LADY EUREKA;
OR,
THE MYSTERY:
A PROPHECY OF THE FUTURE.
BY THE AUTHOR
OF
"MEPHISTOPHELES IN ENGLAND."
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
LONDON:
LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMANS,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.
1840.
LONDON;
Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.
CONTENTS
I. ROLY POLY'S SICKNESS, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
II. AN AUSTRALIAN COLONY IN SPAIN.
III. OLD ENGLAND.
IV. THE LAST OF THE ENGLISHMEN.
V. AN ACCOUNT OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF OLD ENGLAND.
VI. THE DEATH OF THE LAST OF THE ENGLISHMEN.
VII. LILYA.
VIII. LOVE MISPLACED.
IX. A DISCOVERY.
X. A FIGHT AT SEA.
XI. THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN DEATH, AND THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS.
XII. THE CONCLUSION.
EUREKA;
A PROPHECY OF THE FUTURE.
CHAPTER I.
ROLY POLY'S SICKNESS, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
"Oh, massa, I so bad!" exclaimed the fat cook, as he waddled up to the
surgeon, with a most woeful expression of countenance.
"What's the matter with you, Roly Poly?" inquired Dr. Tourniquet.
"Sich a debble ob a pain, massa," continued the black.
"But where is it, man? where is it? Can't do you any good till I know
what's the matter with you, don't you see," said the surgeon.
"Debble ob a pain, massa, in my tomack," replied his patient, rubbing
his huge hand over his stomach, and heaving the most despairing of
sighs.
"Put out your tongue," exclaimed the doctor.
The fat cook extended a pair of enormous jaws, and protruded something
which resembled a scorched brick-bat.
"Ah! derangement of the digestive functions," remarked the practitioner,
after a brief inspection of the misshapen lump of flesh his patient had
exhibited. "What have you been eating?"
"Eatin, massa?" repeated Roly Poly, looking most ludicrously pathetic,
"can't eat nutting, massa, to tink of. Loss nappetite 'pletely.
Breakfast, me only eat pound and harp o' beef--berry little lump o' cold
puddin big as my two fistes," (which were the size of another person's
head), "two or tree red herrin--harp-a-dozen egg--lope o' bread, and
one, two quart o' cocoa. Nuttin more, me 'sure you, massa. Yes, me loss
nappetite 'pletely. Den for lunch, me eat pound and harp o' beef--berry
little lump o' cold puddin, big as my two fistes--two or tree red
herrin--and drop o' liquor wash it down, not more den harp a gallon,
nutting to tink of, massa. Den for dinner me eat pound and harp o'
beef--berry little lump o' hot puddin, big as my two fistes--plate or
two o' wedgeables--lope o' bread--small bit o' cheese, big as one o' my
two fistes--and drop o' liquor wash it down, not more nor harp a gallon.
Can't eat nuttin. Den for tea me eat pound and harp o' beef--berry
little lump o' cold puddin, big as my two fistes--two or tree red
herrin--harp-a-dozen egg--lope o' bread, and one, two quart o' cocoa.
Nuttin to tink of. Den for supper, me eat pound and harp o' beef--berry
little lump o' cold puddin, big as my two fistes--two or tree red
herrin, and two or tree roasted tatoroes--lope o' bread--small bit o'
cheese, big as one o' my two fistes--and drop o' liquor wash it down,
not more nor harp a gallon. Me eat nuttin, massa. Loss nappetite
'pletely."
"Why, you eat enough to satisfy a regiment," exclaimed Dr. Tourniquet.
"No, massa, me berry poor eater," replied the fat cook in a doleful
tone; "eat nuttin to sinnify. Ony pound and harp o' beef--berry little
lump o' cold puddin----"
"Yes, yes; I've heard all that," said the doctor, impatiently
interrupting him. "Your plethoric habit must be reduced, don't you see.
You must be bled and physicked, till we bring down that mountain of
flesh into something like a healthy size. You must eat no beef, no
pudding, no red herrings, no eggs, and no cheese; and drink neither
liquor nor cocoa. You must drink nothing but barley water, and eat
nothing but arrow-root; and run up and down the deck for half an hour,
half-a-dozen times a-day."
As the Doctor described the remedies he desired his patient to adopt,
Roly Poly's mouth gradually extended itself till it threatened to
approach his ears; and his eyes kept winking and staring as if in
complete consternation.
"Massa!" at last he loudly exclaimed, and seemed gradually becoming
more indignant. "What, starve poor nigger! reduce poor Roly Poly to a
natomy! No eat no pound and harp o' beef, no berry little lump o' cold
puddin big as my two fistes--no red herrin--no nuttin! You want to kill
poor Roly Poly, Sar! You want to 'prive de world o' de cook what makes
de booflifulest dishes as you nebber see, Sar! You want to make skeleton
o' poor nigger to put in glass-case, Sar! Nebber heard o' sich numanity!
sick barbararity--sich cruelty to anmals! Where de debble you spect to
go when you die?"
"Well, if you don't like to follow my prescriptions, it's no use coming
for my advice, don't you see," remarked the Doctor.
