 tion of Alderman Yan Beverout, was at all aware 
 that there was rather more than two fathoms of 
 water in that secret passage. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 " Sirs, take your places, and be vigilant." 
 
 Hbney IV. 
 
 The succeeding day was one in which the 
 weather had a fixed character. The wind was 
 east, and, though light, not fluctuating. The air 
 had that thick and hazy appearance which prop- 
 erly belongs to the autumn in this climate, but 
 which is sometimes seen at midsummer, when a 
 dry wind blows from the ocean. The roll of the 
 surf on the shore was regular and monotonous, 
 and the currents of the air were so steady as to 
 remove every apprehension of a change. The 
 moment to which the action of the tale is trans- 
 ferred was in the earlier hours of the afternoon. 
 
 At that time the Coquette lay again at her an- 
 chors, just within the shelter of the cape. There 
 were a few small sails to be seen passing up the 
 bay ; but the scene, as was common at that dis- 
 tant day, presented little of the activity of our 
 own times. The windows of the Lust in Rust 
 were again open, and the movement of the slaves 
 in and about the villa announced the presence of 
 its master. 
 
 The alderman was in truth, at the hour named, 
 pacing the little lawn in front of la Gourdes Fees, 
 accompanied by Oloff Van Staats and the com- 
 mander of the cruiser. It was evident, by the 
 frequent glances which the latter threw in the di- 
 rection of the pavilion, that he still thought of her 
 who was absent ; while the faculties of the two 
 
88 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 others were either in better subjection, or less 
 stimulated by anxiety. One who understood the 
 character of the individual, and who was acquaint- 
 ed with tbe past, might have suspected, by this 
 indifference on the part of the patroon, placed as 
 it was in such a singular contrast to a sort of 
 mysterious animation which enlivened a counte- 
 nance whose ordinary expression was placid con- 
 tent, that the young suitor thought less than 
 formerly of the assets of old Etienne, and more 
 of the secret pleasure he found in the singular in- 
 cidents of which he had been a witness. 
 
 " Propriety and discretion ! " observed the 
 burgher, in reply to a remark of one of the young 
 men — "I say again, for the twentieth time, that 
 we shall have Alida Barberie back among us as 
 handsome, as innocent, ay, and as rich as ever — 
 perhaps I should also say, as wilful ! A baggage — 
 to worry her old uncle, and two honorable suit- 
 ors, in so thoughtless a manner ! Circumstances, 
 gentlemen," continued the wary merchant, who 
 saw that the value of the hand of which he had 
 to dispose, was somewhat reduced in the market, 
 " have placed you on a footing in my esteem. 
 Should my niece, after all, prefer Captain Ludlow 
 for a partner, in her worldly affairs, why it should 
 not weaken friendship between the son of old 
 Stephanus Van Staats and Myndert Van Bever- 
 out. Our grandmothers were cousins, and there 
 should be charities in the same blood." 
 
 "I could not wish to press my suit," returned 
 the patroon, " when the lady has given so direct 
 a hint that it is disagreeable — " 
 
 "Hint me no hints ! Do you call this caprice 
 of a moment, this trifling, as the captain here 
 would call it, with the winds and tides, a hint ? 
 The girl has Norman blood in her veins, and she 
 wishes to put animation into the courtship. If 
 bargains were to be interrupted by a little cheap- 
 ening of the buyer, and some affectation of wait- 
 ing for a better market in the seller, her majesty 
 might as well order her custom-houses to be closed 
 at once, and look to other sources for revenue. 
 Let the girl's fancy have its swing, and the profits 
 of a year's peltry against thy rent-roll, we shall see 
 her penitent for her folly, and willing to hear rea- 
 son. My sister's daughter is no witch to go jour- 
 neying forever about the world on a broom- 
 stick ! " 
 
 " There is a tradition in our family," said 
 Oloff Van Staats, his eye lighting with a mysteri- 
 ous excitement, while he affected to laugh at the 
 folly he uttered, "that the great Poughkeepsie 
 fortune-teller foretold in the presence of my grand- 
 mother, that a Patroon of Kinderhook should in- 
 termarry with a witch. So, should I see la belle ' 
 
 in the position you name, it would not greatly 
 alarm me." 
 
 " The prophecy was fulfilled at the wedding 
 of thy father ! " muttered Myndert, who, notwith- 
 standing the outward levity with which he treated 
 the subject, was not entirely free from secret rev- 
 erence for the provincial soothsayers, some of 
 whom continued in high repute, even to the close 
 of the last century. " His son would not else 
 have been so clever a youth ! — But here is Cap- 
 tain Ludlow looking at the ocean as if he expected 
 to see my niece rise out of the water in the shape 
 of a mermaid." 
 
 The commander of the Coquette pointed to 
 the object which attracted his gaze, and which, 
 appearing as it did at that moment, was certainly 
 not of a nature to lessen the faith of either of his 
 companions in supernatural agencies. 
 
 It has been said that the wind was dry and 
 the air misty, or rather so pregnant with a thin 
 haze, as to give it the appearance of a dull, smoky 
 light. In such a state of the weather, the eye, 
 more especially of one placed on an elevation, is 
 unable to distinguish what is termed the visible 
 horizon at sea. The two elements become so 
 blended, that our organs cannot tell where the 
 water ends, or where the void of the heavens 
 commences. It is a consequence of this indis- 
 tinctness that any object seen beyond the appar- 
 ent boundary of water, has the appearance of 
 floating in the air. It is rare for the organs of a 
 landsman to penetrate beyond the apparent limits 
 of the sea, when the atmosphere exhibits this 
 peculiarity, though the practised eye of a mariner 
 often detects vessels which are hid from others, 
 merely because they are not sought in the proper 
 place. The deception may also be aided by a 
 slight degree of refraction. 
 
 " Here," said Ludlow, pointing in a line that 
 would have struck the water some two or three 
 leagues in the offing. " First bring the chimney 
 of yonder low building on the plain in a range 
 with the dead oak on the shore, and then raise 
 your eyes slowly, till they strike a sail." 
 
 " That ship is navigating the heavens ! " ex- 
 claimed Myndert. " Thy gran chn other was a sen- 
 sible woman, patroon ; she was a cousin of my 
 pious progenitor, and there is no knowing what 
 two clever old ladies in their time may have heard 
 and seen, when such sights as this are beheld 
 in our own ! " 
 
 " I am as little disposed as another to put 
 faith in incredible things," gravely returned Oloff 
 Van Staats ; " and yet, if required to give my 
 testimony, I should be reluctant to say that yon- 
 der vessel is not floating in the heavens ! " 
 
THE CHASE. 
 
 89 
 
 "You might not give it to that effect in 
 safety," said Ludlow. " It is no other than a half- 
 rigged brigantine on a taut bowline, though she 
 bears no great show of canvas. — Mr. Van Bever- 
 out, her majesty's cruiser is about to put to sea." 
 
 Myndert heard this declaration in visible dis- 
 satisfaction. He spoke of the virtue of patience, 
 and of the comforts of the solid ground; but 
 when he found the intention of the queen's ser- 
 vant was not to be shaken, he reluctantly pro- 
 fessed an intention of repeating the personal ex- 
 periment of the preceding day. Accordingly, 
 within half an hour the whole party were on the 
 banks of the Shrewsbury, and about to embark in 
 the barge of the Coquette. 
 
 " Adieu, Monsieur Francis," said the alder- 
 man, nodding his head to the ancient valet, who 
 stood with a disconsolate air on the shore. " Have 
 a care of the movables in la Cour des Fees ; we 
 have further use for them." 
 
 "Mais, Monsieur Beevre, mon devoir et ma 
 foi, suppose la mer was plus agreable, mon d6sir 
 shall be to suivre Mam'selle Alida. Jamais per- 
 sonne de la famille Barberie love de sea ; mais, 
 monsieur, comment faire ? I shall die sur la mer 
 de douleur ; and I shall die d'ennui, to rester ici 
 bien sur ! " 
 
 " Come, then, faithful Francois," said Ludlow. 
 " You shall follow your young mistress ; and per- 
 haps on further trial you may be disposed to 
 think the lives of us seamen more tolerable than 
 you had believed." 
 
 After an eloquent expression of countenance, 
 in which the secretly amused though grave-look- 
 ing boat's crew thought the old man was about 
 to give a specimen of his powers of anticipation, 
 the affectionate domestic entered the barge. Lud- 
 low felt for his distress, and encouraged him by 
 a look of approbation. The language of kindness 
 does not always need a tongue; and the con- 
 science of the valet smote him with the idea that 
 he might have expressed himself too strongly con- 
 cerning a profession to which the other had de- 
 voted life and hopes. 
 
 "La mer, Monsieur le Capitaine," he said, 
 with an acknowledging reverence, " est un vaste 
 theatre de la gloire. Voila Messieurs de Tour- 
 ville et Dougay Trouin; ce sont deshommes vrai- 
 ment remarquables ! mais, monsieur, quant a tout 
 la famille de Barberie, we have toujours un senti- 
 ment plus favorable pour la terre." 
 
 " I wish your whimsical jade of a mistress, 
 Master Francis, had found the same sentiment," 
 dryly observed Myndert ; " for, let me tell you, this 
 cruising about in a suspicious vessel is as little 
 creditable to her judgment as — cheer up, patroon ; 
 
 the girl is only putting thy metal to the trial, and 
 the sea-air will do no damage to her complexion 
 or her pocket. — A little predilection for salt-wa- 
 ter must raise the girl in your estimation, Captain 
 Ludlow ? " 
 
 " If the predilection goes no further than the 
 element, sir," was the caustic answer. " But, de- 
 luded or not, erring or deceived, Alida Barberie 
 is not to be deserted, the victim of a villain's arts. 
 I did love your niece, Mr. Yan Beverout, and — 
 pull with a will, men ; fellows, are you sleeping on 
 the oars ? " 
 
 The sudden manner in which the young man 
 interrupted himself, and the depth of tone in 
 which he spoke to the boat's crew, put an end to 
 the discourse. It was apparent that he wished 
 to say no more, and that he even regretted the 
 weakness which had induced him to say so much. 
 The remainder of the distance between the shore 
 and the ship was passed in silence. 
 
 When Queen Anne's cruiser was seen doub- 
 ling Sandy Hook, past meridian on the 6th June 
 (sea-time) in the year 17 — , the wind, as stated 
 in an ancient journal, which was kept by one of 
 the midshipmen, and is still in existence, was light, 
 steady at south and by west-half-west. It ap- 
 pears, by the same document, that the vessel took 
 her departure at seven o'clock, p. m., the point of 
 Sandy Hook, bearing west-half-south, distant 
 three leagues. On the same page which contains 
 these particulars, it is observed, under the head 
 of remarks : " Ship under starboard steering 
 sails, forward and aft, making six knots. A sus- 
 picious half-rigged brigantine lying-to in the east- 
 ern board, under her mainsail, with fore-topsail 
 to the mast ; light and lofty sails and jib loose ; 
 foresail in the brails. Her starboard steering 
 sail-booms appear to be rigged out, and the gear 
 rove, ready for a run. This vessel is supposed to be 
 the celebrated hermaphrodite Water-Witch, com- 
 manded by the notorious ' Skimmer of the Seas,' 
 and the same fellow who gave us so queer a slip 
 yesterday. The Lord send us a capful of wind, 
 and we'll try his heels, before morning ! — Passen- 
 gers, Alderman Yan Beverout, of the second ward 
 of the city of New York, in her majesty's province 
 of the same name ; Oloff Yan Staats, Esq., com- 
 monly called the Patroon of Kinderhook, of the 
 same colony ; and a qualmish-looking old chap, in a 
 sort of marine's jacket, who answers when hailed 
 as Francis. A rum set taken altogether, though 
 they seem to suit the captain's fancy. Mem. — 
 Each lipper of a wave works like tartar-emetic on 
 the lad in marine gear." 
 
 As no description of ours can give a more 
 graphic account of the position of the two vessels 
 
00 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 in question, at the time named, than that which 
 is contained in the foregoing extract, we shall 
 take up the narrative at that moment, which the 
 reader will see must, in the fortieth degree of lati- 
 tude, and in the month of June, have been shortly 
 after the close of the day. 
 
 The young votary of Neptune, whose opinions 
 have just been quoted, had indeed presumed on 
 his knowledge of the localities, in affirming the 
 distance and position of the cape, since the low 
 sandy point was no longer visible from the deck. 
 The sun had set, as seen from the vessel, precise- 
 ly in the mouth of the Raritan ; and the shadows 
 from Navesink, or Neversink, as the hills are 
 vulgarly called, were thrown far upon the sea. 
 In short, the night was gathering round the mari- 
 ners, with every appearance of settled and mild 
 weather, but of a darkness deeper than is com- 
 mon on the ocean. Under such circumstances, 
 the great object was to keep on the track of the 
 chase, during the time when she must necessarily 
 be hid from their sight. 
 
 Ludlow walked into the lee-gangway of his 
 ship, and, leaning with his elbow on the empty 
 hammock-cloths, he gazed long in silence at the 
 object of his pursuit. The Water- Witch was ly- 
 ing in the quarter of the horizon most favorable 
 to being seen. The twilight, which still fell out 
 of the heavens, was without glare in that direc- 
 tion ; and, for the first time that day, he saw her 
 in her true proportions. The admiration of a sea- 
 man was blended with the other sensations of the 
 young man. The brigantine lay in the position 
 that exhibited her exquisitely-moulded hull and 
 rakish rig to the most advantage. The head, hav- 
 ing come to the wind, was turned toward her 
 pursuer ; and as the bows rose on some swell that 
 was heavier than common, Ludlow saw, or fancied 
 he saw, the mysterious image still perched on her 
 cutwater, holding the book to the curious, and 
 ever pointing with its finger across the waste of 
 water. A movement of the hammock - cloths 
 caused the young sailor to bend his head aside, 
 and he then saw that the master had drawn as 
 near his person as discipline would warrant. 
 Ludlow had a great respect for the professional 
 attainments that his inferior unquestionably pos- 
 sessed ; and he was not without some considera- 
 tion for the chances of a fortune, which had not 
 done much to reward the privations and the ser- 
 vices of a seaman old enough to be his father. 
 The recollection of these facts always disposed 
 him to be indulgent to a man who had little be- 
 yond his seaman-like character and long experi- 
 ence to recommend him. 
 
 " We are likely to have a thick night, Master 
 
 Trysail," said the young captain, without deeming 
 it necessary to change his look, " and we may 
 yet be brought on a bowline, before yonder inso- 
 lent is overhauled." 
 
 The master smiled, like one who knew more 
 than he expressed, and gravely shook his head. 
 
 " We may have many pulls on our bowlines, 
 and some squaring of yards, too, before the Co- 
 quette " (the figure-head of the sloop-of-war was 
 also a female) " gets near enough to the dark-faced 
 woman, under the bowsprit of the brigantine, to 
 whisper her mind. You and I have been nigh 
 enough to see the white of her eyes, and to count 
 the teeth she shows, in that cunning grin of hers 
 — and what good has come of our visit ? I am 
 but a subordinate, Captain Ludlow, and I know 
 my duty too well not to be silent in a squall, and 
 I hope too well not to know how to speak when 
 my commander wishes the opinions of his officers 
 at a council ; and therefore mine, just now, is per- 
 haps different from that of some others in this 
 ship, that I will not name, who are good men, too, 
 though none of the oldest." 
 
 "And what is thy opinion, Trysail? The 
 ship is doing well, and she carries her canvas 
 bravely." 
 
 "The ship behaves like a well-bred young 
 woman in the presence of the queen ; modest, but 
 stately — but of what use is canvas, in a chase 
 where witchcraft breeds squalls and shortens sail 
 in one vessel, while it gives flying kites to another ? 
 If her majesty, God bless her ! should be ever per- 
 suaded to do so silly a thing as to give old Tom 
 Trysail a ship, and the said ship lay, just here- 
 away, where the Coquette is now getting along so 
 cleverly, why then, as in duty bound, I know very 
 well what her commander would do — " 
 
 " Which would be—" 
 
 " To, in all studding-sails, and bring the ves- 
 sel on the wind." 
 
 " That would be to carry you to the south- 
 ward, while the chase lies here in the eastern 
 board ! " 
 
 " Who can say how long she will lie there ? 
 They told us, in York, that there was a French- 
 man, of our burden and metal, rummaging about 
 among the fishermen, lower down on the coast. 
 Now, sir, no man knows that the war is half over 
 better than myself, for not a ha'penny of prize- 
 money has warmed my pocket these three years ; 
 but, as I was saying, if a Frenchman will come 
 off his ground, and will run his ship into troubled 
 water, why — whose fault is it but his own? A 
 pretty affair might be made out of such a mistake, 
 Captain Ludlow ; whereas running after yonder 
 brigantine is flapping out the queen's canvas for 
 
THE CAPTAIN AND 
 
 HIS SUBORDINATE. 91 
 
 nothing. The vessel's bottom will want new 
 sheathing in my opinion, before you catch him." 
 
 " I know not, Trysail," returned his captain, 
 glancing an eye aloft ; " every thing draws, and 
 the ship never went along with less trouble to her- 
 self. We shall not know which has the longest 
 legs, till the trial is made." 
 
 " You may judge of the rogue's speed by his 
 impudence. There he lies, waiting for us, like a 
 line-of-battle ship lying-to for an enemy to come 
 down. Though a man of some experience in my 
 way, I have never seen a lord's son more sure of 
 promotion than that same brigantine seems to be 
 of his heels ! If this old Frenchman goes on with 
 his faces much longer, he will turn himself inside- 
 out, and then we shall get an honest look at him, 
 for these fellows never carry their true characters 
 above-board, like a fair-dealing Englishman. — 
 Well, sir, as I was remarking, yon rover, if rover 
 he be, has more faith in his canvas than in the 
 Church. I make no doubt, Captain Ludlow, that 
 the brigantine went through the inlet while we 
 were handing our topsails yesterday; for I am 
 none of those who are in a hurry to give credit 
 to any will-o'-the-wisp tale ; besides which, I 
 sounded the passage with my own hands, and 
 know the thing to be possible, with the wind blow- 
 ing heavy over the taffrail ; still, sir, human na- 
 ture is human nature, and what is the oldest sea- 
 man, after all, but a man ? And so, to conclude, 
 I would rather any day chase a Frenchman, whose 
 disposition is known to me, than have the credit 
 of making traverses, for eight-and-forty hours, in 
 the wake of one of these fliers, with little hope 
 of getting him within hail." 
 
 " You forget, Master Trysail, that I have been 
 aboard the chase, and know something of his build 
 and character." 
 
 u They say as much aboard here," returned 
 the old tar, drawing nearer to the person of his 
 captain, under an impulse of strong curiosity ; 
 " though none presume to be acquainted with the 
 particulars. I am not one of those who ask im- 
 pertinent questions, more especially under her 
 majesty's pennant ; for the worst enemy I have 
 will not say I am very womanish. One would 
 think, however, that there was neat work on board 
 a craft that is so prettily moulded about her 
 water-lines." 
 
 " She is perfect as to construction, and ad- 
 mirable in gear." 
 
 "I thought as much, by instinct! Her com- 
 mander need not, however, be any the more sure 
 of keeping her off the rocks, on that account. 
 The prettiest young woman in our parish was 
 wrecked, as one might say, on the shoals of her 
 
 own good looks, having cruised once too often 
 in the company of the squire's son. A comely 
 wench she was, though she luffed athwart all her 
 old companions, when the young lord of the 
 manor fell into her wake. Well, she did bravely 
 enough, sir, as long as she could carry her flying 
 kites, and make a fair wind of it ; but, when the 
 squall of which I spoke overtook her, what could 
 she do but keep away before it ? — and, as others 
 who are snugger in their morals hove-to, as it 
 were, under the storm-sails of religion and such 
 matters as they had picked up in the catechism, 
 she drifted to leeward of all honest society ! A 
 neatly-built and clean-heeled hussy was that girl ; 
 and I am not certain, by any means, that Mrs. 
 Trysail would this day call herself the lady of a 
 queen's officer, had the other known how to carry 
 sail in the company of her betters." 
 
 The worthy master drew a long breath, which 
 possibly was a nautical sigh, but which certainly 
 had more of the north wind than of the zephyr 
 in its breathing ; and he had recourse to the little 
 box of iron, whence he usually drew consolation. 
 
 " I have heard of this accident before," re- 
 turned Ludlow, who had sailed as a midshipman 
 in the same vessel with, and indeed as a subordi- 
 nate to, his present inferior. " But, from all ac- 
 counts, you have little reason to regret the change, 
 as I hear the best character of your present 
 worthy partner." 
 
 " No doubt, sir, no doubt. I defy any man 
 in the ship to say that I am a backbiter, even 
 against my wife, with whom I have a sort of law- 
 ful right to deal candidly. I make no complaints, 
 and am a happy man at sea, and I piously hope 
 Mrs. Trysail knows how to submit to her duty at 
 home. — I suppose you see, sir, that the chase 
 has hauled his yards, and is getting his fore-tack 
 aboard ? " Ludlow, whose eye did not often turn 
 from the brigantine, nodded assent ; and the mas- 
 ter, having satisfied himself, by actual inspection, 
 that every sail in the Coquette did its duty, con- 
 tinued : " The night is coming on thick, and we 
 shall have occasion for all our eyes to keep the 
 rogue in view, when he begins to change his bear- 
 ings — but, as I was saying, if the commander of 
 yonder half-rig is too vain of her good looks, he 
 may yet wreck her in his pride ! The rogue has 
 a desperate character as a smuggler, though, for 
 my own part, I cannot say that I look on such 
 men with as unfavorable an eye as some others. 
 This business of trade seems to be a sort of chase 
 between one man's wits and another man's wits, 
 and the dullest goer must be content to fall to 
 leeward. When it comes to be a question of 
 revenue, why, he who goes free is lucky, and he 
 
92 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 who is caught a prize. I have known a flag- 
 officer look the other way, Captain Ludlow, when 
 his own effects were passing duty-free ; and, as to 
 your admiral's lady, she is a great patroness of 
 the contraband. I do not deny, sir, that a smug- 
 gler must be caught, and, when caught, con- 
 demned, after which there must be a fair distri- 
 bution among the captors ; but all that I mean 
 to say is, that there are worse men in the world 
 than your British smuggler — such, for instance, as 
 your Frenchman, your Dutchman, or your Don." 
 
 " These are heterodox opinions for a queen's 
 servant," said Ludlow, as much inclined to smile 
 as to frown. 
 
 " I hope I know my duty too well to preach 
 them to the ship's company, but a man may say 
 that, in a philosophical way, before his captain, 
 that he would not let run into a midshipman's ear. 
 Though no lawyer, I know what is meant by swear- 
 ing a witness to the truth and nothing but the 
 truth. I wish the queen got the last, God bless 
 her ! several worn-out ships would then be broken 
 up, and better vessels sent to sea in their places. 
 But, sir, speaking in a religious point of view, what 
 is the difference between passing in a trunk of 
 finery, with a duchess's name on the brass plate, 
 or in passing in gin enough to fill a cutter's hold ? " 
 
 " One would think a man of your years, Mr. 
 Trysail, would see the difference between robbing 
 the revenue of a guinea and robbing it of a thou- 
 sand pounds." 
 
 " Which is just the difference between retail 
 and wholesale — and that is no trifle, I admit, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, in a commercial country, especially 
 in genteel life. Still, sir, revenue is the country's 
 right, and therefore I allow a smuggler to be a 
 bad man, only not so bad as those I have just 
 named, particularly your Dutchman ! The queen 
 is right to make those rogues lower their flags to 
 her in the narrow seas, which are her lawful prop- 
 erty ; because England, being a wealthy island, 
 and Holland no more than a bit of bog turned up 
 to dry, it is reasonable that we should have the 
 command afloat. No, sir, though none of your out- 
 criers against a man because he has had bad luck 
 in a chase with a revenue-cutter, I hope I know 
 what the natural rights of an Englishman are. 
 We must be masters, here, Captain Ludlow, will- 
 ye-nill-ye, and look to the main chances of trade 
 and manufactures ! " 
 
 "I had not thought you so accomplished a 
 statesman, Master Trysail ! " 
 
 " Though a poor man's son, Captain Ludlow, 
 I am a freeborn Briton, and my education has not 
 been entirely overlooked. I hope I know some- 
 thing of the constitution, as well as my betters. 
 
 Justice and honor being an Englishman's mottoes, 
 we must look manfully to the main chance. We 
 are none of your flighty talkers, but a reasoning 
 people, and there is no want of deep thinkers on 
 the little island ; and therefore, sir, taking all to- 
 gether, why England must stick up for her rights ! 
 Here is your Dutchman, for instance, a ravenous 
 cormorant ; a fellow with a throat wide enough 
 to swallow all the gold of the Great Mogul, if he 
 could get at it ; and yet a vagabond who has not 
 even a fair footing on the earth, if the truth must 
 be spoken ! Well, sir, shall England give up her 
 rights to a nation of such blackguards ? No, sir, 
 our venerable constitution and mother Church it- 
 self forbid, and therefore, I say, dam'me, lay them 
 aboard, if they refuse us any of our natural rights, 
 or show a wish to bring us down to their own 
 dirty level ! " 
 
 " Reasoned like a countryman of Newton, and 
 with an eloquence that would do credit to Cicero ! 
 I shall endeavor to digest your ideas at my lei- 
 sure, since they are much too solid food to be dis- 
 posed of in a minute. At present we will look 
 to the chase, for I see, by the aid of my glass, 
 that he has set his studding-sails, and is begin- 
 ning to draw ahead." 
 
 This remark closed the dialogue between the 
 captain and his subordinate. The latter quitted 
 the gangway with that secret and pleasurable 
 sensation which communicates itself to all who 
 have reason to think they have delivered them- 
 selves creditably of a train of profound thought. 
 
 It was, in truth, time to lend every faculty 
 to the movements of the brigantine ; for there was 
 great reason to apprehend that, by changing her 
 direction in the darkness, she might elude them. 
 The night was fast closing on the Coquette, and at 
 each moment the horizon narrowed around her, 
 so that it was only at uncertain intervals the men 
 aloft could distinguish the position of the chase. 
 While the two vessels were thus situated, Ludlow 
 joined his guests on the quarter-deck. 
 
 " A wise man will trust to his wits, what can- 
 not be done by force," said the alderman. " I do 
 not pretend to be much of a mariner, Captain 
 Ludlow, though I once spent a week in London, 
 and I have crossed the ocean seven times to Rot- 
 terdam. We did little in our passages, by striving 
 to force Nature. When the nights came in dark, 
 as at present, the honest schippers were content 
 to wait for better times; by which means we 
 were sure not to miss our road, and of finally ar- 
 riving at the destined port in safety." 
 
 "You saw that the brigantine was opening his 
 canvas, when last seen ; and he that would move 
 fast must have recourse to his sails." 
 
A SINGULAR INCIDENT. 
 
 93 
 
 " One never knows what may be brewing, up 
 there in the heavens, when the eye cannot see the 
 color of a cloud. I have little knowledge of the 
 character of the ' Skimmer of the Seas,' beyond 
 that which common fame gives him ; but, in the 
 poor judgment of a landsman, we should do better 
 by showing lanterns in different parts of the ship, 
 lest some homeward-bound vessel do us an injury, 
 and waiting until the morning for further move- 
 ments." 
 
 "We are spared the trouble, for, look, the in- 
 solent has set a light hims*elf, as if to invite us to 
 follow ! This temerity exceeds belief! To dare 
 to trifle thus with one of the swiftest cruisers in 
 the English fleet ! See that every thing draws, 
 gentlemen, and take a pull at all the sheets. 
 Hail the tops, sir, and make sure that every thing 
 is home." 
 
 The order was succeeded by the voice of the 
 officer of the watch, who inquired, as directed, if 
 each sail was distended to the utmost. Force 
 was applied to some of the ropes, and then a 
 general quiet succeede/l to the momentary ac- 
 tivity. 
 
 The brigantine had indeed showed a light, as 
 if in mockery of the attempt of the royal cruiser. 
 Though secretly stung by this open contempt of 
 their speed, the officers of the Coquette found 
 themselves relieved from a painful and anxious 
 duty. Before this beacon was seen, they were 
 obliged to exert their senses to the utmost, in 
 order to get occasional glimpses of the position 
 of the chase ; while they now steered in confi- 
 dence for the brilliant little spot that was gently 
 rising and falling with the waves. 
 
 " I think we near him," half whispered the 
 eager captain ; " see, there is some design visible 
 on the sides of the lantern. Hold ! — Ah ! 'tis the 
 face of a woman, as I live ! " 
 
 " The men of the yawl report that the rover 
 shows this symbol in many parts of his vessel, 
 and we know he had the impudence to set it yes- 
 terday in our presence, even on his ensign." 
 
 "True— true; take you the glass, Mr. Luff, 
 and tell me if there be not a woman's face sketched 
 in front of that light — we certainly near him fast 
 —let there be silence, fore and aft the ship. The 
 rogues mistake our bearings ! " 
 
 "A saucy-looking jade, as one might wish to 
 see ! " returned the lieutenant. " Her impudent 
 laugh is visible to the naked eye." 
 
 " See all clear for laying him aboard ! Get a 
 party to throw on his decks, sir ! I will lead them 
 myself." 
 
 These orders were given in an under-tone, and 
 rapidly. They were promptly obeyed. In the 
 
 mean time, the Coquette continued to glide gently 
 ahead, her sails thickening with the dew, and 
 every breath of the heavy air acting with in- 
 creased power on their surfaces. The boarders 
 were stationed, orders were given for the most 
 profound silence, and, as the ship drew nearer to 
 the light, even the officers were commanded not 
 to stir. Ludlow stationed himself in the mizzen 
 channels, to con the ship; and his directions 
 were repeated to the quartermaster in a loud 
 whisper. 
 
 " The night is so dark, we are certainly un- 
 seen ! " observed the young man to his second in 
 command, who stood at his elbow. " They have 
 unaccountably mistaken our position. Observe 
 how the face of the painting becomes more dis- 
 tinct ; one can see even the curls of the hair. — 
 Luff, sir, luff — we will run him aboard on his 
 weather-quarter." 
 
 " The fool must be lying-to ! " returned the 
 lieutenant. " Even your witches fail of common- 
 sense at times ! Do you see which way he has 
 his head, sir ? " 
 
 " I see nothing but the light. It is so dark 
 that our own sails are scarcely visible ; yet I 
 think here are his yards, a little forward of our 
 lee beam." 
 
 " 'Tis our own lower boom. I got it out in 
 readiness for the other tack, in case the knave 
 should wear. Are we not running too full ? " 
 
 "Luff you may, a little — luff, or we shall crush 
 him ! " 
 
 As this order was given, Ludlow passed swift- 
 ly forward. He found the boarders ready for a 
 spring, and he rapidly gave his orders. The men 
 were told to carry the brigantine at every hazard, 
 but not to offer violence, unless serious resistance 
 was made. They were thrice enjoined not to en- 
 ter the cabins, and the young man expressed a 
 generous wish that, in every case, the " Skimmer 
 of the Seas " might be taken alive. By the time 
 these directions were given, the light was so near 
 that the malign countenance of the sea-green lady 
 was seen in every lineament. Ludlow looked in 
 vain for the spars, in order to ascertain in which 
 direction the head of the brigantine lay ; but, 
 trusting to luck, he saw that the decisive moment 
 was come. 
 
 " Starboard, and run him aboard ! — Away 
 there, you boarders, away '. Heave with your 
 grapnels ; heave, men, with a long swing, heave ! 
 — Meet her, with the helm — hard down — meet 
 her — steady ! " — was shouted in a clear, full, and 
 steady voice, that seemed to deepen at each man- 
 date which issued from the lips of the young cap- 
 tain. 
 
94 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 The boarders cheered heartily, and leaped into 
 the rigging. The Coquette readily and rapidly 
 yielded to the power of her rudder. First inclin- 
 ing to the light, and then sweeping up toward the 
 wind again, in another instant she was close upon 
 the chase. The irons were thrown, the men once 
 more shouted, and all on board held their breaths 
 in expectation of the crash of the meeting hulls. 
 At that moment of high excitement, the woman's 
 face rose a short distance in the air, seemed to 
 smile in derision of their attempt, and suddenly 
 disappeared. The ship passed steadily ahead, 
 while no noise but the sullen wash of the waters 
 was audible. The boarding irons were heard fall- 
 ing heavily into the sea ; and the Coquette rapid- 
 ly overran the spot where the light had been 
 seen, without sustaining any shock. Though the 
 clouds lifted a little, and the eye might embrace 
 a circuit of a few hundred feet, there certainly 
 was nothing to be seen within its range, but the 
 unquiet element, and the stately cruiser of Queen 
 Anne floating on its bosom. 
 
 Though its effects were different on the differ- 
 ently-constituted minds of those who witnessed 
 the singular incident, the disappointment was 
 general. The common impression was certainly 
 unfavorable to the earthly character of the brig- 
 antine ; and, when opinions of this nature once 
 get possession of the ignorant, they are not easily 
 removed. Even Trysail, though experienced in 
 the arts of those who trifle with the revenue- 
 laws, was much inclined to believe that this was 
 no vulgar case of floating lights or false beacons, 
 but a manifestation that others, besides those 
 who had been regularly trained to the sea, were 
 occasionally to be found on the waters. If Cap- 
 tain Ludlow thought differently, he saw no suffi- 
 cient reason to enter into an explanation with 
 those who were bound silently to obey. He 
 paced the quarter-deck for many minutes ; then 
 issued his orders to the equally-disappointed lieu- 
 tenants. The light canvas of the Coquette was 
 taken in, the studding-sail-gear unrove, and the 
 booms secured. The ship was brought to the 
 wind, and, her courses having been hauled up, the 
 foretop-sail was thrown to the mast. In this 
 position the cruiser lay, waiting for the morning 
 light, in order to give greater certainty to her 
 movements. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 " I, John Turner, 
 Am master and owner 
 Of a high-decked schooner, 
 That's bound to Carlina— " 
 etc., etc., etc., etc. 
 
 CoASTING-SON<J. 
 
 It is not necessary to say, with how much in- 
 terest Alderman Van Beverout, and his friend 
 the patroon, witnessed all the proceedings on 
 board the Coquette. Something very like an ex- 
 clamation of pleasure escaped the former, when 
 it was known that the ship had missed the brig- 
 antine, and that there was now little probability 
 of overtaking her that night. 
 
 "Of what use is it to chase your fire-flies 
 about the ocean, patroon ? " muttered the alder- 
 man, in the ear of Oloff Van Staats. " I have no 
 further knowledge of this Skimmer of the Seas, 
 than is decent in the principal of a commercial 
 house — but reputation is like a sky-rocket, that 
 may be seen from afar ! Her majesty has no ship 
 that can overtake the free-trader, and why fatigue 
 the innocent vessel for nothing ? " 
 
 " Captain Ludlow has other desires than the 
 mere capture of the brigantine," returned the 
 laconic and sententious patroon. " The opinion 
 that Alida de Barberie is in her, has great influ- 
 ence with that gentleman." 
 
 " This is strange apathy, Mr. Van Staats, in 
 one who is as good as engaged to my niece, if he 
 be not actually married. Alida Barberie has 
 great influence with that gentleman ! And pray, 
 with whom that knows her, has she not influ- 
 ence ? " 
 
 " The sentiment in favor of the young lady, 
 in general, is favorable." 
 
 " Sentiment and favors ! Am I to understand, 
 sir, by this coolness, that our bargain is broken ? 
 — that the two fortunes are not to be brought 
 together, and that the lady is not to be your 
 wife?" 
 
 "Harkee, Mr. Van Beverout; one who is sav- 
 ing of his income and sparing of his words can 
 have no pressing necessity for the money of 
 others ; and, on occasion, he may afford to speak 
 plainly. Your niece has shown so decided a pref- 
 erence for another that it has materially lessened 
 the liveliness of my regard." 
 
 " It were a pity that so much animation should 
 fail of its object ! It would be a sort of stoppage 
 in the affairs of Cupid ! Men should deal can- 
 didly in all business transactions, Mr. Van Staats ; 
 and you will permit me to ask, as for a final 
 settlement, if your mind is changed in regard 
 
VAN BEVEROUT'S PROPHECY. 
 
 95 
 
 to the daughter of old Etienne de Barberie, or 
 not ? " 
 
 " Not changed, but quite decided," returned 
 the young patroon. " I cannot say that I wish 
 the successor of my mother to have seen so much 
 of the world. We are a family that is content 
 with our situation, and new customs would de- 
 range my household." 
 
 " I am no wizard, sir ; but, for the benefit of 
 a son of my old friend Stephanus Van Staats, I 
 will venture, for once, on a prophecy. You will 
 marry, Mr. Van Staats — yes, marry — and you will 
 wive, sir, with — prudence prevents me from say- 
 ing with whom you will wive ; but you may ac- 
 count yourself a lucky man if it be not with one 
 who will cause you to forget house and home, 
 lands and friends, manors and rents, and in short 
 all the solid comforts of life. It would not sur- 
 prise me to hear that the prediction of the Pough- 
 keepsie fortune-teller should be fulfilled ! " 
 
 "And what is your real opinion, Alderman 
 Van Beverout, of the different mysterious events 
 we have witnessed ? " demanded the patroon, in 
 a manner to prove that the interest he took in the 
 subject completely smothered any displeasure he 
 might otherwise have felt at so harsh a prophecy. 
 " This sea-green lady is no common woman ? " 
 
 "Sea-green and sky-blue!" interrupted the 
 impatient burgher. " The hussy is but too com- 
 mon, sir; and there is the calamity. Had she 
 been satisfied with transacting her concerns in a 
 snug and reasonable manner, and to have gone 
 upon the high-seas again, we should have had 
 none of this foolery to disturb accounts which 
 ought to have been considered settled. Mr. Van 
 Staats, will you allow me to ask a few direct ques- 
 tions, if you can find leisure for their answer? " 
 
 The patroon nodded his head in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 " What do you suppose, sir, to have become 
 of my niece ? " 
 "Eloped." 
 
 " And with whom ? " 
 
 Van Staats of Kinderhook stretched an arm 
 toward the open ocean, and again nodded. The 
 alderman mused a moment ; then he chuckled, as 
 if some amusing idea had got the better of his ill- 
 humor. 
 
 " Come, come, patroon," he said in his wonted 
 amicable tone, when addressing the lord of a 
 hundred thousand acres, " this business is like a 
 complicated account, a little difficult till one gets 
 acquainted with the books, when all becomes 
 plain as your hand. There were referees in the 
 settlement of the estate of Kobus Van Klinck, 
 whom I will not name; but what between the 
 
 handwriting of the old grocer, and some inaccu- 
 racy in the figures, they had but a blind time of it 
 until they discovered which way the balance ought 
 to come; then by working backward and for- 
 ward, which is the true spirit of your just referee, 
 they got all straight in the end. Kobus was not 
 very lucid in his statements, and he was a little 
 apt to be careless of ink. His ledger might be 
 called a book of the black art ; for it was little 
 else than fly -tracks and blots, though the last were 
 found of great assistance in rendering the state- 
 ments satisfactory. By calling three of the biggest 
 of them sugar-hogsheads, a very fair balance was 
 struck between him and a peddling Yankee who 
 was breeding trouble for the estate ; and I chal- 
 lenge, even at this distant day, when all near inter- 
 ests in the results may be said to sleep, any respon- 
 sible man to say that they did not look as much 
 like those articles as any thing else. Something 
 they must have been, and, as Kobus dealt largely 
 in sugar, there was also a strong moral probability 
 that they were the said hogsheads. Come, come, 
 patroon; we shall have the jade back again in 
 proper time. Thy ardor gets the better of rea- 
 son ; but this is the way with true love, which is 
 none the worse for a little delay. Alida is not 
 one to balk thy merriment ; these Norman wenches 
 are not heavy of foot at a dance, or apt to go to 
 sleep when the fiddles are stirring ! " 
 
 With this consolation, Alderman Van Bever- 
 out saw fit to close the dialogue, for the moment. 
 How far he succeeded in bringing back the mind 
 of the patroon to its allegiance, the result must 
 show ; though we shall take this occasion to ob- 
 serve again that the young proprietor found a 
 satisfaction in the excitement of the present scene, 
 that, in the course of a short and little diversified 
 life, he had never before experienced. 
 
 While others slept, Ludlow passed most of 
 the night on deck. He laid himself down in the 
 hammock-cloths, for an hour or two, as the night 
 wore on ; though the wind did not sigh through 
 the rigging louder than common, without arous- 
 ing him from his slumbers. At each low call of 
 the officer of the watch to the crew, his head was 
 raised to glance around the narrow horizon ; and 
 the ship never rolled heavily, without causing him 
 to awake. He believed that the brigantine was 
 near, and, for the first watch, he was not without 
 expectation that the two vessels might unexpect- 
 edly meet in the obscurity. When this hope 
 failed, the young seaman had recourse to artifice 
 in his turn, in order to entrap one who appeared 
 so practised and so expert in the devices of the 
 sea. 
 
 About midnight, when the watches were 
 
96 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 changed, and the whole crew, with the exception 
 of the idlers, were on deck, orders were given to 
 hoist out the boats. This operation, one of ex- 
 ceeding toil and difficulty in lightly-manned ships, 
 was soon performed on board the queen's cruiser, 
 by the aid of yard and stay-tackles, to which the 
 force of a hundred seamen was applied. When 
 four of these little attendants on the ship were in 
 the water, they were entered by their crews, pre- 
 pared for service. Officers on whom Ludlow could 
 rely, were put in command of the three smallest, 
 while he took charge of the fourth in person. 
 When all were ready, and each inferior had re- 
 ceived his special instructions, they quitted the 
 side of the vessel, pulling off in diverging lines in 
 the gloom of the ocean. The boat of Ludlow had 
 not gone fifcy fathoms before he was perfectly con- 
 scious of the inutility of a chase ; for the obscuri- 
 ty of the night was so great as to render the spars 
 of his own ship nearly indistinct even at that 
 short distance. After pulling by compass some 
 ten or fiften minutes, in a direction that carried 
 him to windward of the Coquette, the young man 
 commanded the crew to cease rowing, and pre- 
 pared himself to await patiently for the result of 
 his undertaking. 
 
 There was nothing to vary the monotony of 
 such a scene for an hour, but the regular rolling 
 of a sea that was but little agitated, a few occa- 
 sional strokes of the oars that were given in or- 
 der to keep the barge in its place, or the heavy 
 breathing of some smaller fish of the cetaceous 
 kind, as it rose to the surface to inhale the at- 
 mosphere. In no quarter of the heavens was 
 any thing visible ; not even a star was peeping 
 out to cheer the solitude and silence of that 
 solitary place. The men where nodding on the 
 thwarts, and our young sailor was about to re- 
 linquish his design as fruitless, when suddenly a 
 noise was heard at no great distance from the 
 spot where tbey lay. It was one of those sounds 
 which would have been inexplicable to any but a 
 seaman, but which conveyed a meaning to the 
 ears of Ludlow, as plain as that which could be 
 imparted by speech to a landsman. A moaning 
 creak was followed by the low rumbling of a rope, 
 as it rubbed on some hard or distended substance ; 
 then succeeded the heavy flap of canvas, that, 
 yielding first to a powerful impulse, was suddenly 
 checked. 
 
 " Hear ye that ? " exclaimed Ludlow, a little 
 above a whisper. " 'Tis the brigantine gybing 
 his mainboom ! Give way, men — see all ready to 
 lay him aboard ! " 
 
 The crew started from their slumbers ; the 
 plash of oars was heard, and in the succeeding 
 
 moment the sails of a vessel gliding through the 
 obscurity, nearly across their course, were visi- 
 ble. 
 
 "Now spring to your oars, men! " continued 
 Ludlow, with the eagerness of one engaged in 
 chase. " We have him to advantage, and he is 
 ours ! — a long pull and a strong pull— steadily, 
 boys, and together!" 
 
 The practised crew did their duty. It seemed 
 but a moment before they were close upon the 
 chase. 
 
 " Another stroke of the oars and she is ours !" 
 cried Ludlow. "Grapple! — to your arms! — 
 away, boarders, away ! " 
 
 These orders came on the ears of the men with 
 the effect of martial blasts. The crew shouted, 
 the clashing of arms was heard, and the tramp 
 of feet on the deck of the vessel announced the 
 success of the enterprise. A minute of extreme 
 activity and of noisy confusion followed. The 
 cheers of the boarders had been heard at a dis- 
 tance ; and rockets shot into the air from the 
 other boats, whose crews answered the shouts 
 with manful lungs. The whole ocean appeared in 
 a momentary glow, and the roar of a gun from the 
 Coquette added to the fracas. The ship set sev- 
 eral lanterns, in order to indicate her position ; 
 while blue-lights and other marine signals were 
 constantly burning in the approaching boats, as 
 if those who guided them were anxious to in- 
 timidate the assailed by a show of numbers. 
 
 In the midst of this scene of sudden awaken- 
 ing from the most profound quiet, Ludlow began 
 to look about him, in order to secure the principal 
 objects of the capture. He had repeated his or- 
 ders about entering the cabins, and concerning the 
 person of the " Skimmer of the Seas," among the 
 other instructions given to the crews of the differ- 
 ent boats ; and the instant they found themselves 
 in quiet possession of the prize, the young man 
 dashed into the private recesses of the' vessel, 
 with a heart that throbbed even more violently 
 than during the ardor of boardiug. To cast open 
 the door of a cabin beneath the high quarter- 
 deck, and to descend, to the level of its floor, 
 were the acts of a moment. But disappoint- 
 ment and mortification succeeded to triumph. A 
 second glance was not necessary to show that the 
 coarse work and foul smells he saw and encoun- 
 tered, did not belong to the commodious and even 
 elegant accommodations of the brigantine. 
 
 " Here is no Water-Witch ! " he exclaimed 
 aloud, under the impulse of sudden surprise. 
 
 " God be praised ! " returned a voice, which 
 was succeeded by a frightened face from out a state- 
 room. " We were told the rover was in the off- 
 
ROBERT YARN'S OPINION. 
 
 97 
 
 ing, and thought the yells could come from noth- 
 ing human ! " 
 
 The blood which had been rushing through 
 the arteries and veins of Ludlow so tumultuous- 
 ly, now crept into his cheeks, and was felt ting- 
 ling at his fingers' ends. He gave a hurried or- 
 der to his men to reenter their boat, leaving ev- 
 ery thing as they found it. A short conference 
 between the commander of her majesty's ship 
 Coquette and the seaman of the state-room, suc- 
 ceeded ; then the former hastened on deck, whence 
 his passage into the barge occupied but a mo- 
 ment. The boat pulled away from the fancied 
 prize amid a silence that was uninterrupted by 
 any other sound than that of a song, which, 
 to all appearance, came from one who by "this 
 time had placed himself at the vessel's helm. 
 All that can be said of the music is, that it was 
 suited to the words, and all that could be heard 
 of the latter was a portion of a verse, if verse it 
 might be called, which had exercised the talents 
 of some thoroughly nautical mind. As we de- 
 pend for the accuracy of the quotation altogether 
 on the fidelity of the journal of the midshipman 
 already named, it is possible that some injustice 
 may be done the writer; but, according to that 
 document, he sang a strain of the coasting-song 
 which we have prefixed to this chapter as its 
 motto. 
 
 The papers of the coaster did not give a more 
 detailed description of her character and pursuits 
 than that which is contained in this verse. It is 
 certain that the log-book of the Coquette was far 
 less explicit. The latter merely said that " a 
 coaster called the Stately Pine, John Turner, 
 master, bound from New York to the Province 
 of North Carolina, was boarded at one o'clock in 
 the morning, all well." But this description was 
 not of a nature to satisfy the seamen of the cruis- 
 er. Those who had been actually engaged in the 
 expedition were much too excited to see things 
 in their true colors ; and, coupled with the two 
 previous escapes of the Water- Witch, the event 
 just related had no small share in confirming 
 their former opinions concerning her character. 
 The sailing-master was not now alone in believ- 
 ing that all pursuit of the brigantine was useless. 
 
 But these were conclusions that the people 
 of the Coquette made at their leisure, rather than 
 those which suggested themselves on the instant. 
 The boats, led by the flashes of light, had joined 
 each other, and were rowing fast toward the ship 
 before the pulses of the actors beat with sufficient 
 calmness to admit of reflection ; nor was it until 
 the adventurers were below, and in their ham- 
 mocks, that they found suitable occasion to re- 
 7 
 
 late what had occurred to a wondering auditory. 
 Robert Yarn, the foretop-man who had felt the 
 locks of the sea-green lady blowing in his face 
 during the squall, took advantage of the circum- 
 stance to dilate on his experiences ; and, after hav- 
 ing advanced certain positions that particularly 
 favored his own theories, he produced one of the 
 crew of the barge who stood ready to affirm, in any 
 court in Christendom, that he actually saw the 
 process of changing the beautiful and graceful 
 lines that distinguished the hull of the smuggler 
 into the coarser and more clumsy model of the 
 coaster. 
 
 " There are know-nothings," continued Rob- 
 ert, after he had fortified his position by the testi- 
 mony in question, " who would deny that the wa- 
 ter of the ocean is blue, because the stream that 
 turns the parish mill happens to be muddy. But 
 your real mariner, who has lived much in foreign 
 parts, is a man who understands the philosophy 
 of life, and knows when to believe the truth and 
 when to scorn a lie. As for a vessel changing 
 her character when hard pushed in a chase, there 
 are many instances ; though, having one so near 
 us, there was less necessity to be roving over dis- 
 tant seas in search of a case to prove it. My own 
 opinion concerning this here brigantine is much 
 as follows — that is to say, I do suppose there was 
 once a real living hermaphrodite of her build and 
 rig ; and that she might be employed in some 
 such trade as this craft is thought to be in ; and 
 that, in some unlucky hour, she and her people met 
 with a mishap that has condemned her ever since 
 to appear on this coast at stated times. She has, 
 however, a natural dislike to a royal cruiser ; and, 
 no doubt, the thing is now sailed by these who 
 have little need of compass or observation ! All 
 this being true, it is not wonderful that when the 
 boat's-crew got on her decks, they found her dif- 
 ferent from what they expected. This much is 
 certain, that when I lay within a boat-hook's 
 length of her spritsail-yard-arm, she was a half- 
 rig, with a woman figure-head, and as pretty a 
 show of gear aloft as eye ever looked upon ; while 
 every thing below was as snug as a tobacco-box 
 with the lid down : and here you all say that 
 she is a high-decked schooner, with nothing ship- 
 shape about her ! What more is wanting to prove 
 the truth of what has been stated ? — if any man 
 can gainsay it, let him speak." 
 
 As no man did gainsay it, it is presumed that 
 the reasoning of the topmsn gained many prose- 
 lytes. It is scarcely necessary to add, how much 
 of mystery and fearful interest was thrown around 
 the redoubtable " Skimmer of the Seas," by the 
 whole transaction. 
 
98 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 There was a different feeling on the quarter- 
 deck. The two lieutenants put their heads to- 
 gether and looked grave ; while one or two of the 
 midshipmen, who had been in the boats, were ob- 
 served to whisper with their messmates, and to 
 indulge in smothered laughter. As the captain, 
 however, maintained his ordinary dignified and 
 authoritative mien, the merriment went no further 
 and was soon repressed. 
 
 While on this subject it may be proper to add 
 that, in course of time, the Stately Pine reached 
 the capes of North Carolina in safety; and that, 
 having effected her passage over Edenton bar 
 without striking, she ascended the river to the 
 point of her destination. Here the crew soon 
 began to throw out hints relative to an encounter 
 of their schooner with a French cruiser. As the 
 British empire, even in its most remote corner, 
 was at all times alive to its nautical glory, the 
 event soon became the discourse in more distant 
 parts of the colony ; and, in less than six months, 
 the London journals contained a very glowing ac- 
 count of an engagement, in which the names of 
 the Stately Pine, and of John Turner, made some 
 respectable advances toward immortality. 
 
 If Captain Ludlow ever gave any further ac- 
 count of the transaction than what was stated in 
 the log-book of his ship, the bienseance observed 
 by the Lords of the Admiralty prevented it from 
 becoming public. 
 
 Returning from this digression, which has no 
 other connection with the immediate thread of 
 the narrative than that which arises from a re- 
 flected interest, we shall revert to the further pro- 
 ceedings on board the cruiser. 
 
 When the Coquette hoisted in her boats, that 
 portion of the crew which did not belong to the 
 watch was dismissed to their hammocks, the lights 
 were lowered, and tranquillity once more reigned 
 in the ship. Ludlow sought his rest, and al- 
 though there is reason to think that his slumbers 
 were a little disturbed by dreams, he remained 
 tolerably quiet in the hammock-cloths, the place 
 in which it has already been said he saw fit to 
 take his repose, until the morning watch was 
 called. 
 
 Although the utmost vigilance was observed 
 among the officers and lookouts, during the rest 
 of the night, there occurred nothing to arouse the 
 crew from their usual recumbent attitudes between 
 the guns. The wind continued light but steady, 
 the sea smooth, and the heavens clouded, as dur- 
 ing the first hours of darkness. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " The mouse ne'er shunned the cat, as they did budge 
 From rascals worse than they." 
 
 Coeiolanus. 
 
 Day dawned on the Atlantic with its pearly 
 light, succeeded by the usual flushing of the skies, 
 and the .stately rising of the sun from out the 
 water. The instant the vigilant officer who com- 
 manded the morning watch, caught the first 
 glimpses of the returning brightness, Ludlow was 
 awakened. A finger laid on his arm was sufficient : 
 to arouse one who slept with the responsibility 
 of his station ever present to his mind. A min- 
 ute did not pass before the young man was on 
 the quarter-deck, closely examining the heavens 
 and the horizon. His first question was to ask 
 if nothing had been seen during the watch. The 
 answer was in the negative. 
 
 " I like this opening in the northwest," observed 
 the captain, after his eye had thoroughly scanned 
 the whole of the still dusky and limited view. 
 "■ Wind will come out of it. Give us a capful, 
 and we shall try the speed of this boasted Water- 
 Witch ! — Do I not see a sail on our weather- 
 beam ? — or is it the crest of a wave ? " 
 
 " The sea is getting irregular, and I have 
 often been thus deceived, since the light ap-J 
 peared." 
 
 " Get more sail on the ship. Here is wind in- 
 shore of us ; we will be ready for it. See every 
 thing clear to show all our canvas." 
 
 The lieutenant received these orders with the 
 customary deference, and communicated them to 
 his inferiors again, with a promptitude that dis- 
 tinguishes sea discipline. The Coquette, at the 
 moment, was lying under her three topsails, one 
 of which was thrown against its mast, in a man- 
 ner to hold the vessel as nearly stationary as the 
 drift and the wash of the waves would allow. 
 So soon, however, as the officer of the watch sum- 
 moned the people to exertion, the massive yards 
 were swung ; several light sails that served to 
 balance the fabric as well as to urge it ahead, 
 were hoisted or opened ; and the ship immediately 
 began to move through the water. While the 
 men of the watch were thus employed, the flap- 
 ping of the canvas announced the approach of a 
 new breeze. 
 
