“The morning air blows fresh on him:”
“The waves dance gladly in his sight;”
“The sea-birds call, and wheel, and skim--”
“O, blessed morning light!”
“He doth not hear their joyous call; he sees
No beauty in the wave, nor feels the breeze.”
DANA.
Truth is, truly, often stranger than fiction. The history of the
circumstances that brought us into the hands of our enemies will fully
show this. La Pauline was a ship of six hundred tons, that carried
letters-of-marque from the French government. She sailed from France a
few weeks after we had left London, bound on a voyage somewhat similar
to our own, though neither sea-otter skins, sandal-wood, nor pearls,
formed any part of her contemplated bargains. Her first destination was
the French islands off Madagascar, where she left part of her cargo,
and took in a few valuables in return. Thence she proceeded to the
Philippine Islands, passing in the track of English and American
traders, capturing two of the former, and sinking them after taking out
such portions of cargo as suited her own views. From Manilla, la Pauline
shaped her course for the coast of South America, intending to leave
certain articles brought from France, others purchased at Bourbon, the
Isle of France, and the Philippines, and divers bales and boxes found in
the holds of her prizes, in that quarter of the world, in exchange for
the precious metals. In effecting all this, Monsieur Le Compte, her
commander, relied, firstly, on the uncommon sailing of his ship;
secondly, on his own uncommon boldness and dexterity, and thirdly on the
well-known disposition of the South Americans to smuggle. Doubloons and
dollars taking up but little room, he reserved most of the interior of
his vessel, after his traffic on the “Main,” for such property as might
be found in the six or eight prizes he calculated, with certainty,
on making, after getting to the eastward of the Horn. All these
well-grounded anticipations had been signally realized down to a period
of just three months to a day, prior to our own arrival at this unhappy
island.
On the night of the day just mentioned, la Pauline, without the smallest
notice of the vicinity of any danger, running in an easy bowline, and
without much sea, had brought up on another part of the very reef from
which we had made so narrow an escape. The rocks being coral, there
was little hope for her; and, in fact, they appeared through her bottom
within two hours after she struck. The sugars taken in at the Isle of
France, as a ground tier of ballast, were soon rendered of doubtful
value, as a matter of course, but the weather remaining pleasant,
Captain Le Compte succeeded, by means of his boats, in getting
everything else of value on the island, and forthwith set about breaking
up the wreck, in order to construct a craft that might carry himself and
his people to some civilized land. Having plenty of tools, and something
like sixty men, great progress had been made in the work, a schooner of
about ninety tons being then so far completed, as to be nearly ready to
be put in the water. Such was the state of things, when, one fine night,
we arrived in the manner already related. The French kept constant
look-outs, and it seems we were seen, a distant speck on the ocean, just
as the sun set, while the low trees of the island eluded our vigilance.
By the aid of a good night-glass, our movements were watched, and a boat
was about to be sent out to warn us of our danger, when we passed within
the reef. Captain Le Compte knew the chances were twenty to one that
we were an enemy, and he chose to lie concealed to watch the result. As
soon as we had anchored within the basin, and silence prevailed in the
ship, he manned his own gig, and pulled with muffled oars up under our
bows, to reconnoitre. Finding everything quiet, he ventured into the
fore-chains, and thence on deck, accompanied by three of his men. He
found Harris, snoring with his back supported against a gun-carriage,
and immediately secured him. Then, it only remained to close the
forescuttle and the cabin-doors, and to fasten them, to have us all
prisoners below. The boat was sent for more men, and hours before any of
us in the berths were awake, the ship had effectually changed masters.
Harris told our story, and the captors knew our whole history, from the
day of sailing down to the present time.