"Follow your scriptions?" replied his patient, losing all respect for
his companion in the intensity of his indignation. "Follow a shark's
grandmutter, Sar. What, eat nuttin but arrow-root? nassy slop!--pooty
joke indeed. Drink nuttin but barley water?--washy stuff! Tink you catch
me at it. Be bled and physicked, and run up and down deck six times a
day for harp an hour--what a preposterosterous impossumbility."
"You will get much worse if you don't, and possibly you may die, don't
you see," observed Tourniquet.
"Die, Massa!" cried the fat cook, looking horrified at the idea, and
rubbing his stomach with an increased energy. "Oh, sich a debble ob a
pain! Die Massa! Poor Roly Poly die? Sich a boofliful cook die! Quite
unnatral, Massa. Oh, sich a debble ob a pain! What become o' de poor
fellars who eat him nice puddins, and soups, and all dat? Nebber hab no
beckfast; nebber hab no lunch; nebber hab no dinner; nebber hab no tea;
nebber hab no supper; never hab no nuttin! What become o' ebry body?
What become o' ship? Same o' you say Roly Poly die! Nobody do nuttin
widout him; cook be most important ofcer in ship. Roly Poly be
booflifulest cook as nebber was. Same o' you say Roly Poly die!"
"Well you will find out the difference by-and-bye, don't you see," said
the Doctor; and, turning on his heel, he left his patient to his own
reflections.
"Him no more doctor dan a jackmorass," muttered the fat cook, as he
waddled to another part of the ship, making the most ludicrous grimaces,
and rubbing his stomach with an activity, that for him, was quite
surprising. On his way he met with Loop, the young midshipman, who had
lately distinguished himself by his love of mischief, and fondness for
tricks. The lad, with a very demure face, approached Roly Poly.
"How do you do, Roly Poly?" he inquired, looking into his face as if he
was wonderfully interested in the result of his question.
"Oh, sich a debble ob a pain!" replied the fat cook, with a most
melancholy visage, continuing the up and down motion of his hand.
"You look very ill, very ill indeed," observed the boy. "What an
extraordinary change! I should scarcely have known you. You must be in
a very dangerous state, Roly Poly. You ought to be in your hammock. You
ought to be making your will--you ought to be saying your prayers."
"Oo, oo, oo!" blubbered out the fat cook, lengthening his face as he
listened to the remarks of his companion. "You tink I die, Massa Loop?"
"I am much afraid you will be as dead as a herring before you can look
about you," replied Loop.
"Oo, oo, oo!" The other continued. "Doctor say I die: you say I die:
spose I must die. Oo, oo, oo!----"
"We are all mortal," observed the youth, with a grave countenance; "and
all, sooner or later, must leave this sublunary world. Cooks cannot be
spared any more than midshipmen."
"Oo, oo, oo!" cried Roly Poly.
"Is there any thing I can do for you?" anxiously inquired the
midshipman;--"any consolation I can afford, before your cold remains are
consigned to the deep."
"Oo, oo, oo!" continued the fat cook.
"You must have fortitude to bear the blow," said Loop, with a
countenance that would have done credit to a judge. "Let this be your
consolation, that although your body will be devoured by the first shark
that ventures in its way----"
"Oo, oo, oo, oo!" vehemently sobbed the sick man, interrupting the
sentence before it was half finished.
"You ought now to think of your sins," continued his tormentor. "It is
never too late to repent, you know; and I should earnestly advise you to
confess all the injuries you have done your fellow-creatures by imposing
upon their stomachs the villanous specimens of your cookery you have
from time to time set before them. Confess upon what pipe-clay and
train-oil system you made your puddings,--confess the abominable trash
you put together to manufacture into soups;--confess how many you have
poisoned with your atrocious cocoa--confess----"
It is possible that the young midshipman might have said much more,
but Roly Poly, who had listened to his injunctions at first with
astonishment, and next with rage, lost all consideration for his
approaching dissolution, and his yellow eyeballs flashed with fury.
"What de debble you mean you fellar!" thundered out the enraged cook,
approaching his companion, who wisely kept out of arms' reach. "What de
debble you mean ob pipe-clay and train-oil? What you mean ob bominable
trash--what you mean ob poison wid trocious cocoa? You mean to sult me,
Sar? You tink I put up wid your imprance, Sar? You spose I low one man
to peak sick horble tings o' nodder man."
"Man!" exclaimed the youth, as he edged away from his pursuer,--"You
don't call yourself a man, surely? You know you're nothing else but an
old blacking bottle, turned inside out."
"Blacka bottle!" shouted Roly Poly, while his face became livid with
rage, and he looked utter annihilation at his insulter, "Blacka bottle!
I blacka bottle you, I catch you!" and he waddled after the midshipman
as fast as his fat legs would carry him, intent upon vengeance.
Loop kept dodging him about from one place to another, saying the most
aggravating things he could think of, till the perspiration rolled
down the black cheeks of the infuriated cook, and he seemed completely
exhausted by his exertions. Roly Poly sat down at the foot of one of the
masts to rest himself, breathing all sorts of threatenings against his
tormentor; while the young midshipman, laughing at the success of his
trick, nimbly ascended the yards, and took up a position just over
the head of the victim of his mischief. The latter was congratulating
himself that he was left at peace, and was endeavouring to recover
the tranquillity of his temper, when he became conscious of something
dropping down upon him; putting his hand to his woolly head, he
discovered it was being covered with pitch, and, looking up, beheld
Master Loop snugly balanced aloft, amusing himself by pouring from an
old bucket some of the fluid that had polluted his person.