 The coast of North America is liable to sud- 
 den and dangerous transitions in the currents of 
 the air. It is a circumstance of no unusual oc- 
 currence for a gale to alter its direction with so 
 little warning as greatly to jeopard the safety of 
 a ship or even to overwhelm her. It has been 
 
A TRIAL 
 
 often said, that the celebrated Yille de Paris was 
 i lost through one of these violent changes, her 
 captain having inadvertently hove-to the vessel 
 under too much after-sail, a mistake by which he 
 lost the command of his ship during the pressing 
 emergency that ensued. Whatever may have 
 been the fact as regards that ill-fated prize, it was 
 certain that Ludlow was perfectly aware of the 
 hazards that sometimes accompany the first blasts 
 of a northwest wind on his native coast, and that 
 he never forgot to be prepared for the danger. 
 
 When the wind from the land struck the Co- 
 quette, the streak of light, which announced the 
 appearance of the sun, had been visible several 
 minutes. As the broad sheets of vapor, that had 
 veiled the heavens during the prevalence of the 
 southeasterly breeze, were rolled up into dense 
 masses of clouds, like some immense curtain that 
 is withdrawn from before its scene, the water, no 
 I less than the sky, became instantly visible in 
 ! every quarter. It is scarcely necessary to say, 
 I how eagerly the gaze of our young seaman ran 
 ! over the horizon, in order to observe the objects 
 which might come with inits range. At first, dis- 
 appointment was plainly painted in his counte- 
 nance; fh'en succeeded the animated eye and 
 flushed cheek of success. 
 
 " I had thought her gone ! " he said to his im- 
 mediate subordinate in authority. "But here 
 she is, to leeward, just within the edge of that 
 driving mist, and as dead under our lee as a kind 
 Fortune could place her. Keep the ship away, sir, 
 and cover her with canvas, from her trucks 
 down. Call the people from their hammocks, 
 and show yon insolent what her majesty's sloop 
 can do, at need ! " 
 
 This command was the commencement of a 
 general and hasty movement, in which every sea- 
 man in the ship exerted his powers to the utmost. 
 All hands were no sooner called, than the depths 
 of the vessel gave up their tenants, who, joining 
 their force to that of the watch on deck, quickly 
 covered the spars of the Coquette with a snow- 
 white cloud. Not content to catch the breeze on 
 ! such surfaces as the ordinary yards could distend, 
 long booms were thrust out over the water, and 
 sail was set beyond sail, until the bending masts 
 would bear no more. The low hull which sup- 
 ported this towering and complicated mass of 
 ropes, spars, and sails, yielded to the powerful im- 
 pulse, and the fabric, which, in addition to its 
 crowd of human beings, sustained so heavy a 
 load of artillery, with all its burden of stores and 
 ammunition, began to divide the waves with the 
 steady and imposing force of a vast momentum. 
 The seas curled and broke against her sides, like 
 
 OP SPEED. 99 
 
 water washing the rocks, the steady ship feeling, 
 as yet, no impression from their feeble efforts. 
 As the wind increased, however, and the vessel 
 went farther from the land, the surface of the 
 ocean gradually grew more agitated, until the 
 highlands, which lay over the villa of the Lust in 
 Rust, finally sank into the sea ; when the top- 
 gallant-royals of the ship were seen describing 
 wide segments of circles against the heavens, and 
 her dark sides occasionally rose, from a long and 
 deep roll, glittering with the element that sus- 
 tained her. 
 
 When Ludlow first descried the object which 
 he believed to be the chase, it seemed a motion- 
 less speck on the margin of the sea. It had now 
 grown into the magnitude and symmetry of the 
 well-known brigantine. Her slight and attenu- 
 ated spars were plainly to be seen, rolling easily 
 but wide, with the constant movement of the hull, 
 and with no sail spread, but that which was ne- 
 cessary to keep the vessel in command on the bil- 
 lows. When the Coquette was just within the 
 range of a cannon, the canvas began to unfold ; 
 and it was soon apparent that the Skimmer of 
 the Seas was preparing for flight. 
 
 The first manoeuvre of the Water-Witch was 
 an attempt to gain the wind of her pursuer. A 
 short experiment appeared to satisfy those who 
 governed the brigantine that the effort was 
 vain, while the wind was so fresh, and the water 
 so rough. She wore, and crowded sail on the op- 
 posite tack, in order to try her speed with the 
 cruiser ; nor was it until the result sufficiently 
 showed the danger of permitting the other to get 
 any nigher that she finally put her helm aweather 
 and ran off, like a sea-fowl resting on its wing, 
 with the wind over her taffrail. 
 
 The two vessels now presented the spectacle 
 of a stern-chase. The brigantine also opened the 
 folds of all her sails, and there arose a pyramid 
 of canvas over the nearly imperceptible hull, that 
 resembled a fantastic cloud driving above the 
 sea, with a velocity that seemed to rival the pas- 
 sage of the vapor that floated in the upper air. 
 As equal skill directed the movements of the two 
 vessels, and the same breeze pressed upon their 
 sails, it was long before there was any perceptible 
 difference in their progress. Hour passed after 
 hour, and were it not for the sheets of white foam 
 that were dashed from the bows of the Coquette, 
 and the manner in which she even outstripped 
 the caps of the combing waves, her commander 
 might have fancied his vessel ever in the same 
 spot. While the ocean presented, on every side, 
 the same monotonous and rolling picture, there 
 lay the chase, seemingly neither a foot nearer nor 
 
100 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 a foot farther than when the trial of speed began. 
 A dark line would rise on the crest of a wave, 
 and then, sinking again, leave nothing visible, but 
 the yielding and waving cloud of canvas that 
 danced along the sea. 
 
 "I had hoped for better things of the ship, 
 Master Trysail ! " said Ludlow, who had long 
 been seated on a knight-head, attentively watch- 
 ing the progress of the chase. " We are buried 
 to the bob-stays ; yet, there yon fellow lies, noth- 
 ing plainer than when he first showed his stud- 
 ding-sails ! " 
 
 " And there he will he, Captain Ludlow, while 
 the light lasts. I have chased the rover in the 
 narrow seas, till the cliffs of England melted away 
 like the cap of a wave ; and we had raised the 
 sand-banks of Holland high as the sprit-sail-yard, 
 yet what good came of it ? The rogue played 
 with us, as your sportsman trifles with the entan- 
 gled trout ; and when we thought we had him, he 
 would shoot without the range of our guns, with 
 as little exertion as a ship slides into the water, 
 after the spur shoars are knocked from under her 
 bows." 
 
 "Ay, but the Druid had a little of the rust of 
 antiquity about her. The Coquette has never 
 got a chase under her lee, that she did not 
 speak." 
 
 " I disparage no ship, sir, for character is 
 character, and none should speak lightly of their 
 fellow-creatures, and, least of all, of any thing 
 which follows the sea. I allow the Coquette to 
 be a lively boat on a wind, and a real scudder 
 going large; but one should know the wright 
 that fashioned yonder brigantine, before he ven- 
 tures to say that any vessel in her majesty's fleet 
 can hold way with her, when she is driven 
 hard." 
 
 " These opinions, Trysail, are fitter for the tales 
 of a top than for the mouth of one who walks 
 the quarter-deck." 
 
 " I should have lived to little purpose, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, not to know that what was philoso- 
 phy in my young days is not philosophy now. 
 They say the world is round, which is my own 
 opinion — first, because the glorious Sir Francis 
 Drake, and divers other Englishmen, have gone 
 in, as it were, at one end, and out at the other ; 
 no less than several seamen of other nations, to 
 say nothing of one Magellan, who pretends to 
 have been the first man to make the passage, 
 which I take to be neither more nor less than a 
 Portuguee lie, it being altogether unreasonable to 
 suppose that a Portuguee should do what an Eng- 
 lishman had not yet thought of doing ; secondly, 
 if the world were not round, or some such shape, 
 
 1 why should we see the small sails of a ship before 
 her courses, or why should her truck heave up 
 into the horizon before the hull ? Thev sav, 
 
 i moreover, that the world turns round, which is r.o 
 doubt true ; and it is just as true that its opin- 
 ions turn round with it, which brings me to the 
 object of my remark — yon fellow shows more of 
 his broadside, sir, than common ! He is edging 
 in for the land, which must lie here away, on our 
 larboard beam, in order to get into smoother wa- 
 ter. This tumbling about is not favorable to 
 your light craft, let who will build them." 
 
 " I had hoped to drive him off the coast. 
 
 ' Could we get him fairly into the Gulf Stream, he 
 would be ours, for he is too low in the water to 
 
 I escape us in the short seas. We must force him 
 into blue water, though our upper spars crack in 
 the struggle ! — Go aft, Mr. Hopper, and tell the 
 officer of the watch to bring the ship's head up, 
 a point and a half, to the northward, and to give 
 a slight pull on the braces." 
 
 " What a mainsail the rogue carries ! it is as 
 broad as the instructions of a roving commission 
 with a hoist like the promotion of an admiral's 
 son ! How every thing pulls aboard him ! A 
 thorough-bred sails that brigantine, let him eome 
 whence he may ! " 
 
 " I think we near him ! The rough water is 
 helping us, and we are closing. Steer small, fel- 
 low ; steer small ! You see the color of his mould- 
 
 I ings begins to show, when he lifts on the seas." 
 ' ; The sun touches his side — yet, Captain Lud- 
 
 j low, tou may be right — for here is a man in his 
 foretop, plainly enough to be seen. A shot or 
 two, among his spars and sails, might now do ser- 
 vice." 
 
 Ludlow affected not tD hear; but the first- 
 lieutenant, having come on the forecastle, seconded 
 this opinion, by remarking that their position 
 would indeed enable them to use the chase-gun, 
 without losing any distance. As Trysail sus- 
 tained his former assertion by truths that were 
 too obvious to be refuted, the commander of the 
 cruiser reluctantly issued an order to clear away 
 the forward gun, and to shift it into the bridle- 
 port. The interested and attentive seamen were 
 j not long in performing this service ; and a report 
 was quickly made to the captain, that the piece 
 was ready. 
 
 Ludlow then descended from his post on the 
 knight-head, and pointed the cannon himself. 
 " Knock away the quoin entirely," he said to 
 j the captain of the gun, when he had got the range ; 
 j " now mind her when she lifts forward ; keep the 
 ship steady, sir — fire ! " 
 
 Those gentlemen " who live at home at ease," 
 
A LUCKY SHOT. 
 
 101 
 
 are often surprised to read of combats, in which 
 so much powder, and hundreds and even thou- 
 sands of shot, are expended, with so little loss 
 of human life ; while a struggle on the land of 
 less duration, and seemingly of less obstinacy, 
 shall sweep away a multitude. The secret of 
 the difference lies in the uncertainty of aim, on 
 an element as restless as the sea. The largest 
 ship is rarely quite motionless, when on the open 
 ocean ; and it is not necessary to tell the reader, 
 that the smallest variation in the direction of a 
 gun at its muzzle becomes magnified to many 
 yards at the distance of a few hundred feet. 
 Marine gunnery has no little resemblance to the 
 skill of the fowler; since a calculation for a 
 change in the position of the object must com- 
 monly be made in both cases, with the additional 
 embarrassment on the part of the seaman, of an 
 allowance for a complicated movement in the 
 piece itself. 
 
 How far the gun of the Coquette was subject 
 to the influence of these causes, or how far the 
 desire of her captain to protect those whom he 
 believed to be on board the brigantine, had an 
 effect on the direction taken by its shot, will prob- 
 ably never be known. It is certain, however, 
 that when the stream of fire, followed by its curl- 
 ing cloud, had gushed out upon the water, fifty 
 eyes sought in vain to trace the course of the 
 iron messenger among the sails and rigging of 
 the Water- Witch. The symmetry of her beau- 
 tiful rig was undisturbed, and the unconscious 
 fabric still glided over the waves with its custom- 
 ary ease and velocity. Ludlow had a reputa- 
 tion among his crew, for some skill in the direc- 
 tion of a gun. The failure, therefore, in no de- 
 gree aided in changing the opinions of the com- 
 mon men concerning the character of the chase. 
 Many shook their heads, and more than one vet- 
 eran tar, as he paced his narrow limits with both 
 hands thrust into the bosom of his jacket, was 
 heard to utter his belief of the inefficacy of ordi- 
 nary shot, in bringing-to that brigantine. It was 
 necessary, however, to repeat the experiment, for 
 the sake of appearances. The gun was^ several 
 times discharged, and always with the same want 
 of success. 
 
 " There is little use in wasting our powder, 
 at this distance, and with so heavy a sea," said 
 Ludlow, quitting the cannon, after a fifth and 
 fruitless essay. " I shall fire no more. Look at 
 your sails, gentlemen, and see that every thing 
 draws. We must conquer with our heels, and let 
 the artillery rest. — Secure the gun." 
 
 " The piece is ready, sir," observed its cap- 
 tain, presuming on his known favor with the com- 
 
 mander, though he qualified the boldness by tak- 
 ing off his hat, in a sufficiently respectful manner 
 — " 'Tis a pity to balk it ! " 
 
 " Fire it yourself, then, and return the piece 
 to its port," carelessly returned the captain, will- 
 ing to show that others could be as unlucky as 
 himself. 
 
 The men quartered at the gun, left alone, 
 busied themselves in executing the order. 
 
 " Eun in the quoin, and, blast the brig, give 
 her a point-blanker ! " said the gruff old seaman 
 who was intrusted with a local authority over 
 that particular piece. " None of your geometry 
 calculations for me ! " 
 
 The crew obeyed, and the match was instant- 
 ly applied. A rising sea, however, aided the ob- 
 ject of the directly-minded old tar, or our narra- 
 tion of the exploits of the piece would end with 
 the discharge, since its shot would otherwise have 
 inevitably plunged into a wave within a few yards 
 of its muzzle. The bows of the ship rose with 
 the appearance of the smoke, the usual brief ex- 
 pectation followed, then fragments of wood were 
 seen flying above the top-mast-studding-sail-boom 
 of the brigantine, which, at the same time, flew 
 forward, carrying with it, and entirely deranging 
 the two important sails that depended on the spar 
 for support. 
 
 " So much for plain sailing ! " cried the de- 
 lighted tar, slapping the breech of the gun affec- 
 tionately. " Witch or no witch, there go two of 
 her jackets at once ; and by the captain's good- 
 will, we shall shortly take off some more of her 
 clothes ! In sponge — " 
 
 " The order is to run the gun aft, and secure 
 it," said a merry midshipman, leaping on the heel 
 of the bowsprit to gaze at the confusion on board 
 the chase. " The rogue is nimble enough in sav- 
 ing his canvas ! " 
 
 There was, in truth, necessity for exertion, 
 on the part of those who governed the movements 
 of the brigantine. The two sails that were ren- 
 dered temporarily useless, were of great impor- 
 tance, with the wind over the taffrail. The dis- 
 tance between the two vessels did not exceed a 
 mile, and the danger of lessening it was too ob- 
 vious to admit of delay. The ordinary move- 
 ments of seamen, in critical moments, are dictated 
 by a quality that resembles instinct more than 
 thought. The constant hazards of a dangerous 
 and delicate profession, in which delay may prove 
 fatal, and in which life, character, and property, 
 are so often dependent on the self-possession and 
 resources of him who commands, beget, in time, 
 so keen a knowledge of the necessary expedients, 
 as to cause it to approach a natural quality. 
 
102 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 The studding-sails of the Water-Witch were 
 no sooner fluttering in the air, than the brigan- 
 tine slightly changed her course, like some bird 
 whose wing has been touched by the fowler ; and 
 her head was seen inclining as much to the south 
 as a moment before it had pointed northward. 
 The variation, trifling as it was, brought the wind 
 on the opposite quarter, and caused the boom that 
 distended her mainsail to gybe. At the same in- 
 stant, the studding sails, which had been flapping 
 under the lee of this vast sheet of canvas, swelled 
 to their utmost tension ; and the vessel lost little, 
 if any, of the power which urged her through the 
 water. Even while this evolution was so rapidly 
 performed, men were seen aloft, nimbly employed, 
 as it has been already expressed by the observant 
 little midshipman, in securing the crippled sails. 
 
 " A rogue has a quick wit," said Trysail, 
 whose critical eye suffered no movement of the 
 chase to escape him ; u and he has need of it, 
 sail from what haven he may ! Yon brigantine 
 is prettily handled ! Little have we gained by 
 our fire, but the gunner's account of ammunition 
 expended ; and little has the free-trader lost, but 
 a studding-sail-boom, which will work up very 
 well yet into top-gallant-yards, and other light 
 spars, for such a cockle-shell." 
 
 " It is something gained to force him off the 
 land into rougher water," Ludlow mildly an- 
 swered. " I think we see his quarter-pieces more 
 plainly than before the gun was used." 
 
 " No doubt, sir, no doubt. I got a glimpse 
 of his lower dead-eyes a minute ago ; but I have 
 been near enough to see the saucy look of the 
 hussy under his bowsprit; yet there goes the 
 brigantine, at large ! " 
 
 " I am certain that we are closing," thought- 
 fully returned Ludlow. — " Hand me the glass, 
 quarter-master." 
 
 Trysail watched the countenance of his young 
 commander, as he examined the chase with the aid 
 of the instrument ; and bethought he read strong 
 discontent in his features, when the other laid it 
 aside. 
 
 " Does he show no signs of coming back to his 
 allegiance, sir ? — or does the rogue hold out in 
 obstinacy ? " 
 
 " The figure on his poop is the bold man who 
 ventured on board the Coquette, and who now 
 seems quite as much at his ease as when he ex- 
 hibited his effrontery here ! " 
 
 "There is a look of deep water about that 
 rogue ; and I thought that her majesty had gained 
 a prize when he first put foot on our decks. You 
 are right enough, sir, in calling him a bold one ! 
 The fellow's impudence would unsettle the dis- 
 
 cipline of a whole ship's company, though every 
 other man were an officer, and all the rest priests. 
 He took up as much room in walking the quarter- 
 deck, as a ninety in wearing ; and the truck is not 
 driven on the head of that top-gallant-mast half as 
 hard as the hat is riveted to his head. The fel- 
 low has no reverence for a pennant ! I managed, 
 in shifting pennants at sunset, to make the fly of 
 the one that came down flap in his impudent 
 countenance, by way of hint ; and he took it as 
 a Dutchman minds a signal — that is, as a question 
 to be answered in the next watch. A little polish 
 got on the quarter-deck of a man-of-war would 
 make a philosopher of the rogue, and fit him for 
 any company, short of heaven ! " 
 
 "There goes a new boom aloft! " cried Lud- 
 low, interrupting the discursive discourse of the 
 master. "He is bent on getting in with the 
 shore." 
 
 " If these puffs come much heavier," returned 
 the master, whose opinions of the chase vacillated 
 with his professional feelings, " we shall have him 
 at our own play, and try the qualities of his brig- 
 antine. The sea has a green spot to windward, 
 and there are strong symptoms of a squall on the 
 water. One can almost see into the upper world, 
 with an air as clear as this. Your northers sweep 
 the mists off America, and leave both sea and 
 land bright as a school-boy's face, before the 
 tears have dimmed it, after the first flogging. 
 You have sailed in the southern seas, Captain 
 Ludlow, I know ; for we were shipmates among 
 the islands, years that are past ; but I never heard 
 whether you have run the Gibraltar passage, and 
 seen the blue water that lies among the Italy moun- 
 tains? " 
 
 " I made a cruise against the Barbary states, 
 when a lad ; and we had business that took us to 
 the northern shore." 
 
 "Ay! 'Tis your northern shore I mean! There 
 is not a foot of it all, from the rock at the en- 
 trance to the Faro of Messina, that eye of mine 
 hath not seen. No want of lookouts and land- 
 marks in that quarter ! Here we are close aboard 
 of America, which lies some eight or ten leagues 
 there-away to the northward of us, and some forty 
 astern ; and yet, if it were not for our departure, 
 with the color of the water, and a knowledge of 
 the soundings, one might believe himself in the 
 middle of the Atlantic. Many a good ship plumps 
 upon America before she knows where she is go- 
 ing ; while in you sea, you may run for a moun- 
 tain, with its side in full view, four-and-twenty 
 hours on a stretch, before you see the town at its 
 foot." 
 
 " Nature has compensated for the difference, 
 
TRYSAIL'S STORY. 
 
 103 
 
 in defending the approach to this coast by the 
 Gulf Stream, with its floating weeds and different 
 temperature ; while the lead may feel its way in 
 the darkest night, for no roof of a house is more 
 gradual than the ascent of this shore, from a hun- 
 dred fathoms to a sandy beach." 
 
 " I said many a good ship, Captain Ludlow, 
 and not good navigator. — No — no — your thorough- 
 bred knows the difference between green water 
 and the blue, as well as between a hand-lead and 
 the deep sea. But I remember to have missed 
 an observation, once, when running for Genoa, 
 before a mistrail. There was a likelihood of 
 making our land-fall in the night, and the greater 
 the need of knowing the ship's position. I have 
 often thought, sir, that the ocean was like human 
 life — a blind track for all that is ahead, and none 
 of the clearest as respects that which has been 
 passed over. Many a man runs headlong to his 
 own destruction, and many a ship steers for a 
 reef under a press of canvas. To-morrow is a 
 fog, into which none of us can see ; and even the 
 present time is little better than thick weather, 
 into which we look without getting much infor- 
 mation. Well, as I was observing, here lay our 
 course, with the wind as near aft as need be, blow- 
 ing much as at present ; for your French mistrail 
 has a family likeness to the American norther. 
 We had the maintop-gallant-sail set, without stud- 
 ding-sails, for we began to think of the deep bight 
 in which Genoa is stowed, and the sun had dipped 
 more than an hour. As our good fortune would 
 have it, clouds and mistrails do not agree long, 
 and we got a clear horizon. Here lay a moun- 
 tain of snow, northerly, a little west, and there lay 
 another, southerly with easting. The best ship 
 in Queen Anne's navy could not have fetched 
 either in a day's run, yet there we saw them, as 
 plainly as if anchored under their lee ! A look 
 at the chart soon gave us an insight into our situ- 
 ation. The first were the Alps, as they call them, 
 being as I suppose the French for apes, of which 
 there are no doubt plenty in those regions ; and 
 the other were the highlands of Corsica, both be- 
 ing as white, in midsummer, as the hair of a man 
 of fourscore. You see, sir, we had only to set the 
 two, by compass, to know, within a league or two, 
 where we were. So we ran till midnight, and 
 hove-to ; in the morning we took the light to feel 
 for our haven — " 
 
 u The brigantine is gybing again ! " cried Lud- 
 low. " He is determined to shoal his water ! " 
 
 The master glanced an eye around the hori- 
 zon, and then pointed steadily toward the north. 
 Ludlow observed the gesture, and, turning his 
 head, he was at no loss to read its meaning. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 " I am gone, sir, 
 And anon, sir, 
 I'll bo with you again." 
 
 Clown in Twelfth Night. 
 
 Although it is contrary to the apparent evi- 
 dence of our senses, there is no truth more certain 
 than that the course of most gales of wind comes 
 from the leeward. The effects of a tempest shall 
 be felt for hours, at a point that is seemingly near 
 its termination, before they are witnessed at an- 
 other that appears to be nearer its source. Ex- 
 perience has also shown that a storm is more de- 
 structive at or near its place of actual commence- 
 ment, than at that whence it may seem to come. 
 The easterly gales that so often visit the coast of 
 the republic, commit their ravages in the bays 
 of Pennsylvania and Virginia, or along the sounds 
 of the Carolinas, hours before their existence is 
 known in the States farther east ; and the same 
 wind which is a tempest at Hatteras, becomes 
 softened to a breeze near the Penobscot. There 
 is, however, little mystery in this apparent phe- 
 nomenon. The vacuum which has been created in 
 the air, and which is the origin of all winds, must 
 be filled first from the nearest stores of the atmos- 
 phere ; and, as each region contributes to produce 
 the equilibrium, it must, in return, receive other 
 supplies from those which lie beyond. Were a 
 given quantity of water to be suddenly abstracted 
 from the sea, the empty space would be replen- 
 ished by a torrent from the nearest surrounding 
 fluid, whose level would be restored in succession, 
 by supplies that were less and less violently con- 
 tributed. Were the abstraction made on a shoal, 
 or near the land, the flow would be the greatest 
 from that quarter where the fluid had the greatest 
 force, and with it would consequently come the 
 current. 
 
 But while there is so close an affinity between 
 the two fluids, the workings of the viewless winds 
 are, in their nature, much less subject to the pow- 
 ers of human comprehension than those of the 
 sister element. The latter are frequently subject 
 to the direct and manifest influence of the former, 
 while the effects produced by the ocean on the 
 air are hid from our knowledge by the subtle 
 character of the agency. Yague and erratic cur- 
 rents, it is true, are met in the waters of the 
 ocean ; but their origin is easily referred to the 
 action of the winds, while we often remain in un- 
 certainty as to the immediate causes which give 
 birth to the breezes themselves. Thus the mar- 
 iner, even while the victim of the irresistible 
 waves, studies the heavens as the known source 
 
104 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 from whence the danger comes ; and while he 
 struggles fearfully, amid the strife of the elements, 
 to preserve the balance of the delicate and fear- 
 ful machine he governs, he well knows that the 
 one which presents the most visible, and to a 
 landsman much the most formidable object of ap- 
 prehension, is but the instrument of the unseen and 
 powerful agent that heaps the water on his path. 
 
 It is in consequence of this difference in power, 
 and of the mystery that envelops the workings of 
 the atmosphere, that, in all ages, seamen have 
 been the subjects of superstition in respect to the 
 winds. There is always more or less of the de- 
 pendency of ignorance, in the manner with which 
 they have regarded the changes of that fickle ele- 
 ment. Even the mariners of our own times are 
 not exempt from this weakness. The thoughtless 
 ship-boy is reproved if his whistle be heard in the 
 howling of the gale ; and the officer sometimes be- 
 trays a feeling of uneasiness if at such a moment 
 he should witness any violation of the received 
 opinions of his profession. He finds himself in 
 the situation of one whose ears have drunk in 
 legends of supernatural appearances, which abet- 
 ter instruction has taught him to condemn ; and 
 w r ho, when placed in situations to awaken their 
 recollection, finds the necessity of drawing upon 
 his reason, to quiet emotions that he might hesi- 
 tate to acknowledge. 
 
 When Trysail directed the attention of his 
 young commander to the heavens, however, it 
 was more with the intelligence of an experienced 
 mariner than with any of the sensations to which 
 allusion has just been made. A cloud had sud- 
 denly appeared on the water, and long ragged 
 portions of the vapor were pointing from it, in a 
 manner to give it what seamen term a windy ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 " We shall have more than we want with this 
 canvas ! " said the master, after both he and his 
 commander had studied the appearance of the 
 mist for a sufficient time. " That fellow is a mor- 
 tal enemy of lofty sails ; he likes to see nothing 
 but naked sticks up in his neighborhood ! " 
 
 " I should think his appearance will force the 
 brigantine to shorten sail," returned the captain. 
 " We will hold on to the last, while he must begin 
 to take in soon, or the squall will come upon him 
 too fast for a light-handed vessel." 
 
 "'Tis a cruiser's advantage! yet the rogue 
 shows no signs of lowering a single cloth ! " 
 
 " We will look to our own spars," said Lud- 
 low, turning to the lieutenant of the watch. " Call 
 the people up, sir, and see all ready for yonder 
 cloud." 
 
 The order was succeeded by the customary 
 
 hoarse summons of the boatswain, who prefaced 
 the effort of his lungs by a long, shrill winding of 
 his call, above the hatchways of the ship. The 
 cry of " All hands shorten sail, ahoy ! " soon 
 brought the crew from the depths of the vessel 
 to her upper deck. Each trained seaman silently 
 took his station ; and after the ropes were cleared, 
 and the few necessary preparations made, all stood 
 in attentive silence, awaiting the sounds that 
 might next proceed from the trumpet, which the 
 first-lieutenant had now assumed in person. 
 
 The superiority of sailing, which a ship fitted 
 for war possesses over one employed in commerce, 
 proceeds from a variety of causes. The first is 
 in the construction of the hull, which in the one 
 is as justly fitted as the art of naval architecture 
 will allow, to the double purposes of speed and 
 buoyancy ; while, in the other, the desire of gain 
 induces great sacrifices of these important ob- 
 jects, in order that the vessel may be burdensome- 
 Next comes the difference in the rig, which is not 
 only more square, but more lofty, in a ship-of-war 
 than in a trader, because the greater force of the 
 crew of the former enables them to manage both 
 spars and sails that are far heavier than any ever 
 used in the latter. Then comes the greater abili- 
 ty of the cruiser to make and shorten sail, since 
 a ship manned by one or two hundred men may 
 safely profit by the breeze to the last moment, 
 while one manned by a dozen often loses hours 
 of a favorable wind, from the weakness of her 
 crew. This explanation will enable the otherwise 
 uninitiated reader to understand the reasons why 
 Ludlow had hoped the coming squall would aid 
 his designs on the chase. 
 
 To express ourselves in nautical language, 
 "the Coquette held on to the last." Ragged 
 streaks of vapor were whirling about in the air, 
 within a fearful proximity to the lofty and light 
 sails, and the foam on the water had got so near 
 the ship as already to efface her wake; when 
 Ludlow, who had watched the progress of the 
 cloud with singular coolness, made a sign to his 
 subordinate that the proper instant had arrived. 
 
 " In, of all ! " shouted through the trumpet, 
 was the only command necessary; for officers 
 and crew were well instructed in their duty. 
 
 The words had no sooner quitted the lips of 
 the lieutenant, than the steady roar of the sea was 
 drowned in the flapping of canvas. Tacks, 
 sheets, and halyards, went together ; and, in less 
 than a minute, the cruiser showed naked spars 
 and whistling ropes, where so lately had been 
 seen a cloud of snow-white cloth. All her steer- 
 ing-sails came in together, and the lofty canvas 
 was furled to her topsails. The latter still stood 
 
THE TWO VESSELS IN A SQUALL. 
 
 105 
 
 and the vessel received the weight of the little 
 tempest on their broad surfaces. The gallant 
 ship stood the shock nobly ; but, as the wind 
 came over the taff'rail, its force had far less influ- 
 ence on the hull than on the other occasion al- 
 ready described. The danger, now, was only for 
 her spars ; and these were saved by the watchful 
 though bold vigilance of her captain. 
 
 Ludlow was no sooner certain that the cruiser 
 felt the force of the wind, and to gain this assur- 
 ance needed but a few moments, than he turned 
 his eager look on the brigantine. To the surprise 
 of all who witnessed her temerity, the Water- 
 Witch still showed all her light sails. Swiftly as 
 the ship was now driven through the water, its 
 velocity was greatly outstripped by that of the 
 wind. The signs of the passing squall were al- 
 ready visible on the sea, for half the distance be- 
 tween the two vessels ; and still the chase showed 
 no consciousness of its approach. Her commander 
 had evidently studied its effects on the Coquette ; 
 and he awaited the shock with the coolness of 
 one accustomed to depend on his own resources, 
 and able to estimate the force with which he had 
 to contend. 
 
 " If he hold on a minute longer, he will get 
 more than he can bear, and away will go all his 
 kites, like smoke from the muzzle of a gun ! " 
 muttered Trysail. " Ah ! there come down his 
 studding-sails — ah ! settle away the mainsail — in 
 royal, and topgallant sail, with topsail on the cap ! 
 — The rascals are as nimble as pickpockets in a 
 crowd." 
 
 The honest master has sufficiently described 
 the precautions taken onboard of the brigantine. 
 Nothing was furled; but as every thing was 
 hauled up, or lowered, the squall had little to 
 waste its fury on. The diminished surfaces of the 
 sails protected the spars, while the canvas was 
 saved by the aid of cordage. After a few mo- 
 ments of pause, half a dozen men were seen busied 
 in more effectually securing the few upper and 
 lighter sails. 
 
 But though the boldness with which the Skim- 
 mer of the Seas carried sail to the last, was justi- 
 fied by the result, still the effects of the increased 
 wind and rising waves on the progress of the two 
 vessels grew more sensible. While the little and 
 low brigantine began to labor and roll, the Co- 
 quette rode the element with buoyancy, and con- 
 sequently with less resistance from the water. 
 Twenty minutes, during which the force of the 
 wind was but little lessened, brought the cruiser 
 so near the chase as to enable her crew to dis- 
 tinguish most of the smaller objects that were 
 visible above her ridge-ropes. 
 
 " Blow, winds, and crack your checks ! " said 
 Ludlow, in an under-tone, the excitement of the 
 chase growing with the hopes of success. "I 
 ask but one half-hour, then shift at your pleas- 
 ure ! " 
 
 " Blow, good devil, and you shall have the 
 cook ! " muttered Trysail, quoting a very differ- 
 ent author. " Another glass will bring us within 
 hail." 
 
 " The squall is leaving us ! " interrupted the 
 captain. " Pack on the ship again, Mr. Luff, from 
 her trucks to her ridge-ropes ! " 
 
 The whistle of the boatswain was again heard 
 at the hatchways, and the hoarse summons of 
 " All hands make sail, ahoy ! " once more called 
 the people to their stations. The sails were set 
 with a rapidity which nearly equalled the speed 
 with which they had been taken in ; and the vio- 
 lence of the breeze was scarcely off the ship, be- 
 fore its complicated volumes of canvas were spread 
 to catch what remained. On the other hand, the 
 chase, even more hardy than the cruiser, did not 
 wait for the end of the squall ; but, profiting by 
 the notice given by the latter, the " Skimmer of 
 the Seas" began to sway his yards aloft while the 
 sea was still white with foam. 
 
 " The quick-sighted rogue knows we are done 
 with it," said Trysail ; " and he is getting ready 
 for his own turn. We gain but little of him, not- 
 withstanding our muster of hands." 
 
 The fact was too true to be denied, for the 
 brigantine was again under all her canvas, before 
 the ship had sensibly profited by her superior phys- 
 ical force. It was at this moment, when, perhaps 
 in consequence of the swell on the water, the Co- 
 quette might have possessed some small advan- 
 tage, that the wind suddenly failed. The squall 
 had been its expiring effort ; and, within an hour 
 after the two vessels had again made sail, the 
 canvas was flapping against the masts, in a man- 
 ner to throw back, in eddies, a force as great as 
 that it received. The sea fell fast, and near the 
 end of the last or forenoon watch, the surface of 
 ocean was agitated only by those long, undulating 
 swells that seldom leave it entirely without mo- 
 tion. For some little time, there were fickle cur- 
 rents of air playing in various directions about 
 the ship, but always in force sufficient to urge her 
 slowly through the water ; and then, when the 
 equilibrium of the element seemed established, 
 there was a total calm. During the half-hour of 
 the baffling winds, the brigantine had been a gain- 
 er, though not enough to carry her entirely beyond 
 the reach of the cruiser's guns. 
 
 " Haul up the courses ! " said Ludlow, when 
 the last breath of wind had been felt on the 
 
106 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 ship, and, quitting the gun where he had long 
 stood, watching the movements of the chase. 
 " Get the boats into the water, Mr. Luff, and arm 
 their crews." 
 
 The young commander issued this order, 
 which needed no interpreter to explain its object 
 firmly, but in sadness. His face was thoughtful, 
 and his whole air was that of a man who yielded 
 to an imperative but unpleasant duty. When he 
 had spoken, he signed to the attentive alderman 
 and his friend to follow, and entered his cabin. 
 
 " There is no alternative," continued Ludlow, 
 as he laid the glass which so often that morning 
 had been at his eye, on the table, and threw him- 
 self into a chair. " This rover must be seized at 
 every hazard, and here is a favorable occasion to 
 carry him by boarding. Twenty minutes will 
 bring us to his side, and five more will put us in 
 possession ; but — " 
 
 " You think the ' Skimmer ' is not the man 
 to receive such visitors with an old woman's wel- 
 come," pithily observed Myndert. 
 
 " I much mistake the man if he yield so beau- 
 tiful a vessel peacefully. Duty is imperative on 
 a seaman, Alderman Van Beverout ; and, much as 
 I lament the circumstance, it must be obeyed." 
 
 "I understand you, sir. Captain Ludlow has 
 two mistresses, Queen Anne and the daughter of 
 old Etienne Barberie. He fears both. When 
 the debts exceed the means of payment, it would 
 seem wise to offer to compound ; and in this case 
 her majesty and my niece may be said to stand in 
 case of creditors." 
 
 "You mistake my meaning, sir," said Ludlow. 
 " There can be no composition between a faithful 
 officer and his duty, nor do I acknowledge more 
 than one mistress in my ship — but seamen are lit- 
 tle to be trusted in the moment of success, and with 
 their passions awakened by resistance. Alder- 
 man Yan Beverout, will you accompany the par- 
 ty, and serve as mediator ? " 
 
 " Pikes and hand-grenades ! Am I a fit sub- 
 ject for mounting the sides of a smuggler with a 
 broadsword between my teeth ! If you will put 
 me into the smallest and most peaceable of your 
 boats, with a crew of two boys, that I can con- 
 trol with the authority of a magistrate, and cove- 
 nant to remain here with your three topsails 
 aback, having always a flag of truce at each mast, 
 I will bear the olive-branch to the brigantine, but 
 not a word of menace. If report speak true, 
 your ' Skimmer of the Seas ' is no lover of threats, 
 and Heaven forbid that I should do violence to 
 any man's habits ! I will go forth as your turtle- 
 dove, Captain Ludlow ; but >not one foot will I 
 proceed as your Goliath." 
 
 " And you equally refuse endeavoring to avert 
 hostilities ? " continued Ludlow, turning his look 
 on the Patroon of Kinderhook. 
 
 "Iara the queen's subject, and ready to aid 
 in supporting the laws," quietly returned Oloff 
 Yan Staats. 
 
 "Patroon!" exclaimed his watchful friend, 
 " you know not what you say ! If there were 
 question of an inroad of Mohawks, or an invasion 
 from the Canadas, the case would be altered ; but 
 this is only a trifling difference concerning a small 
 balance in the revenue duties, which had better 
 be left to your tide-waiter and the other wild-cats 
 of the law. If Parliament will put temptation be- 
 fore our eyes, let the sin light on their own heads. 
 Human nature is weak, and the vanities of our 
 system are so many inducements to overlook un- 
 reasonable regulations. I say, therefore, it is 
 better to remain in peace on board this ship, 
 where our characters will be as safe as our 
 bones, and trust to Providence for what will 
 happen." 
 
 " I am the queen's subject, and ready to up- 
 hold her dignity," repeated Oloff, firmly. 
 
 " I will trust you, sir," said Ludlow, taking 
 his rival by the arm, and leading him into his own 
 state-room. 
 
 The conference was soon ended, and a mid- 
 shipman shortly after reported that the boats were 
 ready for service. The master was next sum- 
 moned to the cabin, and admitted to the private 
 apartment of his commander. Ludlow then pro- 
 ceeded to the deck, where he made the final dis- 
 positions for the attack. The ship was left in 
 charge of Mr. Luff, with an injunction to profit 
 by any breeze that might offer, to draw as near 
 as possible to the chase. Trysail was placed in 
 the launch at the head of a strong party of board- 
 ers. Yan Staats of Kinderhook was provided 
 with the yawl, manned only by its customary 
 crew ; while Ludlow entered his own barge, which 
 contained its usual complement, though the arms 
 that lay in the stern-sheets sufficiently showed 
 that they were prepared for service. 
 
 The launch being the soonest ready, and of 
 much the heaviest movement, was the first to quit 
 the side of the Coquette. The master steered di- 
 rectly for the becalmed and motionless brigantine. 
 Ludlow took a more circuitous course, apparently 
 with an intention of causing such a diversion as 
 might distract the attention of the crew of the 
 smuggler, and with the view of reaching the point 
 of attack at the same moment with the boat that 
 contained his principal force. The yawl also in- 
 clined from the straight line, steering as much on 
 one side as the barge diverged on the other. In this 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK. 
 
 107 
 
 manner the men pulled in silence for some twenty 
 minutes — the motion of the larger boat, which 
 was heavily charged, being slow and difficult. 
 At the end of this period, a signal was made from 
 the barge, when all the men ceased rowing, and 
 prepared themselves for the struggle. The launch 
 was within pistol-shot of the brigantine, and di- 
 rectly on her beam ; the yawl had gained her 
 head, where Van Staats of Kinderhook was study- 
 ing the malign expression of the image, with an 
 interest that seemed to increase as his sluggish 
 nature became excited ; and Ludlow, on the quar- 
 ter opposite to the' launch, was examining the con- 
 dition of the chase by the aid of a glass. Try- 
 sail profited by the pause to address his fol- 
 lowers : 
 
 " This is an expedition in boats," commenced 
 the accurate and circumstantial master, " made in 
 smooth water, with little, or one may say no wind, 
 in the month of June, and on the coast of North 
 America. You are not such a set of know-noth- 
 ings, men, as to suppose the launch has been 
 hoisted out, and two of the oldest, not to say best 
 seamen, on the quarter-deck of her majesty's 
 ship, have gone in boats, without the intention 
 of doing something more than to ask the names 
 and character of the brig in sight. The smallest 
 of the young gentlemen might have done that 
 duty, as well as the captain or myself. It is the 
 belief of those who are best informed that the 
 stranger who has the impudence to lie quietly 
 within long range of a royal cruiser, without show- 
 ing his colors, is neither more nor less than the 
 famous ' Skimmer of the Seas,' a man against whose 
 seamanship I will say nothing, but who has none 
 of the best reputation for honesty, as respects 
 the queen's revenue. No doubt you have heard 
 many extraordinary accounts of the exploits of 
 this rover, some of which seem to insinuate that 
 the fellow has a private understanding with those 
 who manage their transactions in a less religious 
 manner than it may be supposed is done by the 
 bench of bishops. But what of that? You are 
 hearty Englishmen, who know what belongs to 
 
 church and state ; and d e you are not the boys 
 
 to be frightened by a little witchcraft" (cheer). 
 " Ay, that is intelligible and reasonable language, 
 and such as satisfies me you understand the sub- 
 ject. I shall say no more than just to add that 
 Captain Ludlow desires there may be no indecent 
 language, nor for that matter any rough treat- 
 ment of the people of the brigantine, over and 
 above the knocking on the head and cutting of 
 throats that may be necessary to take her. In 
 this particular you will take example by me, who, 
 being older, have more experience than most of 
 
 you, and who, in all reason, should better know 
 when and where to show his manhood. ' Lay about 
 you like men so long as the free-traders stand to 
 their quarters — but remember mercy in the hour 
 of victory ! You will on no account enter the cab- 
 ins; on this head my orders are explicit, and I 
 shall make no more of throwing the man into the 
 sea who dares to transgress them, than if he were 
 a dead Frenchman ; and as we now clearly under- 
 stand each other, and know our duty so well, 
 there remains no more than to do it. I have said 
 nothing of the prize-money" (a cheer), " seeing you 
 are men that love the queen and her honor more 
 than lucre " (a cheer) ; " but this much I can safely 
 promise, that there will be the usual division" (a 
 cheer), " and as there is little doubt but the rogues 
 ■ have driven a profitable trade, why the sum 
 total is likely to be no trifle." (Three hearty 
 cheers.) 
 
 The report of a pistol from the barge, which 
 was immediately followed by a gun from the 
 cruiser, whose shot came whistling between the 
 masts of the Water-Witch, was the signal to re- 
 sort to the ordinary means of victory. The mas- 
 ter cheered in his turn ; and in a full, steady, and 
 deep voice, he gave the order to " pull away ! " 
 At the same instant, the barge and yawl were 
 seen advancing toward the object of their common 
 attack, with a velocity that promised to bring the 
 event -to a speedy issue. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the preparations in 
 and about the Coquette, since the moment when 
 the breeze failed, nothing had been seen of the 
 crew of the brigantine. The beautiful fabric lay 
 rolling on the heaving and setting waters ; but 
 no human form appeared to control her move- 
 ment, or to make the arrangements that seemed 
 so necessary for her defence. The sails continued 
 hanging as they had been left by the breeze, and 
 the hull was floating at the will of the waves. 
 This deep quiet was undisturbed by the approach 
 of the boats ; and, if the desperate individual who 
 was known to command the free-trader had any 
 intentions of resistance, they had been entirely 
 hid from the long and anxious gaze of Ludlow. 
 Even the shouts, and the dashing of the oars on 
 the water, when the boats commenced their final 
 advance, produced no change on the deck of the 
 chase ; though the commander of the Coquette 
 saw her head-yards slowly and steadily changing 
 their direction. Uncertain of the object of this 
 movement, he rose on the seat of his boat, and, 
 waving his hat, cheered the men to greater exer- 
 tion. The barge had got within a hundred feet 
 of the broadside of the brigantine, when the whole 
 of her wide folds of canvas were seen swelling 
 
108 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 outward. The exquisitely-ordered machinery of 
 spars, sails, and rigging, bowed toward the barge, 
 as in the act of a graceful leave-taking, and the 
 light hull glided ahead, leaving the boat to plough 
 through the empty space which it had just occu- 
 pied. There needed no second look to assure 
 Ludlow of the inefficacy of further pursuit, since 
 the sea was already ruffled by the breeze which 
 had so opportunely come to aid the smuggler. 
 He signed to Trysail to desist ; and both stood 
 looking, with disappointed eyes, at the white and 
 bubbling streak which was left by the wake of the 
 fugitive. 
 
 But while the Water-Witch left the boats, 
 commanded by the captain and master of the 
 queen's cruiser, behind her, she steered directly 
 on the course that was necessary to bring her 
 soonest in contact with the yawl. For a few mo- 
 ments, the crew of the latter believed it was their 
 own advance that brought them so rapidly near 
 their object ; and, when the midshipman who 
 steered the boat discovered his error, it was only 
 in season to prevent the swift brigantine from 
 passing over his little bark. He gave the yawl a 
 wide sheer, and called to his men to pull for their 
 lives. Oloff Van Staats had placed himself at the 
 head of the boat, armed with a hanger, and with 
 every faculty too intent on the expected attack, 
 to heed a danger that was scarcely intelligible to 
 one of his habits. As the brigantine glideo" past 
 he saw her low channels bending toward the wa- 
 ter, and, with a powerful effort, he leaped into 
 them, shouting a sort of war-cry in Dutch. At the 
 next instant he threw his large frame over the bul- 
 wark, and disappeared on the deck of the smug- 
 gler. 
 
 When Ludlow caused his boats to assemble on 
 the spot which the chase had so lately occupied, 
 he saw that the fruitless expedition had been at- 
 tended by no other casualty than the involuntary 
 abduction of the Patroon of Kinderhook. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " What country, friends, is this ? " 
 — " Illyria, lady." 
 
 Twelfth Night. 
 
 Men are as much indebted to a fortuitous 
 concurrence Of circumstances for the characters 
 they sustain in this world, as to their personal 
 qualities. The same truth is applicable to the 
 reputations of ships. The properties of a vessel, 
 like those of an individual, may have their influ- 
 ence on her good or evil fortune ; still, something 
 
 is due to the accidents of life in both. Although 
 the breeze which came so opportunely to the aid 
 of the Water-Witch, soon filled the sails of the 
 Coquette, it caused no change in the opinions of 
 her crew concerning the fortunes of that ship ; 
 while it served to heighten the reputation which 
 the " Skimmer of the Seas " had already obtained, 
 as a mariner who was more than favored by happy 
 chances, in the thousand emergencies of his haz- 
 ardous profession. Trysail himself shook his 
 head, in a manner that expressed volumes, when 
 Ludlow vented his humor on what the young man 
 termed the luck of the smuggler ; and the crews 
 of the boats gazed after the retiring brigantine, as 
 the inhabitants of Japan would now most probably 
 regard the passage of some vessel propelled by 
 steam. As Mr. Luff was not neglectful of his duty, 
 it was not long before the Coquette approached 
 her boats. The delay occasioned by hoisting in 
 the latter enabled the chase to increase the space 
 between the two vessels to such a distance as to 
 place her altogether beyOnd the reach of shot. Lud- 
 low, however, gave his orders to pursue, the mo- 
 ment the ship was ready ; and he hastened to 
 conceal his disappointment in his own cabin. 
 
 " Luck is a merchant's surplus, while a living 
 profit is the reward of his wits ! " observed Alder- 
 man Van Beverout, who could scarce conceal the 
 satisfaction he felt at the unexpected and repeat- 
 ed escapes of the brigantine. " Many a man 
 gains doubloons, when he only looked for dollars, 
 and many a market falls while the goods are in 
 the course of clearance. There are Frenchmen 
 enough, Captain Ludlow, to keep a brave officer 
 in good-humor; and the less reason to fret about 
 a trifling mischance in overhauling a smuggler." 
 
 " I know not how highly you may prize your 
 niece, Mr. Van Beverout ; but were I the uncle 
 of such a woman, the idea that she had become 
 the infatuated victim of the arts of yon reckless 
 villain, would madden me!" 
 
 "Paroxysms and strait -jackets ! Happily 
 you are not her uncle, Captain Ludlow, and there- 
 fore the less reason to be uneasy. The girl has a 
 French fancy, and she is rummaging the smug- 
 gler's silks and laces ; when her choice is made, 
 we shall have her back again, more beautiful than 
 ever, for a little finery." 
 
 "Choice! Alida, Alida ! this is not the 
 election that we had reason to expect from thy 
 cultivated mind and proud sentiments ! " 
 
 " The cultivation is my work, and the pride is 
 an inheritance from old Etienne de Barberie,'' 
 dryly rejoined Myndert. " But complaints never 
 lowered a market nor raised the funds. Let us 
 send for the patroon, and take counsel coolly, as 
 
THE COQUETTE'S RETURN. 
 
 109 
 
 to the easiest manner of finding our way back to 
 the Lust in Rust, before her majesty's ship gets 
 too far from the coast of America." 
 
 "Thy pleasantry is unseasonable, sir. Your 
 patroon is gone with your niece, and a pleasant 
 passage they are likely to enjoy in such company ! 
 We lost him in the expedition with our boats." 
 
 The alderman stood aghast. 
 
 " Lost ! — OlofF Van Staats lost, in the expedi- 
 tion of the boats ! Evil betide the day when that 
 discreet and affluent youth should be lost to the 
 colony ! Sir, you know not what you utter when 
 you hazard so rash an opinion. The death of 
 the young Patroon of Kinderhook would render 
 one of the best and most substantial of our fami- 
 lies extinct, and leave the third best estate in the 
 province without a direct heir ! " 
 
 " The calamity i3 not so overwhelming," re- 
 turned the captain, with bitterness. "The gen- 
 tleman has boarded the smuggler, and gone with 
 la belle Barberie to examine his silks and laces." 
 
 Ludlow then explained the manner in which 
 the patroon had disappeared. When perfectly 
 assured that no bodily harm had befallen his 
 friend, the satisfaction of the alderman was quite 
 as vivid as his consternation had been apparent 
 but the moment before. 
 
 "Gone with la belle Barberie to examine 
 silks and laces ! " he repeated, rubbing his hands 
 together in delight. " Ay, there the blood of my 
 old friend Stephanus begins to show itself ! Your 
 true Hollander is no mercurial Frenchman, to 
 beat his head and make grimaces at a shift in the 
 wind, or a woman's frown ; nor a blustering Eng- 
 lishman (you are of the colony yourself, young 
 gentleman) to swear a big oath and swagger; 
 but, as you see, a quiet, persevering, and, in the 
 main, an active son of old Batavia, who watches 
 his opportunity, and goes into the very presence 
 of—" 
 
 " Whom ? " — demanded Ludlow, perceiving 
 that the alderman had paused. 
 
 "Of his enemy; seeing that all the enemies 
 of the queen are necessarily the enemies of every 
 loyal subject. Bravo, young Oloff! thou art a 
 lad after my own heart, and no doubt— no doubt 
 — fortune will favor the brave ! Had a Holland- 
 er a proper footing on this earth, Captain Corne- 
 lius Ludlow, we should hear a different tale con- 
 cerning the right to the narrow seas, and indeed 
 to most other questions of commerce." 
 
 Ludlow rose with a bitter smile on his face, 
 though with no ill feeling toward the man whose 
 exultation was so natural. 
 
 " Mr. Van Staats may have reason to congrat- 
 ulate himself on his good fortune," he said, 
 
 " though I much mistake if even his enterprise 
 will succeed against the wiles of one so artful, 
 and of an appearance so gay, as the man whose 
 guest he has now become. Let the caprice of 
 others be what it may, Alderman Van Beverout, 
 my duty must be done. The smuggler, aided by 
 chance and artifice, has thrice escaped me ; the 
 fourth time, it may be our fortune. If this ship 
 possesses the power to destroy the lawless rover, 
 let him look to his fate." 
 
 With this menace on his lips, Ludlow quitted 
 the cabin, to resume his station on the deck, and 
 to renew his unwearied watching of the move- 
 ments of the chase. 
 
 The change in the wind was altogether in fa- 
 vor of the brigantine. It brought her to wind- 
 ward, and was the means of placing the two ves- 
 sels in positions that enabled the Water- Witch to 
 profit the most by her peculiar construction. 
 Consequently, when Ludlow reached his post, he 
 saw that the swift and light craft had trimmed 
 every thing close upon the wind, and that she 
 was already so far ahead as to render the chances 
 of bringing her again within range of his guns al- 
 most desperate ; unless, indeed, some of the many 
 vicissitudes, so common on the ocean, should in- 
 terfere in his behalf. There remained little else 
 to be done, therefore, but to crowd every sail on 
 the Coquette that the ship would bear, and to en- 
 deavor to keep within sight of the chase, during 
 the hours of darkness which must so shortly suc- 
 ceed. But, before the sun had fallen to the level 
 of the water, the hull of the Water- Witch had 
 disappeared; and, when the day closed, no part 
 of her airy outline was visible but that which was 
 known to belong to her upper and lighter spars. 
 In a few minutes afterward darkness covered the 
 ocean ; and the seamen of the royal cruiser were 
 left to pursue their object at random. 
 
 How far the Coquette had run during the night 
 does not appear, but when her commander made 
 his appearance on the following morning, his long 
 and anxious gaze met no other reward than a 
 naked horizon. On every side, the sea presented 
 the same waste of water. No object was visible, 
 but the sea-fowl wheeling on his wide wing, and 
 the summits of the irregular and green billows. 
 Throughout that and many succeeding days, the 
 cruiser continued to plough the ocean, sometimes 
 running large, with every thing opened to the 
 breeze that the wide booms would spread, and, at 
 others, pitching and laboring with adverse winds, 
 as if bent on prevailing over the obstacles which 
 even Nature presented to her progress. The head 
 of the worthy alderman had got completely turned ; 
 and, though he patiently awaited the result, before 
 
110 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 the week was ended, he knew not even the di- 
 rection in which the ship was steering. At length 
 he had reason to believe that the end of their 
 cruise approached. The efforts of the seamen 
 were observed to relax, and the ship was permitted 
 to pursue her course under easier sail. 
 
 It was past meridian, on one of those days of 
 moderate exertion, that Francois was seen steal- 
 ing from below, and staggering from gun to gun, 
 to a place in the centre of the ship, where he 
 habitually took the air, in good weather, and 
 where he might dispose of his person, equally 
 without presuming too far on the good-nature of 
 his superiors, and without courting too much in- 
 timacy with the coarser herd, who composed the 
 common crew. 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed the valet, addressing his 
 remark to the midshipman who has already been 
 mentioned by the name of Hopper — " voila la 
 terre ! Quel bonheur ! I shall be so happy — le 
 batiment be trop agreable, mais vous savez, Mon- 
 sieur Aspirant, que je ne suis point marin — what 
 be le nom du pays ? " 
 
 " They call it France," returned the boy, who 
 understood enough of the other's language to 
 comprehend his meaning ; " and a very good 
 country it is — for those that like it." 
 