Much of this I learned in subsequent conversations with the French, but
enough of it was related to me then, to let me understand the outlines
of the truth. My eyes also let me into many secrets. I found the island,
by day-light, substantially as I had supposed it to be. It was not so
large, however, as it had seemed to me by the aid of the moon, though
its general character was the same. The basin in which the ship lay
might have covered a hundred and fifty acres in extent, the belt of land
which encircled it, varying in breadth from a quarter of a mile to three
miles. Most of the island was an open grove, lying at an elevation of
from ten to thirty feet above the ocean; and we ascertained there were
several springs of the sweetest water on it. Nature, by one of its
secret processes, had covered the earth with a beautiful short grass;
and the French, with their usual attention to the table, and their
commendable activity, had already several materials for salads, &c.,
in full growth. String-beans might be had for asking, and _petits pois_
were literally a drug. I saw the tents of the French, extending in a
line beneath the shades of the trees; and there was la Petite Pauline
(the schooner) on her ways, actually undergoing the process of receiving
her first coat of paint. As for la Pauline, herself, I could just
discover her lower mast-heads, inclining at an angle of forty-five
degrees from the perpendicular, through a vista in the trees.
There was a good-humoured common sense in all the proceedings of Mons.
Le Compte, that showed he was a philosopher in the best sense of the
word. He took things without repining himself, and wished to make others
as happy as circumstances would allow. At his suggestion, I invited
Marble on deck; and, after making my own commander acquainted with the
state of the facts, we both listened to the propositions of our captor.
Mons. Le Compte, all his officers, and not a few of his men, had been
prisoners, some time or other, in England, and there was no difficulty
in carrying on the negotiations in our mother tongue.
“_Votre bâtiment_--your _sheep_, shall become French--_bien
entendu_”--commenced our captor--“vid her _cargaison--rig,_ and
_tout cela. Bien; c'est convenu._ I shall not exact _rigueur_ in _mes
conditions._ If you shall have _possible_ to take your _sheep_ from
_nous autres Français_--_d'accord._ Every man for himself _et sa
nation._ Zere is the _pavillion Français_--and zere it shall fly, so
long as we shall not help--_mais--parole d'honneur_, ze prize come
cheep, and shall be sell very dear--_entendez vous? Bien._ Now, sair, I
shall put you and all your peepl' on ze island, vere you shall take our
place, while we take your place. Ze arm shall be in our hand, while ze
sheep stay, but we leave you _fusils, poudre et tout cela_, behind.”
This was nearly verbatim, the programme of capitulation, as laid down by
Captain Le Compte. As for Marble, it was not in his nature to acquiesce
in such an arrangement, without much cavilling and contention. But _cui
bono?_ We were in Mons. le Compte's hands; and, though disposed to deal
very handsomely by us, it was easy enough to see he was determined
to make his own conditions. I succeeded, at last, in making Marble
understand that resistance was useless; and he submitted, though with
some such grace as a man, who has not been mesmerized, submits to
an amputation--those who _have,_ are said rather to delight in the
amusement.
The terms of the capitulation--and they differed but little from
surrendering at discretion--were no sooner agreed to, than our people
were ordered into the forecastle, whence they were transferred to the
boats, in readiness to be sent ashore. All the chests, and private
effects, were moved out, in the most honourable manner, and sent into la
Pauline's boats, which lay prepared to receive them. As for us officers,
we were put in the gig, Neb and the cabin steward being charged with the
duty of looking after our private property. When everybody, the blacks
excepted, was in a boat, we shoved off, and proceeded towards the
landing, as chop-fallen and melancholy a party as ever took possession
of a newly-discovered country. Marble affected to whistle, for he was
secretly furious at the _nonchalance_ manifested by Captain Le Compte;
but I detected him in getting parts of Monny Musk and the Irish
Washerwoman, into the same strain. To own the truth, the ex-mate was
morally much disturbed. As for myself, I considered the affair as an
incident of war, and cared much less.
“_Voila, messieurs_,” exclaimed Monsieur Le Compte, flourishing his arm,
with an air of unsurpassed generosity; “you shall be master here, so
soon after we shall go away, and take our leetl' property wid us!”