It would be in vain attempting to delineate the passion of the fat cook
at this discovery. Furious with rage, he caught up a small hand-spike
that lay near, and poised it in his hand with the intention of throwing
it at his tormentor. Loop saw what he was about to do, and immediately,
as rapidly as possible, moved from his position, and kept changing from
place to place, with a quickness that baffled the fat cook's aim; but
when he had ascended to a greater height, and was passing from one point
to another with a velocity that seemed impossible to be imitated, his
foot slipped, and with a scream that made all on deck aware of his
danger, he fell headlong into the sea.
The Albatross was proceeding at a moderate rate, and was about fifty
miles off the coast of Spain. Oriel Porphyry was conversing with Zabra
on the quarter-deck, when he noticed the accident. He, with others,
rushed to the side; and, observing where the boy descended, he
immediately threw off his upper garments, and plunged into the waves.
There was a strong sea running at the time, and it required the arm of
a powerful swimmer to force a way through the heaving billows. Upon
arriving at the surface, after his plunge, Oriel struck out for the
spot where the midshipman had fallen, but saw nothing of the object
of his search. He dived about in every direction; but was equally
unsuccessful. Anxious to endeavour to save the youth while a possibility
remained of his rescue, he continued his exertions; but he met with
nothing that could in the slightest degree, assist him in his object.
Not a trace of the boy was to be seen. Disappointed and weary, he
was about returning to the ship, when he caught the sound of a faint,
bubbling cry at no great distance from him, and turning his eyes in that
direction, he thought he could distinguish something like a human head
in the trough of an advancing wave. He swum rapidly in that direction;
and as he approached, saw it disappear from the surface. Down he dived
after it as rapidly as his skill would allow; but though he swept the
waters, far and near, with his arms, he touched nothing but the cold
salt water; and after remaining beneath the surface till his strength
and breath were nearly exhausted, he arose, dispirited and faint, into
the open air.
While the most painful reflections were created in his mind, by the
unsuccessful result of his labours, he suddenly observed a dark
substance rise within a few feet of him; he struck out towards it
in a moment, and grasping it firmly with his hand, to his deep and
inexpressible delight discovered it to be the body of the lost
midshipman. His face was pallid, his skin cold, and as Oriel found that
he made no reply to his hurried inquiries, he was much afraid that the
boy was either dead, or was in a state nearly approaching dissolution.
By this time the ship had been put about, and the sailors having been
made acquainted with the accident rushed with anxious faces to the side.
They watched with the deepest interest the young merchant gallantly
breasting the waves in search of their drowning favourite, and became
uneasy as they noticed the unprofitableness of his efforts. But none
regarded the progress of the swimmer with such intense excitement of
feeling as Zabra. He saw his patron pass from wave to wave--he observed
him dive into the dark waters, and waited for his re-appearance with
sensations impossible to be described. As the vessel was brought round
to the spot where Oriel Porphyry was pursuing his researches, he became
more earnest in his attention. He endeavoured to encourage him in
his efforts with his voice, and to strengthen him in his purpose by
his praise. The captain had not ascended to the deck, and he was
unacquainted with the accident: but as soon as he was made aware of it,
he hurried to the ship's side in an agony of apprehension, and it was
only the strong grasp of Boggle and Climberkin that prevented him from
plunging into the sea.
A loud cheer from the crew announced that the young merchant had
succeeded in finding the object of his solicitude, and anxiously every
eye turned towards the spot where he was seen supporting the boy with
one arm and cleaving his way through the waves with the other.
"A shark--a shark!" screamed Zabra; and to the horror of Oriel and
those who were observing him, a monstrous shark was seen coming rapidly
towards him. A cry of terror arose from the ship. Some shouted in hopes
of frightening away the ravenous animal--others to warn the young
merchant of his danger. Some ran to get fire arms, and Hearty, breaking
away from those who held him, suddenly hurried below the deck. The agony
of Zabra became insupportable. He screamed in all the piercing tones
of horror and despair, and his handsome features seemed convulsed with
fear. Still, as if there was a fascination in the object, he kept his
eyes upon the form of the shark. He watched its movements with a fearful
interest, and saw it near its intended victim with wild and frantic
terror.
Oriel Porphyry beheld the approach of the giant of the deep with
consternation and dread. He could not abandon his companion, who was
incapable of making the least exertion for his own safety, and he saw no
way of rescue for himself. He held the boy tighter, and dashed along the
waves with greater velocity in hopes of reaching the rope that was hung
out from the ship before the huge animal could come up with him. To the
attainment of this purpose he strained all his powers. Many friendly
voices cheered him on, and others strove all they could to frighten
away his remorseless enemy. But the shark kept on his way, unheeding the
frightful cries and showers of missiles with which he was assailed. His
fierce eyes were fixed upon his prey, and his monstrous jaws were gaping
for their food. The rope was almost within reach, but the destroyer was
nearer. Oriel Porphyry gave himself up for lost. It appeared evident to
all that he could not escape. The crew redoubled their cries and flung
every thing at hand at the monster without avail. Just as he was turning
on his side to make the fatal gripe, Hearty rushed upon the deck with a
long knife in his hand, and before any one was aware of his purpose, he
leaped over the side of the ship and descended into the water close to
the jaws of the shark, with a splash that completely distracted the
animal's attention, and allowed Oriel Porphyry unmolested to seize the
rope which the eager sailors held to assist him in regaining the vessel.
