“Thou shalt seek the beach of sand,
Where the water bounds the elfin land;
Thou shalt watch the oozy brine
Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine.”
DRAKE.
There is but a word to say of the whaler. We spoke her, of course, and
parted, leaving her her boat. She passed half an hour, close to us, and
then went after her whale. When we lost sight of her, she was cutting
in the fish, as coolly as if nothing had happened. As for ourselves, we
made the best of our way for the island.
Nothing worth relating occurred during the remainder of the passage.
We reached our place of destination ten days after we found Marble;
and carried both the ship and schooner into the lagoon, without any
hesitation or difficulty. Everything was found precisely as we had
left it; two months having passed as quietly as an hour. The tents were
standing, the different objects lay where they had been hastily dropped
at our hurried departure, and everything denoted the unchangeable
character of an unbroken solitude. Time and the seasons could alone have
produced any sensible alteration. Even the wreck had neither shifted her
bed, nor suffered injury. There she lay, seemingly an immovable fixture
on the rocks, and as likely to last, as any other of the durable things
around her.
It is always a relief to escape from the confinement of a ship, even if
it be only to stroll along the vacant sands of some naked beach. As soon
as the vessels were secured, we poured ashore in a body, and the people
were given a holiday. There was no longer an enemy to apprehend; and
we all enjoyed the liberty of movement, and the freedom from care that
accompanied our peculiar situation. Some prepared lines and commenced
fishing; others hauled the seine; while the less industriously disposed
lounged about, selected the fruit of the cocoa-nut tree, or hunted
for shells, of which there were many, and those extremely beautiful,
scattered along the inner and outer beaches, or lying, visible, just
within the wash of the water. I ordered two or three of the hands to
make a collection for Clawbonny; paying them, as a matter of course, for
their extra services. Their success was great; and I still possess the
fruits of their search, as memorials of my youthful adventures.
Emily and her maid took possession of their old tents, neither of
which had been disturbed; and I directed that the necessary articles of
furniture should be landed for their use. As we intended to remain eight
or ten days at Marble Land, there was a general disposition to make
ourselves comfortable; and the crew were permitted to bring such things
ashore as they desired, care being had for the necessary duties of the
ships. Since quitting London, we had been prisoners, with the short
interval of our former visit to this place, and it was now deemed wisest
to give the people a little relaxation. To all this, I was advised by
Marble; who, though a severe, and so often seemingly an obdurate man,
was in the main disposed to grant as much indulgence, at suitable
moments, as any officer I ever sailed with. There was an ironical
severity, at times, about the man, which misled superficial observers.
I have heard of a waggish boatswain in the navy, who, when disposed to
menace the crew with some of his official visitations, used to cry out,
“Fellow-citizens, I'm coming among you;” and the anecdote never recurs
to my mind, without bringing Marble back to my recollection. When in
spirits, he had much of this bitter irony in his manner; and his own
early experience had rendered him somewhat insensible to _professional_
suffering; but, on the whole, I always thought him a humane man.
We went into the lagoon, before the sun had risen; and before the
breakfast hour of those who lived aft, we had everything landed that
was necessary, and were in possession of our tents. I had ordered Neb to
attend particularly to the wants of the Mertons; and, precisely as the
bell of the ship struck eight, which, at that time of day, meant
eight o'clock, the black came with the major's compliments, inviting
“_Captain_” Wallingford and “_Captain_” Marble to breakfast.
“So it goes, Miles,” added my companion, after promising to join the
party in a few moments. “This arrangement about the schooner leaves us
both captains, and prevents anything like your downhill work, which is
always unpleasant business. _Captain_ Marble and _Captain_ Wallingford
sound well; and I hope they may long sail in company. But natur' or art
never meant me for a captain.”
“Well, admitting this, where there are _two_ captains, one must outrank
the other, and the senior commands. You should be called _Commodore_
Marble.”