 " Ma foi, non ! " — exclaimed Francois, recoil- 
 ing a pace between amazement and delight. 
 
 " Call it Holland, then, if you prefer that coun- 
 try most." 
 
 " Dites-moi, Monsieur Hoppair," continued the 
 valet, laying a trembling finger on the arm of the 
 remorseless young rogue ; " est-ce la France ? " 
 
 " One would think a man of your observation 
 could tell that for himself. Do you not see the 
 church-tower, with a chateau in the background, 
 and a village built in a heap, by its side ? Now 
 look into yon wood ! There is a walk, straight 
 as a ship's wake in smooth water, and one — two 
 — three — ay, eleven statues, with just one nose 
 among them all ! " 
 
 " Ma foi — dere is not no wood, and no chateau, 
 and no village, and no statue, and no nose — mais, 
 monsieur, je suis age — est-ce la France ? " 
 
 " Oh, you miss nothing by having an indiffer- 
 ent sight, for I shall explain it all, as we go along. 
 You see yonder hill-side, looking like a pattern- 
 card, of green and yellow stripes, or a signal-book, 
 with the flags of all nations, placed side by side — 
 well, that is — les champs ; and this beautiful wood, 
 with all the branches trimmed till it looks like so 
 many raw marines at drill, is— la foret — " 
 
 The credulity of the warm-hearted valet 
 could swallow no more ; but, assuming a look of 
 commiseraftbn and dignity, he drew back, and 
 
 left the young tyro of the sea to enjoy his joke 
 with a companion who just then joined him. 
 
 In the mean time, the Coquette continued to 
 advance. The chateau, and churches, and vil- 
 lages, of the midshipman, soon changed into a 
 low sandy beach, with a background of stunted 
 pines, relieved here and there by an opening, in 
 which appeared the comfortable habitation and 
 numerous out-buildings of some substantial yeo- 
 man, or occasionally embellished by the residence 
 of a country proprietor. Toward noon, the crest 
 of a hill rose from the sea; and, just as the sun 
 set behind the barrier of mountain, the ship passed 
 the sandy cape, and anchored at the spot that 
 she had quitted when first joined by her com- 
 mander after his visit to the brigantine. The 
 vessel was soon moored, the light yards were 
 struck, and a boat was lowered into the water. 
 Ludlow and the alderman then descended the side, 
 and proceeded toward the mouth of the Shrews- 
 bury. Although it was nearly dark before they 
 had reached the shore, there remained light enough 
 to enable the former to discover an object of un- 
 usual appearance floating in the bay, and at no 
 great distance from the direction of his barge. He 
 was led by curiosity to steer for it. 
 
 " Cruisers and Water- Witches ! " muttered 
 Myndert, when they were near enough to perceive 
 the nature of the floating object. " That brazen 
 hussy haunts us, as if we had robbed her of gold ! 
 Let us set foot on land, and nothing short of a 
 deputation from the city council shall ever tempt 
 me to wander from my own abode again! " 
 
 Ludlow shifted the helm of the boat, and re- 
 sumed his course toward the river. He required 
 no explanation to tell him more of the nature of 
 the artifice by which he had been duped. The 
 nicely-balanced tub, the upright spar, and the ex- 
 tinguished lantern, with the features of the female 
 of the malign smile traced on its horn faces, re- 
 minded him, at once, of the false light by which 
 the Coquette had been lured from her course, on 
 the night she sailed in pursuit of the brigantine. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 " His daughter, and the heir of his kingdom, 
 — hath referred herself 
 Unto a poor but worthy gentleman." 
 
 Ctmbeline. 
 
 When Alderman Van Beverout and Ludlow 
 drew near to the Lust in Rust, it was already 
 dark. Night had overtaken them at some dis- 
 tance from the place of landing ; and the moun- 
 tain already threw its shadow across the river, 
 
LA BELLE 
 
 the narrow strip of land that separated it from the 
 sea, and far upon the ocean itself. Neither had 
 an opportunity of making his observations on the 
 condition of things in and about the villa, until 
 they ascended nearly to its level, and had even 
 entered the narrow but fragrant lawn in its front. 
 Just before they arrived at the gate which opened 
 on the latter, the alderman paused, and addressed 
 his companion with more of the manner of their 
 ancient confidence than he had manifested dur- 
 ing the few preceding days of their intercourse. 
 
 " Y©u must have observed that the events of 
 this little excursion on the water have been rath- 
 er of a domestic than of a public character," he 
 said. " Thy father was a very ancient and much- 
 esteemed friend of mine, and I am far from cer- 
 tain that there is not some affinity between us, in 
 the way of intermarriages. Thy worthy mother, 
 who is a thrifty woman and a small talker, had 
 some of the blood of my own stock. It would 
 grieve me to see the good understanding, which 
 these recollections have created, in any manner 
 interrupted. I admit, sir, that revenue is to 
 the state what the soul is to the body — the 
 moving and governing principle ; and that, as the 
 last would be a tenantless house without its 
 inhabitants, so the first would be an exacting and 
 troublesome master without its proper products. 
 But there is no need of pushing a principle to 
 extremities ! If this brigantine be as you appear 
 to suspect, and indeed as we have some reason 
 from various causes to infer, the vessel called 
 the Water- Witch, she might have been a legal 
 prize had she fallen into your power ; but now 
 that she has escaped, I cannot say what may be 
 your intentions ; but were thy excellent father, the 
 worthy member of the king's council, living, so dis- 
 creet a man would think much before he opened 
 his lips, to say more than is discreet, on this or 
 any other subject." 
 
 " Whatever course I may believe my duty 
 dictates, you may safely rely on my discretion 
 concerning the — the remarkable — the very decided 
 step which your niece has seen proper to take," 
 returned the young man, who did not make this 
 allusion to Alida without betraying, by the tre- 
 mor of his voice, how great was her influence still 
 over him. " I see no necessity of violating the 
 domestic feelings to which you allude, by aiding 
 to feed the ears of the idly curious with the nar- 
 rative of her errors." 
 
 Ludlow stopped suddenly, leaving the uncle to 
 infer what he would wish to add. 
 
 " This is generous, and manly, and like a loy- 
 al — lover, Captain Ludlow," returned the alder- 
 man ; " though it is not exactly what I intended to 
 
 BARBERIE. HI 
 
 suggest. We will not, however, multiply words 
 in the night air — Ha ! when the cat is asleep, the 
 mice are seen to play ! Those night-riding, 
 horse-racing blacks have taken possession of Ali- 
 da's pavilion; and we may be thankful the poor 
 girl's rooms are not as large* as Haerlem Com- 
 mon, or we should hear the feet of some hard- 
 driven beast galloping about in them." 
 
 The alderman, in his turn, cut short his speech, 
 and started as if one of the spooks of the colony 
 had suddenly presented itself to his eyes. His 
 language drew the look of his companion toward 
 la Cour des Fees ; and Ludlow, at the same mo- 
 ment as the uncle, caught an unequivocal view of 
 la belle Barberie, as she moved before the open 
 window of her apartment. The latter was about 
 to rush forward, but the hand of Myndert arrested 
 the impetuous movement. 
 
 " Here is more matter for our wits than our 
 legs," observed the cool and prudent burgher. 
 " That was the form of my ward and niece, or the 
 daughter of old Etienne Barberie has a double. 
 — Francis ! didst thou not see the image of a wom- 
 an at the window of the pavilion, or are we de- 
 ceived by our wishes ? — I have sometimes been 
 deluded in an unaccountable manner, Captain 
 Ludlow, when my mind has been thoroughly set 
 on the bargain, in the quality of the goods ; for 
 the most liberal of us all are subject to mental 
 weakness of this nature, when hope is alive ! " 
 
 " Certainement, oui!" exclaimed the eager 
 valet. " Quel malheur to be oblige to go on la 
 mer, when Mam'selle Alide nevair quit la maison ! 
 J'etais sur, que nous nous trompions, car jamais la 
 famille de Barberie love to be marins ! " 
 
 " Enough, good Francis ; the family of Barbe- 
 rie is as earthy as a fox. Go and notify the idle 
 rogues in my kitchen that their master is at hand ; 
 and remember, that there is no necessity for speak- 
 ing of all the wonders we have seen on the great 
 deep. — Captain Ludlow, we will now join my duti- 
 ful niece with as little fracas as possible." 
 
 Ludlow eagerly accepted the invitation, and in- 
 stantly followed the dogmatical and seemingly un- 
 moved alderman toward the dwelling. As the lawn 
 was crossed, they involuntarily paused a moment 
 to look in at the open windows of the pavilion. 
 
 La belle Barberie had ornamented la Cour des 
 Fees with a portion of that national taste which 
 she inherited from her father. The heavy mag- 
 nificence, that distinguished the reign of Louis 
 XIV., had scarcely descended to one of the mid- 
 dling rank of Monsieur de Barberie, who had con- 
 sequently brought with him to the place of his 
 exile, merely those tasteful usages which appear 
 almost exclusively the property of thc people from 
 
112 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 whom he had sprung, without the encumbrance 
 and cost of the more pretending fashions of the 
 period. These usages had become blended with 
 the more domestic and comfortable habits of Eng- 
 lish, or, what is nearly the same thing, of Ameri- 
 can life — a union which, when it is found, per- 
 haps produces the most just and happy medium 
 of the useful and agreeable. Alida was seated 
 by a small table of mahogany, deeply absorbed in 
 the contents of a little volume that lay before 
 her. By her side stood a tea-service, the cups 
 and the vessels of which were of the diminu- 
 tive size then used, though exquisitely wrought 
 and of the most beautiful material. Her dress 
 was a neglige suited to her years ; and her whole 
 figure breathed that air of comfort, mingled with 
 grace, which seems to be the proper quality 
 of the sex, and which renders the privacy of an 
 elegant woman so attractive and peculiar. Her 
 mind was intent on the book, and the little silver 
 urn hissed at her elbow, apparently unheeded. 
 
 " This is the picture I have loved to draw,*' 
 half-whispered Ludlow, " when gales and storms 
 have kept me on the deck, throughout many a 
 dreary and tempestuous night ! When body and 
 mind have been impatient of fatigue, this is the 
 repose I have most coveted, and for which I have 
 even dared to hope ! " 
 
 " The China trade will come to something, in 
 time, and you are an excellent judge of comfort, 
 Master Ludlow," returned the alderman. M That 
 girl now has a warm glow on her cheek, which 
 would seem to swear she never faced a breeze in 
 her life ; and it is not easy to fancy that one who 
 looks so comfortable has lately been frolicking 
 among the dolphins. — Let us enter." 
 
 Alderman Tan Beverout was not accustomed 
 to use much ceremony in his visits to his niece. 
 Without appearing to think any announcement 
 necessary, therefore, the dogmatical burgher cool- 
 ly opened a door, and ushered his companion into 
 the pavilion. 
 
 If the meeting between la belle Alida and her 
 guests was distinguished by the affected indiffer- 
 ence of the latter, their seeming ease was quite 
 equalled by that of the lady. She laid aside her 
 book with a calmness that might have been ex- 
 pected had they parted but an hour before, and 
 which sufficiently assured both Ludlow and her 
 uncle that their return was known and their pres- 
 ence expected. She simply arose at their en- 
 trance, and, with a smile that betokened breeding 
 rather than feeling, she requested them to be 
 seated. The composure of his niece had the ef- 
 fect to throw the alderman into a brown study, 
 while the young sailor scarcely knew which to 
 
 I admire the most, the exceeding loveliness of a 
 ! woman who was always so beautiful, or her admi- 
 rable self-possession in a scene that most others 
 j would have found sufficiently embarrassing. Alida, 
 I herself, appeared to feel no necessity for any ex- 
 I planation ; for, when her guests were seated, she 
 | took occasion to say, while busied in pouring out 
 the tea : 
 
 " You find me prepared to offer the refresh- 
 ment of a cup of delicious bohea. I think my 
 uncle calls it the tea of the Caernarvon GatiHe." 
 
 " A lucky ship, both in her passages and her 
 wares ! Yes, it is the article you name : and I 
 can recommend it to all who wish to purchase. 
 But, niece of mine, will you condescend to ac- 
 i quaint this commander in her majesty's service, 
 and a poor alderman of her good city of Xew 
 York, how long you may have been expecting our 
 i company ? " 
 
 Alida felt at her girdle, and, drawing out a 
 j small and richly-ornamented Match, she coolly 
 examined its hands, as if to learn the hour. 
 
 " We are nine. I think it was past the turn 
 j of the day, when Dinah first mentioned that this 
 ! pleasure might be expected. But I should also 
 tell you that packages which seem to contain let- 
 1 ters have arrived from town." 
 
 This was giving a new and sudden direction 
 to the thoughts of the alderman. He had re- 
 ' frained from entering on those explanations which 
 \ the circumstances seemed to require, because he 
 j well knew that he stood on dangerous ground, and 
 j that more might be said than he wished his com- 
 panion to hear, no less than from amazement at 
 ■ the composure of his ward. He was not 5 : 7. 
 j therefore, to have an excuse to delay his in- 
 : quiries, that appeared so much in character as 
 1 that of reading the communications of his busi- 
 ness correspondents. Swallowing the contents 
 of the tiny cup he held, at a gulp, the eager mer- 
 chant seized the packet that Alida now offered ; 
 \ and, muttering a few words of apology to Ludlow, 
 he left the pavilion. 
 
 Until now the commander of the Coquette had 
 not spoken. Wonder, mingled with indignation, 
 sealed his mouth, though he had endeavored to pen- 
 etrate the veil which Alida had drawn around her 
 conduct and motives, by a diligent use of his eyes. 
 "During the first few moments of the interview, 
 he thought that he could detect, in the midst of 
 her studied calmness, a melancholy smile strug- 
 gling around her beautiful mouth ; but only once 
 had their looks meet, as she turned her full, rich, 
 and dark eyes furtively on his face, as if curious 
 to know the effect produced by her manner on 
 the mind of the young sailor. 
 
CAPTAIN LUDLOW'S INTERVIEW WITH ALIDA. 
 
 113 
 
 " Have the enemies of the queen reason to re- 
 gret the cruise of the Coquette ? " said la Belle, 
 hurriedly, when she found her glance detected ; 
 " or have they dreaded to encounter a prowess 
 that has already proved their inferiority?" 
 
 " Fear, or prudence, or perhaps I might say 
 conscience, has made them wary," returned Lud- 
 low, pointedly emphasizing the latter words. 
 " We have run from the Hook to the edge of the 
 Grand Bank, and returned without success." 
 
 " 'Tis unlucky. But, though the French es- 
 caped, have none of the lawless met with punish- 
 ment ? There is a rumor among the slaves that 
 the brigantine which visited us is an object of 
 suspicion to the government? " 
 
 " Suspicion ! — But I may apply to la belle 
 Barberie to know whether the character her com- 
 mander has obtained be merited ? " 
 
 Alida smiled, and, her admirer thought, sweet- 
 ly as ever. 
 
 " It would be a sign of extraordinary com- 
 plaisance, were Captain Ludlow to apply to the 
 girls of the colony for instruction in his duty ! 
 We may be secret encouragers of the contraband, 
 but, surely, we are not to be suspected of any 
 greater familiarity with their movements. These 
 hints may compel me to abandon the pleasures of 
 the Lust in Rust, and to seek air and health in 
 some less exposed situation. Happily the banks 
 of the Hudson offer many, that one need be fas- 
 tidious indeed to reject." 
 
 "Among which you count the manor-house of 
 Kinderhook ? " 
 
 Again Alida smiled, and Ludlow thought it 
 was triumphantly. 
 
 " The dwelling of Oloff Van Staats is said to 
 be commodious, and not badly placed. I have 
 seen it — " 
 
 " In your images of the future ? " said the 
 young man, observing she hesitated. 
 
 Alida laughed downright. But, immediately 
 recovering her self-command, she replied : 
 
 " Not so fancifully. My knowledge of the 
 beauties of the house of Mr. Van Staats is confined 
 to very unpoetical glimpses from the river, in 
 passing and repassing. The chimneys are twisted 
 in the most approved style of the Dutch Brabant, 
 and, although wanting the stork's-nest on their 
 summits, it seems as if there might be that wom- 
 an's tempter, comfort, around the hearths beneath. 
 The offices, too, have an enticing air, for a thrifty 
 housewife ! " 
 
 " Which office, in compliment to the wor- 
 thy patroon, you intend shall not long be va- 
 cant ? " 
 
 Alida was playing with the spoon, curiously 
 8 
 
 | wrought to represent the stem and leaves of a 
 tea-plant. She started, dropped the implement, 
 and raised her eyes to the face of her companion. 
 The look was steady, and not without an interest 
 in the evident concern betrayed by the young 
 man. 
 
 " It will never be filled by me, Ludlow," was 
 the answer, uttered solemnly, and with a decision 
 that denoted a resolution affixed. 
 
 " That declaration removes a mountain ! — 
 Alida, if you could as easily — " 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered the other, rising and 
 standing for a moment in an attitude of intense 
 expectation. Her eye became brighter, and the 
 bloom on her cheek even deeper than before, 
 while pleasure and hope were both strongly de- 
 picted on her beautiful face — "hush!" she con- 
 tinued, motioning to Ludlow to repress his feel- 
 ings. " Did you hear nothing ? " 
 
 The disappointed and yet admiring young 
 man was silent, though he watched her singularly 
 interesting air and lovely features with all the in- 
 tenseness that seemed to characterize her own de- 
 portment. As no sound followed that which Alida 
 had heard or fancied she had heard, she resumed 
 her seat, and appeared to lend her attention once 
 more to her companion. 
 
 " You were speaking of mountains ? " she said, 
 scarce knowing what she uttered. " The passage 
 between the bays of Newburg and Tappan has 
 scarce a rival, as I have heard from travelled 
 men." 
 
 " I was indeed speaking of a mountain, but it 
 was of one that weighs on my heart. Your in- 
 explicable conduct and cruel indifference have 
 heaped it on my feelings, Alida. You have said 
 that there is no hope for OlofF Van Staats ; and 
 one syllable, spoken with your native ingenuous- 
 ness and sincerity, has had the effect to blow all 
 my apprehensions from that quarter to the winds. 
 There remains only to account for your absence, 
 to resume the whole of your power over one who 
 is but too readily disposed to confide in all you 
 say or do.'' 
 
 La belle Barberie seemed touched. Her glance 
 at the young sailor was kinder, and her voice 
 wanted some of its ordinary steadiness in the re- 
 ply- 
 
 " That power has then been weakened ? " 
 
 " You will despise me if I say no — you will 
 distrust me if I say yes." 
 
 " Then silence seems the course best adapted 
 to maintain our present amity. Surely I heard a 
 blow struck, lightly, on the shutter of that win- 
 dow ? " 
 
 " Hope sometimes deceives us. This repeated 
 
114 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 belief would seem to say that you expect a vis- 
 itor ?" 
 
 A distinct tap on the shutter confirmed the 
 impression of the mistress of the pavilion. Alida 
 looked at her companion and appeared embar- 
 rassed. Her color varied, and she seemed anxious 
 to utter something that either her feelings or her 
 prudence suppressed. 
 
 " Captain Ludlow, you have once before been 
 an unexpected witness of an interview in la Cour 
 des Fees, that has, I fear, subjected me to un- 
 favorable surmises. But one manly and generous 
 as yourself can have indulgence for the little vani- 
 ties of woman. I expect a visit that, perhaps, a 
 queen's officer should not countenance." 
 
 "Iam no exciseman, to pry into wardrobes 
 and secret repositories, but one whose duty it is 
 to act only on the high-seas, and against the more 
 open violators of the law. If you have any with- 
 out, whose presence you desire, let them enter 
 without dread of my office. When we meet in a 
 more suitable place, I shall know how to take my 
 revenge." 
 
 His companion looked grateful, and bowed 
 her acknowledgments. She then made a ringing 
 sound by using a spoon on the interior of one of 
 the vessels of the tea equipage. The shrubbery 
 which shaded a window stirred ; and presently 
 the young stranger, already so well known in the 
 former pages of this work, and in the scenes of 
 the brigantine, appeared in the low balcony. His 
 person was scarcely seen, before a light bale of 
 goods was tossed past him, into the centre of the 
 room. 
 
 "I send my certificate of character as an 
 avant-courrier" said the gay dealer in contraband, 
 or Master Seadrift, as he was called by the alder- 
 man, touching his cap, gallantly, to the mistress 
 of la Cour des Fees, and then somewhat more 
 ceremoniously to her companion ; after which 
 he returned the gold-bound covering to its seat, 
 on a bed of rich and glossy curls, and sought his 
 package. "Here is one more customer than I 
 bargained for, and I look to more than common 
 gain ! — We have met before, Captain Lud- 
 low." 
 
 " We have, Sir Skimmer of the Seas, and we 
 shall meet again. Winds may change, and for- 
 tune yet favor the right !•'-'■ 
 
 "We trust to the sea-green lady's care," re- 
 turned the extraordinary smuggler, pointing with 
 a species of reverence, real or affected, to the 
 image that was beautifully worked, in rich colors, 
 on the velvet of his cap. What has been will be, 
 and the past gives a hope for the future. We 
 meet, here, on neutral ground, I trust." 
 
 " I am the commander of a royal cruiser, sir," 
 haughtily returned the other. 
 
 " Queen Anne may be proud of her servant ! 
 But we neglect our affairs. — A thousand pardons, 
 lovely mistress of la Cour des Fees. This meet- 
 ing of two rude mariners does a slight to your 
 beauty, and little credit to the fealty due the sex. 
 Having done with all compliments, I have to offer 
 certain articles that never failed to cause the 
 brightest eyes to grow more brilliant, and at which 
 duchesses have gazed with many longings." 
 
 "You speak with confidence of your associa- 
 tions, Master Seadrift, and rate noble personages 
 among your customers as familiarly as if you dealt 
 in offices of state." 
 
 " This skilful servitor of the queen will tell you, 
 lady, that the wind which is a gale on the Atlan- 
 tic, may scarce cool the burning cheek of a girl 
 on the land, and that the links in life are as cu- 
 riously interlocked as the ropes of a ship. The 
 Ephesian temple and the Indian wigwam rested 
 on the same earth ! " 
 
 " From which you infer that rank does not 
 alter nature. We must admit, Captain Ludlow, 
 that Master Seadrift understands a woman's heart, 
 when he tempts her with stores of tissues gay as 
 these ! " 
 
 Ludlow had watched the speakers in silence. 
 The manner of Alida was far less embarrassed, 
 than when he had before seen her in the smug- 
 gler's company ; and his blood fired, when he saw 
 that their eyes met with a secret and friendly in- 
 telligence. He had remained, however, with a 
 resolution to be calm, and to know the worst. 
 Conquering the expression of his feelings by 
 a great effort, he answered with an exterior of 
 composure, though not without some of that bit- 
 terness in his emphasis which he felt at his 
 heart. 
 
 "If Master Seadrift has this knowledge, he 
 may value himself on his good fortune," was the 
 reply. 
 
 " Much intercourse with the sex, who are my 
 best customers, has something helped me," re- 
 turned the cavalier dealer in contraband. "Here 
 is a brocade, whose fellow is worn openly in 
 the presence of our royal mistress, though it 
 came from the forbidden looms of Italy ; and the 
 ladies of the court return from patriotically dan- 
 cing, in the fabrics of home, to please the public 
 eye, once in the year, to wear these more agree- 
 able inventions, all the rest of it, to please them- 
 selves. Tell me, why does the Englishman, with 
 his pale sun, spend thousands to force a sickly 
 imitation of the gifts of the tropics, but because 
 he pines for forbidden fruit ? or why does your 
 
MASTER 
 
 Paris gourmand roll a fig on his tongue, that a 
 lazzarone of Naples would cast into his bay, but 
 because he wishes to enjoy the bounties of a low 
 latitude, under a watery sky ? I have seen an in- 
 dividual feast on the eau sucree of a European 
 pine, that cost a guinea, while his palate would 
 have refused the same fruit, with its delicious 
 compound of acid and sweet, mellowed to ripe- 
 ness under a burning sun, merely because he 
 could have it for nothing. This is the secret of 
 our patronage ; and, as the sex are most liable to 
 its influence, we owe them most gratitude." 
 
 "You have travelled, Master Seadrift," re- 
 turned la Belle, smiling, while she tossed the rich 
 contents of the bale on the carpet, " and treat 
 of usages as familiarly as you speak of dignities." 
 
 " The lady of the sea-green mantle does not 
 permit an idle servant. We follow the direction 
 of her guiding hand ; sometimes it points our 
 course among the isles of the Adriatic, and at 
 others on your stormy American coasts. There is 
 little of Europe between Gibraltar and the Cattegat 
 that I have not visited." 
 
 " But Italy has been the favorite, if one may 
 judge by the number of her fabrics that you pro- 
 duce." 
 
 " Italy, France, and Flanders, divide my cus- 
 tom ; though you are right in believing the for- 
 mer most in favor. Many years of early life did I 
 pass on the noble coasts of that romantic region. 
 One who protected and guided my infancy and 
 youth even left me for a time under instruction 
 on the little plain of Sorrento." 
 
 "And where can this plain be found ? for the 
 residence of so famous a rover may, one day, be- 
 come the theme of song, and is likely to occupy 
 the leisure of the curious." 
 
 " The grace of the speaker may well excuse 
 the irony ! Sorrento is a town on the southern 
 shore of the renowned Naples Bay. Fire has 
 wrought many changes in that soft but wild coun- 
 try ; and if, as religionists believe, the fountains 
 of the great deep were ever broken up, and the 
 earth's crust disturbed, to permit its secret 
 springs to issue on the surface, this may have 
 been one of the spots chosen by him whose touch 
 leaves marks that are indelible, in which to show 
 his power. The bed of the earth itself, in all that 
 region, appears to have been but the vomitings 
 of volcanoes ; and the Sorrentine passes his peace- 
 able life in the bed of an extinguished crater. 'Tis 
 curious to see in what manner the men of the 
 middle ages have built their town, on the margin 
 of the sea, where the element has swallowed one- 
 half the ragged basin, and now they have taken 
 the yawning crevices of the tufa for ditches to 
 
 SEADRIFT. 115 
 
 protect their walls ! I have visited many lands, 
 and seen Nature in nearly every clime ; but no 
 spot has yet presented, in a single view, so pleas- 
 ant a combination of natural objects, mingled with 
 mighty recollections, as that lovely abode on the 
 Sorrentine cliffs ! " 
 
 " Recount me these pleasures, that in memory 
 seem so agreeable, while I examine further into 
 the contents of the bale." 
 
 The gay young free-trader paused, and seemed 
 lost in images of the past. Then, with a melan- 
 choly smile, he soon continued : " Though many 
 years are gone," he said, "I can recall the beau- 
 ties of that scene as vividly as if they still stood 
 before the eye. Our abode was on the verge of 
 the cliffs. In front lay the deep-blue water, and 
 on its farther shore was a line of objects such as 
 accident or design rarely assembles in one view. 
 Fancy thyself, lady, at my side, and follow the 
 curvature of the northern shore, as I trace the 
 outline of that glorious scene ! That high, moun- 
 tainous, and ragged island on the extreme left, is 
 modern Ischia. Its origin is unknown, though 
 piles of lava lie along its coast, which seems fresh 
 as that thrown from the mountain yesterday. 
 The long, low bit of land, insulated like its neigh- 
 bor, is called Procida, a scion of ancient Greece. 
 Its people still preserve, in dress and speech, 
 marks of their origin. The narrow strait con- 
 ducts you to a high and naked bluff. That is 
 the Misenum of old. Here ^Eneas came to land, 
 and Rome held her fleets, and thence Pliny took 
 the water, to get a nearer view of the labors of 
 the volcano, after its awakening from centuries 
 of sleep. In the hollow of the ridge, between 
 that naked bluff and the next swell of the moun- 
 tain, lie the fabulous Styx, the Elysian fields, and 
 the place of the dead, as fixed by the Mantuan. 
 More on the height and nearer to the sea, lie, buried 
 in the earth, the vast vaults of the Piscina Mira- 
 bilis, and the gloomy caverns of the Hundred 
 Chambers ; places that equally denote the luxury 
 and the despotism of Rome. Nearer to the vast 
 pile of castle, that is visible so many leagues, is 
 the graceful and winding Baigean harbor ; and 
 against the side of its sheltering hills once lay 
 ■the city of villas. To that sheltered hill, emper- 
 ors, consuls, poets, and warriors, crowded from 
 the capital, in quest of repose, and to breathe the 
 pure air of a spot in which pestilence has since 
 made its abode. The earth is still covered with 
 the remains of their magnificence, and ruins of 
 temples and baths are scattered freely among the 
 olives and fig-trees of the peasant. A fainter 
 bluff limits the northeastern boundary of the little 
 bay. On it once stood the dwellings of emperors. 
 
116 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 There Caesar sought retirement, and the warm 
 springs on its side are yet called the baths of the 
 bloody Nero. That small, conical hill, ■which, as 
 you see, possesses a greener and fresher look than 
 the adjoining land, is a cone ejected by the cal- 
 dron beneath, but two brief centuries since. It 
 occupies, in part, the site of the ancient Lucrine 
 lake. All that remains of that famous receptacle 
 of the epicure is the small and shallow sheet at its 
 base, which is separated from the sea by a mere 
 thread of sand. More in the rear, and surrounded 
 by dreary hills, lie the waters of Avernus. On 
 their banks still stand the ruins of a temple, in 
 which rites were celebrated to the infernal deities. 
 The grotto of the Sibyl pierces that ridge on the 
 left, and the Cumaean passage is nearly in its rear. 
 The town which is seen a mile to the right, is 
 Pozzuoli — a port of the ancients, and a spot now 
 visited for its temples of Jupiter and Neptune, its 
 mouldering amphitheatre, and its half-buried 
 tombs. Here Caligula attempted his ambitious 
 bridge, and, while crossing thence to Baiae, the 
 Tile Nero had the life of his own mother assailed. 
 It was there, too, that holy Paul came to land, 
 when journeying a prisoner to Rome. The small 
 but high island, nearly in its front, is Nisida, the 
 place to which Marcus Brutus retired after the 
 deed at the foot of Pompey's statue, where he 
 possessed a villa, and whence he and Cassius 
 sailed to meet the shade and the vengeance of the 
 murdered Caesar, at Philippi. Then comes a 
 crowd of sites more known in the middle ages ; 
 though just below that mountain, in the back- 
 ground, is the famous subterranean road of which 
 Strabo and Seneca are said to speak, and through 
 which the peasant still daily drives his ass to the 
 markets of the modern city. At its entrance is 
 the reputed tomb of Virgil, and then commences 
 an amphitheatre of white and terraced dwellings. 
 This is noisy Napoli itself, crowned with its rocky 
 castle of St. Elmo ! The vast plain, to the right, 
 is that which held the enervating Capua, and so 
 many other cities on its bosom. To this suc- 
 ceeds the insulated mountain of the volcano, with 
 its summit torn in triple tops. 'Tis said that 
 villas and villages, towns and cities, lie buried be- 
 neath the vineyards and palaces which crowd its 
 base. The ancient and unhappy city of Pompeii 
 stood on that luckless plain, which, following the 
 shores of the bay, comes next ; and then we take 
 up the line of the mountain promontory, which 
 forms the Sorrentine side of the water ! " 
 
 " One who has had such schooling, should 
 know better how to turn it to a good account," 
 said Ludlow, sternly, when the excited smuggler 
 ceased to speak. 
 
 j "In other lands men derive their learning 
 from books ; in Italy, children acquire knowl- 
 edge by the study of visible things," was the un- 
 disturbed answer. 
 
 " Some from this country are fond of believing 
 that our own bay, these summer skies, and the 
 climate in general, should have a strict resem- 
 blance to those of a region which lies precisely in 
 our own latitude," observed Alida, so hastily, as 
 to betray a desire to preserve the peace between 
 her guests. 
 
 " That your Manhattan and Earitan waters 
 are broad and pleasant, none can deny, and that 
 lovely beings dwell on their banks, lady," returned 
 Seadrift, gallantly lifting his cap, " my own senses 
 have witnessed. But 'twere wiser to select some 
 other point of your excellence, for comparison, 
 than a competition with the glorious waters, the 
 fantastic and mountain isles, and the sunny hill- 
 sides of modern Napoli ! 'Tis certain the lati- 
 | tude is even in your favor, and that a beneficent 
 | sun does not fail of its office in one region more 
 than in the other. But the forests of America are 
 still too pregnant of vapors and exhalations not to 
 j impair the purity of the native air. If I have 
 j seen much of the Mediterranean, neither am I a 
 stranger to these coasts. While there are so 
 j many points of resemblance in their climates, 
 ; there are also many and marked causes of differ- 
 ence." 
 
 " Teach us, then, what forms these distinctions, 
 that, in speaking of our bay and skies, we may 
 not be led into error." 
 
 " You do me honor, lady; I am of no great 
 ! schooling, and of humble powers of speech. Still, 
 j the little that observation may have taught me, 
 shall not be churlishly withheld. Your Italian 
 ! atmosphere, taking the humidity of the seas, is 
 I sometimes hazy. Still water in large bodies, oth- 
 er than in the two seas, is little known in those 
 distant countries. Few objects in Nature are 
 , drier than an Italian river, during those months 
 j when the sun has most influence. The effect is 
 | visible in the air, which is in general elastic, dry, 
 and obedient to the general laws of the climate. 
 There floats less exhalation, in the form of fine 
 and nearly invisible vapor, than in these wooded 
 regions. At least, so he of whom I spoke, as one 
 who guided my youth, was wont to say." 
 
 "You hesitate to tell us of our skies, our 
 evening light, and of our bay ? " 
 
 " It shall be said, and said sincerely — of the 
 bays, each seems to have been appropriated to 
 that for which Nature most intended it — the one 
 is poetic, indolent, and full of graceful and glori- 
 ous beauty ; more pregnant of enjoyment than of 
 
AN INTERRUPTION. 
 
 117 
 
 usefulness. The other will, one day, be the mart 
 of the world!" 
 
 " You still shrink from pronouncing on their 
 beauty," said Alida, disappointed in spite of an 
 affected indifference to the subject. 
 
 " It is ever the common fault of old communi- 
 ties to overvalue themselves, and to undervalue 
 new actors in the great drama of nations, as men 
 long successful disregard the effort of new aspi- 
 rants for favor," said Seadrift, while he looked 
 with amazement at the pettish eye of the frown- 
 ing beauty. " In this instance, however, Europe 
 has not so greatly erred. They who see much 
 resemblance between the bay of Naples and this 
 of Manhattan, have fertile brains ; since it rests 
 altogether on the circumstance that there is much 
 water in both, and a passage between an island 
 and the main-land, in one, to resemble a passage 
 between^ two islands in the other. This is an 
 estuary, that a gulf; and while the former has the 
 green and turbid water of a shelving shore and 
 of tributary rivers, the latter has the blue and 
 limpid element of the deep sea. In these distinc- 
 tions, I take no account of ragged and rocky 
 mountains, with the indescribable play of golden 
 and rosy light upon their broken surfaces, nor of 
 a coast that teems with the recollections of three 
 thousand years ! " 
 
 "I fear to question more. But surely our 
 skies may be mentioned, even by the side of those 
 you vaunt ? " 
 
 "Of the skies truly, you have more reason to 
 be confident. I remember that, standing on the 
 Capo di Monte, which overlooks the little, pictu- 
 resque, and crowded beach of the Marina Grande, 
 and Sorrento, a spot that teems with all that is 
 poetic in the fisherman's life, he of whom I have 
 spoken once pointed to the transparent vault 
 above and said, ' There is the moon of America ! ' 
 The colors of the rocket were not more vivid 
 than the stars that night, for a Tramontana had 
 swept every impurity from the air,'far upon the 
 neighboring sea. But nights like that are rare, 
 indeed, in any clime! The inhabitants of low 
 latitudes enjoy them occasionally ; those of high- 
 er, never." 
 
 " Then our flattering belief, that these west- 
 ern sunsets rival those of Italy, is delusion ? " 
 
 " Not so, lady. They rival without resem- 
 bling. The color of the etui, on which so fair a 
 hand is resting, is not softer than the hues one 
 sees in the heavens of Italy. But if your evening 
 sky wants the pearly light, the rosy clouds, and 
 the soft tints which, at that hour, melt into each 
 other, across the entire vault of Napoli, it far 
 excels in the vividness of the glow, in the depth 
 
 of the transitions, and in the richness of colors. 
 Those are only more delicate, while these are 
 more gorgeous ! When there shall be less exha- 
 lation from your forests, the same causes may 
 produce the some effects. Until then America 
 must be content to pride herself on an exhibition 
 of Nature's beauty in a new, though scarcely in a 
 less pleasing, form." 
 
 " Then they who come among us from Europe 
 are but half right when they deride the preten- 
 sions of our bay and heavens? " 
 
 " Which is much nearer the truth than they 
 are wont to be, on the subject of this continent. 
 Speak of the many rivers, the double outlets, the 
 numberless basins, and the unequalled facilities 
 of your Manhattan harbor ; for in time they will 
 come to render all the beauties of the unrivalled 
 bay of Naples vain: but tempt not the stran- 
 ger to push the comparison beyond. Be grate- 
 ful for your skies, lady, for few live under fairer 
 or more beneficent. But I tire you with these 
 opinions, when here are colors that have more 
 charms for a young and lively imagination than 
 even the tints of Nature ! " 
 
 La belle Barberie smiled on the dealer in con- 
 traband with an interest that sickened Ludlow ; 
 and she was about to reply, in better humor, 
 when the voice of her uncle announced his near 
 approach. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 "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 beer." 
 
 Jack Cade. 
 
 Had Alderman Yan 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 mer- 
 chant, entering with an open letter in his hand. 
 " Here are advices received, by way of Curacoa 
 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 
 
118 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 we here, niece ? Merchandise ! and of a suspicious 
 fabric ! — who has the invoice of these goods, and 
 in what vessel were they shipped ? " 
 
 " These are questions that may be better an- 
 swered by their owner," returned la Belle, point- 
 ing gravely, and not without tremor in her voice, 
 toward the dealer in contraband, who, at the ap- 
 proach of the alderman, had shrunk back as far 
 as possible from view. 
 
 Myndert cast an uneasy glance at the un- 
 moved countenance of the commander of the roy- 
 al cruiser, after having bestowed a brief but un- 
 derstanding 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 in- 
 debted for the honor of this visit, Master a — a — 
 a — gay dealer in green ladies and bright tis- 
 sues ? " 
 
 The confident and gallant manner of the free- 
 trader had vanished. In its place there appeared 
 a hesitating and embarrassed air that the indi- 
 vidual 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 cus- 
 tomers where there is a reputation for liberality. 
 I hope my boldness will be overlooked, on ac- 
 count 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 smug- 
 gler, as Ludlow himself. When he expected the 
 heaviest demand on his address, in order to check 
 the usual forward and reckless familiarity of 
 Seadrift, in order that his connection with the 
 " Skimmer of the Seas " might be as much as pos- 
 sible involved in ambiguity, to his own amaze- 
 ment he found his purpose more than aided by 
 the sudden and extraordinary respect with which 
 he was treated. Emboldened, and perhaps a lit- 
 tle elevated in his own esteem, by this unex- 
 pected 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 Avho 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 Eng- 
 land can produce most that a colonist can con- 
 sume ! 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 gantlet unharmed, we gain ; and, 
 w T hen 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 rubers 
 of the world once remove the unnecessary shac- 
 kles they impose on commerce, 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. Mo- 
 tioning 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 de- 
 clining to be seated. 
 
 " These are pretty sentiments, Master Sea- 
 drift, 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 assort- 
 ment of ideas. Hornbooks and primers ! Here 
 have Yan Bummel, Schoenbroeck, and Van der 
 Donck, just sent me a very neatly-folded pam- 
 phlet, 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 throw open their ports, in order to make a 
 millennium among the merchants ! " 
 
A DISSERTATION 
 
 " There are many ingenious men who enter- 
 tain the same opinions," observed Ludlow, steady 
 in his resolution to be merely a quiet observer of 
 all that passed. 
 
 " We cannot a cunning head devise, to spoil 
 the 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. Go, mount your 
 gelding, if you are lucky enough to have one that 
 has not been melted into a weasel by the heart- 
 less 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 hop- 
 ples ? 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. There- 
 fore your heavy weights call out for sand-bags 
 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 similes," continued Lud- 
 low, " if trade be but an exchange of equiva- 
 lents—" 
 
 " 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 ledgers. 
 Here have I advices from Tongue and Twaddle, 
 of London, which state the net 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 are a discreet youth, Cap- 
 tain Cornelius ; and as to you, Master Seadrift, 
 the affair is altogether out of your line — there- 
 fore, as I was observing, here are the items, made 
 only a fortnight since, in the shape of a mem- 
 
 ON SMUGGLING. 119 
 
 orandum ; " 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. 10£. — 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. V. 2. Total of costs and charges, L. 
 20. 1 9. 1£, all in sterling money. Note, sale of 
 furs, to Frost and Rich, net avails, L. 196. 11. 8. 
 — Balance, as per contra, L. 1Y5. 12 5£. — Avery 
 satisfactory equivalent this, Master Cornelius, to 
 appear on the books of Tongue and Twaddle, 
 where I stand charged with the original invest- 
 ment of L. 20. 19. 1\ ! 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 study- 
 ing 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, turn- 
 ing his bark canoe into a good ship, and going in 
 quest of his own ornaments. Enterprise and voy- 
 ages ! Who knows but that the rogue would see 
 fit to stop at London, even ; in which case the 
 mother-country might lose the profit of the sale 
 at Vienna, and the Mohawk set 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 Parlia- 
 ment 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 the rider than with a pack-saddle 
 
120 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 on his back ? Give your own jockey as little, 
 and your adversary's as much weight as you cau, 
 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 the 
 surfeit makes a will necessary." 
 
 " From all which I infer, that the opinions of 
 your Leyden correspondent are not those of Mr. 
 Yan B ever out." 
 
 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 shall send a pamphlet up 
 into the Indian country, and pay some scholar to 
 have.it translated into the Mohawk tongue, in or- 
 der 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 occupa- 
 tion 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 restric- 
 tions are necessary to commerce, the lawless 
 trader is surely left without an excuse for his call- 
 ing." 
 
 " I as much admire yoar discretion in practice 
 as the justice of your sentiments in theory, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow," returned the alderman. " In a 
 rencontre on the high seas, it would be your du- 
 ty to render captive the brigantine of this person ; 
 but, in what may be called the privacy of domes- 
 tic 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 oc- 
 casion, when all is pacific, to disburden myself of 
 some sentiments that suggest themselves very 
 naturally under the circumstances." Myndert 
 then turned himself toward the dealer in contra- 
 band, 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 coun- 
 tenance of one who might be a useful subject, and 
 yet are you suspected of being addicted to cer- 
 tain practices which — I will not say they are dis- 
 honest 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 par- 
 ticular 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 delinquen- 
 cy." The alderman paused a moment to observe 
 the effect of his admonition, and to judge, by the 
 eye of the free-trader, how much further 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 por- 
 tion of my dwelling, which is exclusively inhabit- 
 ed 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 pleas- 
 ure 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 sub- 
 mitted 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 Barberie, 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 unreason- 
 able severity ; since, if old Etienne has communi- 
 cated any hereditary feebleness on the subject of 
 fancy, he has also left his daughter the means 
 of paying for it. Hand in your account, there- 
 fore, 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," con- 
 tinued Myndert, after taking another jealous sur- 
 vey of the countenance of him he addressed ; "but 
 credit is the ornament of its front. This is -a 
 
AN APPOSITE PARALLEL. 
 
 121 
 
 corner-stone ; that the pilasters and carvings by 
 which the building is rendered pleasant ; some- 
 times, 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 unsup- 
 ported by any substantial base. This being the 
 value of credit, Master Seadrift, none should as- 
 sail 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 treck- 
 schuyts, I passed with sufficient deliberation to 
 profit by what was seen, the importance of avoid- 
 ing, on all occasions, bringing credit into disre- 
 pute. As one event that occurred offers an appo- 
 site 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, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, and forewarn the most vigorous and 
 youthful, that the strong arm may be cut down, 
 in his pride, like the tender plant of the fields ! 
 The banking-house of Yan Gelt and Yan Stopper, 
 in Amsterdam, had dealt largely in the securities 
 issued by the emperor for the support of his wars. 
 It happened, at the time, that fortune had favored 
 the Ottoman, who was then pressing the city of 
 Belgrade with some prospects of success. Well, 
 sirs, a head-strong 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 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, con- 
 cerning the probable loss of Yan Gelt and Yan 
 Stopper in consequence. Just as speculation 
 was at its greatest height on this head, the mon- 
 key of a Savoyard escaped from its string, and 
 
 concealed itself in a nut-shop, a few doors dis- 
 tant 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 Yan Gelt had cut his throat, 
 in a summer-house that stood on the banks of 
 the Utrecht canal ; and Yan Stopper was seen 
 smoking a pipe, among strong boxes that were 
 entirely empty. At two o'clock, the post brought 
 the intelligence that the Mussulmans were re- 
 pulsed, and that the laundress was hanged ; though 
 I never knew exactly for what crime, as she cer- 
 tainly 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 con- 
 nected 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 particu- 
 larly 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 com- 
 plaisance 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 per- 
 mitted to rise, it was only to steal uneasy looks 
 at the face of Alida. La belle Barberie had also 
 listened to her uncle's eloquence with a more 
 thoughtful air than common. She met the occa- 
 sional glances of the dealer in contraband, with 
 answering sympathy ; and, in short, the most in- 
 different 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 com- 
 placently dealt out to note the fact. 
 
 " Now that my mind is so well stored with 
 maxims on commerce, which I shall esteem as so 
 
122 
 
 THE .WATER-WITCH. 
 
 many commentaries on the instructions of my 
 Lords of the Admiralty," observed the captain, 
 after a brief interval of silence, " it may be per- 
 mitted to turn our attention to things less meta- 
 physical. The present occasion is favorable to in- 
 quire 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 Pa- 
 troon 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 dis- 
 cretion, 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 mo- 
 ment to act, as a faithful servitor of his royal mis- 
 tress, should arrive. He knew, or firmly believed, 
 that the Water- Witch again lay in the cove, con- 
 cealed 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 offi- 
 cer of the crown was compelled to admit. He 
 therefore bowed with sufficient courtesy, and pro- 
 fessed 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 Fees ; " and, 
 though bent on different objects, we may dis- 
 course amicably on 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 reserva- 
 tion 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, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, in which accident has cast our for- 
 tunes. 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 en- 
 acted ; 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 obe- 
 dient, it is because we have experienced her jus- 
 tice and wisdom. I hope Queen Anne deals as 
 kindly by those who 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 Sea- 
 drift, 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 shown 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. 
 Yan Staats ; still, as the commander of the ship 
 whence he has been — what shall I term the man- 
 ner of his abduction ? — for I would not willingly 
 use, at this moment, a term that may prove dis- 
 agreeable — " 
 
 " 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 or- 
 der to become respectable, roguery must have the 
 sanction of government. You were pleased, Cap- 
 tain Ludlow, to name the mystifications of the 
 Water- Witch ; but you seem indifferent to those 
 that are hourly practised near you in the world, 
 
CAPTAIN LUDLOW'S WARNING. 
 
 123 
 
 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 point of understanding all 
 the excellence of novelty in morals." 
 
 " I believe there is a mandate of sufficient an- 
 tiquity, which bids us to render unto Caesar the 
 things which are Caesar's." 
 
 " A mandate which our modern Ca3sars 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 
 of his neighbors' goods to his own use as ambi- 
 tion, 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 di- 
 mensions that Nature has denied, and which will 
 one day inflict the unfortunate death that befell 
 the ambitious inhabitants of the pool. The gal- 
 lows awaits the pickpocket ; but your robber un- 
 der 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 close- 
 ly to the example it sets, in its collective charac- 
 ter." 
 
 " These are points on which our difference of 
 opinion is likely to be lasting," said Ludlow, as- 
 suming the severe air of one who had the world 
 on his side. " We will defer the discussion to a 
 moment of greater leisure, sir. Am I to learn 
 more of Mr. Yan Staats, or is the question of his 
 fate to become the subject of a serious official in- 
 quiry ? " 
 
 " The Patroon of Kinderhook is a bold board- 
 er ! " returned the free-trader, laughing. " He 
 has carried the residence of the lady of the brig- 
 antine 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 " gayly 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 in- 
 fluence 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 per- 
 sonal pains, and sometimes with — death ! And 
 more — remember that the line which divides 
 smuggling from piracy is easily passed, 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 ; but let her be capricious, 
 wilful, deceitful, nay powerful, 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 cn 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 Alder- 
 man Yan Beverout and his niece still continued. 
 Minute passed after minute, yet there was no 
 summons to the pavilion. The gay young sea- 
 man of the brigantine had continued his studies 
 for some time after the disappearance of Ludlow, 
 and he now evidently awaited an intimation that 
 his presence was required in la Cour des Fees. 
 During these moments of anxiety, the air of the 
 free-trader was sorrowful rather than impa- 
 
124 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 tient ; 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 expect- 
 ant read the following words, hastily written in 
 pencil : 
 
 " I have evaded all his questions, and he is 
 more than half disposed to believe in necroman- 
 cy. This is not the moment to confess the truth, 
 for he is not in a condition to hear it, being al- 
 ready 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 as- 
 sured, 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 pas- 
 sage." 
 
 The last injunction was soon obeyed. The 
 alderman entered by one door, as the active fugi- 
 tive retreated by another ; and where the weary 
 burgher expected to see his guests, he found an 
 empty apartment. This last circumstance, how- 
 ever, gave Myndert Van Beverout but little sur- 
 prise and no concern, as would appear by the in- 
 aifference 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 Ms oppor- 
 tunity, 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 morality ! One must 
 quit trade at some time or other, and begin to 
 close the books. I must seriously think of strik- 
 ing a final balance. If the sum-total was a little 
 more in my favor, it should be done to-morrow ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me ; 
 Made me neglect my studies, lose my time, 
 "War with good counsel, set the world at naught. 1 ' 
 Two Gentlemen of Vekona. 
 
 Ludlow quitted the Lust in Rust with a waver- 
 ing purpose. Throughout the whole of the pre- 
 ceding interview, he had jealously watched the 
 eye and features of la belle Barberie; and he had 
 not failed to draw his conclusions from the mien 
 that too plainly expressed a deep interest in the 
 free-trader. For a time, only, had he been in- 
 duced, by the calmness and self-possession with 
 which she received her uncle and himself, to be- 
 lieve that she had not visited the Water-Witch at 
 all; but when the gay and reckless being who 
 governed the movements of that extraordinary 
 vessel appeared, he could no longer flatter himself 
 with this hope. He now believed that her choice 
 for life had been made ; and, while he deplored 
 the infatuation which could induce so gifted a 
 woman to forget her station and character, he 
 was himself too frank not to see that the individ- 
 ual who had in so short a time gained this ascen- 
 dency over the feelings of Alida, was in many re- 
 spects fitted to exercise a powerful influence over 
 the imagination of a youthful and secluded female. 
 
 There was a struggle in the mind of the young 
 commander, between his duty and his feelings. 
 Remembering the artifice by which he had former- 
 ly fallen into the power of the smugglers, he had 
 taken his precautions so well in the present visit 
 to the villa, that he firmly believed he had the 
 person of his lawless rival at his mercy. To avail 
 himself of this advantage, or to retire and leave him 
 in possession of his mistress and his liberty, was 
 the point mooted in his thoughts. Though direct 
 and simple in his habits, like most of the seamen 
 of that age, Ludlow had all the loftier sentiments 
 that become a gentleman. He felt keenly for 
 Alida, and he shrank, with sensitive pride, from 
 incurring the imputation of having acted under 
 the impulses of disappointment. To these mo- 
 tives of forbearance, was also to be added the in- 
 herent reluctance which, as an officer of rank, he 
 felt to the degradation of being employed in a 
 duty that more properly belongs to men of less 
 elevated ambition. He looked on himself as a de- 
 fender of the rights and glory of his sovereign, 
 and not as a mercenary instrument of those who 
 collected her customs ; and though he would not 
 have hesitated to incur any rational hazard, in cap- 
 turing the vessel of the smuggler, or in making 
 captives of all or any of her crew on their proper 
 element, he disliked the appearance of seeking a 
 
AN UNOBSERVED WITNESS. 
 
 125 
 
 solitary individual on the land. In addition to 
 this feeling, there was his own pledge that he met 
 the proscribed dealer in contraband on neutral 
 ground. Still the officer of the queen had his or- 
 ders, and he could not shut his eyes to the gen- 
 eral obligations of duty. The brigantine was 
 known to inflict so much loss on the revenue of 
 the crown, more particularly in the other hemi- 
 sphere, that an especial order had been issued by 
 the admiral of the station for her capture. Here, 
 then, was an opportunity of depriving the vessel 
 of that master-spirit which, notwithstanding the 
 excellence of its construction, had alone so long 
 enabled it to run the gantlet of a hundred cruisers 
 with impunity. Agitated by these contending 
 feelings and reflections, the young sailor left the 
 door of the villa, and came upon its little lawn, in 
 order to reflect with less interruption, and, in- 
 deed, to breathe more freely. 
 
 The night had advanced into the first watch 
 of the seaman. The shadow of the mountain, 
 however, still covered the grounds of the villa, 
 the river, and the shores of the Atlantic, with a 
 darkness that was deeper than the obscurity which 
 dimmed the surface of the rolling ocean beyond. 
 Objects were so indistinct as to require close 
 and steady looks to ascertain their character, 
 while the setting of the scene might be faintly 
 traced by its hazy and indistinct outlines. The 
 curtains of la Cour des Fees had been drawn, and, 
 though the lights were still shining within, the 
 eye could not penetrate the pavilion. Ludlow 
 gazed about him, and held his way reluctantly 
 toward the water. 
 
 In endeavoring to conceal the interior of 
 her apartment from the eyes of those without, 
 Alida had suffered a corner of the drapery to re- 
 main open. When Ludlow reached the gate that 
 led to the landing, he turned to take a last look 
 at the villa ; and, favored by his new position, he 
 caught a glimpse, through the opening, of the 
 person of her who was still uppermost in his 
 thoughts. 
 
 La belle Barberie was seated at the little table 
 by whose side she had been found earlier in the 
 evening. An elbow rested on the precious wood, 
 and one fair hand supported a brow that was 
 thoughtful beyond the usual character of its ex- 
 pression, if not melancholy. The commander of 
 the Coquette felt the blood rushing to his heart, 
 for he fancied that the beautiful and pensive 
 countenance was that of a penitent. ' It is prob- 
 able that the idea quickened his drooping hopes ; 
 for Ludlow believed it might not yet be too late 
 to rescue the woman he so sincerely loved, from 
 the precipice over which she was suspended. 
 
 The seemingly irretrievable- step already taken 
 was forgotten ; and the generous young sailor 
 was about to rush back to la Cour des Fees, to 
 implore its mistress to be just to herself, when 
 the hand fell from her polished brow, and Alida 
 raised her face, with a look which denoted that 
 she was no longer alone. The captain drew back 
 to watch the issue. 
 