In a moment, with his lifeless burthen still grasped in his arm, he
was hawled upon the deck, and then placing him under the care of Dr.
Tourniquet, he was turning to notice the result of the Captain's
manoeuvre when he found himself seized by the friendly grasp of Zabra,
whose delight at his escape appeared to have taken away all power of
utterance.
But now an extraordinary scene presented itself upon the sea. The shark
had dived below the surface, when Hearty suddenly dashed down before
him; but on rising again, which he very shortly did, and on perceiving
his prey escape, he turned with increased ferocity towards the hardy
seaman, who was rejoicing at the success of his scheme. The old man
waited quietly till the shark turned to make a snap at him, then diving
quickly under his enormous belly, he plunged the knife up to the hilt in
his body, and rose up on the other side. The crew cheered vociferously
when they saw what their captain was about, and every one on board
watched the unequal combat with feelings of the most intense interest.
The ravenous monster, smarting with pain, again approached his opponent;
again he turned to gripe him within his jaws, and again the old man
diving under his belly, plunged his knife deep into his flesh. The
animal now became furious; he lashed the waves with his tail till they
became a mass of foam, and rapidly followed his brave antagonist, making
every effort to devour him; but the old man warily avoided all his
ferocious attempts, and at every blow of his arm crimsoned the water
with his blood. This fight continued for several minutes, till both the
combatants disappeared from the surface, when the anxious crew of the
Albatross began to fear that their brave old commander had fallen a
sacrifice to his exertions; but when they beheld the huge fish floating
on the water belly upwards, and heard the old man cry out for a rope, a
long and hearty cheer rose from the ship, and every one rushed to bear
a hand in assisting him on board.
He appeared covered with the blood of the slaughtered shark, and with
the weapon in his hand, of which he had made such good service. While he
was receiving the congratulations of his messmates, he inquired eagerly
after his young relative. Oriel, who had ascertained that he was doing
well, hastened to communicate the intelligence; and the old man as soon
as he beheld the preserver of his boy, eagerly grasped his hand, and
uttered his grateful thanks. Both soon afterwards left the deck to
change their apparel.
Among those who seemed most anxious for the recovery of the young
midshipman was Roly Poly, who, although exceedingly passionate, and
easily enraged, was a very good hearted sort of creature, and he quite
forgot the insults he had received--forgot even the terrible pains
that had a short time since so much alarmed him, when he witnessed the
dangers to which the boy had been exposed, and saw him brought lifeless
upon the deck. He assisted Dr. Tourniquet in using the usual means for
restoring suspended animation, and observed his recovery with a delight
equal to that of any one in the ship.
After Loop was able to walk about, Roly Poly addressed him with a great
deal of gravity upon the offence he had committed.
"Nebber you gain call me Blacka Bottle," said the fat cook. "Nebber
you say nuttin scandabalous bout de boofliful tings what I cook.
Nebber you say no preposterosterous impossumbilities. Horble ting,
massa Loop, to call Roly Poly Blacka Bottle--Horble ting to say nuttin
scandabalous--Horble ting to say preposterosterous impossumbilities."
"I'll never say any thing against you again, Roly Poly, as long as I
live," exclaimed the contrite midshipman: and thus ended the quarrel;
and ever afterwards they were the best friends in the ship.
CHAP. II.
AN AUSTRALIAN COLONY IN SPAIN.
"We are approaching the Colony to which you thought of emigrating,
are we not?" inquired Oriel Porphyry of the captain's clerk, who
stood beside him on the deck, and with whom he had been in earnest
conversation concerning the misfortunes of the young Australian.
An expression of pain and regret passed over Ardent's countenance.
"Yes it was here," he replied making a violent effort to conquer his
emotion. "We were destined to the penal settlement of New Sydney on the
Spanish coast, thriving accounts of which were in circulation in
Australia. My brothers were desirous of a location somewhere near the
banks of the Guadalquivir, as, although it was thinly settled, the land
was said to be of a very superior quality. My father was of the same
inclination. I had no other wish than to accompany them. Optima was
anxious for nothing but to be with me. But, alas! the devouring flame,
or the equally unrelenting flood has swallowed up all. I am a wanderer
and a beggar.--I have neither kin nor country."
"Say not so," replied the young merchant kindly. "I have not forgotten
the services you have rendered me, nor am I likely to pass them by
without notice. If you wish to settle at the colony, I will take care
you shall have the means of doing so with every hope of success; or if
you have no particular inclination towards any country, if you will
return with me to Columbia, you may depend upon meeting with many kind
friends, and may pass the rest of your life in comfort. I must touch at
New Sydney as I expect a letter from my father, from whom I have not for
some time had any communication, which makes me exceedingly anxious; and
if you hear of any desirable farm or plot of land, I wish you would let
me know."
"Your kindness is overpowering," said Ardent, much affected. "I have
done nothing to deserve it. I have already been rewarded in a manner far
exceeding my deserts. But while I can be of any service, I should like
to remain with you. I have no ties to bind me to any country--and where
I can be useful is where I should like to dwell."