“None of your pleasantry, Miles,” returned Marble, with a severe look
and a shake of the head; “it is by your favour, and I hope by your
good opinion, that I am master of even that little, half-blooded, part
French, part Yankee, schooner. It is my second, and I think it will be
my last command. I have generalized over my life, upon a large scale,
within the last ten days, and have come to the conclusion that the Lord
created me to be your mate, and not you to be mine. When natur' means
a man for anything partic'lar, she doesn't set him adrift among human
beings, as I was set adrift.”
“I do not understand you, sir--perhaps you will give me an outline of
your history; and then all will be plain.”
“Miles, oblige me in one particular--it will cost you no great struggle,
and will considerably relieve my mind.”
“You have only to name it, sir, to be certain it will be done.”
“Drop that bloody _sir_, then; it's unbecoming now, as between you and
me. Call me Marble, or Moses; as I call you, Miles.”
“Well, be it so. Now for this history of yours, which you have promised
to give me, by the way, any time these two years.”
“It can be told in a few words; and I hope it may be of service. A human
life, properly generalized on, is at any time as good as most sermons.
It is full of what I call the morality of idees. I suppose you know to
what I owe my names?”
“Not I--to your sponsors in baptism, like all the rest of us, I
suppose.”
“You're nearer the truth than you may imagine, this time, boy. I was
found, a child of a week old, they tell me, lying in a basket, one
pleasant morning, in a stone-cutter's yard, on the North River side of
the town, placed upon a bit of stone that was hewing out for the head of
a grave, in order, as I suppose, that the workmen would be sure to
find me, when they mustered at their work. Although I have passed for a
down-easter, having sailed in their craft in the early part of my life,
I'm in truth York born.”
“And is this all you know of your origin, my dear Marble?”
“All I _want_ to know, after such a hint. A man is never anxious to make
the acquaintance of parents who are afraid to own him. I dare say, now,
Miles, that _you_ knew, and loved, and respected _your_ mother?”
“Love, and respect her! I worshipped her, Marble; and she deserved it
all, if ever human being did!”
“Yes, yes; I can understand _that_,” returned Marble, making a hole in
the sand with his heel, and looking both thoughtful and melancholy. “It
must be a great comfort to love and respect a mother! I've seen them,
particularly young women, that I thought set quite as much store by
their mothers, as they did by themselves. Well, no matter; I got into
one of poor Captain Robbins's bloody currents at the first start, and
have been drifting about ever since, just like the whale-boat with which
we fell in, pretty much as the wind blew. They hadn't the decency to pin
even a name--they might have got one out of a novel or a story-book, you
know, to start a poor fellow in life with--to my shirt; no--they just
set me afloat on that bit of a tombstone, and cast off the standing part
of what fastened me to anything human. There they left me, to generalize
on the 'arth and its ways, to my heart's content.”
“And you were found next morning, by the stone-cutter, when he came,
again, to use his chisel.”
“Prophecy couldn't have better foretold what happened. There I was
found, sure enough; and there I made my first escape from destruction.
Seeing the basket, which it seems was one in which he had brought his
own dinner, the day before, and forgotten to carry away with him, he
gave it a jerk to cast away the leavings, before he handed it to the
child who had come to take it home, in order that it might be filled
again, when out I rolled on the cold stone. There I lay, as near the
grave as a tomb-stone, when I was just a week old.”
“Poor fellow--you could only know this by report, however. And what was
done with you?”
“I suppose, if the truth were known, my father was somewhere about
that yard; and little do I envy the old gentleman his feelings, if he
reflected much, over matters and things. I was sent to the Alms-House,
however; stone-cutters being nat'rally hard-hearted, I suppose. The fact
that I was left among such people, makes me think so much the more,
that my own father must have been one of them, or it never could have
happened. At all events, I was soon rated on the Alms-House books; and
the first thing they did was to give me some name. I was No. 19, for
about a week; at the age of fourteen days, I became Moses Marble.”
“It was an odd selection, that your 'sponsors in baptism' made!”
“Somewhat--Moses came from the scriptur's, they tell me; there being a
person of that name, as I understand, who was turned adrift pretty much
as I was, myself.”