 When Alida lifted her eyes, it was in kind- 
 ness, and with that frank ingenuousness with 
 which an unperverted female greets the counte- 
 nance of those who have her confidence. She 
 smiled, though still in sadness rather than in 
 pleasure ; and she spoke, but the distance prevent- 
 ed her words from being audible. At the next 
 instant Seadrift moved into the space visible 
 through the half-drawn drapery, and took her 
 hand. Alida made no effort to withdraw ; but, 
 on the contrary, she looked up into his face with 
 still less equivocal interest, and appeared to listen 
 to his voice with an absorbed attention. The 
 gate swung violently open, and Ludlow had 
 reached the margin of the river before he again 
 paused. 
 
 The barge of the Coquette was found where 
 her commander had ordered bis people to lie con- 
 cealed, and he was about to enter it, when the 
 noise of the little gate, again shutting with the 
 wind, induced him to cast a look behind. A hu- 
 man form was distinctly to be seen, against the 
 light walls of the villa, descending toward the 
 river. The men were commanded to keep close, 
 and, withdrawing within the shadow of a fence, 
 the captain waited the approach of the new comer. 
 
 As the unknown person passed, Ludlow recog- 
 nized the agile form of the free-trader. The lat- 
 ter advanced to the margin of the river, and 
 gazed warily about him for several minutes. A 
 low but distinct note, on a common ship's call, 
 was then heard. The summons was soon suc- 
 ceeded by the appearance of a small skiff, which 
 glided out of the grass on the opposite side of the 
 stream, and approached the spot where Seadrift 
 awaited its arrival. The free-trader sprang light- 
 ly into the little boat, which immediately began to 
 glide out of the river. As the skiff passed the 
 spot where he stood, Ludlow saw that it was 
 pulled by a single seaman ; and, as his own boat 
 was manned by six lusty rowers, he felt that the 
 person of the man whom he so much envied was 
 at length fairly and honorably in his power. We 
 shall not attempt to analyze the emotion that was 
 ascendant in the mind of the young officer. It is 
 enough for our purpose to add, that he was soon 
 in his boat and in full pursuit. 
 
 As the course to be taken by the barge was 
 
126 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 diagonal rather than direct, a few powerful strokes 
 of the oars brought it so near the skiff, that Lud- 
 low, by placing his hand on the gunwale of the lat- 
 ter, could arrest its progress. 
 
 " Though so lightly' equipped, fortune favors 
 you less in boats than in larger craft, Master Sea- 
 drift," said Ludlow, when, by virtue of a strong 
 arm, he had drawn his prize so near as to find 
 himself seated within a few feet of his prisoner. 
 " We meet on our proper element, where there 
 can be no neutrality between one of the contra- 
 band and a servant of the queen." 
 
 The start, the half-repressed exclamation, and 
 the momentary silence, showed that the captive 
 had been taken completely by surprise. 
 
 "I admit your superior dexterity," he at 
 length said, speaking low and not without agita- 
 tion. " I am your prisoner, Captain Ludlow ; and 
 I would now wish to know your intentions in dis- 
 posing of my person ? " 
 
 " That is soon answered. You must be con- 
 tent to take the homely accommodations of the 
 Coquette for the night, instead of the more luxu- 
 rious cabin of your Water- Witch. What the au- 
 thorities of the province may decide to-morrow, 
 it exceeds the knowledge of a poor commander in 
 the navy to say." 
 
 " The Lord Cornbury has retired to — ? " 
 
 " A jail," said Ludlow, observing that the 
 other spoke more like one who mused than like 
 one who asked a question. " The kinsman of 
 our gracious queen speculates on the chances of 
 human fortune, within the walls of a prison. His 
 successor, the brigadier Hunter, is thought to 
 have less sympathy for the moral infirmities of 
 human nature ! " 
 
 " We deal lightly with dignities ! " exclaimed 
 the captive, with all his former gayety of tone and 
 manner. " You have your revenge for some per- 
 sonal liberties that were certainly taken, not a 
 fortnight since, with this boat and her crew ; still, 
 I much mistake your character if unnecessary 
 severity forms one of its features. May I com- 
 municate with the brigantine ? " 
 
 " Freely — when she is once in the care of a 
 queen's officer." 
 
 " Oh, sir, you disparage the qualities of my 
 mistress, in supposing there exists a parallel with 
 your own ! The Water- Witch will go at large till 
 a far different personage shall become your cap- 
 tive. — May I communicate with the shore ? " 
 
 " To that there exists no objection — if you will 
 point out the means." 
 
 " I have one, here, who will prove a faithful 
 messenger." 
 
 " Too faithful to the delusion which governs 
 
 all your followers ! Your man must be your com- 
 panion in the Coquette, Master Seadrift, though," 
 and Ludlow spoke in melancholy, " if there be 
 any on the land who take so near an interest in 
 your welfare as to find more sorrow in uncertain- 
 ty than in the truth, one of my own crew, in any 
 of whom confidence may be placed, shall do your 
 errand." 
 
 " Let it be so," returned the free-trader, as if 
 satisfied that he could, in reason, expect no more. 
 " Take this ring to the lady of yonder dwelling," 
 he continued, when Ludlow had selected the mes- 
 senger, " and say that he who sends it is about to 
 visit the cruiser of Queen Anne in company with 
 her commander. Should there be question of the 
 motive, you can speak to the manner of my ar- 
 rest." 
 
 " And mark me, fellow — " added the captain ; 
 "that duty done, look to the idlers on the shore, 
 and see that no boat quits the river, to apprise 
 the smugglers of their loss." 
 
 The man, who was armed in the fashion of a 
 seaman on boat duty, received these orders with 
 the customary deference ; and, the barge having 
 drawn to the shore for that purpose, he landed. 
 
 " And now, Master Seadrift, having thus far 
 complied with your wishes, I may expect you will 
 not be deaf to mine. Here is a seat at your ser- 
 vice in my barge, and I confess it will please me 
 to see it occupied." 
 
 As the captain spoke, he reached forth an 
 arm, partly in natural complaisance, and partly 
 with a carelessness that denoted some conscious- 
 ness of the difference in their rank, both to aid 
 the other to comply with his request, and, at 
 need, to enforce it. But the free-trader seemed 
 to repel the familiarity ; for he drew back, at 
 first, like one who shrank sensitively from the con- 
 tact, and then, without touchingthe arm that was 
 extended with a purpose so equivocal, he passed 
 lightly from the skiff into the barge, declining 
 assistance. The movement was scarcely made, 
 before Ludlow quitted the latter, and occupied 
 the place which Seadrift had just vacated. He 
 commanded one of his men to exchange with the 
 seaman of the brigantine ; and, having made these 
 preparations, he again addressed his prisoner. 
 
 " I commit you to the care of my cockswain 
 and these worthy tars, Master Seadrift. We 
 shall steer different ways. You will take pos- 
 session of my cabin, where all will be at your 
 disposal ; ere the middle watch is called, I shall 
 be there to prevent the pennant from coming 
 down, and your sea-green flag turning the peo- 
 ple's heads from their allegiance." 
 
 Ludlow then whispered his orders to his cock- 
 
I 
 
The Water-Witch, p. 127. 
 
A SECRET CRUISE. 
 
 127 
 
 swain, and they separated. The barge proceeded 
 to the mouth of the river, with the long and 
 stately sweep of the oars that marks the progress 
 of a man-of-war's boat ; while the skiff followed 
 noiselessly, and, aided by its color and dimensions, 
 nearly invisible. 
 
 When the two boats entered the waters of 
 the bay, the barge held on its course toward the 
 distant ship ; while the skiff inclined to the right, 
 and steered directly for the bottom of the cove. 
 The precaution of the dealer in contraband had 
 provided his little boat with muffled sculls; and 
 Ludlow, when he was enabled to discover the 
 fine tracery of the lofty and light spars of the 
 Water-Witch, as they rose above the tops of the 
 dwarf trees that line the shore, had no reason to 
 think his approach was known. Once assured 
 of the presence and position of the brigantine, he 
 was enabled to make his advances with all the 
 caution that might be necessary. 
 
 Some ten or fifteen minutes were required to 
 bring the skiff beneath the bowsprit of the beau- 
 tiful craft, without giving the alarm to those who 
 doubtless were watching on her decks. The suc- 
 cess of our adventurer, however, appeared to be 
 complete ; for he was soon holding by the cable, 
 and not the smallest sound of any kind had been 
 heard in the brigantine. Ludlow now regretted 
 he had not entered the cove with his barge ; foi*, 
 so profound and unsuspecting was the quiet of 
 the vessel, that he doubted not his ability to have 
 carried her by a coup-de-main. Vexed by his 
 oversight, and excited by the prospects of success, 
 he began to devise those expedients which would 
 naturally suggest themselves to a seaman in his 
 situation. 
 
 The wind was southerly, and, though not 
 strong, it was charged with the dampness and 
 heaviness of the night air. As the brigantine 
 lay protected from the influence of the tides, she 
 obeyed the currents of the other element; and, 
 while her bows looked outward, her stern pointed 
 toward the bottom of the basin. The distance 
 from the land was not fifty fathoms, and Ludlow 
 did not fail to perceive that the vessel rode by a 
 kedge, and that her anchors, of which there was a 
 good provision, were all snugly stowed. These 
 facts induced the hope that he might separate the 
 hawser that alone held the brigantine, which, in 
 the event of his succeeding, he had every reason 
 to believe would drift ashore, before the alarm 
 could be given to her crew, sail set, or an anchor 
 let go. Although neither he nor his companion 
 possessed any other implement to effect this ob- 
 ject than the large seaman's knife of the latter, 
 the temptation was too great not to make the 
 
 trial. The project was flattering ; for, though the 
 vessel in that situation would receive no serious 
 injury, the unavoidable delay of heaving her off 
 the sands would enable his boats, and perhaps 
 the ship herself, to reach the place in time to 
 secure their prize. The bargeman was asked for 
 his knife, and Ludlow himself made the first cut 
 upon the solid and difficult mass. The steel had 
 no sooner touched the compact yarns, than a daz- 
 zling glare of light shot into the face of him who 
 held it. Recovering from the shock and rubbing 
 his eyes, our startled adventurer gazed upward, 
 with that consciousness of wrong which assails 
 us when detected in any covert act, however laud- 
 able may be its motive ; a sort of homage that 
 Nature, under every circumstance, pays to loyal 
 dealings. 
 
 Though Ludlow felt, at the instant of this in- 
 terruption, that he stood in jeopardy of his life, 
 the concern it awakened was momentarily lost in 
 the spectacle before him. The bronzed and un- 
 earthly features of the image were brightly illumi- 
 nated ; and, while her eyes looked on him steadily, 
 as if watching his smallest movement, her malign 
 and speaking smile appeared to turn his futile 
 effort into scorn ! There was no need to bid the 
 seaman at the oars do his duty. No sooner did 
 he catch the expression of that mysterious face, 
 than the skiff whirled away from the spot, like a 
 seafowl taking wing under alarm. Though Lud- 
 low at each moment expected a shot, even the 
 imminence of the danger did not prevent him 
 from gazing, in absorbed attention, at the image. 
 The light by which it was illumined, though con- 
 densed, powerful, and steadily cast, wavered a 
 little, and exhibited her attire. Then the captain 
 saw the truth of what Seadrift had asserted ; for 
 by some process of the machine into which he 
 had not leisure to inquire, the sea-green mantle 
 had been changed for a slighter robe of the azure 
 of the deep waters. As if satisfied with having 
 betrayed the intention of the sorceress to depart, 
 the light immediately vanished. 
 
 " This mummery is well maintained," muttered 
 Ludlow, when the skiff had reached a distance 
 that assured him of safety. " Here is a symptom 
 that the rover means soon to quit the coast. The 
 change of dress is some signal to his superstitious 
 and deluded crew. It is my task to disappoint 
 his mistress, as he terms her, though it must be 
 confessed that she does not sleep at her post." 
 
 During the ten succeeding minutes, our foiled 
 adventurer had leisure, no less than motive, to 
 feel how necessary is success to any project whose 
 means admit of dispute. Had the hawser been 
 cut and the brigantine stranded, it is probable 
 
128 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 that the undertaking of the captain would have 
 been accounted among those happy expedients 
 which, in all pursuits, are thought to distinguish 
 the mental efforts of men particularly gifted by 
 Nature ; while, under the actual circumstances, 
 he who would have reaped all the credit of so 
 felicitous an idea, was mentally chafing with the 
 apprehension that his unlucky design might be- 
 come known. His companion was no other than 
 Robert Yarn, the foretop-man, who, on a former 
 occasion, had been heard to affirm that he had 
 already enjoyed so singular a view of the lady of 
 the brigantine, while assisting to furl the foretop- 
 sail of the Coquette. 
 
 " This has been a false board, Master Tarn," 
 observed the captain, when the skiff was past the 
 entrance of the cove, and some distance down the 
 bay; "for the credit of our cruise, we will not 
 enter the occurrence in the log. You understand 
 me, sir ; I trust a word is sufficient for so shrewd 
 a wit ? " 
 
 " I hope I know my duty, your honor, which 
 is to obey orders, though it may break owners," 
 returned the topman. " Cutting a hawser with a 
 knife is but slow work in the best of times ; but 
 though one who has little right to speak in the 
 presence of a gentleman so well taught, it is my 
 opinion that the steel is not yet sharpened which 
 is to part any rope aboard yon rover, without the 
 consent of the black-looking woman under her 
 bowsprit." 
 
 " And what is the opinion of the berth-deck 
 concerning this strange brigantine, that we have 
 so long been following without success ? " 
 
 " That we shall follow her till the last biscuit 
 is eaten, and the scuttle-butt shall be dry, with 
 no better fortune. It is not my business to teach 
 your honor, but there is not a man in the ship 
 who ever expects to be a farthing the better for 
 her capture. Men are of many minds concerning 
 the 1 Skimmer of the Seas ; ! but all are agreed that, 
 unless aided by some uncommon luck, which may 
 amount to the same thing as being helped by him 
 who seldom lends a hand to any honest under- 
 taking, he is altogether such a seaman as another 
 like him does not sail the ocean ! " 
 
 " I am sorry that my people should have rea- 
 son to think so meanly of our own skill. The 
 ship has not yet had a fair chance. Give her an 
 open sea, and a capful of wind, and she'll defy 
 all the black women that the brigantine can stow. 
 As to your ' Skimmer of the Seas,' man or devil, 
 he is our prisoner." 
 
 " And does your honor believe that the trim- 
 built and light-sailing gentleman we overhauled 
 in this skiff is in truth that renowned rover ? " 
 
 asked Yarn, resting on his sculls in the interest 
 of the moment. " There are some on board the 
 ship who maintain that the man in question is tall- 
 er than the big tide-waiter at Plymouth, with a 
 pair of shoulders — " 
 
 " I have reason to know that they are mis- 
 taken. If we are more enlightened than our ship- 
 mates, Master Yarn, let us be close-mouthed, that 
 others do not steal our knowledge— hold, here is 
 a crown with the face of King Louis ; he is our 
 bitterest enemy, and you may swallow him whole, 
 if you please, or take him in morsels, as shall 
 best suit your humor. But remember that our 
 cruise in the skiff is under secret orders, and the 
 less we say about the anchor-watch of the brigan- 
 tine the better." 
 
 Honest Bob took the piece of silver with a 
 gusto that no opinions of the marvellous could 
 dimmish ; and, touching his hat, he did not fail to 
 make the usual protestations of discretion. That 
 night the messmates and the foretop-man endeav- 
 ored in vain to extract from him the particulars 
 of his excursion with the captain ; though the 
 direct answers to their home questions were only 
 evaded by allusions so dark and ambiguous as 
 to give to that superstitious feeling of the crew, 
 which Ludlow had wished to lull, twice its original 
 force. 
 
 Not long after this short dialogue, the skiff 
 reached the side of the Coquette. Her command- 
 er found his prisoner in possession of his own 
 cabin, and, though grave if not sad in demeanor, 
 perfectly self-possessed. His arrival had pro- 
 duced a deep effect on the officers and men, 
 though, like Yarn, most of both classes refused 
 to believe that the handsome and gayly-attired 
 youth they had been summoned to receive was 
 the notorious dealer in contraband. 
 
 Light observers of the forms under which hu- 
 man qualities are exhibited too often mistake 
 their outward signs. Though it is quite in rea- 
 son to believe that he who mingles much in rude 
 and violent scenes should imbibe some of their 
 rough and repelling aspects, still it would seem 
 that, as the stillest waters commonly conceal the 
 deepest currents, so the powers to awaken ex- 
 traordinary events are not unfrequently cloaked 
 under a chastened and sometimes under a cold 
 exterior. It has often happened that the most 
 desperate and self-willed men are those whose 
 mien and manners would give reason to expect 
 the mildest and most tractable dispositions ; 
 while he who has seemed a lion sometimes proves, 
 in his real nature, to be little better than a lamb. 
 
 Ludlow had reason to see that the incredulity 
 of his topman had extended to most on board ; 
 
THE LADY OF THE BRIGANTINE. 
 
 129 
 
 and, as lie could not conquer his tenderness on 
 the subject of Alida and all that concerned her, 
 while on the other hand there existed no motive 
 for immediately declaring the truth, he rather 
 favored the general impression by his silence. 
 First giving some orders of the last importance at 
 that moment, he passed into the cabin, and sought 
 a private interview with his captive. 
 
 " That vacant state-room is at your service, 
 Master Seadrift," he observed, pointing to the 
 little apartment opposite to the one he occupied 
 himself. " We are likely to be shipmates several 
 days, unless you choose to shorten the time by 
 entering into a capitulation for the Water- Witch, 
 in which case — " 
 
 " You had a proposition to make." 
 
 Ludlow hesitated, cast an eye behind him, to 
 be certain they were alone, and drew nearer to 
 his captive. 
 
 " Sir, I will deal with you as becomes a sea- 
 man. La belle Barberie is dearer to me than 
 ever woman was before ; dearer, I fear, than ever 
 woman will be again. You need not learn that 
 circumstances have occurred — Do you love the 
 lady? " 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " And she — fear not to trust the secret to one 
 who will not abuse the trust — returns she your 
 affection?" 
 
 The mariner of the brigantine drew back with 
 dignity ; then, instantly recovering his ease, as 
 if fearful he might forget himself, he said with 
 warmth : 
 
 "This trifling with woman's weakness is the 
 besetting sin of man ! None may speak of her 
 inclinations, Captain Ludlow, but herself. It 
 never shall be said that any of the sex had aught 
 but fitting reverence for their dependent state, 
 their constant and confiding love, their faithful- 
 ness in all the world's trials, and their singleness 
 of heart, from me." 
 
 " These sentiments do you honor ; and I could 
 wish, for your own sake, as well as that of others, 
 there was less of contrariety in your character. 
 One cannot but grieve — " 
 
 "You had a proposition for the brigan- 
 tine?" 
 
 " I would have said that, were the vessel yielded 
 without further pursuit, means might be found 
 to soften the blow to those who will otherwise be 
 most wounded by her capture." 
 
 The face of the dealer in contraband had lost 
 some of its usual brightness and animation ; the 
 color of the cheek was not as rich, and the eye 
 was less at ease, than in his former interviews with 
 Ludlow. But a smile of security crossed bis fine 
 !.-'' 9 
 
 features when the other spoke of the fate of the 
 brigantine. 
 
 " The keel of the ship that is to capture the 
 Water-Witch is not yet laid," he said, firmly; 
 " nor is the canvas that is to drive her through the 
 water wove ! Our mistress is not so heedless as 
 to sleep when there is most occasion for her ser- 
 vices." 
 
 " This mummery of a supernatural aid may 
 be of use in holding the minds of the ignorant be- 
 ings who follow your fortunes, in subjection, but 
 it is lost when, addressed to me. I have ascer- 
 tained the position of the brigantine — nay, I have 
 been under her very bowsprit, and so near her 
 cut-water as to have examined her moorings. 
 Measures are now taking to improve my knowl- 
 edge, and to secure the prize." 
 
 The free-trader heard him without exhibiting 
 alarm, though he listened with an attention that 
 rendered his breathing audible. 
 
 " You found my people vigilant ? " he rather 
 carelessly observed, than asked. 
 
 " So much so that I have said the skiff was 
 pulled beneath her martingale without a hail ! 
 Had there been means, it would not have required 
 many moments to cut the hawser by which she 
 rides, and to have laid your beauteous vessel 
 ashore ! " 
 
 The gleam of Seadrift's eye was like the glance 
 of an eagle. It seemed to inquire, and to resent, 
 in the same instant. Ludlow shrank from the 
 piercing look, and reddened to the brow — wheth- 
 er with his recollections, or not, it is unnecessary 
 to explain. 
 
 " The worthy device was thought of! — nay, it 
 was attempted ! " exclaimed the other, gathering 
 confirmation in the consciousness of his compan- 
 ion. " You did not — you could not succeed ! " 
 
 " Our success will be proved in the result." 
 
 " The lady of the brigantine forgot not her 
 charge ! You saw her bright eye — her dark and 
 meaning face ! Light shone on that mysterious 
 countenance — my words are true, Ludlow ; thy 
 tongue is silent, but that honest countenance con- 
 fesses all ! " 
 
 The gay dealer in contraband turned away, 
 and laughed in his merriest manner. 
 
 "I knew it would be so," he continued; 
 "what is the absence of one humble actor from 
 her train ? Trust me, you will find her coy as 
 ever, and ill-disposed to hold converse with a 
 cruiser who speaks so rudely through his cannon. 
 Ha ! — here are auditors ! " 
 
 An officer, to announce the near approach of 
 a boat, entered. Both Ludlow and his prisoner 
 started at this intelligence, and it was not diffi- 
 
130 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 cult to fancy, both believed that a message from 
 the Water-Witch might be expected. The for- 
 mer hastened on deck ; while the latter, notwith- 
 standing a self-possession that was so much prac- 
 tised, could not remain entirely at his ease. He 
 passed into the state-room, and it is more than 
 probable that he availed himself of the window 
 of its quarter-gallery to reconnoitre those who 
 were so unexpectedly coming to the ship. 
 
 But, after the usual hail and reply, Ludlow no 
 longer anticipated any proposal from the brigan- 
 tine. The answer had been what, a seaman would 
 call lubberly ; or it wanted that Attic purity that 
 men of the profession rarely fail to use on all occa- 
 sions, and by the means of which they can tell 
 a pretender to their mysteries, with a quickness 
 that is almost instinctive. When the short, quick 
 " Boat ahoy ! " of the sentinel on the gangway, 
 was answered by the "What do you want ? " of a 
 startled respondent in the boat, it was received 
 among the crew of the Coquette with such a sneer 
 as the tyro, who has taken two steps in any par- 
 ticular branch of knowledge, is apt to bestow 
 on the blunders of him who has taken but one. 
 
 A deep silence reigned, while a party consist- 
 ing of two men and as many females mounted 
 the side of the ship, leaving a sufficient number of 
 forms behind them in the boat to man its oars. 
 Notwithstanding more than one light was held in 
 such a manner as would have discovered the 
 faces of the strangers had they not all been close- 
 ly muffled, the party passed into the cabin with- 
 out recognition. 
 
 " Master Cornelius Ludlow, one might as well 
 put on the queen's livery at once, as to be steer- 
 ing in this uncertain manner, between the Co- 
 quette and the land, like a protested note sent 
 from indorser to indorser, to be paid," com- 
 menced Alderman Van Beverout, uncasing him- 
 self in the great cabin with the coolest delibera- 
 tion, while his niece sank into a chair unbidden, 
 her two attendants standing near in submissive 
 silence. " Here is Alida, who has insisted on 
 paying so unseasonabie a visit, and, what is worse 
 still, on dragging me in her train, though I am 
 past the day of following a woman about, merely 
 because she happens to have a pretty face. The 
 hour is unseasonable, and as to the motive — why, 
 if Master Seadrift has got a little out of his 
 course, no great harm can come of it, while the 
 affair is in the hands of so discreet and amiable 
 an officer as yourself." 
 
 The alderman became suddenly mute ; for the 
 door of the state-room opened, and the individual 
 "he had named entered in person. 
 
 Ludlow needed no other explanation than the 
 
 knowledge of the persons of his guests, to under- 
 stand the motive of their visit. Turning to Al- 
 derman Van Beverout, he said, with a bitterness 
 he could not repress : 
 
 "My presence may be intrusive. TJse the 
 cabin as freely as your own house, and rest as- 
 sured that while it is thus honored, it shall be 
 sacred to its present uses. My duty calls me to 
 the deck." 
 
 The young man bowed, and hurried from 
 the place. As he passed Alida, he caught a 
 gleam of her dark and eloquent eye, and he con- 
 strued the glance into an expression of grati- 
 tude. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 " If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twera well 
 It were done quickly." 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 The words of the immortal poet with which, 
 in deference to an ancient usage in the litera- 
 ture of the language, we have prefaced the inci- 
 dents to be related in this chapter, are in per- 
 fect conformity with that governing maxim of a 
 vessel, which is commonly found embodied in its 
 standing orders, and which prescribes the neces- 
 sity of exertion and activity in the least of its 
 operations. A strongly-manned ship, like a strong 
 armed man, is fond of showing its physical pow- 
 er, for it is one of the principal secrets of its effi- 
 ciency. In a profession in which there is an un- 
 ceasing contest with the wild and fickle winds, 
 and in which human efforts are to be manifested in 
 the control of a delicate and fearful machinery on 
 an inconstant element, this governing principle be- 
 comes of the last importance. Where " delay may 
 so easily be death," it soon gets to be a word that 
 is expunged from the language ; and there is per- 
 haps no truth more necessary to be known to all 
 young aspirants for naval success than that, 
 while nothing should be attempted in a hurry, 
 nothing should be done without the last degree 
 of activity that is compatible with precision. 
 
 The commander of the Coquette had early 
 been impressed with the truth of the foregoing 
 rule, and he had not neglected its application in 
 the discipline of his crew. When he reached the 
 deck, therefore, after relinquishing the cabin to 
 his visitors, he found those preparations which 
 he had ordered to be commenced when he first 
 returned to the ship, already far advanced tow- 
 ard their execution. As these movements are 
 closely connected with the future events it is our 
 
THE COQUETTE'S PREPARATIONS FOR SEA. 
 
 131 
 
 duty to explain, we shall relate them with some 
 particularity. 
 
 Ludlow had no sooner given his orders to the 
 officer in charge of the deck, than the call of the 
 boatswain was heard summoning all hands to 
 their duty. When the crew was collected, tackles 
 were hooked to the large boats stowed in the 
 centre of the ship, and the whole of them were 
 lowered into the water. The descent of those 
 suspended on the quarters was of course less 
 difficult, and much sooner effected. So soon as 
 all the boats, with . the exception of one at the 
 stern, were out, the order was given to " cross 
 top-gallant-yards." This duty had been com- 
 menced while other things were in the course of 
 performance, and a minute had scarcely passed 
 before the upper masts were again in possession 
 of their light sails. Then was heard the usual 
 summons of " all hands up anchor, ahoy ! " and 
 the rapid orders of the young officers to " man 
 capstan-bars," to " nipper," and finally to " heave 
 away." The business of getting the anchor on 
 board a cruiser, and on board a ship engaged in 
 commerce, is of very different degrees of labor, as 
 well as of expedition. In the latter, a dozen 
 men apply their powers to a slow-moving and re- 
 luctant windlass, while the untractable cable, as 
 it enters, is broken into coils by the painful ef- 
 forts of a grumbling cook, thwarted, perhaps, as 
 much as he is aided by the waywardness of 
 some wilful urchin who does the services of the 
 cabin. On the other hand, the upright and con- 
 stantly-moving capstan knows no delay. The re- 
 volving " messenger " is ever ready to be applied 
 and skilful petty officers are always in the tiers 
 to dispose of the massive rope, that it may not 
 encumber the decks. 
 
 Ludlow appeared among his people while they 
 were thus employed. Ere he had made one has- 
 ty turn on the quarter-deck, he was met by the 
 busy first-lieutenant. 
 
 " We are short, sir," said that agent of all 
 work. 
 
 " Set your topsails." 
 
 The canvas was instantly permitted to fall, 
 and it was no sooner stretched to the yards, than 
 force was applied to the halyards, and the sails 
 were hoisted. 
 
 " Which way, sir, do you wish the ship cast ? " 
 demanded the attentive Luff. 
 
 " To seaward." 
 
 The head-yards were accordingly braced aback 
 in the proper direction, and it was then reported 
 to the captain that all was ready to get the ship 
 under way. 
 
 " Trip the anchor at once, sir ; when it is 
 
 stowed, and the decks are cleared, report to 
 me." 
 
 This sententious and characteristic communi- 
 cation was sufficient for all the purposes of that 
 moment. The one was accustomed to issue his 
 orders without explanation, and the other never 
 hesitated to obey, and rarely presumed to inquire 
 into their motive. 
 
 " We are aweigh and stowed, sir ; every thing 
 clear," said Mr. Luff, after a few minutes had 
 been allowed to execute the preceding com- 
 mands. 
 
 Ludlow then seemed to arouse himself from a 
 deep reverie. He had hitherto spoken mechanical- 
 ly, rather than as one conscious of what he uttered, 
 or whose feelings had any connection with his 
 words. But it was now necessary to mingle with his 
 officers and to issue mandates that, as they were 
 less in routine, required both thought and dis- 
 cretion. The crews of the different boats were 
 " called away," and arms were placed in their 
 hands. When nearly or quite one-half of the ship's 
 company were in the boats, and the latter were 
 all reported to be ready, officers were assigned to 
 each, and the particular service expected at their 
 hands was distinctly explained. 
 
 A master's mate in the captain's barge, with 
 the crew strengthened by half a dozen marines, 
 was ordered to pull directly for the cove, into 
 which he was to enter with muffled oars, and 
 where he was to await a signal from the first-lieu- 
 tenant, unless he met the brigantine endeavoring 
 to escape, in which case his orders were impera- 
 tive to board and carry her at every hazard. The 
 high-spirited youth no sooner received this charge, 
 than he quitted the ship and steered to the south- 
 ward, keeping inside the tongue of land so often 
 named. 
 
 Luff was then told to take command of the 
 launch. With this heavy and strongly-manned 
 boat, he was ordered to proceed to the inlet, 
 where he was to give the signal to the barge, and 
 whence he was to go to the assistance of the lat- 
 ter, so soon as he was assured the Water- Witch 
 could not again escape by the secret passage. 
 
 The two cutters were intrusted to the command 
 of the second-lieutenant, with orders to pull into 
 the broad passage between the end of the cape, 
 or the " Hook," and that long, narrow island 
 which stretches from the harbor of New York 
 for more than forty leagues to the eastward, shel- 
 tering the whole coast of Connecticut from the 
 tempests of the ocean. Ludlow knew, though 
 ships of a heavy draught were obliged to pass 
 close to the cape, in order to gain the open sea, 
 that a light brigantine, like the Water-Witch, 
 
132 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 could find a sufficient depth of water for her pur- 
 poses farther north. The cutters were, therefore, 
 sent in that direction, with orders to cover as 
 much of the channel as possible, and to carry 
 the smuggler should an occasion offer. Finally, 
 the yawl was to occupy the space between the 
 two channels, with orders to repeat signals, and 
 to be vigilant in reconnoitring. 
 
 While the different officers intrusted with 
 these duties were receiving their instructions, the 
 ship, under the charge of Trysail, began to move 
 toward the cape. When off the point of the 
 Hook, the two cutters and the yawl " cast off," 
 and took to their oars, and, when fairly without 
 the buoys, the launch did the same, each boat 
 taking its prescribed direction. 
 
 If the reader retains a distinct recollection of 
 the scene described in one of the earlier pages of 
 this work, he will understand the grounds on which 
 Ludlow based his hopes of success. By sending 
 the launch into the inlet, he believed he should 
 enclose the brigantine on every side ; since her 
 escape 'through either of the ordinary channels 
 would become impossible, while he kept the 
 Coquette in the offing. The service he expected 
 from the three boats sent to the northward, was 
 to trace the movement of the smuggler, and, 
 should a suitable opportunity offer, to attempt to 
 carry him by surprise. 
 
 When the launch parted from the ship, the 
 Coquette came slowly up to the wind, and, with 
 her fore-topsail thrown to the mast, she lay, wait- 
 ing to allow her boats the time necessary to reach 
 their several stations. The different expeditions 
 had reduced the force of the crew quite one-half, 
 and as both the lieutenants were otherwise em- 
 ployed, there now remained on board no officer 
 of a rank between those of the captain and Try- 
 sail. Some time after the vessel had been sta- 
 tionary, and the men had been ordered to keep 
 close, or, in other words, to dispose of their per- 
 sons as they pleased, with a view to permit them 
 to catch " cat's naps," as some compensation for 
 the loss of their regular sleep, the latter ap- 
 proached his superior, who stood gazing over the 
 hammock-cloths in the direction of the cove, and 
 spoke. 
 
 " A dark night, smooth water, and fresh hands, 
 make boating agreeable duty ! " he said. " The 
 gentlemen are in fine heart, and full of young 
 men's hopes ; but he who lays that brigantine 
 aboard will, in my poor judgment, have more 
 work to do than merely getting up her side. I 
 was in the foremost boat that boarded a Spaniard 
 in the Mona, last war ; and though we went into 
 her with light heels, some of us were brought out 
 
 with broken heads. I think the foretop-gallant- 
 mast has a better set, Captain Ludlow, since we 
 gave the last pull at the rigging ? " 
 
 " It stands well," returned his half-attentive 
 commander. " Give it the other drag, if you think 
 best." 
 
 " Just as you please, sir ; 'tis all one to me. 
 I care not if the mast is hove all of one side, like 
 the hat on the head of a country buck ; but 
 when a thing is as it ought to be, reason would 
 tell us to let it alone. Mr. Luff was of opinion 
 that, by altering the slings of the main-yard, we 
 should give a better set to the topsail-sheets ; but 
 it was little that could be done with the stick 
 aloft, and I am ready to pay her majesty the dif- 
 ference between the wear of the sheets as they 
 stand now, and as Mr. Luff would have them, out 
 of my own pocket, though it is often as empty 
 as a parish church in which a fox-hunting parson 
 preaches. I was present, once, when a real tally- 
 ho was reading the service, and one of your god- 
 less squires got in the wake of a fox, with his 
 hounds, within hail of the church-windows ! The 
 cries had some such effect on my roarer as a 
 puff of wind would have on this ship ; that is to 
 say he sprung his luff, and, though he kept on 
 muttering something I never knew what, his eyes 
 were in the fields the whole time the pack was in 
 view. But this wasn't the worst of it ; for, when 
 he got fairly back to his work again, the wind had 
 been blowing the leaves of his book about, and he 
 plumped us into the middle of the marriage cere- 
 mony. I am no great lawyer, but there were those 
 who said it was a god-send that half the young 
 men in the parish weren't married to their own 
 grandmothers ! " 
 
 " I hope the match was agreeable to the fam- 
 ily," said Ludlow, relieving one elbow by resting 
 the weight of his head on the other. 
 
 " YvTiy, as to that, I will not take upon me to 
 say, since the clerk corrected the parson's reck- 
 oning before the mischief was entirely done. 
 There has been a little dispute between me and 
 the first-lieutenant, Captain Ludlow, concerning 
 the trim of the ship. He maintains that we have 
 got too much in forward of what he calls the cen- 
 tre of gravity; and he is of opinion that had we 
 been less by the head, the smuggler would never 
 have had the heels of us in the chase ; whereas I in- 
 vite any man to lay a craft on her water-line — " 
 
 " Show our light ! " interrupted Ludlow. 
 " Yonder goes the signal of the launch ! " 
 
 Trysail ceased speaking, and, stepping on a 
 gun, he began to gaze in the direction of the 
 cove. A lantern, or some other bright object, 
 was leisurely raised three times, and as often hid 
 
ANOTHER 
 
 from view. The signal came from under the land, 
 and in a quarter that left no doubt of its object. 
 
 " So far -well," cried the captain, quitting his 
 stand, and turning, for the first time, with con- 
 sciousness, to his officer. " 'Tis a sign that they 
 are at the inlet, and that the offing is clear. I 
 think, Master Trysail, we are now sure of our 
 prize. Sweep the horizon thoroughly with the 
 night-glass, and then we will close upon this 
 boasted brigantine." 
 
 Both took glasses, and devoted several min- 
 utes to this duty. A careful examination of the 
 margin of the sea, from the coast of New Jersey 
 to that of Long Island, gave them reason to be- 
 lieve that nothing of any size was lying without 
 the cape. The sky was more free from clouds 
 to the eastward than under the land, and it was 
 not difficult to make certain of this important 
 fact. It gave them the assurance that the Water- 
 Witch had not escaped by the secret passage, 
 during the time lost in their own preparations. 
 
 " This is still well," continued Ludlow. " Now 
 he cannot avoid us — show the triangle." 
 
 Three lights disposed in the form just named 
 were then hoisted at the gaff-end of the Coquette. 
 It was an order for the boats in the cove to pro- 
 ceed. The signal was quickly answered from the 
 launch, and a small rocket was seen sailing over 
 the trees and shrubbery of the shore. All on 
 board the Coquette listened intently, to catch 
 some sound that should denote the tumult of an 
 assault. Once Ludlow and Trysail thought the 
 cheers of seamen came on the thick air of the 
 night; and once, again, either fancy or their 
 senses told them they heard the menacing hail 
 which commanded the outlaws to submit. Many 
 minutes of intense anxiety succeeded. The whole 
 of the hammock-cloths on the side of the ship 
 nearest to the land were lined with curious faces, 
 though respect left Ludlow to the sole occupation 
 of the short and light deck which covered the ac- 
 commodations, whither he had ascended, to com- 
 mand a more perfect view of the horizon. 
 
 " 'Tis time to hear their musketry, or to see 
 the signal of success ! " said the young man to 
 himself, so intently occupied by his interest in 
 the undertaking as to be unconscious of having 
 spoken. 
 
 " Have you forgotten to provide a signal for 
 failure ? " said one at his elbow. 
 
 " Ha ! Master Seadrift — I would have spared 
 you this spectacle." 
 
 " 'Tis one too often witnessed to be singular. 
 A life passed on the ocean has not left me igno- 
 rant of the effect of night, with a view seaward, 
 a dark coast, and a background of mountain ! " 
 
 FAILURE. 133 
 
 " You have confidence in him left in charge 
 of your brigantine ! I shall have faith in your 
 sea-green lady myself, if he escape my boats this 
 time." 
 
 " See ! — there is a token of her fortune," re- 
 turned the other, pointing toward three lanterns 
 that were shown at the inlet's mouth, and over 
 which many lights were burnt in rapid succession. 
 
 " 'Tis of failure ! Let the ship fall-off, and 
 square away the yards ! Round in, men, round 
 in. We will run down to the entrance of the 
 bay, Mr. Trysail. The knaves have been aided 
 by their lucky star ! " 
 
 Ludlow spoke with deep vexation in his tones, 
 but always with the authority of a superior and 
 the promptitude of a seaman. The motionless 
 being, near him, maintained a profound silence. 
 No exclamation of triumph escaped him, nor did 
 he open his lips either in pleasure or in surprise. 
 It appeared as if confidence in his vessel rendered 
 him as much superior to exultation as to appre- 
 hension. 
 
 "You look upon this exploit of your brigan- 
 tine, Master Seadrift, as a thing of course," Lud- 
 low observed, when his own ship was steering 
 toward the extremity of the cape again. " For- 
 tune has not deserted you yet ; but, with the land 
 on three sides, and this ship and her boats on 
 the fourth, I do not despair yet of prevailing 
 over your bronzed goddess ! " 
 
 " Our mistress never sleeps," returned the 
 dealer in contraband, drawing a long breath, like 
 one who had struggled long to repress his interest. 
 
 " Terms are still in your power. I shall not 
 conceal that the commissioners of her majesty's 
 customs set so high a price on the possession of 
 the Water- Witch as to embolden me to assume 
 a responsibility from which I might, on any oth- 
 er occasion, shrink. Deliver the vessel, and I 
 pledge you the honor of an officer that the crew 
 shall land without question. Leave her to us, 
 with empty decks and a swept hold, if you will, 
 — but, leave the swift boat in our hands." 
 
 " The lady of the brigantine thinks otherwise. 
 She wears her mantle of the deep waters, and, 
 trust me, spite of all your nets, she will lead her 
 followers beyond the offices of the lead, and far 
 from soundings — ay, spite of all the navy of 
 Queen Anne ! " 
 
 " I hope that others may not repent this ob- 
 stinacy ! But this is no time to bandy words ; 
 the duty of the ship requires my presence." 
 
 Seadrift took the hint, and reluctantly retired 
 to the cabin. As he left the poop, the moon rose 
 above the line of water in the eastern board, and 
 shed its light along the whole horizon. The crew 
 
134 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 of the Coquette were now enabled to see, with suf- 
 ficient distinctness, from the sands of the Hook 
 to the distance of many leagues to seaward. 
 There no longer remained a doubt that the brig- 
 antine was still within the bay. Encouraged by 
 this certainty, Ludlow endeavored to forget all mo- 
 tives of personal feeling, in the discharge of a 
 duty that was getting to be more and more interest- 
 ing, as the prospect of its successful accomplish- 
 ment grew brighter. 
 
 It was not long before the Coquette reached 
 the channel which forms the available mouth of 
 the estuary. Here the ship was again brought 
 to the wind, and men were sent upon the yards 
 and all her more lofty spars, in order to overlook, 
 by the dim and deceitful light, as much of the in- 
 ner water as the eye could reach ; while Ludlow, 
 assisted by the master, was engaged in the same 
 employment on the deck. Two or three midship- 
 men were included among the common herd 
 aloft. 
 
 " There is nothing visible within," said the 
 captain, after a long and anxious search with a 
 glass. " The shadow of the Jersey mountains 
 prevents the sight in that direction, while the 
 spars of a frigate might be confounded with the 
 trees of Staten Island, here, in the northern 
 board. — Cross-jack-yard there ! " 
 
 The shrill voice of a midshipman answered to 
 the hail. 
 
 " What do you make within the Hook, sir ? " 
 
 " Nothing visible. Our barge is pulling along 
 the land, and the launch appears to be lying off 
 the inlet ; ay, here is the yawl resting on its oars 
 without the Rorner; but we can find nothing 
 which looks like the cutter in the range of 
 Coney." 
 
 " Take another sweep of the glass more west- 
 ward, and look well into the mouth of the Raritan ; 
 mark you any thing in that quarter ? " 
 
 " Ha ! here is a speck on our lee quarter." 
 
 " What do you make of it ? " 
 
 " Unless sight deceives me greatly, sir, there 
 is a light boat pulling in for the ship, about three 
 cables' length distant." 
 
 Ludlow raised his own glass, and swept the 
 water in the direction named. After one or two 
 unsuccessful trials, his eye caught the object; 
 and, as the moon had now some power, he was at 
 no loss to distinguish its character. There was 
 evidently a boat, and one that, by its movements, 
 had a design of holding communication with the 
 cruiser. 
 
 The eye of a seaman is acute on his element, 
 and his mind is quick in forming opinions on all 
 things that properly appertain to his profession. 
 
 Ludlow saw instantly, by the construction, that 
 the boat was not one of those sent from the ship ; 
 that it approached in a direction which enabled 
 it to avoid the Coquette, by keeping in a part of 
 the bay where the water was not sufficiently deep to 
 admit of her passage ; and that its movements 
 were so guarded as to denote great caution, while 
 there was an evident wish to draw as near to 
 the cruiser as prudence might render advisable. 
 Taking a trumpet, he hailed in the well-known 
 and customary manner. 
 
 The answer came up faintly against the air, 
 but it was uttered with much practice in the im- 
 plement, and with an exceeding compass of voice. 
 
 "Ay, ay!" and "a parley from the brigan- 
 tine ! " were the only words that were distinctly 
 audible. 
 
 For a minute or two, the young man paced 
 the deck in silence. Then he suddenly command- 
 ed the only boat which the cruiser now possessed 
 to be lowered and manned. 
 
 " Throw an ensign into the stern-sheets," he 
 said, when these orders were executed ; " and let 
 there be arms beneath it. We will keep faith 
 while faith is observed, but there are reasons for 
 caution in this interview." 
 
 Trysail was directed to keep the ship station- 
 ary, and, after giving to his subordinate private 
 instructions of importance in the event of treach- 
 ery, Ludlow went into the boat in person. A 
 very few minutes sufficed to bring the jolly-boat 
 and the stranger so near each other that the 
 means of communication were both easy and sure. 
 The men of the former were then commanded to 
 cease rowing, and, raising his glass, the com- 
 mander of the cruiser took a more certain and 
 minute survey of those who awaited his coming. 
 The strange boat was dancing on the waves, like 
 a light shell that floated so buoyantly as scarce 
 to touch the element which sustained it, while four 
 athletic seamen leaned on the oars which lay 
 ready to urge it ahead. In the stern-sheets stood 
 a form whose attitude and mien could not readi- 
 ly be mistaken. In the admirable steadiness of 
 the figure, the folded arms, the fine and manly 
 proportions, and the attire, Ludlow recognized 
 the mariner of the India shawl. A wave of the 
 hand induced him to venture nearer. 
 
 "What is asked of the royal cruiser?" de- 
 manded the captain of the vessel named, when 
 the two boats were as near each other as seemed 
 expedient. 
 
 " Confidence," was the calm reply. " Come 
 nearer, Captain Ludlow ; I am here with naked 
 hands ! Our conference need not be maintained 
 with trumpets." 
 
ARREST OF SEADRIFT. 
 
 135 
 
 Ashamed that a boat belonging to a ship-of- 
 war should betray doubts, the people of the yawl 
 were ordered to go within reach of the oars. 
 
 " Well, sir, you have your wish. I have quit- 
 ted my ship, and come to the parley, with the 
 smallest of my boats." 
 
 " It is unnecessary to say what has been done 
 with the others ! " returned Tiller, across the 
 firm muscles of whose face there passed a smile 
 that was scarcely perceptible. "You hunt us 
 hard, sir, and give but little rest to the brigantine. 
 But again are you foiled ! " 
 
 "We have a harbinger of better fortune in a 
 lucky blow that has been struck to-night." 
 
 " You are understood, sir ; Master Seadriffc 
 has fallen into the hands of the queen's servants 
 — but take good heed ! if injury, in word or deed, 
 befall that youth, there live those who well know 
 how to resent the wrong ! " 
 
 " These are lofty expressions to come from a 
 proscribed man ; but we will overlook them in 
 the motive. Your brigantine, Master Tiller, lost 
 its master-spirit in the ' Skimmer of the Seas,' and 
 it may be wise to listen to the suggestions of mod- 
 eration. If you are disposed to treat, I am here 
 with no disposition to extort." 
 
 " We meet in a suitable spirit, then ; for I 
 come prepared to offer terms of ransom that 
 Queen Anne, if she love her revenue, need not 
 despise; but, as in duty to her majesty, I will 
 first listen to her royal pleasure." 
 
 " First, then, as a seaman, and one who is not 
 ignorant of what a vessel can perform, let me di- 
 rect your attention to the situation of the parties. 
 I am certain that the Water- Witch, though for 
 the moment concealed by the shadows of the hills, 
 or favored, perhaps, by distance and the feeble- 
 ness of this light, is in the waters of the bay. A 
 force, against which she has no power of resist- 
 ance, watches the inlet ; you see the cruiser in 
 readiness to meet her off the Hook. My boats 
 are so stationed as to preclude the possibility of 
 escape, without sufficient notice, by the northern 
 channel ; and, in short, the outlets are all closed 
 to your passage. With the morning light we 
 shall know your position, and act accordingly." 
 
 "No chart can show the dangers of rocks 
 and shoals more clearly! — and to avoid these 
 dangers — ? " 
 
 "Yield the brigantine and depart. Though 
 outlawed, we shall content ourselves with the pos- 
 session of the remarkable vessel in which you do 
 your mischief, and hope that, deprived of the 
 means to err, you will return to better courses." 
 
 "With the prayers of the Church for our 
 amendment! Now listen, Captain Ludlow, to 
 
 what I offer. You have the person of one much 
 loved by all who follow the lady of the sea-green 
 mantle in your power ; and we have a brigantine 
 that does much injury to Queen Anne's supremacy 
 in the waters of this hemisphere — yield you the 
 captive, and we promise to quit this coast, never 
 to return." 
 
 " This were a worthy treaty, truly, for one 
 whose habitation is not a mad-house ! Relin- 
 quish my right over the principle doer of the 
 evil, and receive the unsupported pledge of a 
 subordinate's word ! Your happy fortune, Mas- 
 ter Tiller, has troubled your reason. What I 
 offer, was offered because I would not drive an 
 unfortunate and remarkable man like him we 
 have, to extremities, and — there may be other 
 motives, but do not mistake my lenity. Should 
 force become necessary to put your vessel into our 
 hands, the law may view your offences with a still 
 er eye. Deeds which the lenity of our sys- 
 tem now considers as venial, may easily turn to 
 crime ! " 
 
 " I ought not to take your distrust as other 
 than excusable," returned the smuggler, evident- 
 ly suppressing a feeling of haughty and wounded 
 pride. " The word of a free-trader should have 
 little weight in the ears of a queen's officer. We 
 have been trained in different schools, and the 
 same objects are seen in different colors. Your 
 proposal has been heard, and, with some thanks 
 for its fair intentions, it is refused without a hope 
 of acceptance. Our brigantine is, as you right- 
 ly think, a remarkable vessel! Her equal, sir, 
 for beauty or speed, floats not the ocean. By 
 Heaven ! I would sooner slight the smiles of the 
 fairest woman that walks the earth, than enter- 
 tain a thought which should betray the interest 
 I feel in that jewel of naval skill ! You have 
 seen her at many times, Captain Ludlow — in 
 squalls and calms ; with her wings abroad, and 
 her pinions shut ; by day and night ; near and 
 far ; fair and foul — and I ask you, with a sea- 
 man's frankness, is she not a toy to fill a seaman's 
 heart ? " 
 
 " I deny not the vessel's merits, nor her beauty 
 — 'tis a pity she bears no better reputation." 
 
 " I knew you could not withhold this praise ! 
 But I grow childish when there is question of 
 that brigantine ! Well, sir, each has been heard, 
 and now comes the conclusion. I part with the 
 apple of my eye, ere a stick of that lovely fabric is 
 willingly deserted ! Shall we make other ransom 
 for the youth ? — What think you of a pledge in 
 gold, to be forfeited should we forget our word ? " 
 
 You ask impossibilities. In treating thus at 
 all I quit the path of proud authority, because, as 
 
 harsh 
 
136 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 has been said, there is that about the ' Skimmer 
 of the Seas ' that raises him above the coarse herd 
 who in common traffic against the law. The brig- 
 antine or nothing ! " 
 
 " My life before that brigantine ! Sir, you 
 forget our fortunes are protected by one who 
 laughs at the efforts of your fleet. You think 
 that we are enclosed, and that, when light shall 
 return, there will remain merely the easy task 
 to place your iron-mounted cruiser on our beam, 
 and drive us to seek mercy. Here are honest 
 mariners who could tell you of the hopelessness 
 of the expedients. The Water-Witch has run 
 the gantlet of all your navies, and shot has 
 never yet defaced her beauty." 
 
 " And yet her limbs have been known to fall 
 before a messenger from my ship." 
 
 "The stick wanted the commission of our 
 mistress," interrupted the other, glancing his eye 
 at the credulous and attentive crew of the boat. 
 " In a thoughtless moment, 'twas taken up at sea, 
 and fashioned to our purpose without counsel 
 from the book. Nothing that touches our decks, 
 under fitting advice, comes to harm. You look 
 incredulous, and it is in character to seem so. 
 If you refuse to listen to the lady of the brigan- 
 tine, at least lend an ear to your own laws. Of 
 what offence can you charge Master Seadrift, that 
 you hold him captive ? " 
 
 " His redoubted name of ' Skimmer of the 
 Seas ' were warranty to force him from a sanc- 
 tuary," returned Ludlow, smiling; "Though 
 proof should fail of any immediate crime, there is 
 impunity for the arrest, since the law refuses to 
 protect him." 
 
 "This is your boasted justice! Rogues in 
 authority combine to condemn an absent and a 
 silent man. But if you think to do your violence 
 with impunity, know there are those who take 
 deep interest in the welfare of that youth." 
 
 " This is foolish bandying of menaces," said 
 the captain, warmly. "If you accept my offers, 
 speak ; and, if you reject them, abide the conse- 
 quences." 
 
 " I abide the consequences. But, since we 
 cannot come to terms, as victor and the sub- 
 mitting party, we may part in amity. Touch my 
 hand, Captain Ludlow, as one brave man should 
 salute another, though the next minute they are 
 to grapple at the throat." 
 
 Ludlow hesitated. The proposal was made 
 with so frank and manly a mien, and the air of 
 the free-trader, as he leaned beyond the gunwale 
 of his boat, was so superior to his pursuit, that, 
 unwilling to seem churlish, or to be outdone in 
 courtesy, he reluctantly consented, and laid his 
 
 palm within that the other offered. The smuggler 
 profited by the junction to draw the boats nearer, 
 and, to the amazement of all who witnessed the 
 action, he stepped boldly into the yawl, and was 
 seated face to face with its officer in a moment. 
 
 " These are matters that are not fit for every 
 ear," said the decided and confident mariner, in an 
 undertone, when he had made this sudden change 
 in the position of the parties. " Deal with me 
 frankly, Captain Ludlow : is your prisoner left to 
 brood on his melancholy, or does he feel the con- 
 solation of knowing that others take an interest 
 in his welfare ? " 
 
 " He does not want for sympathy, Master Til- 
 ler, since he has the pity of the finest woman in 
 America." 
 
 " Ha ! la belle Barberie owns her esteem ! — 
 is the conjecture right ? " 
 
 " Unhappily, you are too near the truth. The 
 infatuated girl seems but to live in his presence. 
 She has so far forgotten the opinions of others, 
 as to follow him to my ship." 
 
 Tiller listened intently ; from that instant all 
 concern disappeared from his countenance. 
 
 " He who is thus favored may, for a moment, 
 even forget the brigantine ! " he exclaimed, with 
 his natural recklessness of air. " And the alder- 
 man ?— " 
 
 " Has more discretion than his niece, since he 
 did not permit her to come alone." 
 
 " Enough. Captain Ludlow, let what will fol- 
 low, we part as friends. Fear not, sir, to touch 
 the hand of a proscribed man again; it is honest 
 after its own fashion, and many is the peer and 
 prince who keeps not so clean a palm. Deal ten- 
 derly with that gay and rash young sailor; he 
 wants the discretion of an older head, but the 
 heart is kindness itself. I would hazard life to 
 shelter his, but at every hazard the brigantine 
 must be saved. Adieu." 
 
 There was emotion in the voice of the mari- 
 ner of the shawl, notwithstanding his high bear- 
 ing. Squeezing the hand of Ludlow, he passed 
 back into his own barge, with the ease and stead- 
 iness of one who made the ocean his home. 
 
 "Adieu!" he repeated, signing to his men 
 to pull in the direction of the shoals, where it 
 was certain the ship could not follow. " We may 
 meet again ; until then, adieu." 
 
 " We are sure to meet with the return of 
 light." 
 
 " Believe it not, brave gentleman. Our lady 
 will thrust the spars under her girdle, and pass 
 a fleet unseen. A sailor's blessing on you ; fair 
 winds and a plenty ; a safe landfall, and a cheer- 
 ful home ! Deal kindly by the boy ; and, in all 
 
MR. CARNABY. 
 