"So it shall be then," added Oriel Porphyry. "Be satisfied that the
remainder of your life shall bear no comparison with what has preceded
it. We are now nearing the shore. I shall require your services as I
have some business to transact; therefore you will be good enough to
prepare to land with me immediately."
As the Albatross approached the coast, the buildings of a small seaport
became distinguishable. Some large houses faced the sea, and a battery
commanded the entrance to the port; but with the exception of one or
two streets running at right angles, the buildings straggled about
with very little pretensions to regularity. The country seemed thinly
inhabited, yet looked fertile and picturesque. Broad hills and valleys
and noble views were observable in the distance;--a wild and lofty rock
rose along the coast; and forests of noble trees were spread out in
various directions. There was no shipping in the bay, except a few small
craft; but the beach was crowded with spectators. It was observed that,
among the hundreds who were watching the progress of the ship from the
shore, there was only one female: the rest were men, and they were
apparently of all ages, but principally men in the prime of life and in
the full vigour of health. The appearance of only one woman surrounded
by such an assemblage of the other sex seemed so remarkable, that it
attracted the attention of all on board. As the ship entered the bay,
several boats were put off, and the crew of each seemed to strain every
nerve in endeavouring to get first alongside the vessel. In a few
minutes the Albatross was boarded by several different parties.
"How many women have you?" cried one; as soon as he reached the deck.
"Let me see your cargo of female emigrants," demanded another as he
bustled up to the captain.
"I want a wife!" shouted a third.
"We have no women here," exclaimed Hearty.
"No women!" cried they in full chorus, looking as disappointed as men
could be.
"None," replied the captain.
"What! have you brought us no wives?" asked one in a most doleful tone.
"Nothing of the kind," said Hearty.
"Tarnation!" exclaimed they; and they looked at each other with all the
eloquence of mute despair.
"A little un 'ill do for me!" squeaked out a dumpy sort of fellow, with
a red nose and a pepper-and-salt waistcoat.
"We've got neither little nor big!" responded the captain.
"Tarnation!" again exclaimed the bachelors; and, slowly and
despondingly, they prepared to leave the ship.
"Now ar'nt you got nothing feminine of no kind?" earnestly asked a
sharp-visaged, lanky-looking settler, who seemed very loth to leave the
ship. "If she's a nigger, I don't care."
"I tell you we've got no women at all!" said old Hearty, rather sharply.
"Tarnation!" muttered the disappointed colonists: and in a short time
after they had reached the land, there was scarcely a creature, with the
exception of the female already alluded to, to be seen on the beach.
They had been expecting a ship laden with female emigrants, and as they
were very much in want of wives, imagining the Albatross to be the much
wished for vessel, they had been excessively eager to behold the cargo.
The incident created considerable amusement among the voyagers. The
sailors were particularly merry upon the occasion; and the rueful
visages of the unfortunate colonists afforded many a hearty laugh.
Oriel had landed, and was walking along the beach, when he was startled
by a short, quick scream, and turning round, beheld the female who had
previously attracted his attention, rush into the arms of the captain's
clerk. He had noticed, on his approach to the shore, that this woman,
who from her dress appeared to be a domestic servant, seemed to regard
the persons in the boat with an anxious scrutiny; but imagining it to be
the effect of curiosity, it did not excite in him any remark. Ardent, at
this rencontre, seemed to be in a state of surprise and wonder that kept
him speechless. He gazed upon the prepossessing features of the fair
stranger as earnestly as if he had no other faculty than that of seeing.
The kind and anxious look that met his own--the arms that clasped his
neck so firmly, and the gentle voice that murmured his name, convinced
him of a fact of which he was almost incredulous. It was Optima.
"By what fortunate chance did you escape the death I felt assured that
you had met with?" inquired Ardent, after, at Oriel's request, he
had for the purpose of privacy retired to a chamber in one of the
neighbouring habitations.
"When I found the boat sinking, I clung to it," replied his companion;
"and when it again rose to the surface I floated on it. The blow which
it had received from the ship had propelled it a considerable distance,
and the force of the waves carried it still farther. The plunge I had
received, for some minutes took my breath away; and, although I held on
with all my strength to the boat, the heavy waves continually breaking
upon me, and the alarming position in which I found myself placed,
made me quite incapable of uttering a sound. As soon as I was able to
comprehend the extent of my danger, the thought that I was separated
from you, and the fear that you had perished in the sea, made my heart
sink within me. I clung instinctively to the floating vessel; but I had
no desire to live. I had seen enough of that dreadful conflagration
to fill me with terror; and I had not recovered from the feelings it
occasioned, when I was left alone, friendless, and about to be engulphed
in the waters. All around me was so dark that I could see nothing; but
the saltwater, as it dashed over me, scarcely allowed me to open my
eyes if I could have seen, and my strength was being rapidly exhausted.
I soon sunk into a state of stupor. How long this lasted I do not know;
but on recovery, I found myself in a cabin, receiving every attention
that my wants required; and, on inquiry, I found that I had been picked
up by the crew of a ship, which, attracted by the glare of the burning
vessel, had sent out a boat, in hopes of affording assistance to the
survivors."
"I was saved in a similar manner," remarked Ardent.