“Why, yes--so far as the basket and the abandonment were concerned;
but he was put afloat fairly, and not clapped on a tomb-stone, as if to
threaten him with the grave at the very outset.”
“Well, Tombstone came very near being my name. At first, they thought of
giving me the name of the man for whom the stone was intended; but, that
being Zollickoffer, they thought I never should be able to spell it.
Then came Tombstone, which they thought melancholy, and so they called
me Marble; consaiting, I suppose, it would make me _tough._”
“How long did you remain in the Alms-House, and at what age did you
first go to sea?”
“I staid among them the public feeds, until I was eight years old, and
then I took a hazy day to cut adrift from charity. At that time, Miles,
our country belonged to the British--or they treated it as if it did,
though I've heard wiser men than myself say, it was always our own, the
king of England only happening to be our king--but I was born a British
subject, and being now just forty, you can understand I went to sea
several years before the revolution.”
“True--you must have seen service in that war, on one side, or the
other?”
“If you say _both_ sides, you'll not be out of the way. In 1775, I was
a foretop-man in the Romeny 50, where I remained until I was transferred
to the Connecticut 74--”
“The what?” said I, in surprise. “Had the English a line-of-battle ship
called the Connecticut?”
“As near as I could make it out: I always thought it a big compliment
for John Bull to pay the Yankees.”
“Perhaps the name of your ship was the Carnatic? The sounds are not
unlike.”
“Blast me, if I don't think you've hit it, Miles. Well, I'm glad of
it, for I run from the ship, and I shouldn't half like the thought of
serving a countryman such a trick. Yes, I then got on board of one
of our sloops, and tried my hand at settling the account with my old
masters. I was taken prisoner for my pains, but worried through the war
without getting my neck stretched. They wanted to make it out, on board
the old Jarsey, that I was an Englishman, but I told 'em just to prove
it. Let 'em only prove where I was born, I said, and I would give it
up. I was ready to be hanged, if they could only prove where I was born.
D----, but I sometimes thought I never _was_ born, at all.”
“You are surely an American, Marble? A Manhattanese, born and educated?”
“Why, as it is not likely any person would import a child a week old, to
plant it on a tombstone, I conclude I am. Yes, I must be _that_; and
I have sometimes thought of laying claim to the property of Trinity
Church, on the strength of my birth-right. Well, as soon as the war was
over, and I got out of prison, and that was shortly after you were born,
Captain Wallingford, I went to work regularly, and have been ever since
sarving as dickey, or chief-mate, on board of some craft or other. If
I had no family bosom to go into, as a resting-place, I had my bosom to
fill with solid beef and pork, and that is not to be done by idleness.”
“And, all this time, my good friend, you have been living, as it might
be, alone in the world, without a relative of any sort?”
“As sure as you are there. Often and often, have I walked through the
streets of New York, and said to myself, Among all these people, there
is not one that I can call a relation. My blood is in no man's veins,
but my own.”
This was said with a bitter sadness, that surprised me. Obdurate, and
insensible to suffering as Marble had ever appeared to me, I was not
prepared to find him giving such evidence of feeling. I was then young,
but now am old; and one of the lessons learned in the years that have
intervened, is not to judge of men by appearances. So much sensibility
is hidden beneath assumed indifference, so much suffering really exists
behind smiling countenances, and so little does the exterior tell the
true story of all that is to be found within, that I am now slow to
yield credence to the lying surfaces of things. Most of all had I
learned to condemn that heartless injustice of the world, that renders
it so prompt to decide, on rumour and conjectures, constituting itself a
judge from which there shall be no appeal, in cases in which it has not
taken the trouble to examine, and which it had not even the power to
examine evidence.
“We are all of the same family, my friend,” I answered, with a good
design at least, “though a little separated by time and accidents.”
“Family!--Yes, I belong to my own family. I'm a more important man in
my family, than Bonaparte is in his; for I am all in all; ancestors,
present time and posterity!”
“It is, at least, your own fault you are the last; why not marry and
have children?”
