_Interview between Blackbeard and Ellen--Attempted Murder of
the latter. Interference of Elvira. Blackbeard's Departure.
Elvira's History. The Escape._
After having ordered her close alongside the East Indiaman, Blackbeard
immediately descended to the place where sweet Ellen Armstrong was
confined as a prisoner, and addressed its occupant, in the following
manner,
'So Miss Armstrong, you acted the heroine to perfection, this
afternoon.'
A look of utter loathing and contempt, being the only answer which the
fair Ellen deigned to bestow on the pirate's words, he continued:
'You must certainly be mad, my lovely lily of the valley, to look so
scornfully upon me, who at present holds in his hand the power of thy
life or death.'
'As I am well assured that you will use the awful power you speak, to
put a speedy end to my wretched existence,' replied Ellen, 'I must beg
of you, instantly to retire, and thus rid me of your hateful presence.'
'Stop, stop, my pretty Miss,' exclaimed Blackbeard, 'not quite so fast,
if you please. In the first place you must learn, that I have at present
no intention of taking your life, but on the contrary, I intend to make
you my wife, as soon as circumstances will permit.'
'Pirate, fiend, villain,' exclaimed Ellen, starting up from her seat and
confronting Blackbeard, with all the majesty of injured innocence,
'learn, that rather than become the wife of a desperate robber like
thyself, Ellen Armstrong will die, die by her own hand, and--'
'Ha, ha ha, there you go into heroics again,' interrupted the pirate, in
a tone of scornful irony, 'but I will soon find a way to bring you back
to your senses. Now, listen,' he continued, after a moment's pause, and
in a tone of voice changed to stern severity, 'listen I say, to my
words, and mark them well. From the curious scenes which transpired
awile ago on the deck of this vessel, in which you chose to act a
prominent part, I could draw but one inference, and that was, that you
was deeply in love with Arthur Huntington, and now I would ask of you,
if this inference is correct.'
'Had you any right to put such a question to me, I should not hesitate
to answer it,' replied Ellen, who by this time had attained a sort of
desperate courage which enabled her to bear up under the unaccountable
horrors of her situation.
'If I have not a right, you will now perceive that I have the might to
compel you to answer,' exclaimed Blackbeard, who having become by this
time, thoroughly infuriated, drew a poniard from his belt, and
advancing, towards Ellen, who sunk pale and terrified upon her knee, at
his approach, he continued:
'It is far from my wish, Miss Armstrong, to harm even a hair of your
head; but you must, (and mark me, I speak not unmeaningly,) you must, I
repeat, answer my question, fairly, and without equivocation. Do you
love Arthur Huntington?'
Ellen shuddered, and averted her head, but answered not. Finding his
fair prisoner was not disposed to reply, Blackbeard, exclaimed with a
horrid oath,
'I tell you, girl, that the pirate of the Roanoke, is not to be tampered
with. Again, and for the last time, I command you to answer my question.
Will you do so?'
'No,' replied Ellen firmly, 'I will not.'
'Then your blood be upon your head!' exclaimed the pirate, as springing
suddenly forward, he inflicted a severe wound upon the person of sweet
Ellen Armstrong, with his poniard, which caused her to fall fainting and
bleeding upon the floor of the cabin.
'My God, what have I done,' muttered Blackbeard, as he gazed upon his
prisoner's prostrate form.
'Murdered your sister!' exclaimed a shrill female voice, which emanated
from a person who had entered the cabin unperceived, just after Ellen
was wounded.
'Ha, who is that, that speaks of murder!' exclaimed the Pirate
involuntarily.
'It is your mother, Elvira, who accuses you of having murdered that
beautiful girl, who now lays gasping at your feet,' replied the strange
female, who although she was far advanced in years, beyond the prime of
life, still possessed a tall and commanding form, together with
features, which, though they were somewhat wrinkled and withered, had
once been pre-eminently fair and beautiful.
'Avaunt! hag,' exclaimed Blackbeard, as Elvira ceased speaking, 'begone
I say, and if ever thou darest to call thyself, my mother, in my
hearing, I will stab you to the very heart.'
'Am I not thy father's wife, Herbert?' replied the female.
'You say so, and it may be so,' rejoined Blackbeard, 'but at any rate
you are only a social one.'
'If even that is allowed,' answered Elvira, 'you must own that it
legally puts me in your mother's place.'