"When they had taken me into the boat they did not proceed any farther,"
continued Optima, "as they observed that another vessel had sent out
a boat's crew upon the same errand, and having no spare time at their
command, they left the other boat to pick up the survivors, and returned
with me to the ship. I discovered also that the vessel to which I had
been conveyed had left Sydney with emigrants for the very colony to
which we were proceeding. I told my story to my preservers, and many
who heard it were kind and compassionate. An offer was made me by
the wife of a settler to remain with her in the capacity of domestic
servant, which offer I accepted without hesitation. One thing was a
great consolation to me, and that was the conviction that you had been
saved. I knew that you were a strong swimmer, and as I had been told
that a party had been sent from the ship to rescue the crew of the boat
they had run down, I concluded that you were in safety."
"You were right, dear Optima!" said the captain's clerk; "I was taken
on board that ship, and have since held in it a responsible situation."
"Believing you to have been rescued, I continued to live, with the hope
that I should meet you again," continued Optima. "I arrived at the
colony. The persons whose protection I had accepted, settled at Sydney,
where the husband commenced business as a builder, in which he succeeded
beyond his expectations. I was very well treated, and labour being
exceedingly valuable in the colony, my exertions were rather profitable
to me. At that time I entertained the idea that as all our property was
consumed in the fire, you must be very much in want of a variety of
comforts to which you had been used; and as the expectation of my
meeting you again was never absent from me, I laboured diligently, and
saved all my earnings as a provision for our future support."
Ardent could only look his gratitude, and rapturously kiss the hand he
held in his own.
"It was such a pleasure to me, dear Ardent," resumed his companion, "to
count my gains as fast as they accumulated, and I kept saying to myself
'a little more and there will be enough to begin the world again with;'
and I thought how happy I should be able to make you, and I kept hoping
we should soon meet--and every day passed by in imagining what we should
do, and in enjoying a happiness of my own creating. Every time I heard
that a ship was in the bay, I came down to the beach in hopes of finding
you among the passengers. I scrutinised every one that left the vessel
so closely that I offended some and surprised others; but although I
met with repeated disappointments, I never left off expecting your
arrival. By this time I had saved about two hundred dollars, and whether
it became known, or whether the scarcity of females brought me into
such consideration, I do not know; but scarcely a day passed without my
receiving an offer of marriage."
"An offer of marriage!" exclaimed Ardent in surprise.
"Yes, dear Ardent," replied Optima. "The men seemed frantic after me. I
was not safe any where. If I went to pay a bill, it was sure to conclude
on the part of the tradesman with an offer of his hand and heart. If I
entered the market, no sooner had I made a purchase than I received a
proposal. I was besieged in all hours and at all places,--I may almost
say that I received a new suitor at the corner of every street. It was
in vain I told them I was married, and showed them my wedding ring. They
saw that I had no husband with me, and they were desirous of supplying
his place; and men even of a superior rank continually plagued me with
their proposals. It is scarcely necessary to say that I gave them all
a negative answer; but these were things that they did not appear to
understand, for the more frequently I refused, the more frequently they
again proposed. At last I was obliged to state how I was situated to the
lady with whom I was staying, and she spoke to her husband; and he took
measures that put an end to the persecution. And now, dear Ardent, that
my anticipations are realised, we will be so very happy--won't we?"
It is easier to imagine what was the answer than to describe it. It is
sufficient to say that Oriel Porphyry made a considerable addition to
the two hundred dollars which the devoted Optima had saved, that enabled
the young couple to take a promising farm up the country, with every
prospect of enjoying a life of continued happiness.
"It is very strange," remarked the young merchant to Zabra on his return
to the ship, "it is very strange that I have had no communication from
my father. I expected one at Athenia, but I received no intelligence. I
expected one at Constantinople--there I met with the same result; and I
then made sure of meeting with one at New Sydney, but was there equally
unsuccessful. It makes me very uneasy."
"Possibly he may have nothing of importance to write about," replied
Zabra. "Things at Columbia may remain in the same state as at his last
despatch."
"I doubt it. I doubt that the emperor will remain satisfied with his
prerogatives curtailed to the extent to which they have lately been
reduced," said Oriel Porphyry. "There is no sincerity in these men. They
will break any compact when it suits their convenience. They have no
notion of either honour or honesty: and the emperor is a weak, vain,
foolish man, proud, tyrannical, and deceitful. Such a man must be ever
scheming to regain his former power; and if he think it be practicable
he will not be particular as to the means he will employ for that
purpose. I am much afraid my father has fallen a sacrifice to his
patriotism."
"It cannot be," observed his companion. "They would not dare harm him."
"Dare!" echoed his patron. "What evil will not bad men dare? And did not
that proud upstart Philadelphia load his honourable limbs with chains
and thrust him into a loathsome dungeon to die the lingering death of
starvation? He dared do that, and I doubt much whether a worse villainy
could have been perpetrated. I hope to live to see the time when I shall
have an opportunity of bringing him to an account for these and other
atrocities. If my good sword be true, and my arm has lost none of its
power, I'll not leave his worthless body till I have relieved it of his
equally worthless soul."