“Because my parents did not set me the example,” answered Marble, almost
fiercely. Then clapping his hand on my shoulder, in a friendly way,
as if to soothe me after so sharp a rejoinder, he added in a gentler
tone--“Come, Miles, the Major and his daughter will want their
breakfasts, and we had better join them. Talking of matrimony, there's
the girl for you, my boy, thrown into your arms almost nat'rally, as one
might say.”
“I am far from being so sure of that. Marble.” I answered, as both began
to walk slowly towards the tent “Major Merton might hot think it an
honour, in the first place, to let his daughter marry a Yankee sailor.”
“Not such a one as myself, perhaps; but why not one like you? How
many generations have there been of you, now, at the place you call
Clawbonny?”
“Four, from father to son, and all of us Miles Wallingfords.”
“Well, the old Spanish proverb says 'it takes three generations to make
a gentleman;' and here you have four to start upon. In _my_ family, all
the generations have been on the same level, and I count myself old in
my sphere.”
“It is odd that a man like you should know anything of old Spanish
proverbs!”
“What? Of _such_ a proverb, think you, Miles? A man without even a
father or mother--who never had either, as one may say--and he not
remember such a proverb! Boy, boy, I never forget anything that so
plainly recalls the tomb-stone, and the basket, and the Alms-House, and
Moses, and the names!”
“But Miss Merton might object to the present generation,” I resumed,
willing to draw my companion from his bitter thoughts, “however
favourably disposed her father might prove to the last.”
“That will be your own fault, then. Here you have her, but on the
Pacific Ocean, all to yourself; and if you cannot tell your own story,
and that in a way to make her believe it, you are not the lad I take you
for.”
I made an evasive and laughing answer; but, being quite near the tent
by this time, it was necessary to change the discourse. The reader may
think it odd, but that was the very first time the possibility of my
marrying Emily Merton ever crossed my mind. In London, I had regarded
her as an agreeable acquaintance, with just as much of the colouring of
romance and of the sentimental about our intercourse, as is common with
youths of nineteen and girls a little younger; but as nothing more. When
we met on the island, Emily appeared to me like a friend--a _female_
friend--and, of course, one to be viewed with peculiarly softened
feelings; still, as only a friend. During the month we had just passed
in the same ship, this tie had gradually strengthened; and I confess
to a perfect consciousness of there being on board a pretty girl in
her nineteenth year, of agreeable manners, delicate sentiments, and
one whose presence gave the Crisis a charm she certainly never enjoyed
during poor Captain Williams's time. Notwithstanding all this, there
was something--though what that something was, I did not then know
myself--which prevented me from absolutely falling in love with my fair
guest. Nevertheless, Marble's suggestion was not unpleasant to me; but,
on the other hand, it rather conduced to the satisfaction of my present
visit.
We were kindly received by our hosts, who always seemed to remember the
commencement of our acquaintance, when Marble and myself visited them
together. The breakfast had a little of the land about it; for Mons.
Le Compte's garden still produced a few vegetables, such as lettuce,
pepper-grass, radishes, &c.; most of which, however, had sown
themselves. Three or four fowls, too, that he had left on the island
in the hurry of his departure, had begun to lay; and Neb having found a
nest, we had the very unusual treat of fresh eggs. I presume no one will
deny that they were sufficiently “country-laid.”
“Emily and myself consider ourselves as old residents here,” the Major
observed, as he gazed around him, the table being set in the open air,
under some trees; “and I could almost find it in my heart to remain on
this beautiful island for the remainder of my days--quite, I think, were
it not for my poor girl, who might find the society of her old father
rather dull work, at her time of life.”
“Well, Major,” said Marble, “you have only to let your taste be known,
to have the ch'ice among all our youngsters to be her companion. There
is Mr. Talcott, a well-edicated and mannerly lad enough, and of good
connexions, they tell me; and as for Captain Wallingford here, I will
answer for _him_. My life on it, he would give up Clawbonny, and the
property on which he is the fourth of his name, to be king, or Prince of
Wales of this island, with such company!”