'By the bones of Captain Kid, it sounds well and appropriate for you, to
talk about legality,' replied Blackbeard, ironically, 'you, who hast
been born and bred amongst those, who acknowledge no laws, except those
of their own making. Go to, you're an idiot.'
'But I am not a murderess,' replied Elvira.
'That is more than I could swear for,' said Blackbeard.
'At least I never killed my sister,' rejoined Elvira.
'What do you mean to insinuate by that?' asked the Pirate as his
muscular frame trembled with a sort of indefinable emotion.
'I mean,' replied Elvira earnestly, 'not only to insinuate, but to
solemnly assert, that, that unfortunate girl, who now lies bleeding
before your eyes, is your only sister.'
'What!' exclaimed Blackbeard, driven by these singular words almost to
frenzy, 'Witch of Bedlam, thou liest.'
A low, faint moan, here escaped from the lips of the wounded girl, which
caused Elvira, thus to address the pirate:
'Say no more at present, Herbert, I entreat you, but leave the cabin,
whilst I endeavor to restore this young creature to consciousness.'
'You asserted just now, that this girl was my only sister,' replied
Blackbeard, 'and before I depart I must have an explanation of your
words.'
'For the love of Heaven, Herbert,' said Elvira, 'leave me alone with
this maiden for the present, and to-morrow I will explain everything.'
'Upon that consideration, I will go,' avowed the pirate, 'and after
which you will carefully examine her wound, and if it is likely to prove
fatal, beware how you lose any time in making me aware of the fact.'
So saying, and without awaiting Elvira's reply, Blackbeard immediately
left the cabin.
'Lower away the boat there,' thundered forth the pirate, as he gained
the brig's quarter deck. A score or two men promptly executed this
order, the boat was soon manned; Blackbeard assumed his station in the
stern sheets, and was soon pulled along side of the Gladiator, whose
deck he quickly reached, where he earnestly inquired of the officer in
charge, for Captain Rowland.
'He went ashore, sir,' replied the man to whom he had applied, 'about
one hour ago, and left orders for you to follow him at your earliest
convenience.'
Upon hearing this, Blackbeard without stopping to reply, hastily
re-entered his boat, and ordered his coxswain to steer directly for the
shore, which he soon reached, and having landed, made the best of his
way to the palace, where we will for the present leave him, whilst we
look further after the fortunes of our heroine.
No sooner had the pirate, taken his departure from the cabin, than the
strange female hastened to the assistance of the wounded girl, whom she
supported in her arms, and then conducted her into a small but neatly
furnished state-room, which was Elvira's own apartment, where she had
partly overheard the altercation which took place, as before related,
between Blackbeard and Ellen, and from which she had noiselessly and
unperceived entered the main cabin just after our unfortunate heroine
had fallen to the floor. Here Elvira gently laid her fair charge upon
her own soft couch, and proceeded immediately to examine her wound,
which, although it had bled copiously, was but slight, then, after
carefully dressing it, this strange woman, by the aid of appropriate
restoratives soon succeeded in restoring 'sweet' Ellen Armstrong once
more to consciousness.
As a confused sense of her situation began to dawn upon her mind, our
heroine, after casting a wild glance around the state-room, addressed
Elvira as follows:
'Good woman, for the love of Heaven, tell me where I am, and into whose
hands I have fallen?'
'You are at present on board of a piratical vessel called the Fury, and
in the hands of a merciless and cruel set of black-hearted villains.'
'And you,' exclaimed Ellen, hardly knowing what she said, 'how came you,
a woman, to be in this horrid place?'
'That is a question,' replied Elvira 'much easier for you to ask, than
it will be for me to answer, but, as some of the events connected with
the sad history of my presence here, may be found to be somewhat
connected with your present mysterious situation, I will lose no time in
making you acquainted with the story of my past life, that is, if you
think you possess strength enough to listen to the recital, which as it
is to me a painful theme, I shall make as brief as possible.'
A strange and unaccountable interest in the words of the dejected being
who stood before her, having taken possession of the sympathizing mind
of our heroine, she signified to Elvira, that she felt strong enough to
listen to any thing which might serve to explain the horrible mystery
connected with her sudden captivity, and the subsequent events attendant
upon it.