 137 
 
 but evil wishes to my vessel, success light on your 
 ensign ! " 
 
 The seamen of both boats dashed their oars 
 into the water at the same instant, and the two 
 parties were quickly without the hearing of the 
 voice. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 "Did I tell this, 
 Who would believe me ? " 
 
 Meastxee foe Measuee. 
 
 The time of the interview, related in the 
 close of the preceding chapter, was in the early 
 watches of the night. It now becomes our duty 
 to transport the reader to another, that had place 
 several hours later, and after day had dawned on 
 the industrious burghers of Manhattan. 
 
 There stood near one of the wooden wharves, 
 which lined the arm of the sea on which the city is 
 so happily placed, a dwelling, around which there 
 was every sign that its owner was engaged in a 
 retail commerce that was active and thriving for 
 that age and country. Notwithstanding the ear- 
 liness of the hour, the windows of this house 
 were open ; and an individual, of a busy-looking 
 face, thrust his head so often from one of the 
 casements as to show that he already expected 
 the appearance of a second party in the affair 
 that had probably called him from his bed even 
 sooner than common. A tremendous rap at the 
 door relieved his visible uneasiness ; and, hasten- 
 ing to open it, he received his visitor with much 
 parade of ceremony, and many protestations of 
 respect, in person. 
 
 " This is an honor, my lord, that does not of- 
 ten befall men of my humble condition," said the 
 master of the house, in the flippant utterance of a 
 vulgar cockney ; " but I thought it would be more 
 agreeable to your lordship to receive the a — a — 
 here, than in the place where yoUr lordship just 
 at this moment resides. Will your lordship please 
 to rest yourself, after your lordship's walk ? " 
 
 " I thank you, Carnaby," returned the other, 
 taking the offered seat with an air of easy supe- 
 riority. " You judge with your usual discretion, 
 as respects the place, though I doubt the pru- 
 dence of seeing him at all. Has the man come ? " 
 
 " Doubtless, my lord ; he would hardly pre- 
 sume to keep your lordship waiting, and much 
 less would I countenance him in so gross a disre- 
 spect. He will be most happy to wait on you, 
 my lord, whenever your lordship shall please." 
 
 " Let him wait : there is no necessity for 
 haste. He has probably communicated some of 
 
 the objects of this extraordinary call on my time, 
 Carnaby ; and you can break them in the interven- 
 ing moments." 
 
 " I am sorry to say, my lord, that the fellow is 
 as obstinate as a mule. I felt the impropriety of 
 introducing him personally to your lordship ; but 
 as he insisted he had affairs that would deeply in- 
 terest you, my lord, I could not take upon me to 
 say what would be agreeable to your lordship, or 
 what not ; and so I was bold enough to write the 
 note." 
 
 " And a very properly-expressed note it was, 
 Master Carnaby. I have not received a better- 
 worded communication since my arrival in this 
 colony." 
 
 " I am sure the approbation of your lordship 
 might justly make any man proud ! It is the am- 
 bition of my life, my lord, to do the duties of my 
 station in a proper manner, and to treat all above 
 me with a suitable respect, my lord, and all below 
 me as in reason bound. If I might presume to 
 think in such a matter, my lord, I should say that 
 these colonists are no great judges of propriety 
 in their correspondence, or indeed in any thing 
 else." 
 
 The noble visitor shrugged his shoulder, and 
 threw an expression into his look that encouraged 
 the retailer to proceed. 
 
 " It is just what I think myself, my lord," he 
 continued, simpering ; " but then," he added, 
 with a condoling and patronizing air, " how should 
 they know any better ? England is but an island, 
 after all ; and the whole world cannot be born 
 and educated on the same bit of earth." 
 
 " 'Twould be inconvenient, Carnaby, if it led 
 to no other unpleasant consequence." 
 
 " Almost word for word what I said to Mrs. 
 Carnaby myself, no later than yesterday, ray lord, 
 only vastly better expressed. ' 'Twould be incon- 
 venient,' said 1, 1 Mrs. Carnaby, to take in the other 
 lodger, for everybody cannot live in the same 
 house ; ' which covers as it were, the ground taken 
 in your lordship's sentiment. I ought to add, in 
 behalf of the poor woman, that she expressed on 
 the same occasion strong regrets that it is report- 
 ed your lordship will be likely to quit us soon, on 
 your return to old England." 
 
 " That is really a subject on which there is 
 more cause to rejoice than to weep. This impris- 
 oning, or placing within limits, so near a relative 
 of the crown, is an affair that must have unpleas- 
 ant consequences, and which offends sadly against 
 propriety." 
 
 " It is awful, my lord ! If it be not sacrilege 
 by the law, the greater the shame of the opposi- 
 tion in Parliament, who defeat so many other 
 
138 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 wholesome regulations intended for the good of 
 the subject." 
 
 " Faith, I am not sure I may not be driven to 
 join them myself, bad as they are, Carnaby ; for 
 this neglect of ministers, not to call it by a worse 
 name, might goad a man to a more heinous meas- 
 ure." 
 
 " I am sure nobody could blame your lordship, 
 were your lordship to join anybody, or any thing, 
 but the French ! I have often told Mrs. Carnaby 
 as much as that in our frequent conversations 
 concerning the unpleasant situation in which your 
 lordship is just now placed." 
 
 " I had not thought the awkward transaction 
 attracted so much notice," observed the other, 
 evidently wincing under the allusion. 
 
 " It attracts it only in a proper and respect- 
 ful way, my lord. Neither Mrs. Carnaby nor my- 
 self ever indulges in any of these remarks, but in 
 the most proper and truly English manner." 
 
 " The reservation might palliate a greater er- 
 ror. That word proper is a prudent term, and 
 expresses all one could wish. I had not thought 
 you so intelligent and shrewd a man, Master Car- 
 naby : clever in the way of business, I always 
 knew you to be ; but so apt in reason, and so ma- 
 tured in principle, is what I will confess I had 
 not expected. Can you form no conjecture of the 
 business of this man ? " 
 
 " Not in the least, my lord. I pressed the im- 
 propriety of a personal interview ; for, though he 
 alluded to some business or other, I scarcely know 
 what, with which he appeared to think your lord- 
 ship had some connection, I did not understand 
 him, and we had like to have parted without an 
 explanation." 
 
 " I will not see the fellow." 
 
 "Just as your lordship pleases — I am sure 
 that, after so many little affairs have passed 
 through my hands, I might be safely trusted with 
 this ; and I said as much — but as he positively 
 refused to make me an agent, and he insisted 
 that it was so much to your lordship's interest — 
 why I thought, my lord, that perhaps — just 
 now — " 
 
 "Show him in." 
 
 Carnaby bowed low and submissively, and, af- 
 ter busying himself in placing the chairs aside, 
 and adjusting the table more conveniently for the 
 elbow of his guest, he left the room. 
 
 "Where is the man I bid you keep in the 
 shop ? " demanded the retailer, in a coarse, au- 
 thoritative voice, when without, addressing a 
 meek and humble-looking lad who did the duty 
 of clerk. " I warrant me he is left in the kitchen, 
 and you have been idling about on the walk ! A 
 
 more heedless and unattentive lad than yourself 
 is not to be found in America, and the sun never 
 rises but I repent having signed your indentures. 
 You shall pay for this, you — " 
 
 The appearance of the person he sought cut 
 short the denunciations of the obsequious grocer 
 and the domestic tyrant. He opened the door, 
 and, having again closed it, left his two visitors 
 together. 
 
 Though the degenerate descendant of the 
 great Clarendon had not hesitated to lend his 
 office to cloak the irregular and unlawful trade 
 that was then so prevalent in the American seas, 
 he had paid the sickly but customary deference 
 to virtue, of refusing on all occasions to treat per- 
 sonally with its agents. Sheltered behind his 
 official and personal rank, he had soothed his 
 feelings by tacitly believing that cupidity is less 
 venial when its avenues are hidden ; and that, in 
 protecting his station from an immediate contact 
 with its ministers, he had discharged an important, 
 and, for one in his situation, an imperative duty. 
 Unequal to the exercise of virtue itself, he thought 
 he had done enough in preserving some of its 
 seemliness. Though far from paying even this 
 slight homage to decency, in his more ordinary 
 habits, his pride of rank had, on the subject of 
 so coarse a failing, induced him to maintain an 
 appearance which his pride of character would 
 not have suggested. Carnaby was much the 
 most degraded, and the lowest of those with 
 whom he ever condescended to communicate di- 
 rectly ; and, even with him, there might have 
 been some scruple, had not his necessities caused 
 him to stoop so far as to accept pecuniary assist- 
 ance from one he both despised and detested. 
 
 When the door opened, therefore, the Lord 
 Cornbury rose, and, determined to bring the in- 
 terview to a speedy issue, he turned to face the 
 individual who entered with a mien into which he 
 threw all the distance and hauteur that he thought 
 necessary for such an object. But he encoun- 
 tered in the mariner of the India shawl a very 
 different man from the flattering and obsequious 
 grocer who had just quitted him. Eye met eye, 
 his gaze of authority receiving a look as steady 
 if not as curious as his own. It was evident by 
 the composure of the fine, manly frame he saw, 
 that its owner rested his claims on the aristocra- 
 cy of Nature. The noble forgot his acting under 
 the influence of surprise, and his voice expressed 
 as much of admiration as command, when he said : 
 
 " This, then, is the ' Skimmer of the Seas ! ' " 
 
 " Men call me thus : if a life passed on oceans 
 gives a claim to the title, it has been fairly 
 earned." 
 
MASTER SKIMMER AND LORD CORNBURY. 
 
 139 
 
 " Your character — I may say that some por- 
 tions of your history — are not unknown to me. 
 Poor Carnaby, who is a worthy and an industrious 
 man, with a growing family dependent on his ex- 
 ertions, has entreated me to receive you, or there 
 might be less apology for this step than I could 
 wish. Men of a certain rank, Master Skimmer, 
 owe so much to their station that I rely on your dis- 
 cretion." 
 
 " I have stood in nobler presences, my lord, and 
 found so little change by the honor that I am not 
 apt to boast of what I see. Some of princely rank 
 have found their profit in my acquaintance." 
 
 " I do not deny your usefulness, sir ; it is on- 
 ly the necessity of prudence, I would urge. There 
 has been, I believe, some sort of implied contract 
 between us — at least so Carnaby explains the 
 transaction, for I rarely enter into these details 
 myself — by which you may perhaps feel some 
 right to include me in the list of your custom- 
 ers. Men in high places must respect the laws, 
 yet it is not always convenient, or even use- 
 ful, that they should deny themselves every in- 
 dulgence which policy would prohibit to the mass. 
 One who has seen as much of life as yourself 
 needs no explanations on this head ; and I can- 
 not doubt but our present interview will have a 
 satisfactory termination." 
 
 The Skimmer scarce deemed it necessary to 
 conceal the contempt that caused his lip to curl, 
 while the other was endeavoring to mystify his 
 cupidity ; when the speaker was done, he merely 
 expressed an assent by a slight inclination of the 
 head. The ex-governor saw that his attempt was 
 fruitless, and, by relinquishing his masquerade, 
 and yielding more to his natural propensities and 
 tastes, he succeeded better. 
 
 " Carnaby has been a faithful agent," he con- 
 tinued, " and, by his reports, it would seem that 
 our confidence has not been misplaced. If fame 
 speaks true, there is not a more dexterous navi- 
 gator of the narrow seas than thyself, Master 
 Skimmer. It is to be supposed that your corre- 
 spondents on this coast, too, are as lucrative as I 
 doubt not they are numerous." 
 
 " He who sells cheap can never want a pur- 
 chaser. I think your lordship has no reason to 
 complain of prices." 
 
 " As pointed as his compass !— Well, sir, as I 
 am no longer master here, may I ask the object 
 of this interview ? " 
 
 " I have come to seek your interest in behalf 
 of one who has fallen into the grasp of the queen's 
 officers." 
 
 " Hum — the amount of which is, that the 
 cruiser in the bay has entrapped some careless 
 
 smuggler. We are none of us immortal, and an ar- 
 rest is but a legal death to men of your persuasion 
 in commerce. Interest is a word of many mean- 
 ings. It is the interest of one man to lend, and 
 of another to borrow ; of the creditor to receive, 
 and of the debtor to avoid payment. Then there 
 is interest at court, and interest in court — in 
 short, you must deal more frankly, ere I can de- 
 cide on the purport of your visit." 
 
 " I am not ignorant that the queen has been 
 pleased to name another governor over this colony, 
 or that your creditors, my lord, have thought it 
 prudent to take a pledge for their dues, in your 
 person. Still I must think that one who stands 
 so near the queen in blood, and who sooner or later 
 must enjoy both rank and fortune in the mother- 
 country, will not solicit so slight a boon as that I 
 ask without success. This is the reason I prefer to 
 treat with you." 
 
 "As clear an explanation as the shrewdest 
 casuist could desire ! I admire your succinct- 
 ness, Master Skimmer, and confess you for the 
 pink of etiquette. When your fortune shall 
 be made, I recommend the court circle as your 
 place of retirement. Governors, creditors, queen, 
 and imprisonment, all as compactly placed in the 
 same sentence, as if it were the creed written on 
 a thumb-nail ! Well, sir, we will suppose my in- 
 terest what you wish it. — Who and what is the 
 delinquent ? " 
 
 " One named Seadriffc — a useful and a pleas- 
 ant youth, who passes much between me and my 
 customers; heedless and merry in his humors, 
 but dear to all in my brigantine, because of tried 
 fidelity and shrewd wit. We could sacrifice the 
 profits of the voyage that he were free. To me 
 he is a necessary agent, for his skill in the judg- 
 ment of rich tissues, and other luxuries that com- 
 pose my traffic, is exceeding ; and I am better 
 fitted to guide the vessel to her haven, and to 
 look to her safety amid shoals and in tempests, 
 than to deal in these trifles of female vanity." 
 
 " So dexterous a go-between should not have 
 mistaken a tide-waiter for a customer — how be- 
 fell the accident?" 
 
 "He met the barge of the Coquette at an 
 unlucky moment, and as we had so lately been 
 chased off the coast by the cruiser, there was no 
 choice but to arrest him." 
 
 " The dilemma is not without embarrassment. 
 When once his mind is settled, it is no trifle that 
 will amuse this Mr. Ludlow. I do not know a more 
 literal constructor of his orders — a man, sir, who 
 thinks words have but a single set of meanings, 
 and who knows as little as can be imagined of the 
 difference between a sentiment and a practice." 
 
140 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 " He is a seaman, my lord, and he reads his 
 instructions with a seaman's simplicity. I think 
 none the worse of him, that he cannot be tempted 
 from his duty; for, let us understand the right 
 as we will, our service once taken, it becomes us 
 all to do it faithfully." 
 
 A small red spot came and went on the cheek 
 of the profligate Cornbury. Ashamed of his 
 weakness, he affected to laugh at what he had 
 heard, and continued the discourse. 
 
 " Your forbearance and charity might adorn 
 a churchman, Master Skimmer ! " he answered. 
 "Nothing can be more true, for this is an age 
 of moral truths, as witness the Protestant suc- 
 cession. Men are now expected to perform, and 
 not to profess. Is the fellow of such useful- 
 ness that he may not be abandoned to his 
 fate ? " 
 
 " Much as I dote on my brigantine, and few 
 men set their affections on woman with a stronger 
 love, I would see the beauteous craft degenerate 
 to a cutter for the queen's revenue, before I 
 would entertain the thought ! But I will not an- 
 ticipate a long and painful imprisonment for the 
 youth, since those who are not altogether power- 
 less already take a deep and friendly concern in 
 his safety." 
 
 " You have overcome the brigadier ! " cried 
 the other, in a burst of exultation, that conquered 
 the little reserve of manner he had thought it 
 necessary to maintain ; " that immaculate and 
 reforming representative of- my royal cousin has 
 bitten of the golden bait, and proves a true colony 
 governor after all ! " 
 
 " Lord viscount, no. What we have to bope 
 or what we have to fear from your successor, is 
 to me a secret." 
 
 " Ply him with promises, Master Skimmer — 
 set golden hopes before his imagination ; set gold 
 itself before his eyes, and you will prosper. I 
 will pledge my expected earldom that he yields ! 
 Sir, these distant situations are like so many half- 
 authorized mints, in which money is to be coined ; 
 and the only counterfeit is your mimic represent- 
 ative of majesty. Ply him with golden hopes ; 
 if mortal, he will yield ! " 
 
 "Yet, my lord, I have met men who preferred 
 poverty and their opinions, to gold and the wishes 
 of others." 
 
 " The dolts were lusus nahirce ! " exclaimed 
 the dissolute Cornbury, losing all reserve in a 
 manner that better suited his known and con- 
 firmed character. " You should have caged them, 
 Skimmer, and profited by their dulness to lay the 
 curious under contribution. Don't mistake me, 
 sir, if I speak a little in confidence. I hope I 
 
 know the difference between a gentleman and a 
 leveller, as well as another ; but, trust me, this Mr. 
 Hunter is human, and he will yield if proper ap- 
 pliances are used — and you expect from me — ? " 
 
 " The exercise of that influence which cannot 
 fail of success ; since there is a courtesy between 
 men of a certain station, which causes them to 
 overlook rivalry, in the spirit of their caste. The 
 cousin of Queen Anne can yet obtain the liberty 
 of one whose heaviest crime is a free trade, though 
 he may not be able to keep his own seat in the 
 chair of the government." 
 
 " Thus far, indeed, my poor influence may yet 
 extend, provided the fellow be not named in any 
 act of outlawry. I would gladly enough, Mr. 
 Skimmer, end my deeds in this hemisphere, with 
 some act of graceful mercy, if— indeed— I saw — 
 the means — " 
 
 " They shall not be wanting. I know the law 
 is like any other article of great price ; some 
 think that Justice holds the balance, in order to 
 weigh her fees. Though the profits of this haz- 
 ardous and sleepless trade of mine be much over- 
 rated, I would gladly line her scales with two 
 hundred broad pieces, to have that youth again 
 safe in the cabin of the brigantine." 
 
 As the " Skimmer of the Seas " thus spoke, he 
 drew, with the calmness of a man who saw no use 
 in circumlocution, a heavy bag of gold from be- 
 neath his frock, and deposited it, without a second 
 look at the treasure, on the table. When this 
 offering was made, he turned aside, less by de- 
 sign than by a careless movement of the body, 
 and, when he faced his companion again, the bag 
 had vanished. 
 
 " Your affection for the lad is touching, Mas- 
 ter Skimmer," returned the corrupt Cornbury ; 
 " it were a pity such friendship should be wasted. 
 Will there be proof to insure his condemnation ? " 
 
 " It may be doubted. His dealings have only 
 been with the higher class of my customers, and 
 with but few of them. The care I now take is 
 more in tenderness to the youth, than with any 
 great doubts of the result. I shall count you, 
 my lord, among his protectors, in the event that 
 the affair is noised ! " 
 
 " I owe it to your frankness — but will Mr. 
 Ludlow content himself with the possession of 
 an inferior, when the principal is so near ? and 
 shall we not have a confiscation of the brigantine 
 on our hands ? " 
 
 " I charge myself with the care of all else. 
 There was indeed a lucky escape only the last 
 night, as we lay at a light kedge, waiting for the 
 return of him who has been arrested. Profiting 
 by the possession of our skiff, the commander of 
 
APPROACHING DANGER. 
 
 141 
 
 the Coquette himself got within the sweep of my 
 hawse — nay, he was in the act of cutting the very 
 fastenings, when the dangerous design was dis- 
 covered. 'T would have been a fate unworthy of 
 the "Water- Witch, to be cast on shore like a drift- 
 ing log, and to check her noble career by some 
 such a seizure as that of a stranded waif ! " 
 
 " You avoided the mischance ? " 
 
 " My eyes are seldom shut, lord viscount, 
 when there is danger. The skiff was seen in 
 time, and watched ; for I knew that one in whom 
 I trusted was abroad. When the movement grew 
 suspicious, we had our means of frightening this 
 Mr. Ludlow from his enterprise, without recourse 
 to violence." 
 
 " I had not thought him one to be scared 
 from following up a business like this." 
 
 " You judged him rightly — I may say we 
 judged him rightly. But when his boats sought 
 us at our anchorage, the bird had flown." 
 
 " You got the brigantine to sea in season ? " 
 observed Cornbury, not sorry to believe that the 
 vessel was already off the coast. 
 
 " I had other business. My agent could not 
 be thus deserted, and there were affairs to finish 
 in the city. Our course lay up the bay." 
 
 " Ha ! Master Skimmer, 'twas a bold step, and 
 one that says little for your discretion ! " 
 
 " Lord viscount, there is safety in courage," 
 calmly and perhaps ironically returned the other. 
 " While the queen's captain closed all the outlets, 
 my little craft was floating quietly under the hills 
 of Staten. Before the morning watch was set, 
 she passed these wharves ; and she now awaits 
 her captain in the broad basin that lies beyond 
 the bend of yonder headland." 
 
 " This is foolhardiness. A failure of wind, a 
 change of tide, or any of the mishaps common 
 to the sea, may throw you on the mercy of the 
 law, and will greatly embarrass all who feel an in- 
 terest in your safety." 
 
 "So far as this apprehension is connected 
 with my welfare, I thank you much, my lord ; 
 but, trust me, many hazards have left me but lit- 
 tle to learn in this particular. We shall run the 
 Hell-Gate, and gain the open sea by the Con- 
 necticut Sound." 
 
 "Truly, Master Skimmer, one has need of 
 nerves to be your confidant ! Faith in a compact 
 constitutes the beauty of social order; without 
 it there is no security for interests, nor any re- 
 pose for character. But faith may be implied 
 a3 well as expressed ; and when men in certain 
 situations place their dependence on others who 
 should have motives for being wary, the first are 
 bound to respect, even to the details of a most 
 
 scrupulous construction, the conditions of the 
 covenant. Sir, I wash my hands of this transac- 
 tion, if it be understood that testimony is to be 
 accumulated against us, by thus putting your 
 Water-Witch in danger of trial before the Ad- 
 miralty." 
 
 " I am sorry that this is your decision," re- 
 turned the Skimmer. " What is done cannot be 
 recalled, though I still hope it may be remedied. 
 My brigantine now lies within a league of this, 
 and 'twould be treachery to deny it. Since it is 
 your opinion, my lord, that our contract is not 
 valid, there is little use in its seal — the broad 
 pieces may still be serviceable in shielding that 
 youth from harm." 
 
 " You are as literal in constructions, Master 
 Skimmer, as a school-boy's version of his Yirgil. 
 There is an idiom in diplomacy, as well as in lan- 
 guage, and one who treats so sensibly should not be 
 ignorant of its phrases. Bless me, sir; an hy- 
 pothesis is not a conclusion, any more than a 
 promise is a performance. That which is ad- 
 vanced by way of supposition, is but the orna- 
 ment of reasoning, while your gold has the 
 more solid character of demonstration. Our 
 bargain is made." 
 
 The unsophisticated mariner regarded the 
 noble casuist a moment, in doubt whether to ac- 
 quiesce in this conclusion or not ; but, ere he had 
 decided on his course, the windows of the room 
 were shaken violently, and the heavy roar of a 
 piece of ordnance succeeded. 
 
 "The morning gun!" exclaimed Cornbury, 
 who started at the explosion, with the sensitive- 
 ness of one unworthily employed. " No ! 'tis an 
 hour past the rising of the sun ! " 
 
 The Skimmer showed no yielding of the 
 nerves, though it was evident, by his attitude of 
 thought and the momentary fixedness of his eye, 
 that he foresaw danger was near. Moving to the 
 window, he looked out on the water, and instant- 
 ly drew back, like one who wanted no further 
 evidence. 
 
 " Our bargain then is made," he said, hastily 
 approaching the viscount, whose hand he seized 
 and wrung in spite of the other's obvious reluc- 
 tance to allow the familiarity ; " our bargain then 
 is made. Deal fairly by the youth, and the deed 
 will be remembered — deal treacherously, and it 
 shall be revenged ! " 
 
 For one instant longer the Skimmer held the 
 member of the effeminate Cornbury imprisoned ; 
 then, raising his cap with a courtesy that appeared 
 more in deference to himself than his companion, 
 he turned on his heel, and with a firm but quick 
 step he left the house. 
 
142 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 Carnaby, who entered on the instant, found 
 his guest in a state between resentment, surprise, 
 and alarm. But habitual levity soon conquered 
 other feelings, and, finding himself freed from 
 the presence of a man who had treated him with 
 so little ceremony, the ex-governor shook his 
 head, like one accustomed to submit to evils he 
 could not obviate, and assumed the ease and in- 
 solent superiority he was accustomed to maintain 
 in the presence of the obsequious grocer. 
 
 " This may be a coral or a pearl, or any other 
 precious gem of the ocean, Master Carnaby," he 
 said, unconscious himself that he was in a man- 
 ner endeavoring to cleanse his violated hand from 
 the touch it had endured, by the use of his hand- 
 kerchief, " but it is one on which the salt water 
 hath left its crust. Truly it is to be hoped that I 
 am never again to be blockaded by such a monster, 
 or I may better say, harpooned ; for the familiarity 
 cf the boatswain is more painful than any inven- 
 tions of his brethren of the deep can prove to 
 their relative the leviathan. Has the clock told 
 the hour ! " 
 
 "'Tis not yet six, my lord, and there is 
 abundant leisure for your lordship to return in 
 season to your lordship's lodgings. Mrs. Camaby 
 has dared to flatter herself that your lordship 
 will condescend to honor us so far as to taste a 
 dish of bohea under our humble roof." 
 
 " What is the meaning of that gun, Master 
 Carnaby ? It gave the alarm to the smuggler, as 
 if it had been a summons from Execution Dock, 
 or a groan from the ghost of Eidd." 
 
 " I never presumed to think, my lord. I sup- 
 pose it to be some pleasure of her majesty's offi- 
 cers in the fort ; and, when that is the case, one 
 is quite certain that all is proper, and very Eng- 
 lish, my lord." 
 
 " 'Fore George, sir, English or Dutch, it had 
 the quality to frighten this sea-fowl — this curlew 
 — this albatross, from his perch ! " 
 
 " Upon my duty to your lordship, your lord- 
 ship has the severest wit of any gentleman in her 
 majesty's kingdom ; but all the nobility and gen- 
 try are so witty that it is quite an honor and an 
 edification to hear them ! If it is your lordship's 
 pleasure, I will look out of the window, my lord, 
 and see if there be any thing visible." 
 
 " Do so, Master Carnaby — I confess a little 
 curiosity to know what has given the alarm to 
 my sea-lion — ha ! do I not see the masts of a ship 
 moving above the roofs of yonder line of stores ? " 
 
 " Well, your lordship has the quickest eye, and 
 the happiest way of seeing things, of any noble- 
 man in England ! Now, I should have stared a 
 quarter of an hour, before I thought of looking 
 
 over the roofs of those stores at all ; and yet your 
 lordship looks there at the very first glance." 
 
 " Is it a ship or a brig, Master Carnaby — you 
 have the advantage of position, for I would not 
 willingly be seen — speak quickly, dolt ; ship or 
 brig?" 
 
 " My lord— 'ti3 a brig — or a ship— really I 
 must ask your lordship, for I know so little of 
 these things — " 
 
 " Nay, complaisant Master Carnaby — have an 
 opinion of your own for one moment, if you please 
 — there is smoke curling upward, behind those 
 masts — " 
 
 Another rattling of windows, and a second re- 
 port, removed all doubts on the subject of the fir- 
 ing. At the next instant, the bows of a vessel of 
 war appeared at the opening of a ship-yard ; then 
 came gun after gun in view, until the whole 
 broadside of the Coquette was visible. 
 
 The viscount sought no further solution of 
 the reason why the Skimmer had left him so hur- 
 riedly. Fumbling a moment in a pocket, he 
 drew forth a hand filled with broad pieces of 
 gold. These he appeared about to lay upon the 
 table ; but, as it were by forgetfulness, he kept 
 the member closed, and, bidding the grocer adieu, 
 he left the house, with as firm a resolution as was 
 ever made by any man, conscious of having done 
 both a weak and a wicked action, of never again 
 putting himself in familiar contact with so truc- 
 kling a miscreant. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 "What care these roarers for the name of king?" 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 The Manhattanese will readily comprehend the 
 situation of the two vessels ; but those of our 
 countrymen who live in distant parts of the Union, 
 may be glad to have the localities explained. 
 
 Though the vast estuary which receives the 
 Hudson and so many minor streams is chiefly 
 made by an indentation of the continent, that 
 portion of it which forms the port of New York 
 is separated from the ocean by the happy position 
 of its islands. Of the latter there are two, which 
 give the general character to the basin, and even 
 to a long line of coast ; while several that are 
 smaller, serve as useful and beautiful accessories 
 to the haven and to the landscape. Between the 
 bay of Raritan and that of New York there are 
 two communications, one between the islands of 
 Staten and Nassau, called the Narrows, which is 
 the ordinary ship-channel of the port, and the 
 other between Staten and the main, which is 
 
THE ROYAL CRUISER'S SIGNALS. 
 
 143 
 
 known by the name of the Kills. It is by means 
 of the latter that vessels pass into the neighbor- 
 ing waters of New Jersey, and have access to so 
 many of the rivers of that State. But while the 
 island of Staten does so much for the security 
 and facilities of the port, that of Nassau produces 
 an effect on a great extent of coast. After shel- 
 tering one-half of the harbor from the ocean, the 
 latter approaches so near the continent as to nar- 
 row the passage between them to the length of 
 two cables, and then, stretching away eastward 
 for the distance of a hundred miles, it forms a 
 wide and beautiful sound. After passing a clus- 
 ter of islands, at a point which lies forty leagues 
 from the city, by another passage, vessels can 
 gain the open sea. 
 
 The seaman will at once understand that the 
 tide of flood must necessarily flow into these vast 
 estuaries from different directions. The current 
 which enters by Sandy Hook (the scene of so much 
 of this tale) flows westward into the J ersey rivers, 
 northward into the Hudson, and eastward along 
 the arm of the sea that lies between Nassau and the 
 main. The current that comes by the way of Mon- 
 tauk, or the eastern extremity of Nassau, raises the 
 vast basin of the sound, fills the streams of Connect- 
 icut, and meets the western tide at a place called 
 Throgmorton, and within twenty miles of the city. 
 
 As the size of the estuaries is so great, it is 
 scarcely necessary to explain that the pressure of 
 such wide sheet3 of water causes the currents, at 
 all the narrow passes, to be exceedingly rapid ; 
 since that equal .diffusion of the element, which 
 depends on a natural law, must, wherever there 
 is a deficiency of space, be obtained by its velo- 
 city. There is, consequently, a quick tide through- 
 out the whole distance between the harbor and 
 Throgmorton ; while it is permitted to poetic li- 
 cense to say that, at the narrowest part of the 
 channel, the water darts by the land like an ar- 
 row parting from its bow. Owing to a sudden 
 bend in the course of the stream, which makes 
 two right angles within a short distance, the dan- 
 gerous position of many rocks that are visible 
 and more that are not, and the confusion produced 
 by currents, counter-currents, and eddies, this 
 critical pass has received the name of " Hell 
 Gate." It is memorable for causing many a gentle 
 bosom to palpitate with a terror that is a little 
 exaggerated by the boding name, though it is 
 constantly the cause of pecuniary losses, and has 
 in many instances been the source of much per- 
 sonal danger. It was here that a British frigate 
 was lost, during the war of the Revolution, in 
 consequence of having struck a rock called " the 
 Pot," the blow causing the ship to fill and to 
 
 founder so suddenly that even some of her peo- 
 ple are said to have been drowned. A similar 
 but a greatly lessened effect is produced in the 
 passage among the islands, by which vessels gain 
 the ocean at the eastern extremity of the sound ; 
 though the magnitude of the latter sheet of water 
 is so much greater than that of Raritan Bay and 
 the harbor of New York, that the force of its 
 pressure is diminished by a corresponding width 
 in the outlets. With these explanations we shall 
 return to the thread of the narrative. 
 
 When the person, who has so long been 
 known in our pages by the nom de guerre of Tiller, 
 gained the open street, he had a better opportu- 
 nity of understanding the nature of the danger 
 which so imminently pressed upon the brigan- 
 tine. With a single glance at the symmetrical 
 spars and broad yards of the ship that was sweep- 
 ing past the town, he knew her to be the Coquette. 
 The little flag at her foretop-gallant mast suffi- 
 ciently explained the meaning of the gun ; for the 
 two, in conjunction with the direction the ship 
 was steering, told him, in language that any sea- 
 man could comprehend, that she demanded a 
 Hell-Gate pilot. By the time the Skimmer reached 
 the end of a lone wharf, where a light and swift- 
 rowing boat awaited his return, the second report 
 bespoke the impatience of his pursuers to be fur- 
 nished with the necessary guide. 
 
 Though the navigation in this republic, coast- 
 wise, now employs a tonnage equalling that used 
 in all the commerce of any other nation of Chris- 
 tendom, England alone excepted, it was of no 
 great amount at the commencement of the eigh- 
 teenth century. A single ship, lying at the 
 wharves, and two or three brigs and schooners 
 at anchor in the rivers, composed the whole show 
 of sea-vessels then in port. To these were to be 
 added some twenty smaller coasters and river- 
 craft, most of whom were the shapeless and slow- 
 moving masses which then plied, in voyages of a 
 month's duration, between the two principal towns 
 of the colony. The appeal of the Coquette, there- 
 fore, at that hour and in that age, was not likely 
 to be very quickly answered. 
 
 The ship had got fairly into the arm of the 
 sea which separates the island of Manhattan from 
 that of Nassau, and though it was not then, as 
 now, narrowed by artificial means, its tide was so, 
 strong as, aided by the breeze, to float her swiftly 
 onward. A third gun shook the windows of the. 
 city, causing many a worthy burgher to thrust 
 his head through his casement ; yet no boat was 
 seen pulling from the land, nor was there any 
 other visible sign that the signal would be speedi- 
 ly obeyed. Still, the royal cruiser stood steadily 
 
144 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 on, with sail packed above sail, and every sheet 
 of canvas spread, that the direction of the wind, 
 which blew a little forward of the beam, would 
 allow. 
 
 " We must pull for our own safety, and that 
 of the brigantine, my men," said the Skimmer, 
 springing into his boat and seizing the tiller. " A 
 quick stroke, and a strong ! — here is no time for 
 holiday feathering, or your man-of-war jerk ! 
 Give way, boys ; give way, with a will, and togeth- 
 er ! » 
 
 These were sounds that had often saluted the 
 ears of men engaged in the hazardous pursuit of 
 his crew. The oars fell into the water at the 
 same moment, and, quick as thought, the little 
 bark was in the strength of the current. 
 
 The short range of wharves was soon passed, 
 and, ere many minutes, the boat was gliding up 
 with the tide, between the bluffs of Long Island 
 and the projection which forms the angle on that 
 part of Manhattan. Here the Skimmer was in- 
 duced to sheer more into the centre of the pas- 
 sage, in order to avoid the eddies formed by the 
 point, and to preserve the whole benefit of the 
 current. As the boat approached Corker's, his 
 eye was anxiously examining the wider reach of 
 the water, that began to open above, in quest of 
 his brigantine. Another gun was heard. A mo- 
 ment after the report, there followed the whistling 
 of a shot ; then succeeded the rebound on the wai- 
 ter and the glittering particles of the spray. The 
 ball glanced a few hundred feet farther, and, skip- 
 ping from place to place, it soon sank into the 
 element. 
 
 " This Mr. Ludlow is disposed to kill two birds 
 with the same stone," coolly observed the Skimmer, 
 not even bending his head aside, to note the posi- 
 tion of the ship. " He wakes the burghers of the 
 town with his noise, while he menaces our boat 
 Avith his shot. We are seen, my friends, and have 
 no dependence but our own manhood, with some 
 assistance from the lady of the sea-green mantle. 
 A quicker stroke, and a strong ! You have the 
 queen's cruiser before you, Master Coil ; does she 
 show boats on her quarters, or are the davits 
 empty ? " 
 
 The seaman addressed pulled the stroke-oar 
 of the boat, and consequently he faced the Co- 
 quette. Without in the least relaxing his exer- 
 tions, he rolled his eyes over the ship, and an- 
 swered with a steadiness that showed him to be 
 a man accustomed to situations of hazard. 
 
 " His boat-falls are as loose as a mermaid's 
 locks, your honor, and he shows few men in his 
 tops ; there are enough of the rogues left, how- 
 ever, to give us another shot." 
 
 "Her majesty's servants are early awake this 
 morning. Another stroke or two, hearts of oak, 
 and we throw them behind the land ! " 
 
 A second shot fell into the water just without 
 the blades of the oars ; then the boat, obedient 
 to its helm, whirled round the point, and the ship 
 was no longer visible. As the cruiser was shut 
 in by the formation of the land, the brigantine 
 came into view on the opposite side of Corker's. 
 Notwithstanding the calmness that reigned in the 
 features of the Skimmer, one who studied his 
 countenance closely might have seen an expres- 
 sion of concern shadowing his manly face, as the 
 Water-Witch met his eye. Still he spoke not, 
 concealing his uneasiness, if in truth he felt any, 
 from those whose exertions were at that moment 
 of the last importance. As the crew of the ex- 
 pecting vessel saw their boat, they altered their 
 course, and the two were soon together. 
 
 " Why is that signal still flying ? " demanded 
 the Skimmer, the instant his foot touched the 
 deck of his brigantine, and pointing, as he spoke, 
 at the little flag that fluttered at the head of the 
 forward mast. 
 
 " We keep it aloft to hasten off the pilot," 
 was the answer. 
 
 " Has not the treacherous knave kept faith ? " 
 exclaimed the Skimmer, half recoiling in surprisa 
 " He has my gold, and in return I hold fifty of 
 his worthless promises — ha ! the laggard is in yon 
 skiff; wear the brig round and meet him, for mo- 
 ments are as precious now as water in a desert." 
 
 The helm was a-weather, and the lively brigan- 
 tine had already turned more than half aside, when 
 another gun drew every eye toward the point 
 The smoke was seen rising above the bend of the 
 land, and presently the head-sails, followed by 
 all the hull and spars of the Coquette, came into 
 view. At that instant a voice from forward an- 
 nounced that the pilot had turned, and was 
 rowing with all his powers toward the shore. 
 The imprecations that were heaped on the head 
 of the delinquent were many and deep, but it was 
 no time for indecision. The two vessels were 
 not half a mile apart, and now was the moment to 
 show the qualities of the Water-Witch. Her helm 
 was shifted ; and, as if conscious herself of the 
 danger that threatened her liberty, the beautiful 
 fabric came sweeping up to her course, and, in- 
 clining to the breeze, with one heavy flap of the 
 canvas she glided ahead with her wonted ease. But 
 the royal cruiser was a ship of ten thousand ! 
 For twenty minutes, the nicest eye might have 
 been at a loss to say which lost or which gained, so 
 equally did the pursuer and the pursued hold on 
 their way. As the brigantine was the first, how- 
 
HAZARDOUS SAILING. 
 
 145 
 
 ever, to reach the narrow passage formed by 
 Blackwell's, her motion was favored by the in- 
 creasing power of the stream. It would seem 
 that this change, slight as it was, did not escape 
 the vigilance of those in the Coquette ; for the 
 gun, which had been silent so long, again sent 
 forth its flame and smoke. Four discharges, in 
 less than so many minutes, threatened a serious 
 disadvantage to the free-traders. Shot after 
 shot passed among their spars, and opened wide 
 rents in the canvas. A few more such assaults 
 would deprive them of their means of motion. 
 Aware of the crisis, the accomplished and prompt 
 seaman who governed her movements needed 
 but an instant to form his decision. 
 
 The brigantine was now nearly up with the 
 head of Blackwell's. It was half-flood on a 
 spring tide. The reef that projects from the 
 western end of the island far into the reach be- 
 low, was nearly covered ; but still enough was 
 visible to show the nature of the barrier it pre- 
 sented to a passage from one shore to the other. 
 There was one rock, near the island itself, which 
 lifted its black head high above the water. Be- 
 tween this dark mass of stone and the land, there 
 was an opening of some twenty fathoms in width. 
 The Skimmer saw, by the even and unbroken 
 waves that rolled through the passage, that the 
 bottom lay less near to the surface of the water 
 in that opening, than at any other point along the 
 line of reef. He commanded the helm a-weather 
 once more, and calmly trusted to the issue. 
 
 Not a man on board that brigantine was aware 
 that the shot of the royal cruiser was whistling 
 between their masts, and damaging their gear, as 
 the little vessel glided into the narrow opening. 
 A single blow on the rock would have been de- 
 struction, and the lesser danger was entirely ab- 
 sorbed in the greater. But when the passage 
 was cleared, and the true stream in the other 
 channel gained, a common shout proclaimed both 
 the weight of their apprehension and their relief. 
 In another minute the head of Blackwell's pro- 
 tected them from the shot of their pursuers. 
 
 The length of the reef prevented the Coquette 
 from changing her direction, and her draught 
 of water closed the passage between the rock 
 and the island. But the deviation from the 
 straight course, and the passage of the eddies, 
 had enabled the ship, which came steadily on, to 
 range up nearly abeam of her chase. Both ves- 
 sels, though separated by the long, narrow island, 
 were now fairly in the force of those currents 
 which glide so swiftly through the confined pas- 
 sages. A sudden thought glanced on the mind 
 of the Skimmer, and he lost no time in attempt- 
 10 
 
 ing to execute its suggestion. Again the helm was 
 put up, and the image of the sea-green lady was 
 seen struggling to stem the rapid waters. Had 
 this effort been crowned with success, the tri- 
 umph of her followers would have been complete; 
 since the brigantine might have reached some of 
 the eddies of the reach below, and, leaving her 
 heavier pursuer to contend with the strength of 
 the tide, she would have gained the open sea by 
 the route over which she had so lately passed. 
 But a single minute of trial convinced the bold 
 mariner that his decision came too late. The 
 wind was insufficient to pass the gorge ; and, en- 
 vironed by the land, with a tide that grew strong- 
 er at each moment, he saw that delay would be 
 destruction. Once more the light vessel yielded 
 to the helm, and, with every thing set to the best 
 advantage, she darted along the passage. 
 
 In the mean time, the Coquette had not been 
 idle. Borne on by the breeze, and floating with 
 the current, she had even gained upon her chase ; 
 and, as her lofty and light sails drew strongest 
 over the land, there was every prospect of her 
 first reaching the eastern end of Blackwell's. 
 Ludlow saw his advantage, and made his prep- 
 arations accordingly. 
 
 There needs little explanation to render the 
 circumstances which brought the royal cruiser up 
 to town, intelligible to the reader. As the morn- 
 ing approached, she had entered more deeply in- 
 to the bay ; and when the light permitted, those 
 on board her had been able to see that no vessel 
 lay beneath the hills, nor in any of the more re- 
 tired places of tbe estuary. A fisherman, how- 
 ever, removed the last of their doubts, by report- 
 ing that he had seen a vessel, whose description 
 answered that of the "Water- Witch, passing the 
 Narrows in the middle watch. He added that a 
 swiftly-rowing boat was, shortly after, seen pull- 
 ing in the same direction. This clew had been 
 sufficient. Ludlow made a signal for his own 
 boats to close the passage of the Kills and the 
 Narrows, and then, as has been seen, he steered 
 directly into the harbor. 
 
 When Ludlow found himself in the position 
 just described, he turned all his attention to the 
 double object of preserving his own vessel and 
 arresting that of the free-trader. Though there 
 was still a possibility of damaging the spars of 
 the brigantine by firing across the land, the fee- 
 bleness of his own crew, reduced as it was by 
 more than half its numbers, the danger of doing 
 injury to the farm-houses that were here and 
 there placed along the low cliffs, and the necessi- 
 ty of preparation to meet the critical pass ahead, 
 united to prevent the attempt. The ship was no 
 
146 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 sooner fairly entered into the pass between 
 Blackwell's and Nassau, than he issued an order 
 to secure the guns that had been used, and to 
 clear away the anchors. 
 
 " Cock-bill the bowers, sir," he hastily added, 
 in his orders to Trysail. " We are in no condition 
 to sport with stock-and-fluke ; have every thing 
 ready to let go at a word ; and see the grapnels 
 ready — we will throw them aboard the smuggler 
 as we close, and take him alive. Once fast to 
 the chain, we are yet strong enough to haul him 
 in under our scuppers, and to capture him with 
 the pumps ! Is the signal still abroad for a 
 pilot?" 
 
 " We keep it flying, sir, but 'twill be a swift 
 boat that overhauls us in this tide's-way. The 
 Gate begins at yonder bend in the land, Captain 
 Ludlow." 
 
 " Keep it abroad ; the lazy rogues are some- 
 times loitering in the cove this side the rocks, 
 and chance may throw one of them aboard us, as 
 we pass. See to the anchors, sir, the ship is 
 driving through this channel like a race-horse un- 
 der the whip ! " 
 
 The men were hurriedly piped to this duty, 
 while their young commander took his station on 
 the poop, now anxiously examining the courses 
 of the tides, and the positions of the eddies, and 
 now turning his eyes toward the brigantine, 
 whose upper spars and white sails were to be 
 seen, at the distance of two hundred fathoms, 
 glancing past the trees of the island. But miles 
 and minutes seemed like rods and moments, in 
 that swift current. Trysail had just reported the 
 anchors ready, when the ship swept up abreast 
 of the cove, where vessels often seek an anchor- 
 age, to await favorable moments for entering the 
 Gate. Ludlow saw, at a glance, that the place 
 was entirely empty. For an instant he yielded 
 to the heavy responsibility — a responsibility be- 
 fore which a seaman sooner shrinks than before 
 any other — that of charging himself with the du- 
 ty of the pilot ; and he thought of running into 
 the anchorage for shelter. But another glimpse at 
 the spars of the brigantine caused him to waver. 
 
 " We are near the Gate, sir ! " cried Trysail, 
 in a voice that was full of warning. 
 
 " Yon daring mariner stands on ! " 
 
 "The rogue sails his vessel without the 
 queen's permission, Captain Ludlow. They tell 
 me this is a passage that has been well named ! " 
 
 " I have been through it, and will vouch for 
 its character — he shows no signs of anchoring ! " 
 
 " If the woman who points his course can car- 
 ry him through safely, she deserves her title. 
 We are passing the cove, Captain Ludlow ! " 
 
 " We are past it ! " returned Ludlow, breatl 
 ing heavily. "Let there be no whisper in t 
 ship — pilot or no pilot, we now sink or swim ! ' 
 
 Trysail had ventured to remonstrate, while 
 there was a possibility of avoiding the danger ; 
 but, like his commander, he saw that all depended 
 now on their own coolness and care. He passed 
 busily among the crew ; saw that each brace and 
 bowline was manned; cautioned the few young! 
 officers who continued on board to vigilance ; and 
 then awaited the orders of his superior, with the 
 composure that is so necessary to a seaman in the 
 moment of trial. Ludlow himself, while he felt 
 the load of responsibility he had assumed, suc- 
 ceeded equally well in maintaining an outward 
 calm. The ship was irretrievably in the Gate, 
 and no human power could retrace the step. At 
 such moments of intense anxiety, the human 
 mind is wont to seek support in the opinions of 
 others. Notwithstanding the increasing velocity 
 and the critical condition of his own vessel, Lud- 
 low cast a glance, in order to ascertain the deter- 
 mination of the "Skimmer of the Seas." Black- 
 well's was already behind them, and, as the two 
 currents were again united, the brigantine had 
 luffed up into the entrance of the dangerous pas- 
 sage, and now followed within two hundred feet of 
 the Coquette, directly in her wake. The bold and 
 manly-looking mariner, who controlled her, stood 
 between the knight-heads, just above the image 
 of his pretended mistress, where he examined the 
 foaming reefs, the whirling eddies, and the vary- 
 ing currents, with folded arms and a riveted eye. 
 A glance was exchanged between the two officers, 
 and the free-trader raised his sea-cap. Ludlow 
 was too courteous not to return the salutation, 
 then all his senses were engrossed by the care of 
 his ship. A rock lay before them, over which 
 the water broke in a loud and unceasing roar. 
 For an instant it seemed that the vessel could not 
 avoid the danger ; then it was already past. 
 
 " Brace up ! " said Ludlow, in the calm tones 
 that denote a forced tranquillity. 
 
 "Luff! " called out the Skimmer, so quickly 
 as to show that he took the movements of the 
 cruiser for his guide. The ship came closer to 
 the wind, but the sudden bend in the stream no 
 longer permitted her to steer in a direct line with 
 its course. Though drifting to windward with 
 vast rapidity, her way through the water, which 
 was greatly increased by the contrary actions of 
 the wind and tide, caused the cruiser to shoot 
 across the current ; while a reef, over which the 
 water madly tumbled, lay immediately in her 
 course. The danger seemed too imminent for the 
 observances of nautical etiquette, and Trysail 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 147 
 
 called aloud that the ship must be thrown aback, 
 or she was lost. 
 
 " Hard-a-lee ! " shouted Ludlow, in the strong 
 voice of authority. " Up with every thing — tacks 
 and sheets ! — main-top-sail haul ! " 
 
 The ship seemed as conscious of her danger 
 as any on her decks. The bows whirled away 
 from the foaming reef, and as the sails caught 
 the breeze on their opposite surfaces, they aided 
 iu bringing her head in the contrary direction. 
 A minute had scarcely passed ere she was aback, 
 and in the next she was about and full again. The 
 intensity of the brief exertion kept Trysail fully 
 employed ; but no sooner had he leisure to look 
 ahead, than he again called aloud : 
 
 " Here is another roarer under her bows. — 
 Luff, sir, luff, or we are upon it ! " 
 
 " Hard down your helm ! " once again came 
 in deep tones from Ludlow. " Let fly your sheets 
 — throw all aback, forward and aft — away with 
 the yards, with a will, men ! " 
 
 There was need for all of these precautions. 
 Though the ship had so happily escaped the dan- 
 gers of the first reef, a turbulent and roaring cal- 
 dron in the water, which, as representing the ele- 
 ment in ebullition, is called " the Pot," lay so 
 directly before her as to render the danger ap- 
 parently inevitable. But the power of the canvas 
 was not lost on this trying occasion. The for- 
 ward motion of the ship diminished, and as the 
 current still swept her swiftly to windward, her 
 bows did not enter the rdlling waters until the 
 hidden rocks which caused the commotion had 
 been passed. The yielding vessel rose and fell in 
 the agitated water, as if in homage to the whirl- 
 pool ; but the deep keel was unharmed. 
 
 "If the ship shoot ahead twice her length 
 more, her bows will touch the eddy," exclaimed 
 the vigilant master. 
 
 Ludlow looked around him, for a single mo- 
 ment, in indecision. The waters were whirling 
 and roaring on every side, and the sails began to 
 lose their power, as the ship drew near the bluff 
 which forms the second angle in this critical pass. 
 He saw, by objects on the land, that he still ap- 
 proached the shore, and he had recourse to the 
 seaman's last expedient. 
 
 " Let go both anchors ! " was the final order. 
 
 The fall of the massive iron into the water 
 was succeeded by the rumbling of the cable. 
 The first effort to check the progress of the ves- 
 sel appeared to threaten dissolution to the whole 
 fabric, which trembled under the shock from its 
 mast-heads to the keel. But the enormous rope 
 again yielded, and smoke was seen rising round 
 the wood which held it. The ship whirled with 
 
 the sudden check, and sheered wildly in toward 
 the shore. Met by the helm, and again checked 
 by the efforts of the crew, she threatened to defy 
 restraint. There was an instant when all on board 
 expected to hear the cable snap ; but the upper 
 sails filled, and, as the wind was now brought over 
 the taffrail, the force of the current was in a 
 great degree met by that of the breeze. 
 
 The ship answered her helm and became sta- 
 tionary, while the water foamed against her cut- 
 water, as if she were driven ahead with the power 
 of a brisk breeze. 
 
 The time, from the moment when the Co- 
 quette entered the Gate, to that when she an- 
 chored below "the Pot," though the distance 
 was nearly a mile, seemed but a minute. Certain, 
 however, that his ship was now checked, the 
 thoughts of Ludlow returned to their other duties 
 with the quickness of lightning. 
 
 " Clear away the grapnels," he eagerly cried 
 — " stand by to heave, and haul in !— heave ! " 
 
 But, that the reader may better comprehend 
 the motive of this sudden order, he must consent 
 to return to the entrance of the dangerous pas- 
 sage, and accompany the Water- Witch, also, in 
 her hazardous experiment to get through without 
 a pilot. 
 
 The abortive attempt of the brigantine to 
 stem the tide at the western end of Blackw ell's 
 will be remembered. It had no other effect than 
 to place her pursuer more in advance, and to con- 
 vince her own commander that he had now no 
 . other resource than to continue his course ; for, 
 had he anchored, boats would have insured his 
 capture. When the two vessels appeared off the 
 eastern end of the island, the Coquette was ahead 
 — a fact that the experienced free-trader did not 
 at all regret. He profited by the circumstance 
 to follow her movements, and to make a favora- 
 ble entrance into the uncertain currents. To him, 
 Hell-Gate was known only by its fearful reputa- 
 tion among mariners ; and, unless he might avail 
 himself of the presence of the cruiser, he had 
 no other guide than his own general knowledge 
 of the power of the element. 
 
 When the Coquette had tacked, the calm and 
 observant Skimmer was satisfied with throwing 
 his head-sails flat to the mast. From that in- 
 stant, the brigantine lay floating in the current, 
 neither advancing nor receding a foot, and always 
 keeping her position at a safe distance from the 
 ship, that was so adroitly made to answer the pur- 
 poses of a beacon. The sails were watched with 
 the closest care ; and so nicely was the delicate 
 machine tended, that it would have been, at any 
 moment, in her people's power to have lessened 
 
148 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 her way, by turning to the stream. The Coquette 
 was followed till she anchored, and the call on 
 board the cruiser to heave the grapnels had been 
 given, because the brigantine was apparently 
 floating directly down on her broadside. 
 
 When the grapnels were hove from the royal 
 cruiser, the free-trader stood on the low poop of 
 his little vessel, within fifty feet of him who had 
 issued the order. There was a smile of indifference 
 on his firm mouth, while he silently waved a hand 
 to his own crew. The signal was obeyed by 
 bracing round their yards, and suffering all the 
 canvas to fill. The brigantine shot quickly ahead, 
 and the useless irons fell heavily into the water. 
 
 " Many thanks for your pilotage, Captain 
 Ludlow ! " cried the daring and successful mari- 
 ner of the shawl, as his vessel, borne on by wind 
 and current, receded rapidly from the cruiser. 
 " You will find me off Montauk ; for affairs still 
 keep us on the coast. Our lady has, however, 
 put on the blue mantle ; and ere many settings 
 of the sun, we shall look for deep water. Take 
 good care of her majesty's ship, I pray thee, 
 for she has neither a more beautiful nor a 
 faster ! " 
 
 One thought succeeded another, with the 
 tumult of a torrent, in the mind of Ludlow. As 
 the brigantine lay directly under his broadside, 
 the first impulse was to use his guns ; at the next 
 moment he was conscious that, before they could 
 be cleared, distance would render them useless. 
 His lips had nearly parted with intent to order 
 the cables cut, but he remembered the speed of 
 the brigantine^ and hesitated. A sudden freshen- 
 ing of the breeze decided his course. Finding 
 that the ship was enabled to keep her station, he 
 ordered the crew to thrust the whole of the enor- 
 mous ropes through the hawse-holes ; and, freed 
 from the restraint, he abandoned the anchors, 
 until an opportunity to reclaim them should offer. 
 