Now, it was Marble, and not I, who made this speech; and yet I heartily
wished it unsaid. It made me feel foolish and I dare say it made me
look foolish; and I know it caused Emily to blush. Poor girl! she, who
blushed so easily, and was so sensitive, and so delicately situated--she
was entitled to have more respect paid to her feelings. The Major and
Marble, however, took it all very coolly, continuing the discourse as if
nothing out of the way had been said.
“No doubt--no doubt,” answered the first; “romance always finds votaries
among young people, and this place may well excite romantic feelings in
those who are older than these young men. Do you know, gentlemen, that
ever since I have known this island, I have had a strong desire to pass
the remainder of my days on it? The idea I have just mentioned to you,
therefore, is by no means one of a moment's existence.”
“I am glad, at least, dear sir,” observed Emily, laughing, “that the
desire has not been so strong as to induce you to make formal proposals
on the subject.”
“You, indeed, are the great obstacle; for what could I do with a
discontented girl, whose mind would be running on balls, theatres, and
other amusements? We should not have even a church.”
“And, Major Merton,” I put in, “what could you, or any other man, do
with _himself_, in a place like this, without companions, books, or
occupation ?”
“If a conscientious man, Miles, he might think over the past; if a wise
one, he would certainly reflect on the future. I should have books,
since Emily and I could muster several hundred volumes between us; and,
_with_ books, I should have companions. What could I do? I should
have everything to create, as it might be, and the pleasure of seeing
everything rising up under my own hand. There would be a house to
construct--the materials of that wreck to collect--ropes, canvass,
timber, tar, sugar, and divers other valuables that are still out on the
reef, or which lie scattered about on the beach, to gather together, and
save against a rainy day. Then I would have a thought for my poultry;
and possibly you might be persuaded to leave me one or two of these
pigs, of which I see the French forgot half a dozen, in their haste to
cheat the Spaniards. Oh! I should live like a prince and be a prince
_regnant_ in the bargain.”
“Yes, sir, you would be captain and all hands, if that would be any
gratification; but I think you would soon weary of your government, and
be ready to abdicate.”
“Perhaps so, Miles; yet the thought is pleasant to me: but for this
dear girl, it would be particularly so. I have very few relatives; the
nearest I have being, oddly enough, your own country-people, gentlemen.
My mother was a native of Boston, where my father, a merchant, married
her; and I came very near being a Yankee myself, having been born but a
week after my parents landed in England. On my father's side, I have not
five recognised relatives, and they are rather distant; while those on
my mother's are virtually all strangers. Then I never owned a foot of
this earth on which we live, in my life--”
“Nor I,” interrupted Marble, with emphasis.
“My father was a younger son; and younger sons in England are generally
lack-lands. My life has been such, and, I may add, my means such, that
I have never been in the way of purchasing even enough earth to bury me
in; and here, you see, is an estate that can be had for asking. How much
land do you fancy there is in this island, gentlemen? I mean, apart
from the beach, the sands and rocks; but such as has grass, and bears
trees--ground that might be tilled, and rendered productive, without
much labour?”
“A hundred thousand acres,” exclaimed Marble, whose calculation was
received with a general laugh.
“It seems rather larger to me, sir,” I answered, “than the farm at
Clawbonny. Perhaps there may be six or eight hundred acres of the
sort of land you mention; though the whole island must contain several
thousands--possibly four, or five.”
“Well, four or five thousand acres of land make a good estate--but, as
I see Emily is getting frightened, and is nervous under the apprehension
of falling heir to such extensive possessions, I will say no more about
them.”
No more _was_ said, and we finished our breakfasts, conversing of the
past, rather than of the future. The Major and Marble went to stroll
along the groves, in the direction of the wreck; while I persuaded Emily
to put on her hat and stroll--the other way.
“This is a singular notion of my father's,” my fair companion remarked,
after a moment of musing; “nor is it the first time, I do assure you,
on which he has mentioned it. While we were here before, he spoke of it
daily.”