“He's d----d generous, Miles,” growled Marble, in my ear. “He'll leave
us the island, and the reef, and the cocoa-nuts, when he has gone off
with our ship, and her cargo. I'll bet all I'm worth, he tows off his
bloody schooner, in the bargain.”
“There is no use in complaining, sir; and by keeping on good terms with
the French, we may fare the better.”
The truth of this was soon apparent. Captain Le Compte invited us all to
share his breakfast, and we repaired to the tent of the French
officers, with that purpose. In the mean time, the French sailors were
transferring the few articles they intended to carry away, to the ship,
with the generous object of leaving their own tents to the immediate
occupation of us prisoners. As Monsieur Le Compte's plan was to proceed
to the Spanish Main, in order to complete his contemplated traffic in
that quarter, no sooner were the tents prepared, than the French began
also to ship such articles of their own, as it had originally been
proposed to exchange for Spanish dollars. In the mean time, we sat down
to breakfast.
“_C'est la fortune de guerre!_--vat you call fortune of war,
_messieurs_,” observed Captain Le Compte, whirling the stick in a vessel
of chocolate, in a very artistical manner, all the while. “_Bon--c'est
excellente--Antoin--_”
Antoin appeared in the shape of a well-smoked, copper-coloured
cabin-boy. He was told to take a small pitcher of the chocolate, with
Captain Le Compte's compliments to _mademoiselle_, and to tell her there
was now every prospect of their quitting the island in a very few days,
and of seeing _la belle France_, in the course of the next four or five
months. This was said in French, and rapidly, with the vehemence of one
who felt all he uttered, and more too but I knew enough of the language
to understand its drift.
“I suppose the fellow is generalizing on our misfortunes, in his d----d
lingo,” growled Marble; “but, let him look out--he's not home yet, by
many a thousand miles!”
I endeavoured to explain it all to Marble; but it was useless; he
insisted the Frenchman was sending chocolate from his own table, to his
crew, in order to play the magnifico, on the score of his own good luck.
There was no use in “kicking against the pricks,” and I let Marble enjoy
the pleasure of believing the worst of his captor; a sort of Anglo-Saxon
propensity, that has garnished many a page in English and American
history--to say nothing of the propensities and histories of others,
among the great family of nations.
When breakfast was over, Monsieur Le Compte led me aside, in a walk
under the trees, to explain his views and intentions. He gave me to
understand I had been selected for this communication, on account of his
observing the state of mind of my captain. I also comprehended a little
French, which was quite convenient in a conversation with one who
interlarded his English so much with phrases taken from his mother
tongue. I was given to understand that the French would put the schooner
into the water that very evening, and that we should find her masts,
rigging, and sails all fitted for her. With activity, she could be ready
to quit the island in a fortnight, at the farthest. A portion of our own
provisions would be landed, as better suited to our habits than those
which had been taken from la Pauline, while a portion of the last would
be transferred to the Crisis, for the same reason, as applied to the
French. As for water-casks, &c., they were all arranged; everything, of
the sort having been taken from the wreck, with little or no difficulty,
immediately after the loss of the ship. In a word, we should have little
more to do, than to step the masts, rig our craft, stow her hold, and
proceed at once to the nearest friendly port.
“I zink you shall go to Canton,” added Monsieur Le Compte. “Ze distance
shall not be much more than to Sout' America; and zere you shall find
plenty of your _compatriotes_. Of course, you can sleep and go _chez
vous_--vat you call 'home,' with _toute la facilité_. Oui--_cet
arrangement est admirable._” So the arrangement might appear to him,
though I confess to a decided 'preference to remaining in the “blind
Crisis,” as our men had got to call her, after her blundering through
the Straits of Magellan. “_Allons!_” exclaimed the French captain,
suddenly. “We are near ze tent of Mademoiselle--we shall go and demand
how she carry herself _ce beau matin!_” On looking up, I saw two small
tents within fifty yards of us. They were beautifully placed, in the
midst of a thicker portion of the grove than usual, and near a spring of
the most exquisitely limpid water I ever beheld. These tents were made
of new canvass, and had been fashioned with care and skill. I could see
that the one we first approached was carpeted over, and that it had
many of the appliances of a comfortable abode. Mons. Le Compte, who
was really a good-looking fellow under forty, put on his most amiable
appearance as he got near the canvass-door; and he hemmed once or twice,
as respectfully as he could, by way of letting his presence be known.