 The operation of slipping the cables con- 
 sumed several minutes ; and when the Coquette, 
 with every thing set, was again steering in pursuit, 
 the Water-Witch was already beyond the reach 
 of her guns. Both vessels, however, held on 
 their way, keeping as near as possible to the cen- 
 tre of the stream, and trusting more to fortune, 
 than to any knowledge of the channel, for safety. 
 
 When passing the two small islands that lie 
 at no great distance from the Gate, a boat was 
 seen moving toward the royal cruiser. A man in 
 it pointed to the signal, which was still flying, and 
 offered his services. 
 
 " Tell me," demanded Ludlow, eagerly, f 1 has 
 yonder brigantine taken a pilot ? " 
 
 "By her movements, I judge not. She 
 
 brushed the sunken rock, off the mouth of Flush- 
 ing Bay ; and, as she passed, I heard the song of 
 the lead. I should have gone on board myself, 
 but the fellow rather flies than sails ; and, as for 
 signals, he seems to mind none but his own ! " 
 
 " Bring us up with him, and fifty guineas is 
 thy reward ! " 
 
 The slow-moving pilot, who in truth had just 
 awakened from a refreshing sleep, opened his 
 eyes, and seemed to gather a new impulse from 
 the promise. When his questions were asked 
 and answered, he began deliberately to count on 
 his fingers all the chances that still existed of a 
 vessel, whose crew was ignorant of the navigation, 
 falling into their hands. 
 
 "Admitting that, by keeping mid-channel, 
 she goes clear of White Stone and Frogs," he 
 said, giving to Throgmorton's its vulgar name, 
 "he must be a wizard, to know that the Stepping- 
 Stones lie directly across his course, and that a 
 vessel must steer away northerly, or bring up on 
 rocks that will as surely hold him as if he were 
 built there. Then he runs his chance for the 
 Executioners, which are as prettily placed as needs 
 be, to make our trade flourish ; besides the Mid- 
 dle Ground farther east, though I count but little 
 on that, having often tried to find it myself, with- 
 out success. Courage, noble captain ! if the fel- 
 low be the man you say, we shall get a nearer 
 look at him before the sun sets ; for certainly he 
 who has run the Gate without a pilot in safety, 
 has had as much good luck as can fall to his share 
 in one day." 
 
 The opinion of the East River Branch proved 
 erroneous. Notwithstanding the hidden perils 
 by which she was environed, the Water- Witch 
 continued her course, with a speed that increased 
 as the wind rose with the sun, and with an im- 
 punity from harm that amazed all who were in 
 the secret of her situation. Off Throgmorton's 
 there was, in truth, a danger that might even 
 have baffled the sagacity of the followers of the 
 mysterious lady, had they not been aided by acci- 
 dent. This is the point where the straitened arm 
 of the sea expands into the basin of the sound. 
 A broad and inviting passage lies directly before 
 the navigator, while, like the flattering prospects 
 of life, numberless hidden obstacles are in wait 
 to arrest the unheeding and ignorant. 
 
 The " Skimmer of the Seas " was deeply prac- 
 tised in all the intricacies and dangers of shoals 
 and rocks. Most of his life had been passed in 
 threading the one or in avoiding the other. So 
 keen and quick had his eye become, in detecting 
 the presence of any of those signs which forewarn 
 the mariner of danger, that a ripple on the surface, 
 
A STRANGER IN THE OFFING. 
 
 149 
 
 or a deeper shade in the color of the water, rare- 
 ly escaped his vigilance. Seated on the topsail- 
 yard of his brigantine, he had overlooked the 
 passage from the moment they were through the 
 Gate, and issued his mandates to those below with 
 a precision and promptitude that were not sur- 
 passed by the trained conductor of the Coquette 
 himself. But when his sight embraced the wide 
 reach of water that lay in front, as his little ves- 
 sel swept round the headland of Throgmorton, he 
 believed there no longer existed a reason for so 
 much care. Still there was a motive for hesita- 
 tion. A heavily-moulded and dull-sailing coaster 
 was going eastward not a league ahead of the 
 brigantine, while one of the light sloops of those 
 waters was coming westward still farther in the 
 distance. Notwithstanding the wind was favor- 
 able to each alike, both vessels had deviated from 
 the direct line, and were steering toward a com- 
 mon centre, near an island that was placed more 
 than a mile to the northward of the straight 
 course. A mariner, like him of the India shawl, 
 could not overlook so obvious an intimation of a 
 change in the channel. The Water- Witch was 
 kept away, and her lighter sails were lowered, in 
 order to allow the royal cruiser, whose lofty can- 
 vas was plainly visible above the land, to draw 
 near. When the Coquette was seen also to di- 
 verge, there no longer remained a doubt of the 
 direction necessary to be taken ; and every thing 
 was quickly set upon the brigantine, even to her 
 studding-sails. Long ere she reached the island, 
 the two coasters had met, and each again changed 
 its course, reversing that on which the other had 
 just been sailing. There was, in these move- 
 ments, as plain an explanation as a seaman could 
 desire, that the pursued were right. On reach- 
 ing the Island, therefore, they again luffed into 
 the wake of the schooner ; and, having nearly 
 crossed the sheet of water, they passed the 
 coaster, receiving an assurance, in words, that all 
 was now plain sailing before them. 
 
 Such was the famous passage of the " Skimmer 
 of the Seas " through the multiplied and hidden 
 dangers of the eastern channel. To those who 
 have thus accompanied him, step by step, through 
 its intricacies and alarms, there may seem noth- 
 ing extraordinary in the event ; but, coupled as it 
 was with the character previously earned by that 
 bold mariner, and occurring as it did in an age 
 when men were more disposed than at present to 
 put faith in the marvellous, the reader will not 
 be surprised to learn that it greatly increased his 
 reputation for daring, and had no small influence 
 on an opinion, which was by no means uncommon, 
 that the dealers in contraband were singularly 
 
 favored by a power which greatly exceeded that 
 of Queen Anne and all her servants. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 " Thou shalt see me at Philippi." 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 The commander of her Britannic majesty's 
 ship Coquette slept that night in the hammock- 
 cloths. Before the sun set, the light and swift 
 brigantine, by following the gradual bend of the 
 land, had disappeared in the eastern board ; and 
 it was no longer a question of overtaking her by 
 speed. Still sail was crowded on the royal cruiser ; 
 and, long ere the period when Ludlow threw him- 
 self in his clothes between the ridge-ropes of 
 the quarter-deck, the vessel had gained the broad- 
 est part of the sound, and was already approach- 
 ing the islands that form the " Race." 
 
 Throughout the whole of that long and anxious 
 day, the young sailor had held no communication 
 with the immates of the cabin. The servants of 
 the ship had passed to and fro ; but, though the 
 door seldom opened that he did not bend his 
 eyes feverishly in its direction, neither the alder- 
 man, his niece, the captive, nor even Francois or 
 the negress, made their appearance on the deck. 
 If any there felt an interest in the result of the 
 chase, it was concealed in a profound and almost 
 mysterious silence. Determined not to be out- 
 done in indifference, and goaded by feelings which 
 with all his pride he could not overcome, our 
 young seaman took possession of the place of rest 
 we have mentioned, without using any measures 
 to resume the intercourse. 
 
 When the first watch of the night was come, 
 sail was shortened on the ship, and from that mo- 
 ment till the day dawned again, her captain 
 seemed buried in sleep. With the appearance of 
 the sun, however, he arose, and commanded the 
 canvas to be spread once more, and every exer- 
 tion made to drive the vessel forward to her ob- 
 ject. 
 
 The Coquette reached the Race early in the 
 day, and shooting through the passage on an ebb- 
 tide, she was off Montauk at noon. No sooner 
 had the ship drawn past the cape, and reached a 
 point where she felt the breeze and the waves of 
 the Atlantic, than men were sent aloft, and twen- 
 ty eyes were curiously employed in examining 
 the offing. Ludlow remembered the promise of 
 the Skimmer to meet him at that spot ; and, not- 
 withstanding the motives which the latter might 
 be supposed to have for avoiding the interview, 
 
150 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 so great was the influence of the free-trader's man- 
 ner and character, that the young captain enter- 
 tained a secret expectation the promise would be 
 kept. 
 
 " The offing is clear ! " said the young captain, 
 in a tone of disappointment, when he lowered his 
 glass ; " yet that rover does not seem a man to 
 hide his head in fear — " 
 
 " Tear — that is to say, fear of a Frenchman — 
 and a decent respect for her majesty's cruisers, 
 are very different sorts of things," returned the 
 master. " I never got a bandanna or a bottle of 
 your Cognac ashore in my life, that I did not 
 think every man that I passed in the street could 
 see the spots in the one, or scent the flavor of the 
 other ; but then I never supposed this shyness 
 amounted to more than a certain suspicion in my 
 own mind that other people know when a man is 
 running on an illegal course. I suppose that one 
 of your rectors, who is snugly anchored for life in 
 a good warm living would call this conscience ; 
 but, for my own part, Captain Ludlow, though no 
 great logician in matters of this sort, I have al- 
 ways believed that it was natural concern of mind 
 lest the articles should be seized. If this ' Skim- 
 mer of the Seas ' comes out to give us another 
 chase in rough water, he is by no means as good 
 a judge of the difference between a large and a 
 small vessel as I had thought him — and I confess, 
 sir, I should have more hopes of taking him were 
 the woman under his bowsprit fairly burnt." 
 
 " The offing is clear." 
 
 " That it is, witlj a show of the wind holding 
 here at south-half-south. This bit of water that 
 we have passed between yon island and the main, 
 is lined with bays ; and while we are here looking 
 out for them on the high-seas, the cunning varlets 
 may be trading in any one of the fifty good basins 
 that lie between the cape and the place where we 
 lost him. For aught we know, he may have run 
 westward again in the night-watches, and be at 
 this moment laughing in his sleeve at the man- 
 ner in which he dodged the cruiser." 
 
 " There is too much truth in what you say, 
 Trysail ; for, if the Skimmer be now disposed to 
 avoid us, he has certainly the means in his 
 power." 
 
 " Sail, ho ! " cried the lookout on the maintop- 
 gallant-yard. 
 
 " Where-away ? " 
 
 " Broad on the weather-beam, sir ; here in a 
 range with the light cloud that is just lifting from 
 the water." 
 
 " Can you make out the rig ? " 
 
 " 'Fore George, the fellow is right ! " inter- 
 rupted the master. " The cloud caused her to be 
 
 unseen, but here she is, sure enough, a full-rigged 
 ship under easy canvas, with her head to the 
 westward ! " 
 
 The look of Ludlow through the glass was 
 long, attentive, and grave. 
 
 " We are weak-handed to deal with a stran- 
 ger," he said, when he returned the instrument to 
 Trysail. " You see he has nothing but his top- 
 sails set, a show of canvas that would satisfy no 
 trader in a breeze like this ! " 
 
 The master was silent, but his look was even 
 longer and more critical than that of his captain. 
 When it had ended, he cast a cautious glance 
 toward the diminished crew, who were curiously 
 regarding the vessel that had now become suffi- 
 ciently distinct by a change in the position of the 
 cloud, and then answered in an undertone : 
 
 " 'Tis a Frenchman, or I am a whale ! One 
 may see it by his short yards, and the hoist of his 
 sails, ay, and 'tis a cruiser, too, for no man who 
 had a profit to make on his freight would be ly- 
 ing there under short canvas, and his port within 
 a day's run." 
 
 " Tour opinion is my own ; would to Heaven 
 our people were all here 1 This is but a short 
 complement to take into action with a ship whose 
 force seems equal to our own. What number 
 can we count ? " 
 
 "We are short of seventy — a small muster 
 for four-and-twenty guns, with yards like these to 
 handle." 
 
 " And yet the port may not be insulted ! We 
 are known to be on this coast — " 
 
 " We are seen ! " interrupted the master. 
 "The fellow has wore ship, and he is already set- 
 ting his top-gallant sails." 
 
 There no longer remained any choice between 
 downright flight and preparations for combat. 
 The former would have been easy, for an hour 
 would have taken the ship within the cape ; but 
 the latter was far more in consonance with the 
 spirit of the service to which the Coquette be- 
 longed. The order was given, therefore, for " all 
 hands to clear ship for action ! " It was in the 
 reckless nature of sailors to exult in this sum- 
 mons ; for success and audacity go hand in hand, 
 and long familiarity with the first had, even at 
 that early day, given a confidence that often ap- 
 proached temerity to the seamen of Great Britain 
 and her dependencies. The mandate to prepare 
 for battle was received by the feeble crew of the 
 Coquette as it had often been received before 
 when her decks were filled with the number ne- 
 cessary to give full efficiency to her armament ; 
 though a few of the older and more experienced 
 of the mariners, men in whom confidence had 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 
 
 151 
 
 been diminished by time, were seen to shake their 
 heads as if they doubted the prudence of the in- 
 tended contest. 
 
 Whatever might have been the secret hesita- 
 tion of Ludlow when the character and force of 
 his enemies were clearly established, he betrayed 
 no signs of irresolution from the moment when 
 his decision appeared to be taken. The necessa- 
 ry orders were issued calmly, and with the clear- 
 ness and readiness that perhaps constitute the 
 greatest merit of a naval captain. The yards 
 were slung in chains ; the booms were sent down ; 
 the lofty sails were furled, and, in short, all the 
 preparations that were then customary were made 
 with the usual promptitude and skill. Then the 
 drum beat to quarters, and, when the people were 
 at their stations, their young commander had a 
 better opportunity of examining into the true ef- 
 ficiency of his ship. Calling to the master, he 
 ascended the poop, in order that they might con- 
 fer together with less risk of being overheard ? 
 and at the same time better observe the manoeu- 
 vres of the enemy. 
 
 The stranger had, as Trysail perceived, sud- 
 denly wore round on his heel, and laid his head 
 to the northward. The change in the course 
 brought him before the wind, and, as he imme- 
 diately spread all the canvas that would draw, he 
 was approaching fast. During the time occupied 
 in preparation on board the Coquette, his hull 
 had risen as it were from out of the water ; and 
 Ludlow and his companion had not studied his 
 appearance long, from the poop, before the streak 
 of white paint, dotted with ports, which marks a 
 vessel-of-war, became visible to the naked eye. 
 As the cruiser of Queen Anne continued also to 
 steer in the direction of the chase, half an hour 
 more bro lght them sufficiently near to each other, 
 to remove all doubts of their respective characters 
 and force. The stranger then came to the wind, 
 and made his preparations for combat. 
 
 " The fellow shows a stout heart and a warm 
 battery," observed the master, when the broad- 
 side of the enemy became visible, by this change 
 in his position. " Six-and-twenty teeth, by my 
 count ! though the eye-teeth must be wanting, or 
 he would never be so foolhardy as to brave Queen 
 Anne's Coquette in this impudent fashion ! A 
 prettily-turned boat, Captain Ludlow, and one 
 nimble enough in her movements. But look at 
 his top-sails. Just like his character, sir, all 
 hoist ; and with little or no head to them. I'll 
 not deny but the hull is well enough, for that is 
 no more than carpenter's work; but when it 
 comes to the rig, or trim, or cut of a sail, how 
 should a V Orient or a Brest man understand what | 
 
 is comely ? There is no equalling, after all, a 
 good, wholesome, honest English topsail ; which 
 is neither too narrow in the head, nor too deep in 
 the hoist ; with a bolt-rope of exactly the true 
 size, robands and earings and bowlines that look 
 as if they grew there, and sheets that neither na- 
 ture nor art could alter to advantage. Here are 
 these Americans, now, making innovations in ship- 
 building, and in the sparring of vessels, as if any 
 thing could be gained by quitting the customs 
 and opinions of their ancestors ! Any man may 
 see that all they have about them, that is good 
 for any thing, is English ; while all their nonsense 
 and new-fangled changes come from their own 
 vanity." 
 
 " They get along, Master Trysail, notwith- 
 standing," returned the captain, who, though a 
 sufficiently loyal subject, could not forget his 
 birthplace; "and many is the time this ship, 
 one of the finest models of Plymouth, has been 
 bothered to overhaul the coasters of these seas. 
 Here is the brigantine, that has laughed at us on 
 our best tack, and with our choice of wind." 
 
 " One cannot say where that brigantine was 
 built, Captain Ludlow. It may be here, it may 
 be there — for I look upon her as a nondescript, 
 as old Admiral Top used to call the galliots of 
 the north seas — but, concerning these new Amer- 
 ican fashions, of what use are they, I would ask, 
 Captain Ludlow ? In the first place, they are 
 neither English nor French, which is as much as 
 to confess they are altogether outlandish : in the 
 second place, they disturb the harmony and estab- 
 lished usages among wrights and sail-makers, and, 
 though they may get along well enough now, 
 sooner or later, take my word for it, they will 
 come to harm. It is unreasonable to suppose 
 that a new people can discover any thing in the 
 construction of a ship, that has escaped the wis- 
 dom of seamen as old. The Frenchman is clew- 
 ing up his top-gallant-sails, and means to let them 
 hang ; which is much the same as condemning 
 them at once — and, therefore, I am of opinion 
 that all these new fashions will come to no good." 
 
 " Your reasoning is absolutely conclusive, 
 Master Trysail," returned the captain, whose 
 thoughts were differently employed. " I agree 
 with you, it would be safer for the stranger to 
 send down his yards." 
 
 " There is something manly and becoming in 
 seeing a ship strip herself, as she comes into ac- 
 tion, sir ! It is like a boxer taking off his jacket, 
 with the intention of making a fair stand-up fight 
 for it. — That fellow is filling away again, and 
 means to manoeuvre before he comes up fairly to 
 his work," 
 
THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 152 
 
 The eye of Ludlow had never quitted the 
 stranger. He saw that the moment for serious 
 action was not distant ; and, bidding Trysail keep 
 the vessel on her course, he descended to the 
 quarter-deck. For a single instant, the young 
 commander paused, with his hand on the door 
 of the cabin ; then, overcoming his reluctance, he 
 entered the apartment. 
 
 The Coquette was built after a fashion much 
 in vogue a century since, and which, by a fickle- 
 ness that influences marine architecture as well as 
 less important things, is again coming into use 
 for vessels of her force. The accommodations of 
 the commander were on the same deck with the 
 batteries of the ship, and they were frequently 
 made to contain two or even four guns of the 
 armament. When Ludlow entered his cabin, 
 therefore, he found a crew stationed around the 
 gun which was placed on the side next the enemy, 
 and all the customary arrangements made which 
 precede a combat. The state-rooms abaft, how- 
 ever, as well as the little apartment which lay be- 
 tween them, were closed. Glancing his eye about 
 him, and observing the carpenters in readiness, 
 he made a signal for them to knock away the 
 bulkheads, and lay the whole of the fighting part 
 of the ship in common. While this duty was go- 
 ing on, he entered the after-cabin. 
 
 Alderman Van Beverout and his companions 
 were found together, and evidently in expectation 
 of the visit they now received. Passing coolly by 
 the former, Ludlow approached his niece, and, 
 taking her hand, he led her to the quarter-deck, 
 making a sign for her female attendant to follow. 
 Descending into the depths of the ship, the cap- 
 tain conducted his charge into a part of the 
 berth-deck that was below the water-line, and as 
 much removed from danger as she could well be, 
 without encountering a foul air, or sights that 
 might be painful to one of her sex and habits. 
 
 " Here is as much safety as a vessel-of-war 
 affords in a moment like this," he said, when his 
 companion was silently seated on a mess-chest. 
 " On no account quit the spot, till I — or some 
 other — advise you it maybe done without hazard." 
 
 Alida had submitted to be led thither without 
 a question. Though her color went and came, 
 she saw the little dispositions that were made for 
 her comfort, and without which, even at that mo- 
 ment, the young sailor could not quit her in the 
 same silence. But when they were ended, and 
 her conductor was about to retire, his name es- 
 caped her lips by an exclamation that seemed 
 hurried and involuntary. 
 
 " Can I do aught else to quiet your apprehen- 
 sions ? " the young man inquired, though he 
 
 studiously avoided her eye, as he turned to put 
 the question. " I know your strength of mind, 
 and that you have a resolution which exceeds the 
 courage of your sex ; else I would not venture so 
 freely to point out the danger which may beset 
 one, even here, without a self-command and dis- 
 cretion that shall restrain all sudden impulses of 
 fear." 
 
 " Notwithstanding your generous interpretation 
 of my character, Ludlow, I am but woman after 
 all." 
 
 " I did not mistake you for an amazon," re- 
 turned the young man, smiling, perceiving that she 
 checked her words by a sudden effort. " All I I 
 expect from you is the triumph of reason over 
 female terror. I shall not conceal that the odds 
 — perhaps I may say that the chances are against 
 us ; yet the enemy must pay for my ship ere he 1 
 has her ! She will be none the worse defended, 
 Alida, from the consciousness that thy liberty 
 and comfort depend in some measure on our ex- 
 ertions. — Would you say more ? " 
 
 La belle Barberie struggled with herself, and . 
 she became calm, at least in exterior. 
 
 " There has been a singular misconception be- 
 tween us, but this is no moment for exclamation ! 
 Ludlow, I would not have you part with me, at '= 
 such a time as this, with that cold and reproach- . 
 ful eye ! " 
 
 She paused. When the young man ventured 
 to raise his look, he saw the beautiful girl stand- 
 ing with a hand extended toward him, as if offer- 
 ing a pledge of amity ; while the crimson on her 
 cheek, and her yielding but half-averted eye, 
 spoke with the eloquence of maiden modesty. 
 Seizing the hand, he answered, hastily : 
 
 " Time was when this action would have made 
 me happy — " 
 
 The young man paused, for his gaze had un- 
 consciously become riveted on the rings of the 
 hand he held. Alida understood the look, and, 
 drawing one of the jewels, she offered it with a 
 smile that was as attractive as her beauty. 
 
 " One of these may be spared," she said. 
 " Take it, Ludlow ; and when thy present duty 
 shall be performed, return it, as a gage that I 
 have promised that no explanation which you may 
 have a right to ask shall be withheld." 
 
 The young man took the ring and forced it on 
 the smallest of his fingers, in a mechanical man- 
 ner, and with a bewildered look that seemed to 
 inquire if some one of those which remained was 
 not the token of a plighted faith. It is probable 
 that he might have continued the discourse, had 
 not a gun been fired from the enemy. It recalled 
 him to the more serious business of the hour. 
 
LUDLOW'S 
 
 Already more than half disposed to believe all he 
 could wish, he raised the fair hand, which had 
 just bestowed the boon, to his lips, and rushed 
 upon deck. 
 
 " The monsieur is beginning to bluster," said 
 Trysail, who had witnessed the descent of his 
 commander, at that moment and on such an er- 
 rand, with great dissatisfaction. " Although his 
 shot fell short, it is too much to let a Frenchman 
 have the credit of the first word." 
 
 " He has merely given the weather-gun, the 
 signal of defiance. Let him come down, and he 
 will not find us in a hurry to leave him ! " 
 
 " No, no : as for that, we are snug enough ! " 
 returned the master, chuckling as he surveyed 
 the half-naked spars, and the light top-hamper, 
 to which he had himself reduced the ship. " If 
 running is to be our play, we have made a false 
 move at the beginning of the game. These top- 
 sails, spanker, and jib, make a show that says 
 more for bottom than for speed. Well, come 
 what will of this affair, it will leave me a master, 
 though it is beyond the power of the best duke 
 in England to rob me of my share of the honor ! " 
 
 With this consolation for his perfectly hope- 
 less condition as respects promotion, the old sea- 
 man walked forward, examining critically into the 
 state of the vessel ; while his young commander, 
 having cast a look about him, motioned to his 
 prisoner and the alderman to follow to the poop. 
 
 "I do not pretend to inquire into the nature 
 of the tie which unites you with some in this 
 ship," Ludlow commenced, addressing his words 
 to Seadrift, though he kept his gaze on the recent 
 gift of Alida, " but, that it must be strong, is evi- 
 dent by the interest they have taken in your fate. 
 One who is thus esteemed should set a value on 
 himself. How far you have trifled with the laws, 
 I do not wish to say ; but here is an opportunity 
 to redeem some of the public favor. You are a 
 seaman, and need not be told that my ship is not 
 as strongly manned as one could wish her at this 
 moment, and that the services of every English- 
 man will be welcome. Take charge of these six 
 guns, and depend on my honor that your devo- 
 tion to the flag shall not go unrequited." 
 
 " You much mistake my vocation, noble cap- 
 tain," returned the dealer in contraband, faintly 
 laughing. " Though one of the seas, I am one 
 more used to the calm latitudes than to these 
 whirlwinds of war. You have visited the brigan- 
 tine of our mistress, and must have seen that her 
 temple resembles that of Janus more than that of 
 Mars. The deck of the Water-Witch has none 
 of this frowning garniture of artillery." 
 
 Ludlow listened in amazement. Surprise, in- 
 
 SURPRISE. 153 
 
 credulity, and scorn, were each in turn expressed 
 in his frowning countenance. 
 
 " This is unbecoming language for one of your 
 calling," he said, scarce deeming it necessary to 
 conceal the contempt he felt. " Do you acknowl- 
 edge fealty to this ensign — are you an English- 
 man ? " 
 
 " I am such as Heaven was pleased to make 
 me — fitter for the zephyr than the gale — the jest 
 than the war-shout — the merry moment than the 
 angry mood." 
 
 " Is this the man whose name for daring has 
 passed into a proverb — the dauntless, reckless, 
 skilful 'Skimmer of the Seas ? ' " 
 
 "North is not more removed from south than 
 I from him in the qualities you seek ! It was not 
 my duty to undeceive you as to the value of your 
 captive, while he whose services are beyond price 
 to our mistress was still on the coast. So far 
 from being him you name, brave captain, I claim 
 to be no more than one of his agents, who, having 
 some experience in the caprices of woman, he 
 trusts to recommend his wares to female fancies. 
 Though so useless in inflicting injuries, I may 
 make bold, however, to rate myself as excellent 
 at consolation. Suffer that I appease the fears of 
 la belle Barb6rie during the coming tumult, and 
 you shall own that one more skilful in that mer- 
 ciful office is rare indeed ! " 
 
 " Comfort whom, where, and what thou wilt, 
 miserable effigy of manhood — but hold, there is 
 less of terror than of artifice in that lurking smile 
 and treacherous eye ! " 
 
 "Discredit both, generous captain ! On the 
 faith of one who can be sincere at need, a whole- 
 some fear is uppermost, whatever else the disobe- 
 dient members may betray. I could fain weep 
 rather than be thought valiant just now ! " 
 
 Ludlow listened in wonder. He had raised an 
 arm to arrest the retreat of the young mariner, 
 and by a natural movement his hand slid along 
 the limb it had grasped, until it held that of Sea- 
 drift. The instant he touched the soft and un- 
 gloved palm, an idea, as novel as it was sudden, 
 crossed his brain. Retreating a step or two, he 
 examined the light and agile form of the other, 
 from head to feet. The frown of displeasure, 
 which had clouded his brow, changed to a look 
 of unfeigned surprise ; and, for the first time, the 
 tones of the voice came over his recollection as 
 being softer and more melodious than is wont in 
 man. 
 
 " Truly, thou art not the ' Skimmer of the 
 Seas ! ' " he exclaimed, when his short examina- 
 tion was ended. 
 
 " No truth more certain. I am one of little 
 
154 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 account in this rude encounter, though, were that 
 gallant seaman here," and the color deepened on 
 the cheeks of Seadrift as he spoke, " his arm and 
 counsel might prove a host ! Oh ! I have seen 
 him in scenes far more trying than this, when the 
 elements have conspired with other dangers. 
 The example of his steadiness and spirit has giv- 
 en courage even to the feeblest heart in the brig- 
 antine ! Now suffer me to offer consolation to the 
 timid Alida." 
 
 " I should little merit her gratitude, were the 
 request refused," returned Ludlow. " Go, gay and 
 gallant Master Seadrift ! if the enemy fears thy 
 presence on the deck as little as I dread it with 
 la belle Barberie, thy services here will be use- 
 less ! " 
 
 Seadrift colored to the temples, crossed his 
 arms meekly on his bosom, sank in an attitude 
 of leave-taking, that was so equivocal as to cause 
 the attentive and critical young captain to smile, 
 and then glided past him and disappeared through 
 a hatchway. 
 
 The eye of Ludlow followed the active and 
 graceful form, while it continued in sight ; and, 
 when it was no longer visible, he faced the alder- 
 man with a look which seemed to inquire how 
 far he might be acquainted with the true charac- 
 ter of the individual who had been the cause of so 
 much pain to himself. 
 
 " Have I done well, sir, in permitting a sub- 
 ject of Queen Anne to quit us at this emergency ? " 
 he demanded, observing that either the phlegm 
 or self-command of Myndert rendered him proof 
 to scrutiny. 
 
 " The lad may be termed contraband of war," 
 returned the alderman, without moving a muscle ; 
 " an article that will command a better price in a 
 quiet than in a turbulent market. In short, Cap- 
 tain Cornelius Ludlow, this Master Seadrift will 
 not answer thy purpose at all in combat." 
 
 " And is this example of heroism to go any 
 further, or may I count on the assistance of Mr. 
 Alderman VanBeverout? — He has the reputation 
 of a loyal citizen." 
 
 "As for loyalty," returned the alderman, "so 
 far as saying ' God bless the queen,' at city feasts 
 will go, none are more so. A wish is not an ex- 
 pensive return for the protection of her fleets and 
 armies, and I wish her and you success against 
 the enemy, with all my heart. But I never ad- 
 mired the manner in which the States-General 
 were dispossessed of their territories on this con- 
 tinent, Master Ludlow, and therefore I pay the 
 Stuarts little more than I owe them in law." 
 
 " Which is as much as to say, that you will 
 join the gay smuggler, in administering consola- 
 
 tion to one whose spirit places her above the 
 need of such succor." 
 
 "Not so fast, young gentleman. We mer- 
 cantile men like to see offsets in our books, before 
 they are balanced. Whatever may be my opin- 
 ion of the reigning family, which I only utter to 
 you in confidence, and not as coin that is to pass 
 from hand to hand, my love for the Grand Mo- 
 narque is still less. Louis is at loggerheads with 
 the United Provinces, as well as with our gracious 
 queen ; and I see no harm in opposing one of his 
 cruisers, since they certainly annoy trade, and 
 render returns for investments inconveniently un- 
 certain. I have heard artillery in my time, hav- 
 ing in my younger days led a band of city volun- 
 teers in many a march and countermarch around 
 the Bowling Green ; and for the honor of the 
 second ward of the good town of Manhattan, I 
 am now ready to undertake to show that all 
 knowledge of the art has not entirely departed 
 from me." 
 
 " That is a manly answer, and, provided it be 
 sustained by a corresponding countenance, there 
 shall be no impertinent inquiry into motives. 
 'Tis the officer that makes the ship victorious ; 
 for, when he sets a good example and understands 
 his duty, there is little fear of the men. Choose 
 your position among any of these guns, and we will 
 make an effort to disappoint yon servants of 
 Louis, whether we do it as Englishmen, or only 
 as the allies of the Seven Provinces." 
 
 Myndert descended to the quarter-deck, and 
 having deliberately deposited his coat on the cap- 
 stan, replaced his wig by a handkerchief, and tight- 
 ened the buckle that did the office of suspenders, 
 he squinted along the guns, with a certain air that 
 served to assure the spectators he had at least no 
 dread of the recoil. 
 
 Alderman Yan Beverout was a personage far 
 too important not to be known by most of those 
 who frequented the goodly town of which he was 
 a civic officer. His presence, therefore, among 
 the men, not a few of whom were natives of the 
 colony, had a salutary effect : some yielding to the 
 sympathy which is natural to a hearty and en- 
 couraging example, while it is possible there were 
 a few that argued less of the danger, in conse- 
 quence of the indifference of a man who, being 
 so rich, had so many motives to take good care 
 of bis person. Be this as it might, the burgher 
 was received by a cheer which drew a short but 
 pithy address from him, in which he exhorted his 
 companions in arms to do their duty, in a manner 
 which should teach the Frenchmen the wisdom 
 of leaving that coast in future free from annoy- 
 ance ; while he wisely abstained from all the com* 
 
DUMONT DE LA ROCHEFORTE. 
 
 155 
 
 monplace allusions to king and country — a sub- 
 ject to which he felt his inability to do proper 
 justice. 
 
 " Let every man remember that cause for 
 courage, which may be most agreeable to his own 
 habits and opinions," concluded this imitator of 
 the Hannibals and Scipios of old ; " for that is 
 the surest and the briefest method of bringing 
 his mind into an obstinate state. In my own 
 case, there is no want of motive ; and I dare say 
 each one of you may find some sufficient reason 
 for entering heart and hand into this battle. Pro- 
 tests and credit! what would become of the 
 affairs of the best house in the colonies, were its 
 principal to be led a captive to Brest or l'Orient ? 
 It might derange the business of the whole city. 
 I'll not offend your patriotism with such a sup- 
 position, but at once believe that your minds are 
 resolved, like my own, to resist to the last ; for 
 this is an interest which is general, as all ques- 
 tions of a commercial nature become, through 
 their influence on the happiness and prosperity 
 of society." 
 
 Having terminated his address in so apposite 
 and public-spirited a manner, the worthy burgher 
 hemmed loudly, and resumed his accustomed si- 
 lence, perfectly assured of his own applause. If 
 the matter of Myndert's discourse wears too much 
 the air of an undivided attention to his own in- 
 terests, the reader will not forget it is by this 
 concentration of individuality that most of the 
 mercantile prosperity of the world is achieved. 
 The seamen listened with admiration, for they 
 understood no part of the appeal, and, next to a 
 statement which shall be so lucid as to induce 
 every hearer to believe it is no more than a happy 
 explanation of his own ideas, that which is un- 
 intelligible is apt to unite most suffrages in its 
 favor. 
 
 " You see your enemy, and you know your 
 work ! " said the clear voice of Ludlow, who, as 
 he passed among the people of the Coquette, 
 spoke to them in that steady, unwavering tone 
 which, in moments of danger, goes to the heart. 
 " I shall not pretend that we are as strong as I 
 could wish ; but the greater the necessity for a 
 strong pull, the readier a true seaman will be to 
 give it. There are no nails in that ensign. When 
 I am dead, you may pull it down if you please ; 
 but so long as I live, my men, there it shall fly ! 
 And now, one cheer to show your humor, and let 
 the rest of your noise come from the guns." 
 
 The crew complied, with a full-mouthed and 
 hearty hurrah ! — Trysail assured a young, laugh- 
 ing, careless midshipman, who even at that mo- 
 ment could enjoy an uproar, that he had seldom 
 
 heard a prettier piece of sea-eloquence than that 
 which had just fallen from the captain ; it being 
 both " neat and gentleman-like." 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 " Sir, it is 
 
 A charge too heavy for my strength ; but yet 
 We'll strive to bear it for your worthy sake, 
 To the extreme edge of hazard." 
 
 All's well that ends well. 
 
 The vessel, which appeared so inopportunely 
 for the safety of the ill-manned British cruiser, 
 was, in truth, a ship that had roved from among 
 the islands of the Caribbean Sea, in quest of 
 some such adventure as that which now presented 
 itself. She was called La Belle Fontange, and her 
 commander, a youth of two-and-twenty, was al- 
 ready well known in the salons of the Marais, 
 and behind the walls of the Rue Basses des Rem- 
 parts, as one of the most gay and amiable of 
 those who frequented the former, and one of the 
 most spirited and skilful among the adventurers 
 who sometimes trusted to their address in the 
 latter. Rank, and influence at Versailles, had 
 procured for the young Chevalier Dumont de la 
 Rocheforte a command to which he could lay no 
 claim either by his experience or his services. 
 His mother, a near relative of one of the beauties 
 of the court, had been commanded to use sea- 
 bathing, as a preventive against the consequences 
 of the bite of a rapid lap-dog. By way of a suit- 
 able episode to the long descriptions she was in the 
 daily habit of writing to those whose knowledge 
 of her new element was limited to the constant 
 view of a few ponds and ditches teeming with 
 carp, or an occasional glimpse of some of the tur- 
 bid reaches of the Seine, she had vowed to de- 
 vote her youngest child to Neptune ! In due time, 
 that is to say, while the poetic sentiment was at 
 the access, the young chevalier was duly enrolled, 
 and, in a time that greatly anticipated all regular 
 and judicious preferment, he was placed in com- 
 mand of the corvette in question and sent to the 
 Indies to gain glory for himself and his country. 
 
 The Chevalier Dumont de la Rocheforte was 
 brave, but his courage was not the calm and si- 
 lent self-possession of a seaman. Like himself, 
 it was lively, buoyant, thoughtless, bustling, and 
 full of animal feeling. He had all the pride of a 
 gentleman, and unfortunately for the duty which 
 he had now for the first time to perform, one of 
 its dictates taught him to despise that species of 
 mechanical knowledge which it was, just at this 
 
156 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 moment, so important to the commander of La 
 Fontange to possess. He could dance to admira- 
 tion, did the honors of his cabin with faultless 
 elegance, and had caused the death of an excel- 
 lent mariner, who had accidentally fallen over- 
 board, by jumping into the sea to aid him, without 
 knowing how to swim a stroke himself — a rashness 
 that had diverted those exertions which might 
 have saved the unfortunate sailor, from the assist- 
 ance of the subordinate to the safety of his supe- 
 rior. He wrote sonnets prettily, and had some 
 ideas of the new philosophy which was just begin- 
 ning to dawn upon the world ; but the cordage 
 of bis ship, and the lines of a mathematical prob- 
 lem, equally presented labyrinths he had never 
 threaded. 
 
 It was perhaps fortunate for the safety of all in 
 her, that La Belle Fontange possessed an inferior 
 officer, in the person of a native of Boulogne-sur- 
 Mer, who was quite competent to see that she kept 
 the proper course, and that she displayed none 
 of the top-gallants of her pride at unpropitious 
 moments. The ship itself was sufficiently and 
 finely moulded, of a light and airy rig, and of 
 established reputation for speed. If it was defec- 
 tive in any thing, it had the fault, in common 
 with its commander, of a want of sufficient solidi- 
 ty to resist the vicissitudes and dangers of the 
 turbulent element on which it was destined to 
 act. 
 
 The vessels were now within a mile of each 
 other. The breeze was steady, and sufficiently 
 fresh for all the ordinary evolutions of a naval 
 combat ; while the water was just quiet enough 
 to permit the ships to be handled with confidence 
 and accuracy. La Fontange was running with 
 her head to the eastward, and, as she had the ad- 
 vantage of the wind, her tall tracery of spars 
 leaned gently in the direction of her adversary. 
 The Coquette was standing on the other tack 
 and necessarily inclined from her enemy. Both 
 vessels were stripped to their topsails, spankers, 
 and jibs, though the lofty sails of the Frenchman 
 were fluttering in the breeze, like the graceful 
 folds of some fanciful drapery. No human being 
 was distinctly visible in either fabric, though dark 
 clusters around each mast-head showed that the 
 ready topmen were prepared to discharge their 
 duties, even in the confusion and dangers of the 
 impending contest. Once or twice, La Fontange in- 
 clined her head more in the direction of her adver- 
 sary ; then, sweeping up again to the wind, she stood 
 on in stately beauty. The moment was near when 
 the ships were about to cross each other, at a point 
 where a musket would readily send its messenger 
 across the water that lay between them. Ludlow, 
 
 who closely watched each change of position, and 
 every rise and fall of the breeze, went on the poop, 
 and swept the horizon with his glass, for the last 
 time before his ship should be enveloped in smoke, 
 To his surprise, he discovered a pyramid of can- 
 vas rising above the sea, in the direction of the 
 wind. The sail was clearly visible to the naked 
 eye, and had only escaped earlier observation in 
 the duties of so urgent a moment. Calling the 
 master to his side, he inquired his opinion con- 
 cerning the character of the second stranger. 
 But Trysail confessed it exceeded even his long- 
 tried powers of observation, to say more than 
 that it was a ship running before the wind, with 
 a cloud of sail spread. After a second and a 
 longer look, however, the experienced master ven- 
 tured to add that the stranger had the squareness 
 and symmetry of a cruiser, but of what size he 
 would not yet presume to declare. 
 
 " It may be a light ship, under her top-gallant 
 and studding sails, or it may be that we see only 
 the lofty duck of some heavier vessel, Captain 
 Ludlow — ha ! he has caught the eye of the 
 Frenchman, for the corvette has signals abroad ! " 
 
 " To your glass ! — If the stranger answer, we 
 have no choice but our speed." 
 
 There was another keen and anxious examina- 
 tion of the upper spars of the distant ship, but 
 the direction of the wind prevented any signs of 
 her communicating with the corvette from being 
 visible. La Fontange appeared equally uncertain 
 of the character of the stranger, and for a mo- 
 ment there was some evidence of an intention to 
 change her course. But the moment for indeci- 
 sion had passed. The ships were already sweep- 
 ing up abreast of each other, under the constant 
 pressure of the breeze. 
 
 " Be ready, men ! " said Ludlow, in a low but 
 firm voice, retaining his elevated post on the 
 poop, while he motioned to his companion to re- 
 turn to the main deck. "Fire at his flash ! " 
 
 Intense expectation succeeded. The two 
 graceful fabrics sailed steadily on, and came with- 
 in hail. So profound was the stillness in the Co- 
 quette, that the rushing sound of the water she 
 heaped under her bows was distinctly audible to 
 all on board, and might be likened to the deep 
 breathing of some vast animal, that was collecting 
 its physical energies for some unusual exertion. 
 On the other hand, tongues were loud and clam- 
 orous among the cordage of La Fontange. Just as 
 the ships were fairly abeam, the voice of young 
 Dumont was heard, shouting through a trumpet 
 for his men to fire. Ludlow smiled, in a sea- 
 man's scorn. Raising his own trumpet, with a 
 quiet gesture to his attentive and ready crew, the 
 
A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. 
 
 157 
 
 whole discharge of their artillery broke out of 
 the dark side of the ship, as if it had been by the 
 volition of the fabric. The answering broadside 
 was received almost as soon as their own had 
 been given, and the two vessels passed swiftly 
 without the line of shot. 
 
 The wind had sent back their own smoke up- 
 on the English, and, for a time, it floated on their 
 decks, wreathed itself in the eddies of the sails, 
 and passed away to leeward, with the breeze that 
 succeeded to the counter-current of the explo- 
 sions. The whistling of shot and the crash of 
 wood had been heard amid the din of the com- 
 bat. Giving a glance at his enemy, who still 
 stood on, Ludlow leaned from the poop, and, 
 with a sailor's anxiety, he endeavored to scan the 
 gear aloft. 
 
 " What is gone, sir ? " he asked of Trysail, 
 whose earnest face just then became visible 
 through the drifting smoke. "What sail is so 
 heavily flapping ? " 
 
 " Little harm done, sir — little harm. — Bear a 
 hand with the tackle on that fore-yard-arm, you 
 lubbers ! you move like snails in a minuet ! The 
 fellow has shot away the lee foretop-sail-sheet, 
 sir ; but we shall soon get our wings spread again. 
 Lash it down, boys, as if it were butt-bolted — so ; 
 steady out your bow-line, forward. Meet her, you 
 can*, meet her, you may — meet her ! " 
 
 The smoke had disappeared, and the eye of 
 the captain rapidly scanned the whole of his ship. 
 Three or four topmen had already caught the 
 flapping canvas, and were seated on the extremity 
 of the fore-yard, busied in securing their prize. 
 A hole or two was visible in the other sails, and 
 here and there an unimportant rope was dangling 
 in a manner to show that it had been cut by shot. 
 Further than this, the damage aloft was not of a 
 nature to attract his attention. 
 
 There was a different scene on deck. The 
 feeble crew were earnestly occupied in loading 
 the guns, and rammers and sponges were han- 
 dled with all the intenseness which men would 
 manifest in a moment so exciting. The alderman 
 was never more absorbed in his ledger than he 
 now appeared in his duty of a cannoneer ; and 
 the youths, to whom the command of the bat- 
 teries had necessarily been confided, diligently 
 aided him with their greater authority and experi- 
 ence. Trysail stood near the capstan, coolly giv- 
 ing the orders which have been related, and gazing 
 upward with an interest so absorbed as to render 
 him unconscious of all that passed around his 
 person. Ludlow saw, with pain, that blood dis- 
 colored the deck at his feet, and that a seaman lay 
 dead within reach of his arm. The rent plank 
 
 and shattered ceiling showed the spot where the 
 destructive missile had entered. 
 
 Compressing his lips like a man resolved, the 
 commander of the Coquette bent farther forward 
 and glanced at the wheel. The quartermaster, 
 who held the spokes, was erect, steady, and kept 
 his eye on the leach of the head-sail, as unerring- 
 ly as the needle points to the pole. 
 
 These were the observations of a single min- 
 ute. The different circumstances related had 
 been ascertained with so many rapid glances of 
 the eye, and they had even been noted without 
 losing for a moment the knowledge of the pre- 
 cise situation of La Fontange. The latter was al- 
 ready in stays. It became necessary to meet the 
 evolution by another as prompt. 
 
 The order was no sooner given, than the Co- 
 quette, as if conscious of the hazard she ran of 
 being raked, whirled away from the wind, and, by 
 the time her adversary was ready to deliver her 
 other broadside, she was in a position to receive 
 and to return it. Again the ships approached 
 each other, and once more they exchanged their 
 streams of fire when abeam. 
 
 Ludlow now saw, through the smoke, the 
 ponderous yard of La Fontange swinging heavily 
 against the breeze, and the main-topsail come 
 flapping against her mast. Swinging off from the 
 poop by a backstay that had been shot away a 
 moment before, he alighted on the quarter-deck 
 by the side of the master. 
 
 "Touch all the braces ! " he said, hastily, but 
 still speaking low and clearly; " give a drag upon 
 the bowlines — luff, sir, luff ; jam the ship up hard 
 against the wind ! " 
 
 The clear, steady answer of the quartermas- 
 ter, and the manner in which the Coquette, still 
 vomiting her sheets of flame, inclined toward the 
 breeze, announced the promptitude of the subor- 
 dinates. In another minute, the vast volumes of 
 smoke which enveloped the two ships joined, and 
 formed one white and troubled cloud, which was 
 rolling swiftly before the explosions, over the sur- 
 face of the sea, but which, as it rose higher in the 
 air, sailed gracefully to leeward. 
 
 Our young commander passed swiftly through 
 the batteries, spoke encouragingly to his people, 
 and resumed his post on the poop. The station- 
 ary position of La Fontange, and his own efforts 
 to get to windward, were already proving advan- 
 tageous to Queen Anne's cruiser. There was 
 some indecision on the part of the other ship, 
 which instantly caught the eye of one whose 
 readiness in his profession so much resembled in- 
 stinct. 
 
 The Chevalier Dumont had amused his leisure 
 
158 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 by running his eyes over the records of the naval 
 history of his country, where he had found this 
 and that commander applauded for throwing their 
 topsails to the mast, abreast of their enemies. 
 Ignorant of the difference between a ship in line 
 and one engaged singly, he had determined to 
 prove himself equal to a similar display of spirit. 
 At the moment when Ludlow was standing alone 
 on the poop, watching with vigilant eyes the 
 progress of his own vessel, and the position of 
 his enemy, indicating merely by a look or a gesture, 
 to the attentive Trysail beneath, what he wished 
 done, there was actually a wordy discussion on 
 the quarter-deck of the latter, between the mari- 
 ner of Boulogne-sur-Mer and the gay favorite of 
 the salons. They debated on the expediency of 
 the step which the latter had taken, to prove the 
 existence of a quality that no one doubted. The 
 time lost in this difference of opinion was of the 
 last importance to the British cruiser. Standing 
 gallantly on, she was soon out of the range of 
 her adversary's fire ; and, before the Boulognois 
 had succeeded in convincing his superior of his 
 error, their antagonist was on the other tack, and 
 luffing across the wake of La Fontange. The 
 topsail was then tardily filled, but, before the lat- 
 ter ship had recovered her motion, the sails of 
 her enemy overshadowed her deck. There was 
 now every prospect of the Coquette passing to 
 windward. At that critical moment, the fair- 
 setting topsail of the British cruiser was nearly 
 rent in two by a shot. The ship fell off, the 
 yards interlocked, and the vessels were foul. 
 
 The Coquette had all the advantage of posi- 
 tion. Perceiving the important fact at a glance, 
 Ludlow made sure of its continuance by throw- 
 ing his grapnels. When the two ships were 
 thus firmly lashed together, the young Dumont 
 found himself relieved from a mountain of em- 
 barrassment. Sufficiently justified by the fact 
 that not a single gun of his own would bear, 
 while a murderous discharge of grape had just 
 swept along his decks, he issued the order to 
 board. But Ludlow, with his weakened crew, 
 had not decided on so hazardous an evolution as 
 that which brought him in absolute contact with 
 his enemy, without foreseeing the means of avoid- 
 ing all the consequences. The vessels touched 
 each other only at one point, and this spot was 
 protected by a row of muskets. No sooner, 
 therefore, did the impetuous young Frenchman 
 appear on the taffrail of his own ship, supported 
 by a band of followers, than a close and deadly 
 fire swept them away to a man. Young Dumont 
 alone remained. For a single moment, his eye 
 glared wildly ; but the active frame, still obedient 
 
 to the governing impulse of so impetuous a spir- 
 it, leaped onward. He fell, without life, on the 
 deck of his enemy. 
 
 Ludlow watched every movement, with a 
 calmness that neither personal responsibility, nor 
 the uproar and rapid incidents of the terrible 
 scene, could discompose. 
 
 " Now is our time to bring the matter hand 
 to hand ! " he cried, making a gesture to Trysail 
 to descend from the ladder, in order that he 
 might pass. 
 
 His arm was arrested, and the grave old mas- 
 ter pointed to windward. 
 
 " There is no mistaking the cut of those 
 sails, or the lofty rise of those spars ! The 
 stranger is another Frenchman ! " 
 
 One glance told Ludlow that his subordinate 
 was right ; another sufficed to show what was 
 necessary. 
 
 " Cast loose the forward grapnel — cut it— 
 away with it, clear ! " was shouted, through his 
 trumpet, in a voice that rose commanding and 
 clear amid the roar of the combat. 
 
 Released forward, the stern of the Coquette 
 yielded to the pressure of her enemy, whose sails 
 were all drawing, and she was soon in a position 
 to enable her head-yards to be braced sharp 
 aback, in a direction opposite to the one in which 
 she had so lately lain. The whole broadside was 
 then delivered into the stern of La Fontange, the 
 last grapnel was released, and the ships sepa- 
 rated. 
 
 The single spirit which presided over the 
 evolutions and' exertions of the Coquette still 
 governed her movements. The sails were 
 trimmed, the ship was got in command, and, be- 
 fore the vessels had been asunder five minutes, 
 the duty of the vessel was in its ordinary active 
 but noiseless train. 
 
 Nimble topmen were on the yards, and broad 
 folds of fresh canvas were flapping in the breeze, 
 as the new sails were bent and set. Ropes were 
 spliced, or supplied by new rigging, the spars 
 examined, and, in fine, all that watchfulness and 
 sedulous care were observed which are necessary 
 to the efficiency and safety of a ship. Every 
 spar was secured, the pumps were sounded, and 
 the vessel held on her way, as steadily as if she 
 had never fired nor received a shot. 
 
 On the other hand, La Fontange betrayed the 
 indecision and confusion of a worsted ship. Her 
 torn canvas was blowing about in disorder, many 
 important ropes beat against her masts unheeded, 
 and the vessel itself drove before the breeze in 
 the helplessness of a wreck. For several minutes 
 there seemed no controlling mind in the fabric ; 
 
APPEARANCE OF A STRANGER. 
 
 159 
 
 and when, after so much distance was lost as to 
 give her enemy all the advantage of the wind, a 
 tardy attempt was made to bring the ship up 
 again, the tallest and most important of her 
 masts was seen tottering, until it finally fell, with 
 all its hamper, into the sea. 
 
 Notwithstanding the absence of so many of 
 his people, success would now have been certain 
 had not the presence of the stranger compelled 
 Ludlow to abandon his advantage. But the con- 
 sequences to his own vessel were too sure to al- 
 low of more than a natural and manly regret 
 that so favorable an occasion should escape him. 
 The character of the stranger could no longer be 
 mistaken. The eye of every seaman in the Co- 
 quette as well understood the country of the 
 high and narrow - headed sails, the tall taper 
 masts and short yards of the frigate whose hull 
 was now distinctly visible, as a landsman recog- 
 nizes an individual by the distinguishing marks 
 of his features or attire. Had there been any 
 lingering doubts on the subject, they would have 
 all given place to certainty, when the stranger 
 was seen exchanging signals with the crippled 
 corvette. 
 
 It was now time for Ludlow to come to a 
 speedy determination on his future course. The 
 breeze still held to the southward, but it was be- 
 ginning to lessen, with every appearance that it 
 would fail before nightfall. The land lay a few 
 leagues to the northward, and the whole horizon 
 of the ocean, with the exception of the two 
 French cruisers, was clear. Descending to the 
 quarter-deck, he approached the master, who 
 was seated in a chair, while the surgeon dressed 
 a severe hurt in one of his legs. Shaking the 
 sturdy veteran cordially by the hand, he expressed 
 his acknowledgments for his support in a mo- 
 ment so trying. 
 
 " God bless you ! God bless you ! Captain 
 Ludlow," returned the old sailor, dashing his 
 hand equivocally across his weather-beaten brow. 
 " Battle is certainly the place to try both ship 
 and friends ; and, Heaven be praised ! Queen 
 Anne has not failed of either this day. No man 
 has forgotten his duty, so far as my eyes have 
 witnessed ; and this is saying no trifle, with half 
 a crew and an equal enemy. As for the ship, 
 she never behaved better ! I had my misgivings 
 when I saw the new main-topsail go, which it 
 did, as all here know, like a bit of rent muslin 
 between the fingers of a seamstress. — Run for- 
 ward, Mr. Hopper, and tell the men in the fore 
 rigging to take another drag on that swifter, and 
 to be careful and bring the strain equal on all 
 the shrouds. — A lively youth, Captain Ludlow, 
 
 and one who only wants a little reflection, with 
 some more experience, and a small dash of mod- 
 esty, together with the seamanship he will natu- 
 rally get in time, to make a very tolerable offi- 
 cer." 
 
 " The boy promises well ; but I have come to 
 ask thy advice, my old friend, concerning our 
 next movements. There is no doubt that the 
 fellow who is coming down upon us is both a 
 Frenchman and a frigate." 
 
 " A man might as well doubt the nature of a 
 fish-hawk which is to pick up all the small fry, 
 and to let the big ones go. We might show him 
 our canvas and try the open sea, but I fear that 
 foremast is too weak, with three such holes in 
 it, to bear the sail we should need ! " 
 
 " What think you of the wind ? " said Ludlow, 
 affecting an indecision he did not feel, in order to 
 soothe the feelings of his wounded companion. 
 " Should it hold, we might double Montauk, and 
 return for the rest of our people ; but should it 
 fail, is there no danger that the frigate should 
 tow within shot ? — We have no boats to escape 
 her." 
 