“The scheme might do well enough for two ardent lovers,” said I,
laughing; “but would scarcely be Wise for an elderly gentleman and his
daughter. I can imagine that two young people, warmly attached to
each other, might get along in such a place for a year or two, without
hanging themselves; but I fancy even love would tire out, after a while,
and they would set about building a boat, in which to be off.”
“You are not very romantic, I perceive, Mr. Wallingford,” Emily
answered, and I thought a little reproachfully. “Now, I own that to my
taste, I could be happy anywhere--here, as well as in London, surrounded
by my nearest and dearest friends.”
“Surrounded! Ay, that would be a very different matter. Let me have your
father, yourself, honest Marble, good Mr. Hardinge, Rupert, dear, dear
Grace, and Lucy, with Neb and some others of my own blacks, and I should
ask no better home. The island is only in twenty, has plenty of shade
some delicious fruits, and Would be easily tilled--one might do here, I
acknowledge, and it would be pleasant to found a colony.”
“And who are all these people you love so well, Mr. Wallingford, that
their presence would make a desert island pleasant?”
“In the first place, Major Merton is a half-pay officer in the British
service, who has been appointed to some civil station in India”--I
answered, gallantly. “He is a respectable, agreeable, well-informed
gentleman, a little turned of fifty, who might act as Judge and
Chancellor. Then he has a daughter--”
“I know more of her and her bad qualities than you do yourself,
_Sire_--but who are Rupert, and Grace, and Lucy--_dear, dear_ Grace,
especially?”
“Dear, _dearest_ Grace, Madam, is my sister--my _only_ sister--all the
sister I ever can have, either by marriage, or any other means, and
sisters are usually _dear_ to young men, I believe.”
“Well--I knew you had a sister, and a _dear_ sister, but I also knew you
had but one. Now as to Rupert--”
“He is not another sister, you may be well assured. I have mentioned
to you a friend from childhood, who went to sea with me, at first, but,
disliking the business, has since commenced the study of the law.”
“That, then, is Rupert. I remember some such touches of his character,
but did not know the name. Now, proceed on to the next--”
“What, Neb!--You know _him_ almost as well as I do myself. He is yonder
feeding the chickens, and will save his passage money.”
“But you spoke of another--that is--was there not a Mr.--, Hardinge was
the name, I think?”
“Oh! true--I forgot Mr. Hardinge and Lucy, though they would be two of
the most important of the colonists. Mr. Hardinge is my guardian,
and will continue to be so a few months longer, and Lucy is his
daughter--Rupert's sister--the old gentleman is a clergyman, and would
help us to keep Sundays as one should, and might perform the marriage
ceremony, should it ever be required.”
“Not much danger of that, I fancy, on your _desert_ island--your
Barrataria”--observed Miss Merton, quickly.
I cannot explain the sensitiveness of certain young ladies on such
points, unless it be through their consciousness. Now, had I been
holding this idle talk with Lucy, the dear, honest creature would have
laughed, blushed ever so little, possibly, and nodded her head in frank
assent; or, perhaps, she would have said “oh! certainly,” in a way to
show that she had no desire to affect so silly a thing as to wish one to
suppose she thought young people would not get married at Marble Land,
as well as Clawbonny, or New York. Miss Merton, however, saw fit to
change the discourse, which soon turned on her father's health. On this
subject she was natural and full of strong affection. She was anxious to
get the Major out of the warm latitudes. His liver had been touched in
the West Indies, but he had hoped that he was cured, or he never would
have accepted the Bombay appointment. Experience, however, was giving
reason to suspect the contrary, and Emily wished him in a cold climate
as soon as possible, and that with an earnestness that showed she
regarded all that had been said about the island as sheer pleasantry.
We continued the conversation for an hour when, returning to the tent,
I left my fair companion with a promise to be as active as possible, in
order to carry the ship into a higher latitude. Still I did not deem the
island a particularly dangerous place, notwithstanding its position; the
trades and sea breezes, with its ample shades, rendering the spot one of
the most delightful tropical abodes I had ever been in.
After quitting Emily, I went to join Marble, who was alone, pacing a
spot beneath the trees, that poor Le Compte had worn into a path, and
which he had himself called his “quarter-deck.”