In an instant, a maid-servant came out to receive him. The moment I laid
eyes on this woman, it struck me her face was familiar, though I could
not recall the place, or time, where, or when, we had before met. The
occurrence was so singular, that I was still ruminating on it, when I
unexpectedly found myself standing in the tent, face to face with Emily
Merton and her father! We recognised each other at a glance, and, to
Mons. Le Compte's amazement, hearty greetings passed between us, as old
acquaintances. Old acquaintances, however, we could scarce be called;
but, on an uninhabited island in the South Seas, one is glad to meet any
face that he has ever met before. Emily looked less blooming than when
we had parted, near a twelvemonth before, in London; but she was still
pretty and pleasing. Both she and her father were in mourning, and, the
mother not appearing, I at once guessed the truth. Mrs. Merton was an
invalid when I knew her, though I had not anticipated for her so speedy
a death. I thought Captain Le Compte appeared vexed at my reception.
Still, he did not forget his good manners; and he rose, saying he would
leave me with my friends to make mutual explanations, while he proceeded
to overlook the duty of the day. On taking his leave, I was not
pleased to see him approach and kiss Emily's hand. The act was done
respectfully, and not entirely without grace; but there were a feeling
and manner in it that could not well be mistaken. Emily blushed, as she
wished him good morning, and turning to look at me, in spite of a kind
of dog-in-the-manger sensation, I could not forbear smiling.
“Never, Mr. Wallingford, never!” Emily said, with emphasis, the instant
her admirer was out of hearing. “We are at his mercy, and must keep
terms with him; but I can never marry a _foreigner_.”
“That is poor encouragement for Wallingford, my dear,” said her father,
laughing, “should he happen to take a fancy to you himself.”
Emily looked confused, but, what, for the circumstances, was better
still, she looked concerned.
“I am sure, dear sir,” she answered, with a quickness I thought
charming, “I am sure Mr. Wallingford will not suppose I meant
anything so rude. Then, he is no importunate suitor of mine, like this
disagreeable Frenchman, who always seems to me more like a Turkish
master, than like one who really respects a woman. Besides--”
“Besides what, Miss Merton?” I ventured to ask, perceiving that she
hesitated.
“Besides, Americans are hardly foreigners to _us_,” added Emily,
smiling; “for we have even American relatives, you know, father.”
“Quite true, my dear, and came near being Americans ourselves. Had
my father established himself where he married, as had been his first
intention, such would have been our national character. But, Mons. Le
Compte has given us a moment to tell our stories to each other, and I
think it will not be a very long moment. Let one of us commence, if we
wish the offices done without unpleasant listeners.”
Emily urged me to begin, and I did not hesitate. My story was soon told.
Major Merton and his daughter understood all about the capture of the
ship in the basin, though they were ignorant of the vessel's name. I
had only to relate our voyage on the main, and the death of Captain
Williams, therefore, to have my whole story told. I made it all the
shorter, from an impatience to hear the circumstances which had thrown
my friends into their present extraordinary position.
“It seems extraordinary enough, beyond doubt,” Major Merton began, the
moment I left him an opening by my closing remark, “but it is all very
simple, when you commence at the right end of the sad story, and follow
events in the order in which they occurred.”
