“ Alack, what heinous
sin is it in me To be ashamed, to be 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 underwent
a change. The reckless and bold expression deserted
his eye, which once more became soft, if not pensive,
as it wandered over the different 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 vulgar 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 opinion was
seen in his demeanor, it rather appeared assumed than
easy; and even when most disposed to display lawless
indifference to the ordinary 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 the
colonies, with needy and dissolute men of rank, or
of high political connexions at home. The Province
of New-York had, in this respect, been particularly
unfortunate. The gift of it by Charles to his
brother and successor, had left it without the protection
of those charters and other privileges that had been
granted to most of the governments of America.
The connexion 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 honors and favors of Queen Elizabeth had been
liberally 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 modification, until the descendants of
those single-minded and virtuous men who peopled the
Union, 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 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 legality 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 suspicions, however, fell far short of the truth;
for it were scarce possible to have presented a mariner,
who bore about him fewer of those signs of his rude
calling, than he whom she had so unexpectedly 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
manifested more of curiosity and wonder, than of displeasure.
“My niece has heard that thou
comest from the old countries, Master Seadrift,”
said the wary Alderman, who preceded Alida, “and
the woman is uppermost in her heart. Thou wilt
never be forgiven, should the eye of any maiden in
Manhattan 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
Lyonnois brocades, that any Lombard, or dame of France,
might envy. Ribbons of every hue and dye, and
laces that seem to copy the fret-work 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 the moral
certainty of its continuance; this German succession
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 admit of no parley between friends.”
“Thy obstinacy is unreasonable,
Master Seadrift. 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 valuables on the
lowest bidder.”
“Nay, uncle,” said Alida,
in a little trepidation “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 Myndert; “of what use is an established
correspondence, if it is to be broken on account of
a little cheapening? But produce thy stores,
Mr. Dogmatism; 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 compliment 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 refuse to look at his samples, thou
wilt follow, Master Seadrift, and so I will pay thee
the compliment 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 mining districts, have thrown all commerce
flat 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 failure of Van 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 uttered
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 Alida, in whose face there was a marked expression
of hesitation and curiosity.
“It will not be necessary,”
returned her companion. “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 Alderman 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, beautiful Alida, and thou canst not know the
pleasure I find in breathing even the atmosphere of
a woman’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 expressed as much of secret irony,
as of that pensive 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.”
“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,
regarded 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 earnestness
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 specimens 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 entered the window, and rolled
heavily to the centre of the floor.
“Here are our commodities, and
trust me the price shall not be dwelt on, between
us,” resumed 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 appeared 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 owner of
the treasures had got into the third of his packages,
the hands of the heiress were as actively 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
between his beautiful customer and himself. “Thou
seest, 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 toilette, however ample; see, it
is endless as the plains that reared the little animal
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 forbidden.”
“’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 conceits,” 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 furnished 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
countries, without the formalities of law!”
“We thought to start in the
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 she 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 vet worn of it,
so well become it; I lay it here, as a
make-weight in my bargain with the Alderman. This
is satin of Tuscany; a country where nature exhibits
its extremes, 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 articles to fall from her hand, in the stronger
interest 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 insensible 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 bauble for my pleasure! Whim
is sometimes stronger than the thirst of gain; and
this chain does not quit me, till I bestow it on the
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 visited a land of witchcraft, or you would
not pretend to a knowledge of things, that, in their
very nature, must be hidden from a stranger. Of
what value may be those beautiful feathers of the
ostrich?”
“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 Lachrymyae 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-concealed
offerings to herself. The effect of this suspicion
was two-fold; it caused the maiden to become more
reserved in the expression of her tastes, though it
in no degree lessened her confidence in, and admiration
of, the wayward and remarkable 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 desired 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 conceit, 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 deference 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 handsome mouth of the speaker) “but
it was so reported. 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 institutions
of this order.”
“Truly the question exceedeth
my 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
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, frankly, belle Alida, and say if you share in
the prejudices 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 invested moneys and established fortune!
He has entrenched his gains behind acknowledged barriers,
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 were 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 into 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 plow 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 unsettle
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 individuals 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 Barberie, and she arose from her seat with
precipitation.
“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 ’Skimmer of the Seas!’”
cried a voice, at the open window.
In another minute, Ludlow was in the
room Alida uttered a shriek, veiled her face in her
robe, and rushed from the apartment.