“This Major Merton is a sensible man, Miles,” the ex-mate began, as
soon as I dropped in alongside of him, and joined in his semi-trot;
“a downright, sensible sort of a philosopher-like man, accordin' to my
notion.”
“What has he been telling you, now, that has seized your fancy so much
stronger than common?”
“Why, I was thinking of this idee of his, to remain on the island, and
pass the remainder of the v'y'ge here, without slaving day and night to
get up two or three rounds of the ladder of promotion, only to fall down
again.”
“And did the Major speak of such things? I know of no disappointments of
his, to sour him with the world.”
“I was not speaking for Major Merton, but for myself, Miles. To tell
you the truth, boy, this idee seems just suited to me, and I have almost
made up my mind to remain behind, here, when you sail.”
I looked at Marble with astonishment; the subject on which the Major had
spoken in pleasantry, rather than with any real design of carrying his
project into execution, was one that my old messmate regarded seriously!
I had noted the attention with which he listened to our discourse,
during breakfast, and the strong feeling with which he spoke at the
time, but had no notion of the cause of either. I knew the man too well,
not to understand, at once, that he was in sober earnest, and had too
much experience of his nature, not to foresee the greatest difficulty
in turning him from his purpose. I understood the true motive to be
professional mortification at all that occurred since he had succeeded
Captain Williams in command; for Marble was much too honest and too
manly, to think for a moment of concealing his own misfortunes behind
the mantle offered by my success.
“You have not thought of this matter sufficiently, my friend,” I
answered, evasively, knowing the folly of attempting to laugh the
matter off--“when you have slept on it a night, you will see things
differently.”
“I fancy not, Miles. Here is all I want, and just what I want. After
you have taken away everything that can be required for the vessels, or
desirable to the owners, there will be enough left to keep me a dozen
lives.”
“It is not on account of food, that I speak--the island alone in its
fruits, fish and birds, to say nothing as to the seeds, and fowls, and
pigs, we could leave you, would be sufficient to keep fifty men;
but, think of the solitude, the living without object, the chances of
sickness--the horrible death that would follow to one unable to rise and
assist himself, and all the other miseries of being alone. Depend on
it, man was not created to live alone. Society is indispensable to him,
and--”
“I have thought of it all, and find it entirely to my taste. I tell you,
Miles, I should be exactly in my sphere, in this island, and that as a
hermit. I do not say I should not like _some_ company, if it could
be yourself, or Talcott, or the Major, or even Neb; but no company is
better than bad; and as for asking, or _allowing_ any one to stay with
me, it is out of the question. I did, at first, think of keeping the
Sandwich Islanders; but it would be bad faith, and they would not be
likely to remain quiet, after the ship had sailed. No, I will remain
alone. You will probably report the island when you get home, and that
will induce some vessel, which may be passing near, to look for me, so I
shall hear of you all, every four or five years.”
“Gracious heaven! Marble, you cannot be serious in so mad a design?”
“Just look at my situation, Miles, and decide for yourself. I am without
a friend on earth--I mean nat'ral friend--I know what sort of friend you
are, and parting with you will be the toughest of all--but I have not a
relation on the wide earth--no property, no home no one to wish to see
me return, not even a cellar to lay my head in. To me all places are
alike, with the exception of this, which, having discovered, I look upon
as my own.”
“You have a _country_, Marble; and that is the next thing to family and
home--overshadows all.”
“Ay, and I'll have a country here. This will be America, having been
discovered by Americans, and in their possession. You will leave me the
buntin', and I'll show the stars and stripes of a 4th of July, just as
you will show 'em, in some other part of the world. I was born Yankee,
at least, and I'll die Yankee, I've sailed under that flag, boy, ever
since the year '77, and will not sail under another you may depend on
it.”
“I never could justify myself to the laws for leaving a man behind me in
such a place.”
“Then I'll run, and that will make all right. But, you know well enough,
boy, that leaving a captain is one thing, and leaving a man another.”