“When you left us in London, Wallingford, I supposed we were on the
point of sailing for the West Indies, but a better appointment soon
after offering in the East, my destination was changed to Bombay. It
was important that I should reach my port at as early a day as possible;
and, no regular Indiaman being ready, I took passage in a licensed
running vessel, a ship of no size, or force. Nothing occurred until we
had got within three or four days' sail of our port, when we fell in
with la Pauline, and were captured. At first, I think Captain Le Compte
would have been willing to let me go on parole, but no opportunity
offered, and we went with the ship to Manilla. While there, the
melancholy loss happened, which, no doubt, you have comprehended from
our mourning; and I was strongly in hopes of making some arrangements
that would still enable me to save my situation. But, by this time,
Monsieur Le Compte had become an open admirer of Emily, and I suppose it
is hopeless to expect any liberation, so long as he can invent excuses
to frustrate it.”
“I trust he does not abuse his power, in any way, and annoy Miss Merton
with importunities that are unpleasant to her.”
Emily rewarded me for the warmth with which I spoke, with a sweet smile
and a slight blush.
“Of that I cannot accuse him, in one sense at least,” resumed Major
Merton. “Mons. Le Compte does all for us that his sense of delicacy can
suggest; and it was not possible for passengers to be more comfortable,
or retired, on board ship, than we were in the Pauline. That vessel had
a poop, and its cabin was given up entirely to our use. At Manilla, I
was permitted to go at large, on a mere verbal assurance of returning;
and, in all other particulars, we have been treated as well as
circumstances would very well allow. Nevertheless, Emily is too young
to admire a suitor of forty, too English to admire a foreigner, and too
well-born to accept one who is merely a merchant sailor--I mean one who
is nothing, and has nothing, but what his ship makes him, or can give
him.”
I understood Major Merton's distinction; he saw a difference between the
heir of Clawbonny, pursuing his adventures for the love of the sea, and
a man who pursued the sea as an adventurer. It was not very delicately
made, but it was pretty well, as coming from an European to an American;
the latter being assumed _ex gratia_, to be a being of an inferior
order, morally, politically, physically, socially and in every other
sense, but the pecuniary. Thank Heaven! the American dollar is admitted,
pennyweight for pennyweight, to a precedency immediately next to that
of the metal dollar of Europe. It even goes before the paper _thaler_ of
Prussia.
“I can readily imagine Miss Merton would look higher than Captain
Le Compte, for various reasons,” I answered, making a sort
of acknowledgment for the distinction in my favour, by bowing
involuntarily, “and I should hope that gentleman would cease to be
importunate as soon as convinced he cannot succeed.”
“You do not know a Frenchman, Mr. Wallingford,” rejoined Emily. “He is
the hardest creature on earth to persuade into the notion that he is not
adorable.”
“I can hardly believe that this weakness extends as far as the sailors,”
said I, laughing. “At all events, you will be released the instant you
reach France.”
“Sooner too, I trust, Wallingford,” resumed the father. “These Frenchmen
can have it their own way, out here in the solitude of the Pacific; but,
once in the Atlantic, I shall expect some British cruiser to pick us up,
long ere we can reach France.”
This was a reasonable expectation, and we conversed about it for some
time. I shall not repeat all that passed; but the reader can have no
difficulty in understanding, that Major Merton and myself communicated
to each other every fact that was likely to be of interest to men in our
situation. When I thought it prudent to take my leave, he walked some
distance with me, holding his way to a point on the outer side of the
island, where I could get a view of the wreck. Here he left me, for the
moment, while I proceeded along the beach, ruminating on all that had
passed.
The process by which nature uses her materials to found islands in the
midst of oceans like the Pacific, is a curious study. The insect that
forms the coral rock, must be an industrious little creature, as there
is reason to think that some of the reefs that have become known to
navigators within the last sixty or seventy years, have since been
converted into islands bearing trees, by their labours. Should the work
go on, a part of this vast sea will yet be converted into a continent;
and, who knows but a railroad may yet run across that portion of our
globe, connecting America with the old world? I see that Captain Beechy,
in his voyage, speaks of a wreck that occurred in 1792, on a _reef_,
where, in 1826, he found an island near three leagues long, bearing tall
trees. It would be a curious calculation to ascertain, if one family of
insects can make an island three leagues long, in thirty-four years, how
many families it would take to make the grading of the railroad I have
mentioned. Ten years since, I would not have ventured a hint of this
nature, for it might have set speculation in motion, and been the
instrument of robbing more widows and orphans of their straitened
means; but, Heaven be praised! we have at length reached a period in the
history of the country, when a man may venture on a speculation in the
theory of geography without incurring the risk of giving birth to some
wild--if not unprincipled--speculation in dollars and cents.
