“God save you, Sir!”
“And you, Sir; you are
welcome.
“Travel you, Sir, or
are you at the furthest?”
Taming of the Shrew.
If the exterior of the brigantine
was so graceful 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 adjoining, 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 apartment; but partly above, and nearer
to the stern, were 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 sunken
several feet, commencing at the aftermost bulk-head
of the cabins of the subordinate officers, in a manner
to give the necessary height, without interfering 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 vessel itself.
A descent of a step or two, however, brought the visiters
to the level of the cabin-floor and into an ante-room
that was evidently fitted for the convenience of the
domestics. A small silver hand-bell lay on a table,
and Tiller rung 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
description.
The material of the dress of this
young servitor 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 Alderman, when this extraordinary little
usher presented 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
Van Staats of Kinderhook manifested equal amazement,
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 fantastic 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 cut-water,
and rarely refuses an answer.”
“’Tis odd that a form
of wood should have the gift of speech!”
“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 of
the latter, but we would know something of the former.
Who is thy master?”
The boy smiled and looked aside, as
if he hesitated 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 Myndert: “but this foolhardiness
will one day bring as pretty a brigantine as ever
sailed in the narrow 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!” rejoined 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 ‘Skimmer of the Seas,’ and then they
answer. The old God knows us well, for we pass
his latitude oftener 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 this 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;
but 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, and 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
Remember, I have done thee
worthy service;
Told thee no lies, made no
mistakings, serv’d
Without or grudge or grumblings.”
“I thought that ’twas
in mockery,” continued the boy, when he saw by
the eye of the young captain that he had read the
quotation; ’for ’twas very like, though
more prettily worded, than that which I had said, myself!”
“And that 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!”
“I never dared to ask again.
But what matters 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 on 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 earthquake. Thou art better afloat, child; but
thy master, this Skimmer of the Seas ”
“ Hist!” whispered
the boy, raising a finger 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
upon the ocean, being chiefly in recitative. The
words, as near as might be distinguished, ran as follows:
My
brigantine!
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!
My
brigantine!
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; “for
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 whistling
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 himself,
behind a curtain.
The visiters, more particularly the
young commander of the Coquette, found new subjects
of admiration and wonder, on entering the main cabin
of the brigantine. The apartment, considering
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
cornice. A luxuriously-looking pile of cushions,
covered with red morocco, lay along the transom, in
the manner of an eastern divan; and against the bulk-head
of each state-room, stood an agrippina 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 neglected, 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 cushions, its chairs of beautiful wood, its cases
for books, and its neglected instruments, intermixed
with fixtures of a more solid and permanent appearance,
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 rose-wood, 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 entirely destitute of arms, not even a
pistol, or a sword, being suspended in those places
where weapons of that description are usually seen,
in all vessels employed either in war or in a trade
that might oblige those who sail them to deal in violence.
In the centre of the alcove stood
the youthful-looking and extraordinary person who,
in so unceremonious 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 lightly 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 melancholy, 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 visiters was less
easy. The deep anxiety with which both Ludlow
and the Patroon had undertaken to board the notorious
smuggler had given place to an amazement and a curiosity
that caused them nearly to forget their errand; while
Alderman Van Beverout appeared 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 Van 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 strangers
to him; though the young men 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 pleasure.”
“I understand you, Sir.
It is scarce necessary to say, however, that the wife
of George of Denmark has little authority here.
Forbear, I pray you,” he added quickly, observing
that Ludlow was about to answer. “These
interviews with the servants of that lady are riot
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 discreet 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 judgment,” rejoined the other, still suffering
the wilful smile to linger round his lips. “You,
Sir, I think, are called Mr. Myndert Van 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 discourse, Mr. Van Staats, for it may yet come
before 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
scarcely cease to blow upon our sails, before we scent
the gales of America. But this is rather Exchequer
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 calamity 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 correspondence!
Master Seadrift; but I think this is exceeding the
compass of even a trader in contraband! I can
make allowances for some errors in an account; but
women can be exported and imported without duty, and
when and where one pleases, and therefore the less
necessity for running them out of their old uncle’s
habitation, in so secret a manner.”
“An undeniable position, and
a feeling conclusion! 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 distressed relative and guardian, in searching
for his misguided ward,” Ludlow answered.
The free-trader turned his eyes on
the Patroon, who signified his assent by a silent
bow.
“’Tis well, gentlemen;
I also admit the testimony. 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 beside the brigantine, and
a capricious fair may have sought a protector, even
under a pennant of Queen Anne!”
“This is a truth that has been
but too obvious 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. Van 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 believe, 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 mystery.”
“If the impression that the
lady could yield her esteem with too little discretion,
be any excuse 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 Van 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 forget 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, long and earnestly, at the countenance of
the extraordinary being who asked this question.
A movement, which bespoke, equally, his conviction
and his regret, escaped him, but he continued silent.
Not so Ludlow. Of a more ardent temperament,
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 so just as
to seem natural.
“This is no work of a sail-maker’s
needle!” said the captain of the Coquette.
“Other beauties 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
language 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 ‘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 mystery
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 exhibiting, behind
it, various articles of womanly employment, “here
are the offspring of both pencil and needle.
The sorceress,” touching the image 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. Van 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.
“Foul tongues and calumnies!
Master Seadrift, this unlawful manner of playing round
business, 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 see the
clearer: though, Heaven knows, no man has
less reason to dread an inquiry into his affairs than
myself! I challenge the best accountant in the
colonies to detect a false footing, or a doubtful
entry, in any book I have, from the Memorandum to the
Leger.”
“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 Van
Tromp! Thou hast swept the pavilion of my niece
of its mistress, 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. Bulk-heads 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 unhicky 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 hotheaded 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 per centage will satisfy them; it must be all, or
nothing! There was no such foolery in the days
of thy worthy father! The honest trafficker brought
his cutter into port, with as innocent a look as a
mill-boat. We had our discourses 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
during the time of thy predecessor. He had a
comely and a deceptive craft, that might be likened
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 have in speaking the Lord High Admiral!
There were no fooleries in his time; no unseemly hussies
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, without 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.
“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 sometimes 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 stared, in a manner that
might have induced a spectator to believe he was listening
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 containing 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
impossibility of immediately coming to an understanding;
and therefore I will quit thy vessel, for truly a
merchant of reputation should have no unnecessary
connexion 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,” ne said; and, bowing
to the Alderman, he dismissed him in a manner that
betrayed a singular compound of feeling. One
quick to discover the traces of human passion, might
have fancied, that regret, and even sorrow, were powerfully
blended with the natural or assumed recklessness of
the smuggler’s air and language.