“And what shall I tell all your acquaintances, those who have sailed
with you so often and so long, has become of their old ship-mate?”
“Tell 'em that the man who was once _found_, is now _lost_,” answered
Marble, bitterly. “But I am not such a fool as to think myself of
so much importance as you seem to imagine. The only persons who will
consider the transaction of any interest will be the newspaper gentry,
and they will receive it only as _news_, and thank you about half as
much as they would for a murder, or a robbery, or the poisoning of a
mother and six little children.”
“I think, after all, you would scarcely find the means of supporting
yourself,” I added, looking round in affected doubt; for I felt, at each
instant, how likely my companion was to adhere to his notion, and this
from knowing him so well. “I doubt if the cocoa is healthy, all the year
round, and there must be seasons when the trees do not bear.”
“Have no fear of that sort. I have my own fowling-piece, and you will
leave me a musket, or two, with some ammunition. Transient vessels,
now the island is known, will keep up the supply. There are two hens
setting, at this moment, and a third has actually hatched. Then one of
the men tells me there is a litter of pigs, near the mouth of the bay.
As for the hogs and the poultry, the shell-fish and berries will keep
them; but there are fifteen hogsheads of sugar on the beach, besides
thirty or forty more in the wreck, and all above water. There are casks
of beans and peas, the sea-stores of the French, besides lots of other
things. I can plant, and fish, and shoot, and make a fence from the
ropes of the wreck, and have a large garden, and all that a man can
want. Our own poultry, you know, has long been out; but there is still a
bushel of Indian-corn left, that was intended for their feed. One quart
of that, will make me a rich man, in such a climate as this, and with
soil like that on the flat between the two groves. I own a chest of
tools, and am, ship-fashion, both a tolerable carpenter and blacksmith;
and I do not see that I shall want for anything. You _must_ leave half
the things that are scattered about, and so far from being a man to
be pitied, I shall be a man to be envied. Thousands of wretches in the
greatest thoroughfares of London, would gladly exchange their crowded
streets and poverty, for my solitude and abundance.”
I began to think Marble was not in a state of mind to reason with, and
changed the subject. The day passed in recreation, as had been intended;
and next morning we set about filling up the schooner. We struck in all
the copper, all the English goods, and such portions of the Frenchman's
cargo as would be most valuable in America. Marble, however, had
announced to others his determination to remain behind, to abandon the
seas, and to turn hermit. As his first step, he gave up the command of
the Pretty Poll, and I was obliged to restore her, again, to our old
third-mate, who was every way competent to take care of her. At the end
of the week, the schooner was ready, and despairing of getting Marble
off in _her_, I ordered her to sail for home, viâ Cape Horn; giving
especial instructions not to attempt Magellan. I wrote to the owners,
furnishing an outline of all that had occurred, and of my future plans,
simply remarking that Mr. Marble had declined acting out of motives of
delicacy, since the re-capture of the ship; and that, in future, their
interests must remain in my care. With these despatches the schooner
sailed. Marble and I watched her until her sails became a white speck on
the ocean, after which she suddenly disappeared.
As for the ship, she was all ready; and my only concern now was
in relation to Marble. I tried the influence of Major Merton; but,
unfortunately, that gentleman had already said too much in favour of our
friend's scheme, in ignorance of its effect, to gain much credit when
he turned round, and espoused the other side. The arguments of Emily
failed, also. In fact, it was not reason, but feeling that governed
Marble; and, in a bitter hour, he had determined to pass the remainder
of his days where he was. Finding all persuasion useless, and the
season approaching when the winds rendered it necessary to sail, I was
compelled to yield, or resort to force. The last I was reluctant to
think of; nor was I certain the men would have obeyed me had I ordered
them to use it. Marble had been their commander so long, that he might,
at any moment, have re-assumed the charge of the ship; and it was not
probable his orders would have been braved under any circumstances that
did not involve illegality, or guilt. After a consultation with the
Major, I found it necessary to yield to this whim, though I did so with
greater reluctance than I ever experienced on any other occasion.