As I drew near the outer shore of the island, opposite to the wreck,
I came unexpectedly on Marble. The poor fellow was seated on a raised
projection of coral rock, with his arms folded, and, was in so thorough
a brown study, that he did not even hear my footsteps in approaching,
though I purposely trod heavily, in order to catch his ear. Unwilling to
disturb him, I stood gazing at the wreck myself, for some little time,
the place affording a much better view of it than any other point from
which it had met my eye. The French had made far greater inroads upon
their vessel, than the elements. She had struck to leeward of the
island, and lay in a spot where, indeed, it might take years to break
her entirely up, in that placid sea. Most of her upper works, however,
were gone; and I subsequently discovered that her own carpenters had
managed to get out even a portion of her floor-timbers, leaving the
fabric bound together by those they left. Her lower masts were standing,
but even her lower yards had been worked up, in order to make something
useful for the schooner. The beach, at no great distance, was still
strewed with objects brought from the reef, and which it had not yet
been found necessary to use.
At length a movement of mine attracted Marble's attention, and he turned
his head towards me. He seemed glad I had joined him, and expressed
himself happy, also, that he saw me alone.
“I have been generalizing a little on our condition, Miles,” he said,
“and look at it which end forward I may, I find it bad enough; almost
enough to overcome me. I loved that ship, Mr. Wallingford, as much as
some folks love their parents--of wife or children, I never had any--and
the thought that she has fallen into the hands of a Frenchman, is too
much for my natur'. Had it been Smudge, I could have borne up against
it; but, to haul down one's colours to a wrack, and a bloody French
wrack, too, it is superhuman!”
“You must remember all the circumstances, Captain Marble, and you will
find consolation. The ship was surprised, as we surprised the Lady of
Nantes.”
“That's just it--put that on a general principle, now, and where are
you? Surprisers mustn't be surprised. Had we set a quarter-watch, sir,
it never could have happened; and nothing less than a quarter-watch
should have been set in a strange haven. What mattered it, that it
was an uninhabited island, and that the ship was land-locked and
well-moored, and the holding-ground was capital? It is all of no
account when you come to look at the affair in the way of duty. Why, old
Robbins, with his rivers in the ocean, would never have been caught in
this miserable manner.”
Then Marble fairly gave in, placed his two hard hands on his face, and
I could see tears trickling from beneath them, as if water were squeezed
from a stone.
“The chances of the sea, Captain Marble,” I said, greatly shocked at
such an exhibition, coming from such a quarter--“the chances of the
sea are sometimes too much for the best sailors. We should look at this
loss, as we look at the losses occasioned by a gale--then there is some
hope left, after all.”
“I should like to know what--to me, there is no land ahead.”
“Surprisers may not only be surprised, but they may carry on their old
trade again, and surprise once more, in their turn.”
“What do you mean by that, Miles,” said Marble, looking up eagerly, and
speaking as quick as lightning; “are you generalizing, or have you any
particular project in view?”
“Both, Sir. Generalizing, so far as taking the chances of war are
concerned, and particularizing, as to a certain notion that has come
into my head.”
“Out with the last, Miles--out with it, boy; the Lord made you for
something uncommon.”
“First, let me know, Captain Marble, whether you have had any further
conversation with Monsieur Le Compte? whether he has said any more on
the subject of our future proceedings?”