"What!" exclaimed Zabra, with considerable excitement, "would you be
thus revengeful to the father of Eureka? You too, who a short time
since seemed ready to forgive him all his errors on account of his
relationship to her. What has changed you? Why would you follow the bad
examples of bad men? That he is not what he should be is too true; but
that is no reason why you should become his executioner. Do you think
that Eureka could regard you with affection when you came to her
stained with her father's blood? I am surprised that you should have
given utterance to such a sentiment."
"I knew not till lately the atrocities he had committed, and the savage
disposition he possessed," replied the young merchant; "and I can see no
more harm in killing such a monster than there is in destroying a mad
beast."
"How different then your feelings must be to those of your father,"
observed the other. "He knew what was due to humanity, and practised it,
and he was the person best entitled to call for vengeance, but he was
satisfied with justice. Professing the regard you do towards Eureka,
nothing could surprise me more than to hear you proclaim so inhuman a
wish."
"It is impossible for me to help feeling exasperated against him," said
Oriel. "Imagine for a moment yourself in my situation. Let your father
be as mine is, the kindest and noblest of his species; know that he who
never did harm to any living creature, but sought to create happiness
throughout the world--was fettered and reviled, and left lingering in
filth and darkness for three days, enduring all the pangs of famine;
and if you have a heart within your breast, and a soul that hates the
cowardly vices of despotism, you will feel as I do, and long for an
opportunity to punish your father's persecutor, in a manner worthy of
his crimes. I know that your relationship to the offender must stand in
the way of your seeing the justice of the punishment I would inflict:
but I am no hypocrite Zabra. I cannot disguise my detestation of such a
monster; and although next to Eureka and my father I honour you, even
your opposition would not make me change a sentiment so natural and
appropriate."
"Leave Philadelphia to his own feelings, which sooner or later will be
sufficient punishment," responded Zabra. "Touch him not if you value
the love of Eureka. She I know has little cause to feel much affection
for him, but bad as he is she never can be brought to look upon his
destroyer with any feeling save that of repugnance."
"If that be the case I hope he will keep out of my way," rejoined the
young merchant; "for I think I could endure anything rather than her
dislike; but the absence of intelligence from my father has certainly
made me suspicious. I am almost determined to return to Columbia without
proceeding to England."
"I do not think such a course advisable, Oriel," observed Zabra. "There
may be a thousand things that prevent your father's correspondence, or
he may have written, and the despatches may have been lost. If this be
the case, and there is a great probability that it is, he would be very
much vexed at your returning without having accomplished your voyage."
"Well, I will proceed, but I will only make a brief stay among the
antiquities of England, and then steer direct for Columbia," replied
Oriel Porphyry: "I have very strong doubts about things being exactly
right there. The accounts I have heard are of a contrary tendency; but
if the storm is to be, it will come unexpected. If any attempt be made
by the government to restore the old order of things, I hope they will
have the goodness to wait till my return before they commence their
proceedings. There is a powerful regiment of horse, composed of the
young citizens of Columbus, of which I have the command; I believe that
they are devoted to my will; and even with these, although they are not
above a thousand strong, I would make such a stand as would soon bring
around me all the brave spirits in the country: I only wish for an
opportunity to try the experiment."
"Will you never dismiss these delusive visions," said his young friend,
anxiously. "I thought that you were at last becoming reconciled to a
more useful and amiable way of life."
"You have been deceived, Zabra," observed Oriel; "I have been more
quiet, but not less ambitious. This passion for glory has become a part
of my nature; it is with me at all times. I think of it and dream of it.
It is the anticipation of finding the opportunity for greatness that
makes me able to endure the tedious inactivity of my present mode of
existence. I shall never be satisfied till I acquire the power for which
I yearn."
"What an unhappy nature yours must be then," replied Zabra. "You have
every hope of happiness within your reach; yet because it does not
come clothed in the gorgeous draperies in which you wish it to appear,
you seem desirous of dismissing it, as of not sufficient value to be
enjoyed. I had hoped that you had become wiser; I had hoped, too, that
you had been more solicitous for the happiness of Eureka. I am afraid
all my labour has been thrown away, and that I shall have to return to
her with the intelligence that your ambitious hopes have stifled every
feeling of affection."
"There you wrong me," exclaimed the young merchant, "you wrong me
exceedingly. My aspirations for greatness are never separate from my
hopes of Eureka; because the first are merely the result of the latter.
It is useless attempting to check the impulses which urge me on. I must
be what I am; and while my state of being, and the purposes which it
creates and would see fulfilled, cannot in any way dishonour Eureka,
nothing will convince me that they are to be condemned. From my own
knowledge of her character, I cannot imagine that she would regard
my efforts for advancement with the feeling which you have stated
she possesses. Her own greatness of soul must bring her to look with
commendation on another, who evinces a desire to obtain a similar
greatness: this ambition is a passion so entirely of her own creating,
that she cannot, with any justice, be displeased with its exhibition."
"How little you seem to know of the nature of her whose love you
possess," replied Zabra, in a low, tremulous voice; "no doubt, she
would feel gratified at any circumstance which would exalt you in the
estimation of your countrymen. The honour you might receive would be her
glory as much as yours, and the fame you might obtain would find none
more desirous of its security than herself. But it was not for these
things that she loved you. Ambition formed no part of the qualities that
called into existence her admiration--which, having acquired its full
growth, cannot be made more perfect by the greatness you covet; and
that admiration must continue as long as the qualities that called it
into operation exist. But knowing your desire to acquire renown, and
knowing the nature of that feeling is to swallow up all the more amiable
aspirations, and being aware that the only way to its acquirement is
through a thousand terrible dangers, she cannot help the conviction,
that she would rather possess your affection as you were, than live in
continual fear, to witness your superiority, as you may be."