 " The soundings on this coast are as regular 
 as the roof of an out-house," said the master, af- 
 ter a moment of thought, " and it is my advice, 
 if it is your pleasure to ask it, Captain Ludlow, 
 that we shoal our water as much as possible while 
 the wind lasts. Then I think we shall be safe 
 from a very near visit from the big one ; as for 
 the corvette, I am of opinion that, like a man 
 who has eaten his dinner, she has no stomach for 
 another slice." 
 
 Ludlow applauded the advice of his subordi- 
 nate, for it was precisely what he had determined 
 on doing ; and, after again complimenting him on 
 his coolness and skill, he issued the necessary 
 orders. The helm of the Coquette was now placed 
 hard a-weather, the yards were squared, and the 
 ship was put before the wind. After running in 
 this direction for a few hours, the wind gradually 
 lessening, the lead announced that the keel was 
 quite as near the bottom as the time of the tide, 
 and the dull heaving and setting of the element, 
 rendered at all prudent. The breeze soon after 
 fell, and our young commander ordered an anchor 
 to be dropped into the sea. 
 
 His example in the latter respect was imitated 
 by the hostile cruisers. They had joined, and 
 boats were seen passing from one to the other, 
 so long as there was light. When the sun fell be- 
 hind the western margin of the ocean, their dusky 
 outlines, distant about a league, gradually grew 
 less and less distinct, until the darkness of night 
 enveloped sea and land in its gloom. 
 
160 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 "Now; the business." 
 
 Othello. 
 
 Three hours later, and every noise was hushed 
 on board the royal cruiser. The toil of repairing 
 damages had ceased ; and most of the living, with 
 the dead, lay alike in common silence. The 
 watchfulness necessary to the situation of the 
 fatigued mariners, however, was not forgotten; 
 and, though so many slept, a few eyes were still 
 open, affecting to be alert. Here and there some 
 drowsy seaman paced the deck, or a solitary 
 young officer endeavored to keep himself awake 
 by humming a low air in his narrow bounds. 
 The mass of the crew slept heavily with pistols 
 in their belts and cutlasses at their sides, between 
 the guns. There was one figure extended upon 
 the quarter-deck, with the head resting on a shot- 
 box. The deep breathing of this person denoted 
 the unquiet slumbers of a powerful frame, in 
 which weariness contended with suffering. It 
 was the wounded and feverish master, who had 
 placed himself in that position to catch an hour 
 of the repose that was necessary to his situation. 
 On an arm-chest which had been emptied of its 
 contents, lay another but a motionless human 
 form, with the limbs composed in decent order, 
 and with the face turned toward the melancholy 
 stars. This was the body of the young Dumont, 
 which had been kept with the intention of con- 
 signing it to consecrated earth, when the ship 
 should return to port. Ludlow, with the delicacy 
 of a generous and chivalrous enemy, had with his 
 own hands spread the stainless ensign of his 
 country over the remains of the inexperienced 
 but gallant young Frenchman. 
 
 There was one little group on the raised deck 
 in the stern of the vessel, in which the ordinary 
 interests of life still seemed to exercise their in- 
 fluence. Hither Ludlow had led Alida and her 
 companions, after the duties of the day were over, 
 in order that they might breathe an air fresher 
 than that of the interior of the vessel. The ne- 
 gress nodded near her young mistress ; the tired 
 alderman sat with his back supported against 
 the mizzen-mast, giving audible evidence of his 
 situation ; and Ludlow stood erect, occasionally 
 throwing an earnest look on the surrounding and 
 unruffled waters, then lending his attention to the 
 discourse of his companions. Alida and Seadrift 
 were seated near each other, on chairs. The con- 
 versation was low, while the melancholy and the 
 tremor in the voice of la belle Barberie denoted 
 how much the events of the day had shaken her 
 usually firm and spirited mind. 
 
 " There is a mingling of the terrific and the 
 beautiful, of the grand and the seducing, in this 
 unquiet profession of yours ! " observed, or rather 
 continued Alida, replying to a previous remark 
 of the young sailor. "That tranquil sea— the 
 hollow sound of the surf on the shore — and this 
 soft canopy above us, form objects on which even 
 a girl might dwell in admiration, were not her 
 ears still ringing with the roar and cries of the 
 combat. Did you say the commander of the 
 Frenchman was but a youth ? " 
 
 "A mere boy in appearance, and one who 
 doubtless owed his rank to the advantages of birth 
 and family. We know it to be the captain by 
 his dress, no less than by the desperate effort he 
 made to recover the false step taken in the earlier 
 part of the action." 
 
 " Perhaps he has a mother, Ludlow ! — a sister 
 — a wife — or — " 
 
 Alida paused, for with maiden diffidence she 
 hesitated to pronounce the tie which was upper- 
 most in her thoughts. 
 
 " He may have had one or all ! Such are the 
 sailor's hazards, and — " 
 
 " Such the hazards of those who feel an inter- 
 est in their safety ! " uttered the low but expres- 
 sive voice of Seadrift. 
 
 An eloquent silence succeeded. Then the 
 voice of Myndert was heard muttering indistinct- 
 ly " Twenty of beaver, and three of marten — as 
 per invoice." The smile which, spite of the 
 train of his thoughts, rose on the lips of Ludlow, 
 had scarcely passed away, when the hoarse tones 
 of Trysail, rendered still hoarser by his sleep, 
 were plainly heard in a stifled cry, saying, " Bear 
 a hand there with your stoppers ! — the Frenchman 
 is coming round upon us again." 
 
 " That is prophetic ! " said one, aloud, behind 
 the listening group. Ludlow turned, quick as the 
 flag fluttering on its vane, and through the dark- 
 ness he recognized in the motionless but manly 
 form that stood near him on the poop, the fine 
 person of the "Skimmer of the Seas." 
 
 " Call away — " 
 
 "Call none!" interrupted Tiller, stopping 
 the hurried order which involuntarily broke 
 from the lips of Ludlow. " Let thy ship feign 
 the silence of a wreck, but in truth let there 
 be watchfulness and preparation even to her 
 store-rooms ! You have done well, Captain Lud- 
 low, to be on the alert, though I have known 
 sharper eyes than those of some of your look- 
 outs." 
 
 " Whence come you, audacious man, and 
 what mad errand has brought you again on the 
 deck of my ship ? " 
 
THE SKIMMER'S CAUTION. 
 
 161 
 
 " I come from my habitation on the sea. My 
 business here is warning ! " 
 
 " The sea ! " echoed Ludlow, gazing about him 
 at the narrow and empty view. " The hour for 
 mockery is past, and you would do well to trifle 
 no more with those who have serious duties to 
 discharge." 
 
 " The hour is indeed one for serious duties — 
 duties more serious than any you apprehend. 
 But, before I enter on explanation, there must be 
 conditions between us. You have one of the 
 sea-green lady's servitors here ; I claim his liberty 
 for my secret." 
 
 " The error into which I had fallen exists no 
 longer," returned Ludlow, looking for an instant 
 toward the shrinking form of Seadrift. " My 
 conquest is worthless, unless you come to supply 
 his place." 
 
 " I come for other purposes — here is one who 
 knows I do not trifle when urgent affairs are on 
 hand. Let thy companions retire, that I may 
 speak openly." 
 
 Ludlow hesitated, for he had not yet recovered 
 from the surprise of finding the redoubtable free- 
 trader so unexpectedly on the deck of his ship. 
 But Alida and her companion arose, like those 
 who had more confidence in their visitor, and, 
 arousing the negress from her sleep, they de- 
 scended the ladder and entered the cabin. "When 
 Ludlow found himself alone with Tiller, he de- 
 manded an explanation. 
 
 - It shall not be withheld, for time presses, 
 and that which is to be done must be done with a 
 seaman's care and coolness," returned the other. 
 " You have had a close brush with one of Louis's 
 rovers, Captain Ludlow, and prettily was the 
 ship of Queen Anne handled ! Have your people 
 suffered and are you still strong enough to make 
 good a defence worthy of your conduct this 
 morning ? " 
 
 " These are facts you would have me utter to 
 the ear of one who may be false — even a spy ! " 
 
 Captain Ludlow — but circumstances warrant 
 thy suspicions ! " 
 
 " One whose vessel and life I have threatened 
 — an outlaw ! " 
 
 " This is too true," returned the " Skimmer 
 of the Seas," suppressing the sudden impulse of 
 pride and resentment. "I am threatened and 
 pursued — I am a smuggler and an outlaw : still 
 am I human ! You see that dusky object which 
 borders the sea to the northward ? " 
 
 " It is too plainly land to be mistaken." 
 
 " Land, and the land of my birth !— the ear- 
 liest, perhaps I may say the happiest of my days, 
 were passed on that long and narrow island." 
 11 
 
 " Had I known it earlier, there would have 
 been a closer look among its bays and inlets." 
 
 " The search might have been rewarded. A 
 cannon would easily throw its shot from this 
 deck to the spot where my brigantine now lies, 
 snug at a single anchor." 
 
 " Unless you have swept her near since the 
 setting of the sun, that is impossible ! When the 
 night drew on, nothing was in view but the frig- 
 ate and corvette of the enemy." 
 
 " We have not stirred a fathom ; yet, true as 
 the word of a fearless man, there lies the vessel 
 of the sea-green lady. You see the place where 
 the beach falls — here, at the nearest point of the 
 land — the island is nearly severed by the water 
 at that spot, and the Water- Witch is safe in the 
 depths of the bay which enters from the north- 
 ward. There is not a mile between us. From 
 the eastern hill, I witnessed your spirit this day, 
 Captain Ludlow, and though condemned in per- 
 son, I felt that the heart could never be outlawed. 
 There is a fealty here, that can survive even the 
 persecutions of the custom-houses ! " 
 
 " You are happy in your terms, sir. I will 
 not conceal that I think a seaman, even as skil- 
 ful as yourself, must allow that the Coquette was 
 kept prettily in command." 
 
 " No pilot-boat could have been more sure or 
 more lively. I knew your weakness, for the ab- 
 sence of all your boats was no secret to me ; and 
 I confess I could have spared some of the profits 
 of the voyage, to have been on your decks this 
 day with a dozen of my truest fellows ! " 
 
 " A man who can feel this loyalty to the flag, 
 should find a more honorable occupation for his 
 usual life." 
 
 " A country that can inspire it, should be cau- 
 tious not to estrange the affections of its children 
 by monopolies and injustice. But these are dis- 
 cussions unsuited to the moment. I am doubly 
 your countryman in this strait, and all the past is 
 no more than the rough liberties which friends 
 take with each other. Captain Ludlow, there is 
 danger brooding in that dark void which lies to 
 seaward ! " 
 
 " On what authority do you speak thus ? " 
 
 " Sight. — I have been among your enemies, 
 and have seen their deadly preparations. I know 
 the caution is given to a brave man, and nothing 
 shall be extenuated. You have need of all your 
 resolution and of every arm — for they will be up- 
 on you in overwhelming numbers ! " 
 
 " True or false, thy warning shall not be neg- 
 lected." 
 
 " Hold ! " said the Skimmer, arresting a for- 
 ward movement of his companion, with his hand. 
 
162 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 " Let them sleep to the last moment. You have 
 yet an hour, and rest will renew their strength. 
 You may trust the experience of a seaman who 
 has passed half of the life of man on the ocean, 
 and who has witnessed all its most stirring 
 scenes, from the conflict of the elements to every 
 variety of strife that man has invented to destroy 
 his fellows. For another hour, you will be secure. 
 After that hour, God protect the unprepared ! and 
 God be merciful to him whose minutes are num- 
 bered!" 
 
 " Thy language and manner are those of one 
 who deals honestly," returned Ludlow, struck 
 by the apparent sincerity of the free-trader's 
 communication. " In every event, we shall 
 be ready, though the manner of your having 
 gained this knowledge is as great a mys- 
 tery as your appearance on the deck of my 
 ship." 
 
 "Both can be explained," returned the Skim- 
 mer, motioning to his companion to follow to the 
 taffrail. Here he pointed to a small and nearly 
 imperceptible skiff, which floated at the bottom 
 of a stern-ladder, and continued : " One who so 
 often pays secret visits to the land, can never be 
 in want of the means. This nut-shell was easily 
 transported across the narrow slip of land that 
 separates the bay from the ocean ; and, though 
 the surf moans so hoarsely, it is easily passed by 
 a steady and dexterous oarsman. I have been 
 under the martingale of the Frenchman, and you 
 see that I am here. If your lookouts are less 
 alert than usual, you will remember that a low 
 gunwale, a dusky side, and a muffled oar, are not 
 readily detected, when the eye is heavy and the 
 body wearied. I must now quit you — unless you 
 think it more prudent to send those who can be 
 of no service.out of the ship before the trial shall 
 come ? " 
 
 Ludlow hesitated. A strong desire to put 
 Alida in a place of safety was met by his distrust 
 of the smuggler's faith. He reflected a moment 
 ere he answered. 
 
 " Your cockle-shell is not sufficiently secure 
 for more than its owner. Go, and as you prove 
 loyal, may you prosper ! " 
 
 " Abide the blow ! " said the Skimmer, grasp- 
 ind his hand. He then stepped carelessly on the 
 dangling ropes, and descended into the boat be- 
 neath. Ludlow watched his movements with an 
 intense and possibly with a distrustful curiosity. 
 When seated at the sculls, the person of the free- 
 trader was nearly indistinct; and, as the boat 
 glided noiselessly away, the young commander no 
 longer felt disposed to censure those who had 
 permitted its approach without a warning. In 
 
 less than a minute the dusky object wa& con- 
 founded with the surface of the sea. 
 
 Left to himself, the young commander of the 
 Coquette seriously reflected on what had passed. 
 The manner of the Skimmer, the voluntary char- 
 acter of his communication, its probability and the 
 means by which the knowledge had been obtained, 
 united to confirm his truth. Instances of similar 
 attachment to their flag, in seamen whose ordi- 
 nary pursuits were opposed to its interests, were 
 not uncommon. Their misdeeds resemble the 
 errors of passion and temptation, while the mo- 
 mentary return to better things is the inextin- 
 guishable impulse of nature. 
 
 The admonition of the free-trader, who had en- 
 joined the captain to allow his people to sleep, 
 was remembered. Twenty times, within as many 
 minutes, did our young sailor examine his watch 
 to note the tardy passage of the time ; as often 
 did he return it to his pocket with a determina- 
 tion to forbear. At length he descended to the 
 quarter-deck, and drew near the only form that 
 was erect. The watch was commanded by a 
 youth of sixteen, whose regular period of proba- 
 tionary service had not passed, but who, in the 
 absence of his superiors, was intrusted with this 
 delicate and important duty. He stood leaning 
 against the capstan, one hand supporting his i 
 cheek, while the elbow rested against the drum, 
 and the body was without motion. Ludlow re- 
 garded him a moment ; then lifting a lighted bat- 
 tle-lantern to his face, he saw that he slept. 
 Without disturbing the delinquent, the captain 
 replaced the lantern and passed forward. In the 
 gangway there stood a marine, with his musket 
 shouldered, in an attitude of attention. As Lud- 
 low brushed within a few inches of his eyes, it was 
 easy to be seen that they opened and shut invol- 
 untarily, and without consciousness of what lay 
 before them. On the top-gallant-forecastle was I 
 a short, square, and well-balanced figure, that 
 stood without support of any kind, with both 
 arms thrust into the bosom of a jacket, and a 
 head that turned slowly to the west and south, 
 as if it were examining the ocean in those direc- 
 tions. 
 
 Stepping lightly up the ladder, Ludlow saw 
 that it was the veteran seaman who was rated as 
 the captain of the forecastle. 
 
 " I am glad, at last, to find one pair of eyes 
 open in my ship," said the captain. " Of the 
 whole watch, you alone are alert." 
 
 " I have doubled cape fifty, your honor, and 
 the seaman who has made that voyage rarely 
 wants the second call of the boatswain. Young 
 heads have young eyes, and sleep is next to 
 
A NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 163 
 
 food, after a heavy drag at gun-tackles and lan- 
 yards." 
 
 " What draws your attention so steadily in 
 that quarter ? There is nothing visible but the 
 haze of the sea," 
 
 u 'Tis the direction of the Frenf* 1 "- 
 does your honor hear n^> +v ' 
 
 "Notb'~ ■■" 
 
 look of the veteran tar was aloft, the second at 
 the heavens, the last at his captain. 
 
 "I fear thy wound stiffs- 
 air has adder! +- 
 
164 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 heavens were clouded, though a few thoughtful 
 stars glimmered between the masses of vapor. 
 
 "A calmer night never shut in the Ameri- 
 cas ! " said the veteran Trysail, shaking his head 
 doubtingly and speaking in a cautious tone. " I 
 am one of those, Captain Ludlow, who think more 
 than half the virtue is out of a ship when her an- 
 chor is down!" 
 
 " With a weakened crew, it may be better for 
 us that the people have no yards to handle nor 
 any bowlines to steady. All our care can be given 
 to defence." 
 
 " This is much like telling the hawk he can 
 fight the better with a clipped wing, since he has 
 not the trouble of flying ! The nature of a ship is 
 motion, and the merit of a seaman is judicious 
 and lively handling ; but of what use is complain- 
 ing, since it will neither lift an anchor nor fill a 
 sail! What is your opinion, Captain Ludlow, 
 concerning an after-life, and of all those matters 
 one occasionally hears of if he happens to drift in 
 the way of a church ? " 
 
 " The question is broad as the ocean, my good 
 friend, and a fitting answer might lead us into ab- 
 strusities deeper than any problem in our trigo- 
 nometry. — Was that the stroke of an oar? " 
 
 "'Twas a land-noise. Well, I am no great 
 navigator among the crooked channels of religion. 
 Every new argument is a sand-bar, or a shoal, 
 that obliges me to tack and stand off again ; else 
 I might have been a bishop for any thing the 
 world knows to the contrary. 'Tis a gloomy 
 night, Captain Ludlow, and one that is sparing of 
 its stars. I never knew luck come of an expedi- 
 tion on which a natural light did not fall ! " 
 
 " So much the worse for those who seek to 
 harm us. — I surely heard an oar in the rowlock ! " 
 
 " It came from the shore, and had the sound 
 of the land about it," quietly returned the master, 
 who still kept his look riveted on the heavens. 
 " This world in which we live, Captain Ludlow, 
 is one of extraordinary uses ; but that, to which 
 we are steering, is still more unaccountable. 
 They say that worlds are sailing above us like 
 ships in a clear sea ; and there are people who 
 believe that, when we take our departure from 
 this planet, we are only bound to another, in 
 which we are to be rated according to our own 
 deeds here ; which is much the same as being 
 drafted for a new ship with a certificate of service 
 in one's pocket." 
 
 " The resemblance is perfect," returned the 
 other, leaning far over a timber-head to catch 
 the smallest sound that might come from the 
 ocean. — " That was no more than the blowing of 
 a porpoise ! " 
 
 " It was strong enough for the puff of a whale. 
 There is no scarcity of big fish on the coast of 
 this island, and bold harpooners are the men 
 who are scattered about on the sandy downs, 
 here-away, to the northward. I once sailed with 
 an officer who knew the name of every star in 
 the heavens, and often have I passed hours in 
 listening to his history of their magnitude and 
 character, during the middle watches. It was 
 his opinion that there is but one navigator for all 
 the rovers of the air, whether meteors, comets, 
 or planets." 
 
 " No doubt he must be right, having been 
 there." 
 
 " No, that is more than I can say for him, 
 though few men have gone deeper into the high 
 latitudes on both sides of our own equator, than 
 he. — One surely spoke — here, in a line with yon- 
 der low star ! " 
 
 " Was it not a water-fowl ? " 
 
 " No gull — ha ! here we have the object, just 
 within the starboard jibboom-guy. There comes 
 the Frenchman in his pride, and 'twill be lucky 
 for him who lives to count the slain, or to boast 
 of his deeds ! " 
 
 The master descended from the forecastle, and 
 passed among the crew, with every thought re- 
 called from its excursive flight to the duty of the 
 moment. Ludlow continued on the forecastle 
 alone. There was a low, whispering sound in the 
 ship, like that which is made by the murmuring 
 of a rising breeze, then all was still as death. 
 
 The Coquette lay with her head to seaward, 
 the stern necessarily pointing toward the land. 
 The distance from the latter was less than a mile, 
 and the direction of the ship's hull was caused 
 by the course of the heavy ground-swell, which 
 incessantly rolled the waters on the wide beach 
 of the island. The head-gear lay in the way of 
 the dim view; and Ludlow walked out on the 
 bowsprit, in order that nothing should lie between 
 him and the part of the ocean he wished to study. 
 Here he had not stood a minute when he caught, 
 first a confused and then a more distinct glimpse 
 of a line of dark objects, advancing slowly tow- 
 ard the ship. Assured of the position of his ene- 
 my, he returned in-board and descended among 
 his people. In another moment he was again on 
 the forecastle, across which he paced leisurely, 
 and, to all appearance, with the calmness of one 
 who enjoyed the refreshing coolness of the night. 
 
 At the distance of a hundred fathoms, the 
 dusky line of boats paused and began to change 
 its order. At that instant the first puffs of the 
 land breeze were felt, and the stern of the ship 
 made a gentle inclination seaward. 
 
CLOSE QUARTERS. 
 
 165 
 
 " Help her with the mizzen ! Let fall the top- 
 sail ! " whispered the young captain to those be- 
 neath him. Ere another moment the flap of the 
 loosened sail was heard. The ship swung still 
 farther, and Ludlow stamped on the deck. 
 
 A round, fiery light shot beyond the martin- 
 gale, and the smoke rolled along the sea, out- 
 stripped by a crowd of missiles that were hissing 
 across the water. A shout, in which command 
 was mingled with shrieks, followed, and oar-blades 
 were heard dashing the water aside regardless of 
 concealment. The ocean lighted, and three or 
 four boat-guns returned the fatal discharge from 
 the ship. Ludlow had not spoken. Still alone 
 on his elevated and exposed post, he watched the 
 effects of both fires with a commander's coolness. 
 The smile that struggled about his compressed 
 mouth, when the momentary confusion among the 
 boats betrayed the success of his own attack, had 
 been wild and exulting ; but when he heard the 
 rending of the plank beneath him, the heavy 
 groans that succeeded, and the rattling of lighter 
 objects that were scattered by the shot as it passed 
 with lessened force along the deck of his ship, it 
 became fierce and resentful. 
 
 "Let them have it !" he shouted, in a clear, 
 animating voice, that assured the people of his 
 presence and his care. " Show them the humor 
 of an Englishman's sleep, my lads ! Speak to 
 them, tops and decks ! " 
 
 The order was obeyed. The remaining bow- 
 gun was fired, and the discharge of all the Co- 
 quette's musketry and blunderbusses followed. 
 A crowd of boats came sweeping under the bow- 
 sprit of the ship at the same moment, when there 
 arose the clamor and shouts of the boarders. 
 
 The succeeding minutes were full of confusion, 
 and of devoted exertion. Twice were the head 
 and bowsprit of the ship filled with dark groups 
 of men, whose grim visages were only visible by 
 the pistol's flash ; as often were they cleared by 
 the pike and bayonet. A third effort was more 
 successful, and the tread of the assailants was 
 heard on the deck of the forecastle. The strug- 
 gle was but momentary, though many fell, and 
 the narrow arena was soon slippery with blood. 
 The Boulognese mariner was foremost among his 
 countrymen, and at that desperate emergency 
 Ludlow and Trysail fought in the common herd. 
 Numbers prevailed ; and it was fortunate for the 
 commander of the Coquette, that the sudden re- 
 coil of a human body that fell upon him, drove 
 him from his footing to the deck beneath. 
 
 Recovering from the fall, the young captain 
 cheered his men by his voice and was answered 
 by the deep-mouthed shouts which an excited 
 
 seaman is ever ready to deliver, even to the 
 death. 
 
 " Rally in the gangways, and defy them ! " 
 was the animated cry — " rally in the gangways, 
 hearts of oak," was returned by Trysail, in a 
 ready but weakened voice. The men obeyed, and 
 Ludlow saw that he could still muster a force ca- 
 pable of resistance. 
 
 Both parties for a moment paused. The fire 
 of the top annoyed the boarders, and the defend- 
 ants hesitated to advance. But the rush from 
 both was common and a fierce encounter occurred 
 at the foot of the foremast. The crowd thick- 
 ened in the rear of the French, and one of their 
 number no sooner fell than another filled his 
 place. The English receded, and Ludlow, extri- 
 cating himself from the mass, retired to the quar- 
 ter-deck. 
 
 " Give way, men ! " he again shouted, so clear 
 and steady as to be heard above the cries and 
 execrations of the fight. " Into the wings ; down, 
 between the guns — down — to your covers V\ 
 
 The English disappeared, as if by magic. 
 Some leaped upon the ridge-ropes, others sought 
 the protection of the guns, and many went through 
 the hatches. At that moment Ludlow made his 
 most desperate effort. Aided by the gunner, he 
 applied matches to the two swivels, which had 
 been placed in readiness for a last resort. The 
 deck was enveloped in smoke, and, when the va- 
 por lifted, the forward part of the ship was as 
 clear as if man had never trodden it. All who 
 had not fallen had vanished. 
 
 A shout, and a loud hurrah, brought back 
 the defendants, and Ludlow headed a charge upon 
 the top-gallant-forecastle, again, in person. A few 
 of the assailants showed themselves from behind 
 covers on the deck, and the struggle was renewed. 
 Glaring balls of fire sailed over the heads of the 
 combatants and fell among the throng in the rear. 
 Ludlow saw the danger, and he endeavored to 
 urge his people on to regain the bow-guns, one of 
 which was known to be loaded. But the explo- 
 sion of a grenade on deck, and in his rear, was 
 followed by a shock in the hold, that threatened 
 to force the bottom out of the vessel. The 
 alarmed and weakened crew began to waver ; and 
 as a fresh attack of grenades was followed by a 
 fierce rally, in which the assailants brought up 
 fifty men in a body from their boats, Ludlow found 
 himself compelled to retire amid the retreating 
 mass of his own crew. 
 
 The defence now assumed the character of 
 hopeless but desperate resistance. The cries of 
 the enemy were more and more clamorous ; and 
 they succeeded in nearly silencing the top, by a 
 
THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 166 
 
 heavy fire of musketry established on the bow- 
 sprit and spritsail-yard. 
 
 Events passed much faster than they can be 
 related. The enemy were in possession of all 
 the forward part of the ship to her fore-hatches, 
 but into these young Hopper had thrown himself 
 with half a dozen men, and, aided by a brother 
 midshipman in the launch, backed by a few fol- 
 lowers, they still held the assailants at bay. 
 Ludlow cast an eye behind him, and began to 
 think of selling his life as dearly as possible in 
 the cabins. That glance was arrested by the 
 sight of the malign smile of the sea-green lady, 
 as the gieaming face rose above the taffrail. A 
 dozen dark forms leaped upon the poop, and then 
 arose a voice that sent every tone it uttered to 
 his heart. 
 
 " Abide the shock ! " was the shout of those 
 who came to the succor ; and " abide the shock ! " 
 was echoed by the crew. The mysterious image 
 glided along the deck, and Ludlow knew the ath- 
 letic frame that brushed through the throng at 
 its side. 
 
 There was little noise in the onset, save the 
 groans of the sufferers. It endured but a mo- 
 ment, but it was a moment that resembled the 
 passage of a whirlwind. The defendants knew 
 that they were succored, and the assailants re- 
 coiled before so unexpected a foe. The few that 
 were caught beneath the forecastle were merci- 
 lessly slain, and those above were swept from 
 their post like chaff drifting in a gale. The liv- 
 ing and the dead were heard falling into the sea, 
 and, in an inconceivably short space of time, the 
 decks of the Coquette were free. A solitary en- 
 emy still hesitated on the bowsprit. A powerful 
 and active frame leaped along the spar, and 
 though the blow was not seen, its effects were vis- 
 ible, as the victim tumbled helplessly into the 
 ocean. 
 
 The hurried dash of oars followed, and before 
 the defendants had time to assure themselves of 
 the completeness of their success, the gloomy 
 void of the surrounding ocean had swallowed up 
 the boats. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 i; That face of his I do remember well; 
 Yet, when I saw it last, it -was besmeared 
 As black as "Vulcan, in the smoke of war." 
 
 Twelfth Night. 
 
 From the moment when the Coquette fired 
 her first gun, to the moment when the retiring 
 boats became invisible, was just twenty minutes. 
 
 Of this time, less than half had been occupied by 
 the incidents related in the ship. Short as it was 
 in truth, it seemed to all engaged but an instant. 
 The alarm was over, the sound of the oars had 
 ceased, and still the survivors stood at their 
 posts as if expecting the attack to be renewed. 
 Then came those personal thoughts, which had 
 been suspended in the fearful exigency of such a 
 struggle. The wounded began to feel their pain, 
 and to be sensible of the danger of their injuries ; 
 while the few, who had escaped unhurt, turned a 
 friendly care on their shipmates. Ludlow, as of- 
 ten happens with the bravest and most exposed, 
 had escaped without a scratch ; but he saw by 
 the drooping forms around him, which were no 
 longer sustained by the excitement of battle, that 
 his triumph was dearly purchased. 
 
 " Send Mr. Trysail to me," he said, in a tone 
 that had little of a victor's exultation. u The 
 land-breeze has made, and we will endeavor to 
 improve it, and get inside the cape, lest the morn- 
 ing light give us more of these Frenchmen." 
 
 The order for « Mr. Trysail ! " " The captain 
 calls the master ! " passed in a low call from 
 mouth to mouth, but it was unanswered. A sea- 
 man told the expecting young commander that 
 the surgeon desired his presence forward. A 
 gleaming of lights and a little group at the foot 
 of the foremast was a beacon not to be mistaken. 
 The weather-beaten master was in agony ; and 
 his medical attendant had just risen from a fruit- 
 less examination of his wounds, as Ludlow ap- 
 proached. 
 
 " I hope the hurt is not serious ? " hurriedly 
 whispered the alarmed young sailor to the sur- 
 geon, who was coolly collecting his implements, 
 in order to administer to some more promising 
 subject. "Neglect nothing that your art can 
 suggest." 
 
 " The case is desperate, Captain Ludlow," re- 
 turned the phlegmatic surgeon ; " but if you 
 have a taste for such things, there is as beautiful 
 a case for amputation promised in the foretop-man 
 whom I have had sent below, as offers once in a 
 whole life of active practice ! " 
 
 " Go, go — " interrupted Ludlow, half pushing 
 the unmoved man of blood away, as he spoke ; 
 " go, then, where your services are needed." 
 
 The other cast a glance around him, reproved 
 his attendant, in a sharp tone, for unnecessarily 
 exposing the blade of some ferocious-looking in- 
 strument to the dew, and departed. 
 
 " Would to God that some portion of these 
 injuries had befallen those who are younger and 
 stronger ! " murmured the captain, as he leaned 
 over the dying master. " Can I do aught to 
 
AN ALARM 
 
 relieve thy mind, my old and worthy ship- 
 mate ? " 
 
 " I have had my misgivings, since we have dealt 
 with witchcraft ! " returned Trysail, whose voice 
 the rattling of the throat had already nearly si- 
 lenced; "I have had misgivings — but no mat- 
 ter. Take care of the ship — I have been think- 
 ing of our people — you'll have to cut — they can 
 never lift the anchor — the wind is here at north." 
 
 " All this is ordered. Trouble thyself no fur- 
 ther about the vessel ; she shall be taken care of, 
 I promise you. Speak of thy wife, and of thy 
 wishes in England." 
 
 " God bless Mrs. Trysail ! She'll get a pen- 
 sion, and I hope contentment ! You must give 
 the reef a good berth, in rounding Montauk — and 
 you'll naturally wish to find the anchors again 
 when the coast is clear — if you can find it in your 
 conscience, say a good word of poor old Ben Try- 
 sail, in the dispatches — " 
 
 The voice of the master sank to a whisper, 
 and became inaudible. Ludlow thought he strove 
 to speak again, and he bent his ear to his mouth. 
 
 " I say — the weather-main-swifter and both 
 backstays are gone ; look to the spars, for — for 
 — there are sometimes — heavy puffs at night — in 
 the Americas ! " 
 
 The last heavy respiration succeeded, after 
 which came the long silence of death. The body 
 was removed to the poop, and Ludlow, with a 
 saddened heart, turned to duties that this acci- 
 dent rendered still more imperative. 
 
 Notwithstanding the heavy loss, and the origi- 
 nally weakened state of her crew, the sails of the 
 Coquette were soon spread, and the ship moved 
 away in silence, as if sorrowing for those who had 
 fallen at her anchorage. When the vessel was 
 fairly in motion, her captain ascended to the 
 poop, in order to command a clearer view of all 
 around him, as well as to profit by the situation to 
 arrange his plans for the future. He found he 
 had been anticipated by the free-trader. 
 
 " I owe my ship — I may say my life, since in 
 such a conflict they would have gone together, 
 to thy succor ! " said the young commander, as 
 he approached the motionless form of the smug- 
 gler. " Without it, Queen Anne would have lost 
 a cruiser, and the flag of England a portion of its 
 well-earned glory." 
 
 " May thy royal mistress prove as ready to re- 
 member her friends in emergencies as mine. In 
 good truth, there was little tine to lose, and, trust 
 me, we well understood the extremity. If we 
 were tardy, it was because whale-boats were to 
 be brought from a distance ; for the land lies be- 
 tween my brigantine and the sea," 
 
 OF FIRE. 167 
 
 " He who came so opportunely, and acted so 
 well, needs no apology." 
 
 " Captain Ludlow, are we friends ? " 
 
 " It cannot be otherwise. All minor consid- 
 erations must be lost in such a service. If it is 
 your intention to push this illegal trade further 
 on the coast, I must seek another station." 
 
 u Not so. Remain, and do credit to your flag 
 and the land of your birth. I have long thought 
 this is the last time the keel of the Water-Witch 
 will ever plough the American seas. Before I quit 
 you, I would have an interview with the mer- 
 chant. A worse man might have fallen, and just 
 now even a better man might be spared. I hope 
 no harm has come to him ? " 
 
 " He has shown the steadiness of his Holland 
 lineage to-day. During the boarding he was use- 
 ful and cool." 
 
 " It is well. Let the alderman be summoned 
 to the deck, for my time is limited, and I have 
 much to say — " 
 
 The Skimmer paused, for at that moment a 
 fierce light glared upon the ocean, the ship, and 
 all in it. The two seamen gazed at each other in 
 silence, and recoiled, as men recede before an un- 
 expected and fearful attack. But a bright and 
 wavering light, which rose out of the forward 
 hatch of the vessel, explained all. At the same 
 moment, the deep stillness which, since the bustle 
 of making sail had ceased, pervaded the ship, 
 was broken by the appalling cry of " Fire ! " 
 
 The alarm which brings the blood in the swift- 
 est current to a seaman's heart, was now heard 
 in the depths of the vessel. The smothered 
 sounds below, the advancing uproar, and the 
 rush on deck, with the awful summons in the 
 open air, succeeded each other with the rapidity 
 of lightning. A dozen voices repeated the word 
 " The grenade ! " proclaiming in a breath both 
 the danger and the cause. But an instant before, 
 the swelling canvas, the dusky spars, and the 
 faint lines of the cordage, were only to be traced by 
 the glimmering light of the stars ; now the whole 
 hamper of the ship was the more conspicuous, 
 from the obscure background against which it 
 was drawn in distinct fines. The sight was fear- 
 fully beautiful — beautiful, for it showed the 
 symmetry and fine outlines of the vessel's rig, re- 
 sembling the effect of a group of statuary seen 
 by torch-light — fearful, since the dark void be- 
 yond seemed to declare their isolated and helpless 
 state. 
 
 There was one breathless, eloquent moment 
 in which all were seen gazing at the grand spec- 
 tacle in mute awe — then a voice rose, clear, dis- 
 tinct, and oommanding, above the sullen sound 
 
168 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 of the torrent of fire, which was roaring among 
 the avenues of the ship. 
 
 " Call all hands to extinguish fire ! Gentle- 
 men, to your stations. Be cool, men ; and be si- 
 lent ! n 
 
 There was a calmness and an authority in 
 the tones of the young commander, that curbed 
 the impetuous feelings of the startled crew. Ac- 
 customed to obedience, and trained to order, each 
 man woke out of his trance and eagerly com- 
 menced the discharge of his allotted duty. At 
 that instant, an erect and unmoved form stood 
 on the coamings of the main hatch. A hand was 
 raised in the air, and the call which came from 
 the deep chest was like that of one used to speak 
 in the tempest. 
 
 " Where are my brigantines ? " it said. — 
 " Come away there, my sea-dogs ; wet the light 
 sails, and follow ! " 
 
 A group of grave and submissive mariners 
 gathered about the " Skimmer of the Seas," at 
 the sound of his voice. Glancing an eye over 
 them, as if to scan their quality and number, he 
 smiled with a look in which high daring and 
 practised self-command were blended with a con- 
 stitutional gaite de cceur. 
 
 "One deck or two!" — he added; "what 
 avails a plank more or less, in an explosion ? — 
 Follow ! " 
 
 The free-trader and his people disappeared in 
 the interior of the ship. An interval of great 
 and resolute exertion succeeded. Blankets, sails, 
 and every thing which offered, and which prom- 
 ised to be of use, were wetted and cast upon 
 the flames. The engine was brought to bear, 
 and the ship was deluged with water. But the 
 confined space, with the heat and smoke, rendered 
 it impossible to penetrate to those parts of the 
 vessel where the conflagration raged. The ardor 
 of the men abated as hope lessened ; and, after 
 half an hour of fruitless exertion, Ludlow saw 
 with pain that his assistants began to yield to 
 the inextinguishable principle of Nature. The 
 appearance of the Skimmer on deck, followed by 
 all his people, destroyed hope, and every effort 
 ceased as suddenly as it had commenced. 
 
 " Think of your wounded," whispered the 
 free-trader, with a steadiness no danger could dis- 
 turb. " We stand on a raging volcano ! " 
 
 " I have ordered the gunner to drown the 
 magazine."^ 
 
 " He was too late. The hold of the ship is a 
 fiery furnace. I heard him fall among the store- 
 rooms, and it surpassed the power of man to give 
 the wretch succor. The grenade has fallen near 
 some combustibles, and, painful as it is to part 
 
 with a ship so loved, Ludlow, thou wilt meet the 
 loss like a man ! Think of thy wounded ; my 
 boats are still hanging at the stern." 
 
 Ludlow reluctantly but firmly gave the order 
 to bear the wounded to the boats. This was an 
 arduous and delicate duty. The smallest boy in 
 the ship knew the whole extent of the danger, 
 and that a moment, by the explosion of the pow- 
 der, might precipitate them all into eternity. 
 The deck forward was getting too hot to be en- 
 dured, and there were places even in which the 
 beams had given symptoms of yielding. 
 
 But the poop, elevated still above the fire, 
 offered a momentary refuge. Thither all retired, 
 while the weak and wounded were lowered, with 
 the caution circumstances would permit, into the 
 whale-boats of the smugglers. 
 
 Ludlow stood at one ladder and the free-trad- 
 er at the other, in order to be certain that none 
 proved recreant in so trying a moment. Near 
 them were Alida, Seadrift, and the alderman, with 
 the attendants of the former. 
 
 It seemed an age before this humane and ten- 
 der duty was performed. At length the cry of 
 " All in ! " was uttered, in a manner to betray the 
 extent of the self-command that had been neces- 
 sary to effect it. 
 
 " Now, Alida, we may think of thee ! " said 
 Ludlow, turning to the spot occupied by the si- 
 lent heiress. 
 
 " And you ! " she said, hesitating to move. 
 
 " Duty demands that I should be the last — " 
 
 A sharp explosion beneath, and fragments of 
 fire flying upward through a hatch, interrupted his 
 words. Plunges into the sea, and a rush of the 
 people to the boats, followed. All order and au- 
 thority were completely lost, in the instinct of life. 
 In vain did Ludlow call on his men to be cool, and 
 to wait for those who were still above. His words 
 were lost, in the uproar of clamorous voices. For 
 a moment it seemed, however, as if the " Skim- 
 mer of the Seas " would overcome the confusion. 
 Throwing himself on a ladder, he glided into the 
 bows of one of the boats, and, holding by the 
 ropes with a vigorous arm, he resisted the efforts 
 of all the oars and boat-hooks, while he de- 
 nounced destruction on him who dared to quit 
 the ship. Had not the two crews been mingled, 
 the high authority and determined mien of the 
 free-trader would have prevailed ; but, while some 
 were disposed to obey, others raised a cry of 
 " Throw the dealer in witchcraft into the sea ! " 
 Boat-hooks were already pointed at his breast, 
 and the horrors of the fearful moment were about 
 to be increased by the violence of a mutinous con- 
 tention, when a second explosion nerved the arms 
 
A HELPLESS PARTY. 
 
 169 
 
 of the rowers to madness. With a common and 
 desperate effort, they overcame all resistance. 
 Swinging off upon the ladder, the furious seaman 
 saw the boat glide from his grasp, and depart. 
 The execration that was uttered, beneath the 
 stern of the Coquette, was deep and powerful ; 
 but, in another moment, the Skimmer stood on the 
 poop, calm and undejected, in the centre of the 
 deserted group. 
 
 " The explosion of a few of the officers' pistols 
 has frightened the miscreants," be said cheerfully. 
 " But hope is not yet lost !— They linger in the 
 distance, and may return ! " 
 
 The sight of the helpless party on the poop, 
 and the consciousness of being less exposed 
 themselves, had indeed arrested the progress of 
 the fugitives. Still, selfishness predominated; 
 and, while most regretted their danger, none but 
 the young and unheeded midshipmen, who were 
 neither of an age nor of a rank to wield sufficient 
 authority, proposed to return. There was little 
 argument necessary to show that the perils in- 
 creased at each moment ; and, finding that no oth- 
 er expedient remained, the gallant youths encour- 
 aged the men to pull toward the land, intending 
 themselves to return instantly to the assistance 
 of their commander and his friends. The oars 
 dashed into the water again, and the retiring 
 boats were soon lost to view in the body of dark- 
 ness. 
 
 While the fire had been raging within, another 
 element without had aided to lessen hope for 
 those who were abandoned. The wind from the 
 land had continued to rise, and, during the time 
 lost in useless exertion, the ship had been per- 
 mitted to run nearly before it. When hope was 
 gone, the helm had been deserted, and, as all the 
 lower sails had been hauled up to avoid the flames, 
 the vessel had drifted many minutes nearly dead 
 to leeward. The mistaken youths, who had not 
 attended to these circumstances, were already 
 miles from that beach they hoped to reach so 
 soon ; and, ere the boats had separated from the 
 ship five minutes, they were hopelessly asunder. 
 Ludlow had early thought of the expedient of 
 stranding the vessel as the means of saving her 
 people ; but his better knowledge of their posi- 
 tion soon showed him the utter futility of the at- 
 tempt. 
 
 Of the progress of the flames beneath, the 
 mariners could only judge by circumstances. 
 The Skimmer glanced his eye about him, on re- 
 gaining the poop, and appeared to scan the 
 amount and quality of the physical force that was 
 still at their disposal. He saw that the alderman, 
 the faithful Francis, and two of his own seamen, 
 
 with four of the petty officers of the ship, re- 
 mained. The six latter, even in that moment of 
 desperation, had calmly refused to desert their 
 officers. 
 
 " The flames are in the state-rooms ! " he 
 whispered to Ludlow. 
 
 " Not farther aft, I think, than the berths of 
 the midshipmen — else we should hear more pis- 
 tols." 
 
 " True — they are fearful signals to let us 
 know the progress of the fire I — our resource is a 
 raft." 
 
 Ludlow looked as if he despaired of the means, 
 but, concealing the discouraging fear, he answered 
 cheerfully in the affirmative. The orders were 
 instantly given, and all on board gave themselves 
 to the task, heart and hand. The danger was 
 one that admitted of no ordinary or half-con- 
 ceived expedients ; but, in such an emergency, it 
 required all the readiness of their art, and even 
 the greatness of that conception which is the 
 property of genius. All distinctions of rank and 
 authority had ceased, except as deference was 
 paid to natural qualities and the intelligence 
 of experience. Under such circumstances, the 
 " Skimmer of the Seas " took the lead ; and 
 though Ludlow caught his ideas with professional 
 quickness, it was the mind of the free-trader that 
 controlled throughout the succeeding exertions 
 of that fearful night. 
 
 The cheek of Alida was blanched to a deadly 
 paleness ; but there rested about the bright and 
 wild eyes of Seadrift an expression of supernatu- 
 ral resolution. 
 
 When the crew abandoned the hope of ex- 
 tinguishing the flames, they closed all the hatches, 
 to retard the crisis as much as possible. Here 
 and there, however, little torch-like lights were 
 beginning to show themselves through the planks, 
 and the whole deck forward of the main-mast was 
 already in a critical and sinking state. One or 
 two of the beams had failed ; but, as yet, the 
 form of the construction was preserved. Still 
 the seamen distrusted the treacherous footing ; 
 and, had the heat permitted the experiment, they 
 would have shrunk from a risk which at any 
 unexpected moment might commit them to the 
 fiery furnace beneath. 
 
 The smoke ceased, and a clear, powerful light 
 illuminated the ship to her trucks. In conse- 
 quence of the care and exertions of her people, 
 the sails and masts were yet untouched ; and, as 
 the graceful canvas swelled with the breeze, it 
 still urged the blazing hull through the water. 
 
 The forms of the Skimmer and Iris assistants 
 were visible, in the midst of the gallant gear, 
 
170 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 perched on the giddy yards. Seen by that light 
 with his peculiar attire, his firm and certain step, 
 and his resolute air, the free-trader resembled 
 some fancied sea-god, who, secure in his immor- 
 tal immunities, had come to act his part in that 
 awful but exciting trial of hardihood and skill. 
 Seconded by the common men, he was employed 
 in cutting the canvas from the yards. Sail after 
 sail fell upon the deck, and, in an incredibly 
 short space of time, the whole of the foremast 
 was naked to its spars and rigging. 
 
 In the mean time, Ludlow, assisted by the al- 
 derman and Francois, had not been idle below. 
 Passing forward between the empty ridge-ropes, 
 lanyard after lanyard parted under the blows of 
 their little boarding-axes. The mast now de- 
 pended on the strength of the wood and the sup- 
 port of a single back-stay. 
 
 " Lay down ! " shouted Ludlow. " All is gone 
 aft, but this stay ! " 
 
 The Skimmer leaped upon the firm rope, fol- 
 lowed by all aloft, and, gliding downward, he was 
 instantly in the hammock-cloths. A crash fol- 
 lowed their descent, and an explosion, which 
 caused the whole of the burning fabric to tremble 
 to its centre, seemed to announce the end of all. 
 Even the free-trader recoiled before the horrible 
 din ; but, when he stood near Seadrift and the 
 heiress again, there was cheerfulness in his tones, 
 and a look of high, and even of gay resolution, 
 in his firm countenance. 
 
 " The deck has failed forward," he said, " and 
 our artillery is beginning to utter fearful signal- 
 guns ! Be of cheer ! — the magazine of a ship 
 lies deep, and many sheathed bulkheads still pro- 
 tect us." 
 
 Another discharge from a heated gun, how- 
 ever, proclaimed the rapid progress of the flames. 
 The fire broke out of the interior anew, and the 
 foremast kindled. 
 
 " There must be an end of this ! " said Alida, 
 clasping her hands in a terror that could not be 
 controlled. " Save yourselves, if possible, you 
 who have strength and courage, and leave us to 
 the mercy of Him whose eye is over all ! " 
 
 " Go ! " added Seadrift, whose sex could no 
 longer be concealed. " Human courage can do 
 no more ; leave us to die ! " 
 
 The looks that were returned to these sad 
 requests were melancholy, but unmoved. The 
 Skimmer caught a rope, and, still holding it in his 
 hand, he descended to the quarter-deck, on which 
 he at first trusted his weight with jealous caution. 
 Then, looking up, he smiled encouragingly, and 
 said, " Where a gun still stands, there is no dan- 
 ger for the weight of a man ! " 
 
 " It is our only resource," cried Ludlow, imi- 
 tating his example. " On, my men, while the 
 beams will still hold us." 
 
 In a moment, all were on the quarter-deck, 
 though the excessive heat rendered it impossible 
 to remain stationary an instant. A gun on each 
 side was run in, its tackles loosened, and its muz- 
 zle pointed toward the tottering, unsupported, 
 but still upright foremast. 
 
 "Aim at the cleets ! " said Ludlow to the 
 Skimmer, who pointed one gun, while he did the 
 same office at the other. 
 
 " Hold ! " cried the latter. " Throw in shot, 
 it is but the chance between a bursting gun and 
 a lighted magazine ! " 
 
 Additional balls were introduced into each 
 piece, and then, with steady hands, the gallant 
 mariners applied burning brands to the priming. 
 The discharges were simultaneous, and for an in- 
 stant volumes of smoke rolled along the deck 
 and seemed to triumph over the conflagration. 
 The rending of wood was audible. It was fol- 
 lowed by a sweeping noise in the air, and the fall 
 of the foremast, with all its burden of spars, into 
 the sea. The motion of the ship was instantly 
 arrested, and, as the heavy timbers were still at- 
 tached to the bowsprit by the forward stays, her 
 head came to the wind, when the remaining top- 
 sails flapped, shivered, and took aback. 
 
 The vessel was now, for the first time during 
 the fire, stationary. The common mariners prof- 
 ited by the circumstance : and, darting past the 
 mounting flame along the bulwarks, they gained 
 the topgallant forecastle, which, though heated, 
 was yet untouched. The Skimmer glanced an 
 eye about him, and seizing Seadrift by the waist, 
 as if the mimic seaman had been a child, he 
 pushed forward between the ridge-ropes. Lud- 
 low followed with Alida, and the others imitated 
 their example in the best manner they could. 
 All reached the head of the ship in safety ; though 
 Ludlow had been driven by the flames into the 
 fore-channels, and thence nearly into the sea. 
 
 The petty officers were already on the floating 
 spars separating them from each other, cutting 
 away the unnecessary weight of rigging, bringing 
 the several parts of the wood in parallel lines, and 
 lashing them anew. Ever and anon, these rapid 
 movements were quickened by one of those fear- 
 ful signals from the officers' berths, which, by an- 
 nouncing the progress of the flames beneath, be- 
 trayed their increasing proximity to the still slum- 
 bering volcano. The boats had been gone an hour, 
 yet it seemed, to all in the ship, but a minute. 
 The conflagration had, for the last ten minutes, 
 advanced with renewed fnry ; and the whole of 
 
THE COQUETTE DESTROYED. 
 
 171 
 
 the confined flame, which had been so long pent 
 in the depths of the vessel, now glared high in the 
 open air. 
 
 "This heat can no longer be borne," said 
 Ludlow ; " we must to our raft for breath." 
 
 " To the raft, then ! " returned the cheerful 
 voice of the free-trader. "Haul in upon your 
 fasts, men, and stand by to receive the precious 
 freight." 
 
 The seamen obeyed. Alida and her compan- 
 ions were lowered safely to the place prepared 
 for their reception. The foremast had gone over 
 the side with all its spars aloft ; for preparation 
 had been made, before the fire commenced, to 
 carry sail to the utmost in order to escape the 
 enemy. The skilful and active seamen, directed 
 and aided by Ludlow and the Skimmer, had made 
 a simple but happy disposition of those buoyant 
 materials on which their all now depended. In 
 settling in the water, the yards, still crossed, had 
 happily fallen uppermost. The booms and all 
 the light spars had been floated near the top, and 
 laid across, reaching from the lower to the top- 
 sail-yard. A few light spars, stowed outboard, 
 had been cut away and added to the number, and 
 the whole were secured with the readiness and 
 ingenuity of seamen. On the first alarm of fire, 
 some of the crew had seized a few light articles 
 that would float, and rushed to the head, as the 
 place most remote from the magazine, in the 
 blind hope of saving life by swimming. Most of 
 these articles had been deserted when the people 
 were rallied to exertion by their officers. A 
 couple of empty shot-boxes and a mess-chest 
 were among them, and on the latter were seated 
 the females, while the former served to keep 
 their feet from the water. As the arrangement 
 of the opars forced the principal mast entirely 
 beneath the element, and the ship was so small 
 as to need little artificial work in her masting, the 
 part around the top, which contained the stag- 
 ing, was scarcely submerged. Although a ton 
 in weight was added to the inherent gravity of 
 the wood, still, as the latter was of the lightest 
 description, and freed aa much as possible of 
 everything that was unnecessary to the safety of 
 those it supported, the spars floated sufficiently 
 buoyant for the temporary security of the fugi- 
 tives. 
 
 " Cut the fasts ! " said Ludlow, involuntarily 
 starting at several explosions in the interior, 
 which followed each other in quick succession, 
 and which were succeeded by one which sent 
 fragments of burning wood into the air. « Cut, 
 and bear the raft off the ship ! — God knows we 
 have need to be farther asunder ! " 
 
 " Cut not ! " cried the half-frantic Seadrift— 
 " my brave ! — my devoted ! — " 
 
 " Is safe — " calmly said the Skimmer, ap- 
 pearing in the rattlins of the main-rigging, which 
 was still untouched by the fire. — " Cut off all t I 
 stay to brace the mizzen-topsail more firmly 
 aback." 
 
 The duty was done, and for a moment the fine 
 figure of the free-trader was seen standing on the 
 edge of the burning ship, looking with regret at 
 the glowing mass. 
 
 " 'Tis the end of a lovely craft ! " he said, 
 loud enough to be heard by those beneath. 
 Then he appeared in the air and sank into the 
 sea. " The last signal was from the ward-room," 
 added the dauntless and dexterous mariner as 
 he rose from the water, and, shaking the brine 
 from his head, he took his place on the stage. 
 " Would to God the wind would blow, for we 
 have need of greater distance ! " 
 
 The precaution the free-trader had taken in 
 adjusting the sails was not without its use. Mo- 
 tion the raft had none, but as the topsails of the 
 Coquette were still aback, the flaming mass, no 
 longer arrested by the clogs in the water, began 
 slowly to separate from the floating spars, though 
 the tottering and half-burnt masts threatened, at 
 each moment, to fall. 
 
 Never did moments seem so long as those 
 which succeeded. Even the Skimmer and Lud- 
 low watched, in speechless interest, the tardy 
 movements of the ship. By little and little she 
 receded; and, after ten minutes of intense ex- 
 pectation, the seamen, whose anxiety had in- 
 creased as their exertions ended, began to breathe 
 more freely. They were still fearfully near the 
 dangerous fabric, but destruction from the ex- 
 plosion was no longer inevitable. The flames 
 began to glide upward, and the heavens appeared 
 on fire, as one heated sail after another kindled 
 and flared wildly in the breeze. 
 
 Still the stern of the vessel was entire. The 
 body of the master was seated against the mizzen- 
 mast, and even the stern visage of the old seaman 
 was distinctly visible, under the broad fight of 
 the conflagration. Ludlow gazed at it in melan- 
 choly, and for a time he ceased to think of his 
 ship, while memory dwelt, in sadness, on those 
 scenes of boyish happiness, and of professional 
 pleasures, in which his ancient shipmate had so 
 largely participated. The roar of a gun, whose 
 stream of fire flashed nearly to their faces, and 
 the sullen whistling of its shot, which crossed 
 the raft, failed to awaken him from his trance. 
 