“I just left the grinning rascal--these amiable smiles of his, Miles,
are only so many grins thrown into our faces to let us feel his good
luck; but, d--n him, if I ever get home, I'll fit out a privateer and be
after him, if there's a fast-going schooner to be had in all America for
love or money. I think I'd turn pirate, to catch the villain!”
Alas! poor Marble. Little would he, who never got higher than a mate,
unless by accident, be likely to persuade your cautious ship-owners to
intrust him with a vessel of any sort, to go tilting against wind-mills
afloat, in that fashion.
“But, why go to America for a schooner, Captain Marble, when the French
are polite enough to give us one here, exactly where we are?”
“I begin to understand you, boy. There is a little consolation in the
idee, but this Frenchman has already got my commission, and without the
document we should be no better than so many pirates.”
“I doubt that, sir, even were a ship to act generally, provided she
actually sailed with a commission, and lost it by accident. Commissions
are all registered, and proof of our character could be found at home.”
“Ay, for the Crisis, but not for this 'Pretty Polly'”--for so Marble
translated Petite Pauline--“The commission is only good for the vessel
that is named in it.”
“I don't know that, Captain Marble. Suppose our ship had been sunk in an
action in which we took our enemy, could we not continue our voyage in
the prize, and fight anything that came in our way, afterwards?”
“By George, that does look reasonable. Here was I just threatening to go
out as a pirate, yet hesitating about taking my own.”
“Do not the crews of captured vessels often rise upon their captors, and
recapture their own vessels? and were any of them ever called pirates?
Besides, nations at war authorise almost every sort of hostile act
against their enemies.”
“Miles, I have been mistaken--you _are_ a good seaman, but natur' meant
you for a lawyer! Give me your hand, boy; I see a gleam of hope ahead,
and a man can live on less hope than food.”
Marble then told me the substance of the conversation he had held
with Captain Le Compte. The latter had expressed a sudden and violent
impatience to be off--I understood the cause in a moment; he wished to
separate Emily from her old acquaintance, as soon as possible--intending
to put the schooner into the water for us, that very afternoon, and
to sail himself in the morning. This was a sudden resolution, and the
French were moving heaven and earth to carry it into effect. I confess
to some little regret at hearing it, for it was pleasant to meet the
Mertons in that unexpected manner, and the influence of woman in such a
solitude is unusually great. I now told Marble of my discovery, and when
he had got through with his expressions of wonder, I carried him to
the tents, and led him into the presence of his old acquaintances. In
consequence of this visit, I enjoyed another half hour's _tête à tête_
with Emily, Marble soon taking the Major to walk with him, beneath the
trees.
We were both recalled to a sense of our real situation, by the
reappearance of Monsieur Le Compte. I cannot say that our conqueror
behaved in the least unhandsomely towards us, notwithstanding his
evident jealousy. He had the tact to conceal most of his feelings, and
owing either to liberality or to art, he assumed an air of generous
confidence, that would be much more likely to touch the feelings of the
maid he sought, than any acts of severity. First asking permission of
Miss Merton, he even invited us, and himself, to dine with the Major,
and, on the whole, we had an agreeable entertainment. We had turtle and
champaigne, and both of a quality that was then out of the reach of all
the aldermen of London or New York; begging pardon of the Sir Peters and
Sir Johns of Guildhall, for putting them, in any sense, on a level with
the “gentleman from the Fourth Ward” or “the gentleman from the Eleventh
Ward;” though, if the truth must be told, the last very often eat the
best dinners, and drink, out of all comparison, the best wines. Who
pays, is a fact buried in the arcana of aldermanic legerdemain. It was
late before we left the table, though Monsieur Le Compte quitted us
early.
At five o'clock precisely we were summoned to witness the launch.
Champaigne and claret had brought Marble into good humour, nor was I at
all out of spirits, myself. Emily put on her hat, and took her parasol,
just as she would have done at home, and accepting my arm, she walked to
the ship-yard, like all the rest of us. Getting her a good place for the
sight, I accompanied Marble to take a look at the “Pretty Poll,” which
had not as yet attracted as much of our attention as she ought. I had
suggested to him the probability of an occasion offering to rise upon
the Frenchman, while their attention was taken up with the schooner; but
Monsieur Le Compte warily kept quite half his men in the ship, and this
put the attempt out of the question, since the guns of the Crisis would
have swept any part of the island.