"Let us say no more about it," said Oriel. "It is very evident that
neither can convince the other. I may be positive that I am going right,
and you may be positive that I am going wrong; but it is time spent to
no purpose, if we cannot be brought to change our opinions."
"Remember, I am only doing my duty," replied the youth. "I warn you,
because the path you desire to take is surrounded by dangers. If you are
determined on going on, I say, go on and prosper; but if you go on, and
fail, the bitter disappointment you will experience will not only render
yourself miserable, but must make equally unhappy her whose felicity
you appear so desirous of creating. If you must go on, Oriel, I say
again--go on, and prosper."
CHAP. III.
OLD ENGLAND.
"We are approaching the British Islands, are we not?" inquired Oriel
Porphyry.
"Yes, Sir, the land lies right ahead," replied the captain.
"There are several of these islands, I believe," added the young
merchant.
"There are a great number on 'em o' different sorts and sizes," said
Hearty; "but them as is most visited are England and Ireland."
"What is the meaning of the prefix to the word land in each of these
names?" asked Oriel of the professor.
"England or Ingle-land means the land of the fire side," replied
Fortyfolios. "Ingle is an old British word meaning the fire at which
the inhabitants of a house warmed themselves or cooked their food. The
natives have been from the earliest times, famous for their love of the
comforts of this fire, which was usually made of coal dug out of the
earth, that made a cheerful blaze in a room, and their attachment to
their ingles procured the island the name of Ingle-land, which, in
course of time was abbreviated into the name of England."
"I doubt that very much, don't you see," here observed Dr. Tourniquet;
"for in my opinion, England has a totally different derivation.
The aborigines of the island were principally fishermen, and very
appropriately had given to them the name of angle-ers, which means
people who fish. Each separate kingdom was called a kingdom of the
Angles, from the natives using an angle, and the whole island was called
Angle-land, or the land of the angle, which for shortness was soon
afterwards called England."
"'Tis nothing of the kind, Dr. Tourniquet," rejoined the professor
warmly. "I wonder you should have started such an absurd idea."
"It is quite as reasonable as yours at any rate, don't you see,"
remarked the doctor.
"It has no such pretension," said the other in a decided manner. "I
can prove that the fire or ingle was a national characteristic of the
people."
"And I can prove that fishing or angle-ing was a national characteristic
of the people," added his antagonist.
"Pooh!" exclaimed one, contemptuously.
"Pish!" cried the other.
"Ingle-land,"--resumed the professor.
"Angle-land,"--said the doctor, interrupting him.
"Now, Dr. Tourniquet, I beg I may not be interrupted by your ridiculous
blunders," observed Fortyfolios with considerable asperity, and a look
of dignity peculiar to himself.
"The blunder is on your side, don't you see," replied the surgeon, with
a chuckle of satisfaction exceedingly annoying to his companion.
"Never mind if it be Ingle-land or Angle-land," exclaimed Oriel
Porphyry. "All we know for certain is, that it is now called England.
But how do you account for the adoption of the other name?"
"Of the derivation of that word there can be no doubt--it explains
itself," said Fortyfolios. "Ireland means the land of ire. The natives
from time immemorial have been known to be excessively irascible. They
would quarrel upon the slightest cause, and fight from no cause at all.
They would fight when they were hungry, upon which occasion, as was very
natural, they fought for a belly-full. They would fight for liquor; they
would fight for fun; they would fight for love; they would fight to get
drunk, and then fight to get sober. The happiest men among them were
those who were most frequently beaten, and such persons were known to be
the best friends as were continually trying to knock out each other's
brains. These men consequently got the appropriate name of Ire-ishmen,
and the island was called Ire-land."
"There you're wrong again, don't you see," observed Tourniquet. "The
name Ire-land was derived from Higher-land, to express that the country
was more elevated in the estimation of the natives than any other part
of the globe. They entertained the most preposterous ideas about the
importance of their island. They stated that when the rest of the world
was sunk in barbarism, their Higher-land was the seat of intelligence,
and virtue, and superior bravery. They asserted that their soldiers
were the only soldiers that ever existed, and that their agricultural
labourers were 'the finest pisantry in the world.' But there was
certainly something very singular about them; and even their
brick-layers' labourers were odd men. The island was also called by the
natives The Emerald Island, I believe because it sometimes produced
Irish diamonds. The Green Isle was another of its names--and this was
derived from the greenness of the people. The men went by the name of
'the boys' long after the age at which other boys became men; and even
the oldest of the old men among them, when he breathed his last, was
said to die in a green old age."
"It is extraordinary to me, Dr. Tourniquet, that you will give utterance
to such fallacies," remarked the professor. "The facts are exactly as I
have stated them."
"The facts are exactly as I have stated them," said the other with
marked emphasis.
"Was there not a very celebrated character styled St. Patrick, who
flourished at one time among the Irish?" inquired the young merchant.