 " Stand firm to the mess-chest ! " half-whis- 
 pered the Skimmer, motioning to his companions 
 
172 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 to place themselves in attitudes to support the 
 weaker of their party, while, with sedulous care, 
 he braced his own athletic person in a manner 
 to throw all of its weight and strength against 
 the seat. " Stand firm, and be ready ! " 
 
 Ludlow complied, though his eye scarcely 
 changed its direction. He saw the bright flame 
 that was rising above the arm-chest, and he fan- 
 cied that it came from the funeral-pile of the 
 young' Dumont, whose fate, at that moment, he 
 was almost disposed to envy. Then his look re- 
 turned to the grim countenance of Trysail. At 
 moments, it seemed as if the dead master spoke ; 
 and so strong did the illusion become, that our 
 young sailor more than once bent forward to lis- 
 ten. While under this delusion, the body rose, 
 with the arms stretched upward. The air was 
 filled with a sheet of streaming fire, while the 
 ocean and the heavens glowed with one glare of 
 intense and fiery red. Notwithstanding the pre- 
 caution of the ".Skimmer of the Seas," the chest 
 was driven from its place, and those by whom it 
 was held were nearly precipitated into the water. 
 A deep, heavy detonation proceeded as it were 
 from the bosom of the sea, which, while it 
 wounded the ear less than the sharp explosion 
 that had just before issued from the gun, was 
 audible at the distant capes of the Delaware. 
 The body of Trysail sailed upward for fifty fath- 
 oms, in the centre of a flood of flame, and, de- 
 scribing a short curve, it came toward the raft, 
 and cut the water within reach of the captain's 
 arm. A sullen plunge of a gun followed, and 
 proclaimed the tremendous power of the explo- 
 sion ; while a ponderous yard fell athwart a part 
 of the raft, sweeping away the four petty officers 
 of Ludlow, as if they had been dust driving be- 
 fore a gale. To increase the wild and fearful 
 grandeur of the dissolution of the royal cruiser, 
 one of the cannon emitted its fiery contents while 
 sailing in the void. 
 
 The burning spars, the falling fragments, the 
 blazing and scattered canvas and cordage, the 
 glowing shot, and all the torn particles of the 
 ship, were seen descending. Then followed the 
 gurgling of the water, as the ocean swallowed all 
 that remained of the cruiser which had so long 
 been the pride of the American seas. The fiery 
 glow disappeared ; and a gloom, like that which 
 succeeds the glare of vivid lightning, fell on the 
 scene. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 " Please you, read." 
 
 Ctmbeline. 
 
 " It is past ! " said the " Skimmer of the Seas," 
 raising himself from the attitude of great muscu- 
 lar exertion, which he had assumed in order to 
 support the mess-chest, and walking out along the 
 single mast, toward the spot whence the four sea- 
 men of Ludlow had just been swept. " It is 
 past ! and those who are called to the last ac- 
 count have met their fate in such a scene as none 
 but a seaman may witness ; while those who are 
 spared have need of all a seaman's skill and res- 
 olution for that which remains. Captain Ludlow, 
 I do not despair ; for, see, the lady of the brigan- 
 tine has still a smile for her servitors ! " 
 
 Ludlow, who had followed the steady and dar- 
 ing free-trader to the place where the spar had 
 fallen, turned and cast a look in the direction in 
 which the other stretched his arm. Within a 
 hundred feet of him, he saw the image of the sea- 
 green lady, rocking on the agitated water, and 
 turned toward the raft with its usual expression 
 of wild and malicious intelligence. This emblem 
 of their fancied mistress had been borne in front 
 of the smugglers, when they mounted the poop 
 of the Coquette ; and the steeled staff on which 
 the lantern was perched had been stuck into a 
 horse-bucket by the standard-bearer of the mo- 
 ment ere he entered the melee of the combat. 
 During the conflagration, this object had more 
 than once met the eye of Ludlow ; and now it ap- 
 peared floating quietly by him, in a manner al- 
 most to shake even his contempt for the ordinary 
 superstitions of seamen. While he hesitated in 
 what manner he should reply to his companion's 
 remark, the latter plunged into the sea, and 
 swam toward the light. He was soon by the side 
 of the raft again, bearing aloft the symbol of his 
 brigantine. There are none so firm in the do- 
 minion of reason as to be entirely superior to the 
 secret impulses which teach us all to believe in 
 the hidden agency of a good or an evil fortune. 
 The voice of the free-trader was more cheerful, 
 and his step more sure and elastic, as he crossed 
 the stage and struck the armed end of the staff 
 into that part of the top-rim of the Coquette which 
 floated uppermost. 
 
 "Courage!" he gayly cried. "While this 
 light burns, my star is not set ! Courage, lady 
 of the land ; for here is one of the deep waters, 
 who still leoks kindly on her followers ! We are 
 at sea, on a frail craft it is certain, but a dull 
 sailor may make a sure passage. — Speak, gallant 
 
ON A RAFT. 
 
 173 
 
 Master Seadrift : thy gayety and spirit should re- 
 vive under so goodly an omen ! " 
 
 But the agent of so many pleasant masquer- 
 ades, and the instrument of so much of his arti- 
 fice, had not a fortitude equal to the buoyant 
 temper of the smuggler. The counterfeit bowed 
 his head by the side of the silent Alida, without 
 a reply. The " Skimmer of the Seas " regarded 
 the group, a moment, with manly interest; and, 
 touching the arm of Ludlow, he walked with a 
 balancing step along the spars, until they had 
 reached a spot where they might confer without 
 causing unnecessary alarm to their companions. 
 
 Although so imminent and so pressing a dan- 
 ger as that of the explosion had passed, the situa- 
 tion of those who had escaped was scarcely better 
 than that of those who had been lost. The heav- 
 ens showed a few glimmering stars in the open- 
 ings of the clouds ; and, now that the first contrast 
 of the change had lessened, there was just enough 
 of light to render all the features of their actual 
 state gloomily imposing. 
 
 It has been said that the foremast of the Co- 
 quette went by the board, with most of its ham- 
 per aloft. The sails, with such portion of the rig- 
 ging as might help to sustain it, had been hastily 
 cut away as related ; and after its fall, until the 
 moment of the explosion, the common men had 
 been engaged, either in securing the staging, or 
 in clearing the wreck of those heavy ropes which, 
 useless as fastenings, only added to the weight of 
 the mass. The whole wreck lay upon the sea, 
 with the yards crossed and in their places, much 
 as the spars had stood. The large booms had 
 been unshipped, and laid in such a manner around 
 the top, with the ends resting on the lower and 
 topsail-yards, as to form the foundation of the 
 staging. The smaller booms, with the mess-chest 
 and shot-boxes, were all that lay between the 
 group in the centre and the depths of the ocean. 
 The upper part of the top-rim rose a few feet above 
 the water, and formed an important protection 
 against the night-breeze and the constant washing 
 of the waves. In this manner were the females 
 seated, cautioned not to trust their feet on the 
 frail security of the booms, and supported by the 
 unremitting care of the alderman. Francois had 
 submitted to be lashed to the top by one of the 
 brigantine's seamen ; while the latter, all of the 
 common herd who remained, encouraged by the 
 presence of their standard-light, began to occupy 
 themselves in looking to the fastenings and other 
 securities of the raft. 
 
 M We are in no condition for a long or an ac- 
 tive cruise, Captain Ludlow," said the Skimmer, 
 when he and his companion were out of hearing. 
 
 " I have been at sea in all weathers, and in every 
 description of craft; but this is the boldest of 
 my experiments on the water. I hope it may not 
 be the last ! " 
 
 " We cannot conceal from ourselves the fright- 
 ful hazards we run," returned Ludlow, " however 
 much we may wish them to be a secret to some 
 among us." 
 
 " This is truly a deserted sea to be abroad in, 
 on a raft ! Were we in the narrow passages be- 
 tween the British islands and the main, or even 
 in the Biscay waters, there would be hope that 
 some trader or roving cruiser might cross our 
 track ; but our chance here lies much between 
 the Frenchman and the brigantine." 
 
 " The enemy has, doubtless, seen and heard 
 the explosion, and, as the land is so near, they 
 will infer that the people are saved in the boats. 
 Our chance of seeing more of them is much di- 
 minished by the accident of the fire, since there will 
 no longer be a motive for remaining on the coast." 
 
 " And will your young officers abandon their 
 captain without a search ? " 
 
 " Hope of aid from that quarter is faint. The 
 ship ran miles while in flames, and, before the 
 light returns, these spars will have drifted leagues, 
 with the ebbing tide, to seaward." 
 
 " Truly, I have sailed with better auguries ! " 
 observed the Skimmer. " What are the bearings 
 and distance of the land ? " 
 
 " It still lies to the north, but we are fast set- 
 ting east and southerly. Ere morning we shall 
 be abeam of Montauk, or even beyond it; we 
 must already be some leagues in the offing." 
 
 " That is worse than I had imagined ! — but 
 there is hope on the flood ! " 
 
 " The flood will bear us northward again — 
 but — what think you of the heavens ? " 
 
 " Unfavorable, though not desperate. The sea- 
 breeze will return with the sun." 
 
 " And with it will return the swell ! How long 
 will these ill-secured spars hold together, when 
 agitated by the heave of the water? Or how 
 long will those with us bear up against the wash 
 of the sea, unsupported by nourishment ? " 
 
 " You paint in gloomy colors, Captain Lud- 
 low," said the free-trader, drawing a heavy breath, 
 in spite of all his resolution. " My experience 
 tells me you are right, though my wishes would 
 fain contradict you. Still, I think we have the 
 promise of a tranquil night." 
 
 " Tranquil for a ship, or even for a boat ; but 
 hazardous to a raft like this. You see that this 
 topmast already works in the cap at each heave 
 of the water, and, as the wood loosens, our secu- 
 rity lessens." 
 
174 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 " Thy counsel is not flattering ! Captain Lud- 
 low, you are a seaman and a man, and I shall not 
 attempt to trifle with your knowledge. With 
 you, I think the danger imminent, and almost our 
 only hope dependent on the good fortune of my 
 brigantine." 
 
 " Will those in her think it their duty to quit 
 their anchorage, to come in quest of a raft whose 
 existence is unknown to them ? " 
 
 "There is hope in the vigilance of her of the 
 sea-green mantle ! You may deem this fanciful 
 or even worse, at such a moment ; but I, who 
 have run so many gantlets under her favor, have 
 faith in her fortunes. Surely, you are not a sea- 
 man, Captain Ludlow, without a secret dependence 
 on some unseen and potent agency ! " 
 
 " My dependence is placed in the agency of 
 Him who is all-potent, but never visible. If He 
 forget us, we may indeed despair ! " 
 
 "This is well, but it is not the fortune I would 
 express. Believe me, spite of an education which 
 teaches all you have said, and of a reason that 
 is often too clear for folly, there is a secret re- 
 liance on hidden chances, that has been created 
 by a life of activity and hazard, and which, if it 
 should do nothing better, does not abandon me 
 to despair. The omen of the light and the smile 
 of my mistress would cheer me, spite of a thou- 
 sand philosophers ! " 
 
 " You are fortunate in purchasing consolation 
 so cheaply," returned the commander of Queen 
 Anne, who felt a latent hope in his companion's 
 confidence that he would have hesitated to ac- 
 knowledge. " I see but little that we can do to 
 aid our chances, except it be to clear away all un- 
 necessary weight, and to secure the raft as much 
 as possible by additional lashings." 
 
 The " Skimmer of the Seas " assented to the 
 proposal. Consulting a moment longer, on the de- 
 tails of their expedients, they rejoined the group 
 near the top, in order to see them executed. As 
 the seamen on the raft were reduced to the two 
 people of the brigantine, Ludlow and his compan- 
 ion were obliged to assist in the performance of 
 the duty. 
 
 Much useless rigging, that added to the press- 
 ure without aiding the buoyancy of the raft, was 
 cut away ; and all the boom-irons were knocked 
 off the yards, and suffered to descend to the bot- 
 tom of the ocean. By these means a great weight 
 was taken from the raft, which, in consequence, 
 floated with so much additional power to sustain 
 those who depended on it for life. The Skimmer, 
 accompanied by his two silent but obedient seamen, 
 ventured along the attenuated and submerged 
 spars to the extremity of the tapering masts, and, 
 
 after toiling with the dexterity of men accustomed 
 to deal with the complicated machinery of a ship 
 in the darkest nights, they succeeded in releasmg 
 the two smaller masts with their respective yards 
 and in floating them down to the body of the 
 wreck, or the part around the top. Here the 
 sticks were crossed in a manner to give great ad- 
 ditional strength and footing to the stage. 
 
 There was an air of hope, and a feeling of in- 
 creased security, in this employment. Even the 
 alderman and Francois aided in the task, to the 
 extent of their knowledge and force. But when 
 these alterations were made, and additional lash- 
 ings had been applied to keep the topmast and 
 the larger yards in their places, Ludlow, by 
 joining those who weje around the mast-head, 
 tacitly admitted that little more could be done to 
 avert the chances of the elements. 
 
 During the few hours occupied in this impor- 
 tant duty, Alida and her companion addressed 
 themselves to God in long and fervent petitions. 
 With woman's faith in that divine being who 
 alone could avail them, and with woman's high 
 mental fortitude in moments of protracted trial, 
 they had both known how to control the exhibi- 
 tion of their terrors, and had sought their sup- 
 port in the same appeal to a power superior to all 
 of earth. Ludlow was, therefore, more than re- 
 warded by the sound of Alida's voice, speaking to 
 him cheerfully, as she thanked him for what he 
 had done, when he had admitted that he could now 
 do no more. 
 
 " The rest is with Providence ! " added Alida. 
 " All that bold and skilful seamen can do have 
 ye done; and all that woman in such a situation 
 can do, have we done in your behalf! " 
 
 "Thou hast thought of me in thy prayers, 
 Alida ! It is an intercession that the stoutest 
 needs, and which none but the fool derides." 
 
 " And thou, Eudora ! thou hast remembered 
 him who quiets the waters ! " said a deep voice 
 near the bending form of the counterfeit Seadrift. 
 
 "I have." 
 
 ' " 'Tis well.— There are points to which man- 
 hood and experience may pass, and there are those 
 where all is left to one mightier than the elements ! " 
 
 Words like these, coming from the lips of one 
 of the known character of the " Skimmer of the 
 Seas," were not given to the winds. Even Lud- 
 low cast an uneasy look at the heavens, when 
 they came upon his ear, as if they conveyed a se- 
 cret notice of the whole extremity of the danger 
 by which they were environed. None answered ; 
 and a long silence succeeded, during which some 
 of the more fatigued slumbered uneasily, spite of 
 their fearful situation. 
 
DISAPPOINTED HOPE. 
 
 175 
 
 In this manner did the night pass in weari- 
 ness and anxiety. Little was said, and for hours 
 scarce a limb was moved, in the group that clus- 
 tered around the mess-chest. As the signs of 
 day appeared, however, every faculty was keenly 
 awake to catch the first signs of what they had to 
 hope, or the first certainty of what they had to fear. 
 
 The surface of the ocean was still smooth, 
 though the long swells in which the element was 
 heaving and setting, sufficiently indicated that 
 the raft had floated far from the land. This fact 
 was rendered sure when the light, which soon ap- 
 peared along the eastern margin of the narrow 
 view, was shed gradually over the whole horizon. 
 Nothing was at first visible but one gloomy and 
 vacant waste of water. But a cry of joy from 
 Seadrift, whose senses had long been practised in 
 ocean-sights, soon drew all eyes in the direction 
 opposite to that of the rising sun, and it was not 
 long before all on the low raft had a view of the 
 snowy surfaces of a ship's sails, as the glow of 
 morning touched the canvas. 
 
 " It is the Frenchman ! " said the free-trader. 
 " He is charitably looking for the wreck of his 
 late enemy ! " 
 
 " It may be so, for our fate can be no secret 
 to him," was the answer of Ludlow. " Unhappi- 
 ly, we had run some distance from the anchorage, 
 before the flames broke out. Truly, those with 
 whom we so lately struggled for life, are bent on 
 a duty of humanity." 
 
 "Ah, yonder is his crippled consort ! — to lee- 
 ward many a league. The gay bird has been too 
 sadly stripped of its plumage to fly so near the 
 wind ! This is man's fortune ! He uses his pow- 
 er, at one moment, to destroy the very means 
 that become necessary to his safety the next." 
 
 " And what think you of our hopes ? " asked 
 Alida, searching in the countenance of Ludlow a 
 clew to their-fate. " Does the stranger move in a 
 direction favorable to our wishes ? " 
 
 Neither Ludlow nor the Skimmer replied. 
 Both regarded the frigate intently ; then, as ob- 
 jects became more distinct, both answered by a 
 common impulse, that the ship was steering di- 
 rectly toward them. The declaration excited 
 general hope, and even the negress was no longer 
 restrained by her situation from expressing her 
 joy in vociferous exclamations of delight. 
 
 A few minutes of active and ready exertion 
 succeeded. A light boom was unlashed from the 
 raft and raised on its end, supporting a little sig- 
 nal, made of the handkerchiefs of the party, 
 which fluttered in the light breeze at the eleva- 
 tion of some twenty feet above the surface of the 
 water. After this precaution was observed, they 
 
 were obliged to await the result in such patience 
 as they could assume. Minute passed after min- 
 ute, and, at each moment, the form and propor- 
 tions of the ship became more distinct, until all 
 the mariners of the party declared they could dis- 
 tinguish men on her yards. A cannon would 
 have readily sent its shot from the ship to the 
 raft, yet no sign betrayed the consciousness of 
 those in the former of the proximity of the lat- 
 ter. 
 
 " I do not like his manner of steering ! " ob- 
 served the Skimmer to the silent and attentive 
 Ludlow. " He yaws broadly, as if disposed to 
 give up the search. God grant him the heart to 
 continue on his course ten minutes longer!" 
 
 " Have we no means of making ourselves 
 heard ? " demanded the alderman. " Methinks 
 the voice pf a strong man might be sent thus far 
 across the water when life is at stake." 
 
 The more experienced shook their heads ; but, 
 not discouraged, the burgher raised his voice with 
 a power that was sustained by the imminency of 
 the peril. He was joined by the seamen, and 
 even Ludlow lent his aid, until all were hoarse 
 with the fruitless effort. Men were evidently 
 aloft, and in some numbers, searching the ocean 
 with their eyes, but still no answering signal 
 came from the vessel. 
 
 The ship continued to approach, and the raft 
 was less than half a mile from her bows, when 
 the vast fabric suddenly receded from the breeze, 
 showed the whole of its glittering broadside, and, 
 swinging its yards, betrayed by its new position 
 that the search in that direction was abandoned. 
 The instant Ludlow saw the filling-off of the frig- 
 ate's bows, he cried : 
 
 " Now raise your voices together ; this is the 
 final chance ! " 
 
 They united in a common shout, with the ex- 
 ception of the " Skimmer of the Seas." The 
 latter leaned against the top with folded arms, 
 listening to their impotent efforts with a melan- 
 choly smile. 
 
 " It is well attempted," said the calm and ex- 
 traordinary seaman when the clamor had ceased, 
 advancing along the raft and motioning for all to 
 be silent ; " but it has failed. The swinging of 
 the yards, and the orders given in wearing ship, 
 would prevent a stronger sound from being audi- 
 ble to men so actively employed. I flatter none 
 with hope, but this is truly the moment for a final 
 effort." 
 
 He placed his hands to his mouth, and, disre- 
 garding words, he raised a cry so clear, so pow- 
 erful, and yet so full, that it seemed impossible 
 those in the vessel should not hear it. Thrice did 
 
176 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 he repeat the experiment, though it was evident 
 that each successive exertion was feebler than 
 the last. 
 
 " They hear ! " cried Alida. " There is a 
 movement in the sails ! " 
 
 " 'Tis the breeze freshening," answered Lud- 
 low, in sadness, at her side. " Each moment takes 
 them away ! " 
 
 The melancholy truth was too apparent for 
 denial, and for half an hour the retiring ship was 
 watched in the bitterness of disappointment. At 
 the end of that time, she fired a gun, spread ad- 
 ditional canvas on her wide booms and stood 
 away before the wind, to join her consort, whose 
 upper sails were already dipping to the surface 
 of the sea, in the southern board. With this 
 change in her movements, vanished all expecta- 
 tion of succor from the cruiser of the enemy. 
 
 Perhaps, in every situation of life, it is neces- 
 sary that hope should be first lessened by dis- 
 appointment, before the buoyancy of the human 
 mind will permit it to descend to the level of an 
 evil fortune. Until a frustrated effort teaches 
 him the difficulty of the attempt, he who has fall- 
 en may hope to rise again ; and it is only when 
 an exertion has been made with lessened means, 
 that we learn the value of advantages, which 
 have perhaps been long enjoyed with a very un- 
 due estimate of their importance. Until the 
 stern of the French frigate was seen retiring from 
 the raft, those who were on it had not been fully 
 sensible of the extreme danger of their situation. 
 Hope had been strongly excited by the return 
 of dawn ; for, while the shadows of night lay on 
 the ocean, their situation resembled that of one 
 who strove to pierce the obscurity of the future, 
 in order to obtain a presage of better fortunes. 
 With the light had come the distant sail. As the 
 day advanced, the ship had approached, relin- 
 quished her search and disappeared, without a 
 prospect of her return. 
 
 The stoutest heart among the group on the 
 raft began to sink at the gloomy fate which now 
 seemed inevitable. 
 
 " Here is an evil omen ! " whispered Ludlow, 
 directing his companion's eyes to the dark and 
 pointed fins of three or four sharks, that were 
 gliding above the surface of the water, and in so 
 fearful a proximity to their persons as to render 
 their situation on the low spars, over which the 
 water was washing and retiring at each rise and 
 fall of the waves, doubly dangerous. " The creat- 
 ures' instinct speaks ill for our hopes ! " 
 
 " There is a belief among seamen, that these 
 animals feel a secret impulse, which directs them 
 to their prey," returned the Skimmer. " But for- 
 
 tune may yet balk them. — Rogerson ! " calling to 
 one of his followers ; " thy pockets are rarely 
 wanting in a fisherman's tackle. Hast thou, 
 haply, line and hook, for these hungry miscre- 
 ants ? The question is getting narrowed to one 
 in which the simplest philosophy is the wisest. 
 When eat or to be eaten is the mooted point, 
 most men will decide for the former." 
 
 A hook of sufficient size was soon produced, 
 and a line was quietly provided from some of 
 the small cordage that still remained about the 
 masts. A piece of leather, torn from a spar, an- 
 swered for the bait ; and the lure was thrown. 
 Extreme hunger seemed to engross the voracious 
 animals, who darted at the imaginary prey with 
 the rapidity of lightning. The shock was so 
 sudden and violent, that the hapless mariner was 
 drawn from his slippery and precarious footing 
 into the sea. The whole passed with a frightful 
 and alarming rapidity. A common cry of horror 
 was heard, and the last despairing glance of the 
 fallen man was witnessed. The mutilated body 
 floated for an instant in its blood, with the look 
 of agony and terror still imprinted on the con- 
 scious countenance. At the next moment, it had 
 become food for the monsters of the sea. 
 
 All had passed away, but the deep dye on the 
 surface of the ocean. The gorged fish disap- 
 peared : but the dark spot remained near the im- 
 movable raft, as if placed there to warn the sur- 
 vivors of their fate. 
 
 " This is horrible ! " said Ludlow. 
 
 " A sail ! " shouted the Skimmer, whose voice 
 and tone, breaking in on that moment of intense 
 horror and apprehension, sounded like a cry from 
 the heavens. - ■ My gallant brigantine ! " 
 
 u God grant she come with better fortune 
 than those who have so lately left us ! " 
 
 " God grant it truly ! If this hope fail, there 
 is none left. Few pass here, and we have had 
 sufficient proof that our top-gallants are not so 
 lofty as to catch every eye." 
 
 All attention was now bestowed on the white 
 speck which was visible on the margin of the 
 ocean, and which the " Skimmer of the Seas " 
 confidently pronounced to be the Water-Witch. 
 None but a seaman could have felt this certainty ; 
 for, seen from the low raft, there was little else 
 to be distinguished but the heads of the upper 
 sails. The direction, too, was unfavorable, as it 
 was to leeward ; but both Ludlow and the free- 
 trader assured their companions that the vessel 
 was endeavoring to beat in with the land. 
 
 The two hours that succeeded lingered like 
 days of misery. So much depended on a variety 
 of events, that every circumstance was noted by 
 
RESCUED BY THE BRIGANTINE. 
 
 177 
 
 the seamen of the party, with an interest border- 
 ing on agony. A failure of the wind might compel 
 the vessel to remain stationary, and then both 
 brigantine and raft would be at the mercy of the 
 uncertain currents of the ocean ; a change of 
 wind might cause a change of course, and render 
 a meeting impossible ; an increase of the breeze 
 might cause destruction, even before the succor 
 could come. In addition to these obvious haz- 
 ards, there were all the chances which were 
 dependent on the fact that the people of the 
 brigantine had every reason to believe the fate 
 of the party was already sealed. 
 
 Still Fortune seemed propitious ; for the 
 breeze, though steady, was light ; the intention of 
 the vessel was evidently to pass somewhere near 
 them, and the hope that their object was search 
 so strong and plausible as to exhilarate every 
 bosom. 
 
 At the expiration of the time named, the brig- 
 antine passed the raft to leeward and so near as 
 to render the smaller objects in her rigging dis- 
 tinctly visible. 
 
 " The faithful fellows are looking for us ! " 
 exclaimed the free-trader, with strong emotion in 
 his voice. " They are men to scour the coast, 
 ere they abandon us ! " 
 
 " They pass us — wave the signal — it may 
 catch their eyes ! " 
 
 The little flag was unheeded, and, after so 
 long and so intense expectation, the party on the 
 raft had the pain to see the swift-moving vessel 
 glide past them, and drawing so far ahead as to 
 leave little hope of her return. The heart of even 
 the " Skimmer of the Seas " appeared to sink 
 within him at the disappointment. 
 
 "For myself, I care not," said the stout mari- 
 ner, mournfully. " Of what consequence is it, in 
 what sea, or on what voyage, a seaman goes into his 
 watery tomb ? — but for tnee, my hapless and play- 
 ful Eudora, I could wish another fate — ha ! — she 
 tacks ! — the sea-green lady has an instinct for her 
 children, after all ! " 
 
 The brigantine was in stays. — In ten or* fifteen 
 minutes more the vessel was again abeam of the 
 raft, and to windward. 
 
 "If she pass us now, our chance is gone, 
 without a shadow of hope," said the Skimmer, 
 motioning solemnly for silence. Then applying 
 his hands to his mouth, he shouted, as if despair 
 lent a giant's volume to his lungs : 
 
 " Ho ! The Water-Witch ahoy ! " 
 
 The last word issued from his lips with the 
 clear, audible cry, that the peculiar sound is in- 
 tended to produce. It appeared as if the con- 
 scious little bark knew its commander's voice ; 
 12 
 
 for its course changed slightly, as, if the fabric 
 were possessed of the consciousness and faculties 
 of life. 
 
 " Ho ! The Water- Witch — ahoy ! " shouted 
 the Skimmer, with a still mightier effort. 
 
 " Hilloa ! " came down faintly on the breeze, 
 and the direction of the brigantine again altered. 
 
 "The Water- Witch !— the Water-Witch!— 
 ahoy ! " broke out of the lips of the mariner of 
 the shawl, with a supernatural force, the last cry 
 being drawn out till he who uttered it sank back 
 exhausted with the effort. 
 
 The words were still ringing in the ears of the 
 breathless party on the raft, when a heavy shout 
 swept across the water. At the next moment the 
 boom of the brigantine swung off, and her narrow 
 bows were seen pointing toward the little beacon 
 of white that played above the sea. It was but 
 a moment, but it was a moment pregnant with a 
 thousand hopes and fears, before the beautiful craft 
 was gliding within fifty feet of the top. In less than 
 five minutes, the spars of the Coquette were floating 
 on the wide ocean, unpeopled and abandoned. 
 
 The first sensation of the " Skimmer of the 
 Seas," when his foot touched the deck of his 
 brigantine, might have been one of deep and in- 
 tense gratitude. He was silent, and seemingly 
 oppressed at the throat. Stepping along the 
 planks, he cast an eye aloft, and struck his hand 
 powerfully on the capstan, in a manner that was 
 divided between convulsion and affection. Then 
 he smiled grimly on his attentive and obedient 
 crew, speaking with his wonted cheerfulness and 
 authority : 
 
 " Fill away the topsail — brace up and haul 
 aft! Trim every thing flat as boards, boys — 
 jam the dear huzzy in with the coast ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIY. 
 
 "Beseech you, sir, were you present at this relation ? " 
 
 Winteb's Tale. 
 
 On the following morning the windows of the 
 Lust in Rust denoted the presence of its owner. 
 There was an air of melancholy, yet of happiness, 
 in the faces of many who were seen about the 
 buildings and the grounds, as if a great good had 
 been accompanied by some grave and qualifying 
 circumstances of sorrow. The negroes wore an 
 air of that love of the extraordinary, which is the 
 concomitant of ignorance, while those of the more 
 fortunate class resembled men who retained a 
 recollection of serious evils that were past. 
 
 In the private apartment of the burgher, how- 
 
173 
 
 THE WATER- WITCH. 
 
 ever, an interview took place which was chara 
 terized by an air of deep concern. The parties 
 were only the free-trader and the alderman. But 
 it was apparent, in the look of each, that they 
 met like men who had interesting and serious 
 matters to discuss. Still, one accustomed to the 
 expressions of the human countenance might have 
 seen that, while the former was about to intro- 
 duce topics in which his feelings were powerfully 
 enlisted, the other looked only to the grosser inter- 
 ests of his commerce. 
 
 " My minutes are counted," said the mariner, 
 stepping into the centre of the room, and facing 
 his companion. " That which is to be said must 
 be said briefly. The inlet can only be passed on 
 the rising water, and it will ill consult your opin- 
 ions of prudence were I to tarry, till the hue and 
 cry that will follow the intelligence of that which 
 has lately happened in the ofhng, shall be heard 
 in the province." 
 
 " Spoken with a rover's discretion ! This re- 
 serve will perpetuate friendship, which is naught 
 weakened by your activity in our late uncomfort- 
 able voyage on the yards and masts of Queen 
 Anne's late cruiser. Well ! I wish no ill-luck to 
 any loyal gentleman in her majesty's service ; but 
 it is a thousand pities that thou wert not ready, 
 now the coast is clear, with a good heavy inward 
 cargo ! The last was altogether an affair of se- 
 cret drawers and rich laces ; valuable in itself, 
 and profitable in the exchange : but the colony 
 is sadly in want of certain articles that can only 
 be landed at leisure." 
 
 " I come on other matters. There have been 
 transactions between us, Alderman Van Beverout, 
 that you little understand." 
 
 " You speak of a small mistake in the last in- 
 voice ? 'Tis all explained, Master Skimmer, on 
 a second examination; and thy accuracy is as 
 well established as that of the Bank of Eng- 
 land." 
 
 " Established or not, let him who doubts cease 
 to deal. I have no other motto than ' confidence,' 
 nor any other rule but 'justice.' " 
 
 " You overrun my meaning, friend of mine. 
 I intimate no suspicions; but accuracy is the 
 soul of commerce, as profit is its object. Clear 
 accounts, with reasonable balances, are the surest 
 cements of business intimacies. A little frank- 
 ness operates, in a secret trade, like equity in the 
 courts ; which reestablishes the justice that the 
 law has destroyed. — What is thy purpose? " 
 
 " It is now many years, Alderman Yan Bever- 
 out, since this secret trade was commenced be- 
 tween you and my predecessor, he, whom you have 
 thought my father, but who only claimed that 
 
 revered appellation by protecting the helplessness 
 and infancy of the orphan child of a friend." 
 
 "The latter circumstance is new to me," re- 
 turned the burgher, slowly bowing his head. " It 
 may explain certain levities which have not been 
 without their embarrassment. 'Tisfive-and-twen- 
 ty years, come August, Master Skimmer, and 
 twelve of them have been under thy auspices. I 
 will not say that the adventures might not have 
 been better managed ; as it is, they are tolerable. 
 I am getting old, and think of closing the risks 
 and hazards of life — two or three, or, at the most, 
 four or five lucky voyages, must, I think, bring a 
 final settlement between us." 
 
 " 'Twill be made sooner. I believe the his- 
 tory of my predecessor was no secret to you. 
 The manner in which he was driven from the 
 marine of the Stuarts, on account of his opposi- 
 tion to tyranny ; his refuge with an only daugh- 
 ter, in the colonies ; and his final recourse to the 
 free-trade for a livelihood, have often been alluded 
 to between us." 
 
 " Hum — I have a good memory for business, 
 Master Skimmer, but I am as forgetful as a new- 
 made lord of his pedigree, on all matters that 
 should be overlooked. I dare say, however, it 
 was as you have stated." 
 
 " You know that, when my protector and 
 predecessor abandoned the land, he took his all 
 with him upon the water." 
 
 " He took a wholesome and good-going schoon- 
 er, Master Skimmer, with an assorted freight of 
 chosen tobacco, well ballasted with stones from off 
 the sea-shore. He was no foolish admirer of sea- 
 green women and flaunting brigantines. Often 
 did the royal cruisers mistake the worthy dealer 
 for an industrious fisherman ! " 
 
 " He had his humors, and I have mine. But 
 you forget a part of the freight he carried — a 
 part that was not the least valuable." 
 
 " There might have been a bale of marten's 
 furs — for the trade was just getting brisk in that 
 article." 
 
 " There was a beautiful, an innocent, and an 
 affectionate girl — " 
 
 The alderman made an involuntary movement 
 which nearly hid his countenance from his com- 
 panion. 
 
 " There was, indeed, a beautiful, and, as you 
 say, a most warm-hearted girl, in the concern ! " 
 he uttered in a voice that was subdued and hoarse. 
 " She died, as I have heard from thyself, Master 
 Skimmer, in the Italian seas. I never saw the 
 father after the last visit of his child to this 
 coast." 
 
 " She did die among the islands of the Med- 
 
A RIGHTEOUS 
 
 iterranean. But the void she left in the hearts 
 of all who knew her, was rilled in time by her — 
 daughter." 
 
 The alderman started from his chair, and, 
 looking the free-trader intently and anxiously in 
 the face, he slowly repeated the word — 
 
 " Daughter ! " 
 
 " I have said it. Eudora is the daughter of 
 that injured woman — need I say who is the fa- 
 ther ? " 
 
 The burgher groaned, and, covering his face 
 with his hands, he sank back into his chair, shiv- 
 ering convulsively. 
 
 " What evidence have I for this ? " he at 
 length muttered — " Eudora is thy sister ! " 
 
 The answer of the free-trader was accompa- 
 nied by a melancholy smile. 
 
 " You have been deceived. Save the brigan- 
 tine, my being is attached to nothing. When 
 my own brave father fell by the side Of him who 
 protected my youth, none of my blood were left. 
 I loved him as a father, and he called me son, 
 while Eudora was passed upon you as the child 
 of a second marriage. But here is sufficient evi- 
 dence of her birth." 
 
 The alderman took a paper, which his com- 
 panion put gravely into his hand, and his eyes 
 ran eagerly over its contents. It was a letter to 
 himself from the mother of Eudora, written after 
 the birth of the latter, and with the endearing af- 
 fection of a woman. The love between the young 
 merchant and the fair daughter of his secret cor- 
 respondent had been less criminal on his part 
 than most similar connections. Nothing but the 
 peculiarity of their situation, and the real embar- 
 rassment of introducing to the world one whose 
 existence was unknown to his friends, and their 
 mutual awe of the unfortunate but still proud 
 parent, had prevented a legal marriage. The sim- 
 ple forms of the colony were easily satisfied, and 
 there was even some reason to raise a question 
 whether they had not been sufficiently consulted 
 to render the offspring legitimate. As Myndert 
 Yan Beverout, therefore, read the epistle of her 
 whom he had once so truly loved, and whose loss 
 had, in more senses than one, been to him an ir- 
 reparable misfortune, since his character might 
 have yielded to her gentle and healthful influence, 
 his limbs trembled, and his whole frame betrayed 
 the violence of extreme agitation. The language 
 of the dying woman was kind and free from re- 
 proach, but it was solemn and admonitory. She 
 communicated the birth of their child ; but she 
 left it to the disposition of her own father, while 
 she apprised the author of its being of its exist- 
 ence ; and, in the event of its ever being consigned 
 
 RETRIBUTION. 179 
 
 *o his care, she earnestly recommended it to his 
 love. The close was a leave-taking, in which the 
 lingering affections of this life were placed in 
 mournful contrast to the hopes of the future. 
 
 "Why has this so long been hidden from me? " 
 demanded the agitated merchant — " why, reck- 
 less and fearless man ! have I been permitted to 
 expose the frailties of nature to my own child ? " 
 
 The smile of the free-trader was bitter and 
 proud. 
 
 " Mr. Van Beverout, we are no dealers of the 
 short voyage. Our trade is the concern of life ; 
 our world, the Water-Witch. As we have so little 
 of the interests of the land, our philosophy is 
 above its weaknesses. The birth of Eudora was 
 concealed from you, at the will of her grandfather. 
 It might have been resentment — it might have 
 been pride. Had it been affection, the girl has 
 that to justify the fraud." 
 
 "And Eudora, herself? — Does she — or has 
 she long known the truth ? " 
 
 " But lately. Since the death of our common 
 friend, the girl has been solely dependent on me 
 for counsel and protection. It is now a year since 
 she first learned she was not my sister. Until 
 then, like you, she supposed us equally derived 
 from one who was the parent of neither. Necessity 
 has compelled me, of late, to keep her much in 
 the brigantine." 
 
 u The retribution is righteous ! " groaned the 
 alderman. " I am punished for my pusillanimity 
 in the degradation of my own child ! " 
 
 The step of the free-trader, as he advanced 
 nearer to his companion, was full of dignity ; and 
 his keen eye glowed with the resentment of an of- 
 fended man. 
 
 " Alderman Van Beverout," he said, with 
 stern rebuke in his voice, " you receive your , 
 daughter, stainless as was her unfortunate moth- 
 er, when necessity compelled him whose being 
 was wrapped up in hers, to trust her beneath 
 your roof. We of the contraband have our own 
 opinions of right and wrong ; and my gratitude, 
 no less than my principles, teaches me that the 
 descendant of my benefactor is to be protected, 
 not injured. Had I, in truth, been the brother 
 of Eudora, language and conduct more innocent 
 could not have been shown her, than that she 
 has both heard and witnessed while guarded by 
 my care." 
 
 "From my. soul, I thank thee!" burst from 
 the lips of the alderman. " The girl shall be ac- 
 knowledged; and, with such a dowry as I can give, 
 she may yet hope for a suitable and honorable 
 marriage." 
 
 "Thou mayst bestow her on thy favorite pa- 
 
380 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 troon," returned the Skimmer, with a calm but ' child touched the ground. "It is the consequence 
 sad eye. " She is more than, worthy of all he can of lives which ceaselessly present dangers supe- 
 return. The man. is willing to take her, for he rior to our powers. For many years have I be- 
 is not ignorant of her sex and history. That lieved that some great good, or some greater evil, 
 much I thought due to Eudora herself, when for- ■ would accompany the first visit of this boy to the 
 tune placed the young man in my power." [ land. For the first -time, his foot now stands 
 
 " Thou art only too honest for this wicked 1 on solid earth. I await the fulfilment of the 
 world, Master Skimmer ! Let me see the loving augury ! " 
 
 pair, and bestow my blessing on the instant ! " " It will be happy," returned Ludlow. " Alida 
 
 The free-trader turned slowly away, and, open- ' and Eudora will instruct him in the opinions of 
 ing a door, he motioned for those within to enter, this simple and fortunate country, and he seemeth 
 Alida instantly appeared, leading the counterfeit one likely to do early credit to his schooling." 
 Seadrift, clad in the proper attire of her sex. ; " I fear the boy will regret the lessons of the 
 Although the burgher had often seen the supposed ' sea-green lady ! — Captain Ludlow, there is yet a 
 sister of the Skimmer in her female habiliments, ' duty to perform, which, as a man of more feeling 
 she never before had struck him as a being of so i than you may be disposed to acknowledge, I can- 
 rare beauty as at that moment. The silken whis- not neglect. I have understood that you are ac- 
 kers had been removed, and in their places were ! cepted by la belle Barberie ? " 
 burning cheeks, that were rather enriched than ! " Such is my happiness." 
 discolored by the warm touches of the sun. The ! " Sir, in dispensing with explanation of the 
 dark glossy ringlets, that were no longer artfully \ past you have shown a noble confidence, that 
 converted to the purposes of the masquerade, fell merits a return. When I came upon this coast, 
 naturally in curls about the temples and brows, ! it was with a determination of establishing the 
 shading a countenance which in general was play- | claims of Eudora to the protection and fortune 
 fully arch, though at that moment it was shadowed ' of her father. If I distrusted the influence and 
 by reflection and feeling. It is seldom that two hostility of one so placed, and so gifted to per- 
 such beings are seen together as those who now | suade, as this lady, you will remember it was be- 
 knelt at the feet of the merchant. In the breast : fore acquaintance had enabled me to estimate 
 of the latter, the accustomed and lasting love of : more than her beauty. She was seized in her 
 the uncle and protector appeared, for an instant, pavilion by my agency, and transported as a cap- 
 to struggle with the new-born affection of a par- | tive to the brigantine." 
 
 ent. Xature was too strong for even his blunted I " I had believed her acquainted with the his- 
 and perverted sentiments ; and, calling his child tory of her cousin, and willing to aid in some 
 aloud by name, the selfish and calculating alder- i fantasy which was to lead to the present happy 
 man sank upon the neck of Eudora, and wept. I restoration of the latter to her natural friends." 
 It would have been difficult to trace the emotions " You did her disinterestedness no more than 
 of the stern but observant free-trader, as he ' justice. As some atonement for the personal 
 watched the progress of this scene. Distrust, un- ! wrong, and as the speediest and surest means of 
 easiness, and, finally, melancholy, were in his eye. ' appeasing her alarm, I made my captive ac- 
 With the latter expression predominant, he quit- | quainted with the facts. Eudora then heard, also 
 ted the room, like one who felt a stranger had no for the first time, the history of her origin. The 
 right to witness emotions so sacred. i evidence was irresistible, and we found a gener- 
 
 Two hours later, and the principal personages : ous and devoted friend where we had expected 
 of the narrative were assembled on the margin of a rival." 
 
 the cove, beneath the shade of an oak that " I knew that Alida could not prove less gen- 
 seemed coeval with the continent. The brigan- ' erous ! " cried the admiring Ludlow, raising the 
 tine was aweigh ; and, under a light show of hand of the blushing girl to his lips. " The los3 
 canvas, she was making easy stretches in the lit- ' of fortune is a gain, by showing her true charac- 
 tle basin, resembling, by the ease and grace of j ter!" 
 
 her movements, some beautiful swan sailing up ; " Hist ! — hist — " interrupted the alderman — 
 and down in the enjoyment of its instinct. A , " there is little need to proclaim a loss of any 
 boat had just touched the shore, and the " Skim- I kind. What must be done in the way of natural 
 mer of the Seas " stood near, stretching out a j justice, will doubtless be «ubmitted to ; but why 
 hand to aid the boy Zephyr to land. ! let all in the colony know how much or how little 
 
 " We subjects of the elements are slaves to , is given with a bride ? " 
 superstition," he said, when the light foot of the | " The loss of fortune will be amply met," re- 
 
EUDORA AND THE SMUGGLER. 
 
 181 
 
 turned the free-trader. " These bags contain 
 gold. The dowry of my charge is ready at a mo- 
 ment's •warning, whenever she shall make! known 
 her choice." 
 
 " Success and prudence ! " exclaimed the 
 burgher. " There is no less than a most com- 
 mendable forethought in thy provision, Master 
 Skimmer ; and, whatever may be the opiuion of 
 the Exchequer Judges of thy punctuality and 
 credit, it is mine that there are less responsible 
 men about the Bank of England itself !— This 
 money is, no doubt, that which the girl can law- 
 fully claim in right of her late grandfather ! " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 "I take this to be a favorable moment to 
 speak plainly on a subject which is very near my 
 heart, and which may as well be broached under 
 such favorable auspices as under any other. I 
 understand, Mr. Van Staats, that, on a further 
 examination of your sentiments toward an old 
 friend, you are of opinion that a closer alliance 
 than the one we had contemplated will most con- 
 duce to your happiness ? " 
 
 " I will acknowledge that the coldness of la 
 belle Barberie has damped my own warmth," re- 
 turned the Patroon of Kinderhook, who rarely 
 delivered himself of more, at a time, than the 
 occasion required. 
 
 "And, furthermore, I have been told, sir, 
 that an intimacy of a fortnight has given you 
 reason to fix your affections on my daughter, 
 whose beauty is hereditary, and whose fortune is 
 not likely to be diminished by this act of justice 
 on the part of that upright and gallant mariner." 
 
 " To be received into the favor of your family, 
 Mr. Van Beverout, would leave me little to desire 
 in this life." 
 
 " And as for the other world, I never heard 
 of a Patroon W Kinderhook who did not leave us 
 with comfortable hopes for the future ; as in rea- 
 son they should, since few families in the colony 
 have done more for the support of religion than 
 they. They gave largely to the Dutch churches 
 in Manhattan; have actually built, with their 
 own means, three very pretty brick edifices on 
 the manor, each having its Flemish steeple and 
 suitable weathercocks, besides having done some- 
 thing handsome toward the venerable structure 
 in Albany. — Eudora, my child, this gentleman is 
 a particular friend, and as such I can presume to 
 recommend him to thy favor. You are not abso- 
 lutely strangers; but, in order that you may 
 have every occasion to decide impartially, you 
 will remain here together for a month longer, 
 which will enable you to choose without distrac- 
 tion and confusion. More than this, for the 
 
 present, it is unnecessary to say ; for it is my 
 practice to leave all matters of this magnitude 
 entirely to Providence." 
 
 The daughter, on whose speaking face the 
 color went and came, like lights changing in an 
 Italian sky, continued silent. 
 
 " You have happily put aside the curtain 
 which concealed a mystery that no longer gave 
 me uneasiness," interrupted Ludlow, addressing 
 the free-trader. u Can you do more, and say 
 whence came this letter ? " 
 
 The dark eye of Eudora instantly lighted. 
 She looked at the " Skimmer of the Seas," and 
 laughed. 
 
 " 'Twas another of those womanly artifices 
 which have been practised in my brigantine. It 
 was thought that a young commander of a royal 
 cruiser would be less apt to watch our move- 
 ments, were his mind bent on the discovery of 
 such a correspondent." 
 
 " And the trick has been practised before ? " 
 
 " I confess it. — But I can linger no longer. 
 In a few minutes the tide will turn, and the inlet 
 become impassable. Eudora, we must decide on 
 the fortunes of this child. Shall he to the ocean 
 again ? — or shall he remain, to vary his life with 
 a landsman's chances ? " 
 
 " Who and what is the boy ? " gravely de- 
 manded the alderman. 
 
 " One dear to both," rejoined the free-trader. 
 " His father was my nearest friend, and his 
 mother long watched the youth of Eudora. Un- 
 til this moment, he has been our mutual care — 
 he must now choose between us." 
 
 " He will not quit me ! " hastily interrupted 
 the alarmed Eudora. — " Thou art my adopted 
 son, and none can guide thy young mind like me. 
 Thou hast need of woman's tenderness, Zephyr, 
 and wilt not quit me?" 
 
 " Let the child be the arbiter of his own 
 fate. I am credulous on the point of fortune, 
 which is, at least, a happy belief for the contra- 
 band." 
 
 "Then let him speak. Wilt remain here, 
 amid these smiling fields, to ramble among yon- 
 der gay and sweetly-scented flowers ? — or wilt 
 thou back to the water, where all is vacant and 
 without change ? " 
 
 The boy looked wistfully into her anxious eye, 
 then he bent his own hesitating glance on the 
 calm features of the free-trader. 
 
 " We can put to sea," he said ; " and when 
 we make the homeward passage again, there will 
 be many curious things for thee, Eudora ! " 
 
 " But this may be the last opportunity to 
 know the land of thy ancestors. Remember how 
 
182 
 
 THE WATER-WITCH. 
 
 terrible is the ocean in its anger, and how often 
 the brigantine has been in danger of shipwreck ! " 
 
 " Nay, that is womanish ! — I have been on 
 the royal-yard in the squalls, and it never seemed 
 to me that there was danger." 
 
 " Thou hast the unconsciousness and reliance 
 of a ship-boy ! But those who are older, know 
 that the life of a sailor is one of constant and 
 imminent hazard. Thou hast been among the 
 islands in the hurricane, and hast seen the power 
 of the elements ! " 
 
 "I was in the hurricane, and so was the 
 hrigantine ; and there you see how taut and neat 
 she is aloft, as if nothing had happened ! " 
 
 " And you saw us yesterday floating on the 
 open sea, while a few ill-fastened spars kept us 
 from going into its depths 1 " 
 
 " The spars floated, and you were not 
 drowned ; else I should have wept bitterly, Eu- 
 dora." 
 
 " But thou wilt go deeper into the country, 
 and see more of its beauties — its rivers and its 
 mountains — its caverns and its woods. Here all 
 is change, while the water is ever the same." 
 
 " Surely, Eudora, you forget strangely ! — Here 
 it is all America. This mountain is America ; 
 yonder land across the bay is America, and the 
 anchorage of yesterday was America. When we 
 shall run off the coast, the next land-fall will 
 be England, or Holland, or Africa ; and, with a 
 good wind, we may run down the shores of two 
 or three countries in a day." 
 
 " And on them, too, thoughtless boy ! If you 
 lose this occasion, thy life will be wedded to haz- 
 ard ! » 
 
 " Farewell, Eudora ! " said the urchin, raising 
 his mouth to give and receive the parting kiss. 
 
 " Eudora, adieu ! " added a deep and melan- 
 choly voice, at her elbow. " I can delay no lon- 
 ger, for my people show symptoms of impatience. 
 Should this be the last of my voyages to the 
 coast, thou wilt not forget those with whom thou 
 hast so long shared good and evil ! " 
 
 " Not yet — not yet — you will not quit us yet ! 
 Leave me the boy — leave me some other memorial 
 of the past, besides this pain ! " 
 
 " My hour has come. The wind is freshening, 
 and I trifle with its favor. 'Twill be better for 
 thy happiness that none know the history of the 
 brigantine ; a few hours will draw a hundred 
 curious eyes from the town upon us." 
 
 " What care I for their opinions ? — thou wilt 
 not — cannot — leave me yet ! " 
 
 " Gladly would I stay, Eudora, but a seaman's 
 home is his ship. Too much precious time is al- 
 ready wasted. Once more, adieu ! " 
 
 The dark eye of the girl glanced wildly about 
 her. It seemed as if, in that one quick and hur- 
 ried look, it drank in all that belonged to the 
 land and its enjoyments. 
 
 " Whither go you ? " she asked, scarce suffer- 
 ing her voice to rise above a whisper. " Whither 
 do you sail, and when do you return? " 
 
 " I follow Fortune. My return may be dis- ' 
 tant — never! — Adieu then, Eudora — be happy 
 with the friends that Providence hath given 
 thee ! " ■ 
 
 The wandering eyes of the girl of the sea be- 
 came still more unsettled. » She grasped the of- 
 fered hand of the free-trader in both her own, 
 and wrung it in an impassioned and unconscious 
 manner. Then, releasing her hold, she opened 
 wide her arms, and cast them, convulsively about 
 his unmoved and unyielding form. 
 
 " We will go together ! — I am thine, and thine 
 only!" 
 
 " Thou knowest not what thou sayest, Eu- 
 dora!" gasped the Skimmer. "Thou hast a 
 father — friend — husband — " 
 
 "Away, away !" cried the frantic girl, waving 
 her hand wildly toward Alida and the patroon, 
 who advanced as if hurrying to rescue her from 
 a precipice. — "Thine, and thine only! " 
 
 The smuggler released himself from her fren- 
 zied grasp, and, with the strength of a giant, he 
 held the struggling girl at the length of his arm, 
 while he endeavored to control the tempest of 
 passion that struggled within him. 
 
 " Think, for one moment, think ! " he said. 
 " Thou wouldst follow an outcast — an outlaw — 
 one hunted and condemned of men ! " 
 
 "Thine, and thine only!" 
 
 " With a ship for a dwelling — the tempestu- 
 ous ocean for a world ! " 
 
 " Thy world is my world ! — thy home my home 
 — thy danger, mine ! " 
 
 The shout which burst out of the chest of the 
 " Skimmer of the Seas " was one of uncontrollable 
 exultation. 
 
 "Thou art mine! "he cried. "Before a tie 
 like this, the claim of such a father is forgotten ! 
 Burgher, adieu ! — I will deal by thy daughter more 
 honestly than thou didst deal by my benefactor's 
 child ! " 
 
 Eudora was lifted from the ground as if her 
 weight had been that of a feather ; and, spite of 
 a sudden and impetuous movement of Ludlow 
 and the patroon, she was borne to the boat. In 
 a moment the bark was afloat, with the gallant 
 boy tossing his sea-cap upward in triumph. The 
 brigantine, as if conscious of what had passed, 
 wore round like a whirling chariot ; and ere the 
 
THE LAST 
 
 spectators had recovered from their confusion and 
 wonder, the boat was hanging at the tackles. 
 The free-trader was seen on the poop, with an arm 
 cast about the form of Eudora, waving a hand to 
 the motionless group on the shore, while the still 
 half-unconscious girl of the ocean signed her faint 
 adieus to Alida and her father. The vessel glided 
 through the inlet, and was immediately rocking 
 on the billows of the surf. Then, taking the full 
 weight of the southern breeze, the fine and atten- 
 uated spars bent to its force, and the progress of 
 the swift-moving craft was apparent by the bub- 
 bling line of its wake. 
 
 The day had begun to decline, before Alida 
 and- Ludlow quitted the lawn of the Lust in Rust. 
 For the first hour, the dark hull of the brigantine 
 was seen supporting the moving cloud of canvas. 
 Then the low structure vanished, and sail after 
 sail settled into the water, until nothing was visi- 
 
 VOYAGE. 183 
 
 ble but a speck of glittering white. It lingered 
 for a minute, and was swallowed in the void. 
 
 The nuptials of Ludlow and Alida were 
 touched with a shade of melancholy. Natural 
 affection in one, and professional sympathy in 
 the other, had given them a deep and lasting in- 
 terest in the fate of the adventurers. 
 
 Years passed away, and months were spent at 
 the villa, in which a thousand anxious looks were 
 cast upon the ocean. Each morning during the 
 early months of summer did Alida hasten to the 
 windows of her pavilion, in the hope of seeing the 
 vessel of the contraband anchored in the cove ; 
 but always without success. It never returned ; 
 and, though the rebuked and disappointed alder- 
 man caused many secret inquiries to be made 
 along the whole extent of the American coast, he 
 never again heard of the renowned " Skimmer or 
 the Seas," or of his matchless Water -Witch. 
 
 THE END. 
 
r 
 
I