The French mechanics deserved great credit for the skill they had
manifested in the construction of _La Petite Pauline._ She was not
only a safe and commodious craft for her size, but, what was of great
importance to us, her lines promised that she would turn out to be a
fast sailer. I afterwards ascertained that Captain Le Compte had been
her draftsman, possessing not only much taste for, but a good deal of
practice in, the art. The ship in which the Merton's had taken passage
to Bombay, had the copper for a teak-built frigate and sloop of war
in her, and this had been transferred, among; other articles, to
la Pauline, before the prize was burned. Availing himself of this
circumstance, Monsieur Le Compte had actually coppered his schooner, and
otherwise he had made her as neat and commodious as possible. I make no
doubt he intended to surprise his friends at Marseilles, by showing what
clever mariners, wrecked on an island of the Pacific, could do, on
an emergency. Then, doubtless, he found it pleasant to linger on this
island, eating fresh cocoa-nuts, with delicious turtle, and making love
to Emily Merton. Some of the charms of “Pretty Poll” were fairly to be
attributed to the charms of the young lady.
The men began to wedge up, the moment we were all present, and this
portion of the labour was _soon_ completed. Monsieur Le Compte then took
his station in the head of the schooner. Making a profound bow to Emily,
as if to ask her permission, the signal was given; the spur-shores were
knocked away, and the little craft slid off into the water so easily,
making so little ripple as she shot a hundred fathoms into the bay, as
to give the assurance she would prove a fast vessel. Just as she was
water-borne, Le Compte dashed a bottle against the tiller, and shouted,
at the top of his voice, “_succés à la Belle Emelie._”
I turned to Emily, and saw by the blush that she understood French,
while the manner in which she pouted her pretty plump lip betrayed the
humour in which the compliment had been received.
In a few minutes, Captain Le Compte landed, and, in a set speech, he
gave up the schooner to our possession. We were told not to consider
ourselves as prisoners, our captain handsomely admitting that he had
gained no laurels by his victory.
“We shall go away good friend,” he concluded, “mais, suppose we shall
meet, and _nos dux republique_ shall not be at peace, then each must
fight for _son pavillion!_”
This was a good concluding sentiment, for such a scene. Immediately
after the Mertons and their domestics, of whom there were a man and
a woman, embarked, I took leave of them on the beach, and, either my
observation, or my vanity, induced me to think Emily got into the boat
with reluctance. Many good wishes were exchanged, and the Major called
out to us, “we shall meet again, gentlemen--there has been a Providence
in our previous intercourse. Adieu, until _then_.”
The French were now in a great bustle. Most of the articles they
intended to carry away were already on board the ship; and, by the time
it was dusk, they had closed their communication with the land. When
Captain Le Compte took his leave of us, I could not but thank him for
his many civilities. He had certainly dealt generously by us, though
I still think his sudden departure, which made us fall heirs to many
things we otherwise might not have so done, was owing to his wish to
remove Emily Merton, as quickly as possible, from my sight.
At daylight next morning, Neb came to the officers' tents to say, the
ship was getting her anchors. I was up and dressed in a moment. The
distance to the inlet was about a mile, and I reached it, just as the
Crisis was cast. In a few minutes she came sweeping into the narrow
pass, under her topsails, and I saw Emily and her father, leaning over
the hammock-cloths of the quarter-deck. The beautiful girl was so near,
that I could read the expression of her soft eyes, and I fancied they
were filled with gentle concern. The Major called out, “God bless you,
dear Wallingford”--then the ship swept past, and was soon in the outer
bay. Half an hour later, or before I left the spot, she was at sea,
under everything that would draw from her trunks down.