As Ellen finished speaking, Elvira, commenced her narration as follows:
'I was born in Lincoln, near fifty years ago. My parents were poor, but
respectable trades-people, who, had they been permitted to live, until
I, their only child, had reached the age of womanhood, might have, by
religious counsel and strict government checked, if not wholly
obliterated the reckless propensities of my passionate temper and wild,
wayward disposition. But before my years had numbered ten, my parents
both died within a few weeks of each other, leaving me to the care of a
tyrannical old aunt, who I soon afterwards found, managed to hide, under
an artful affection of religion and prudery, a base malignant and
sensual character. I was immediately sent by my aunt to the
parish-school, where, being naturally tractable and apt to learn I soon
acquired the rudiments of a good education, and besides, I learnt also
to become an expert needle-woman. No sooner did my aunt find that I was
mistress of this latter accomplishment, than she took me at once from
school, and compelled me to toil day and night at my needle, refusing me
at the same time all necessary rest and recreation.
'Young and high-spirited as I then was, I found it impossible to bear
such brutal treatment, and one day when I was about fourteen years of
age, in a fit of anger and despair, I left the home of my cruel aunt,
and found myself a wretched wanderer in the streets of London, without
money, home, or friends. Still I wandered on, not realizing the horror
of my situation, till the shades of evening began to cover the city, and
the harsh knawings of cruel hunger, began inexorably to crave their
natural satisfaction. Then it was that I felt myself compelled to look
around for some place of shelter, but could find none, and would have
returned again to my cruel aunt, but alas, all my efforts to find her
habitation proved utterly fruitless, and having by this time reached the
banks of the Thames, I plunged without a moment's hesitation, into its
dark waters, resolving to end at once a life which promised nothing to
its possessor, but wretchedness and wo. But my fatal resolution was
frustrated by a man, who, unperceived had for some time previous watched
my wild and desperate course, and who jumped into the water as I a
second time rose to its surface, caught me by the arm, and held me
tightly with one hand, whilst with the other he swam toward a small
vessel, which, being but a short distance off, he managed to reach in
safety.
'Having received on board this vessel every attention which the greatest
delicacy and kindness could dictate, I soon became impressed with a
strong desire to become acquainted, with the character and designs of
the person who had so disinterestedly preserved my life. It so happened
that during a short illness which was occasioned by the cold bath I had
taken in the Thames, I was assiduously attended by a female, who, as I
afterwards learnt, was the wife of one of the officers of the vessel. To
this woman who was very kind and attentive to my wants, I applied for
the gratification of my curiosity concerning my preserver, upon which
she informed me that he was a young Spaniard of good family, who
commanded the vessel in which we were then situated.
'This was all I could gather from her, but a day or two afterwards I had
perfectly recovered so that I could verbally thank the generous man who
had saved my life, to his face. After having listened with modest
though marked attention to my warm protestations of gratitude, Don
Almanzor, (for such was his name,) begged me to relate to him the
untoward events which had driven me to desperation and almost death.
'In accordance with his request, I gave him a brief history of my
previous life, after which in view as he said, of my helpless and
desolate condition, he offered to take me to his home in Cuba, where he
informed me I should become an inmate of his father's family, he taking
upon himself to act towards me, in every respect, the part of a friend
and generous brother.
'With redoubled expressions of sincere gratitude and respect, I eagerly
consented to abide by Almanzor's generous offer, and a few days
afterward, the vessel in which I had so strangely become a passenger,
sailed for Havana, where she arrived after a pleasant passage of three
weeks.
'During the voyage, Almanzor treated me with the most delicate attention
and respect, and as he was young, handsome, and unmarried, you will not
be surprised when I inform you, that long before its termination, I
became deeply and fervently attached to him. However, I resolved to keep
my passion a secret within my own bosom, until I should know whether my
affection would be reciprocated by its object, and in the mean time, I
became regularly domesticated in the family of Don Almanzor, which
consisted of his father, who was a rich old Spanish slave-dealer, his
mother, and himself. The old people treated me in all respects, as
though I had been their only daughter, and for two years I lived with
them in the enjoyment of a pure and tranquil happiness, which, at the
expiration of that time, was enhanced beyond measure, by an honorable
offer on the part of Almanzor, of his hand and heart. As might naturally
be supposed, I readily accepted an offer which agreed so well with my
own inclinations, and shortly afterwards we were married, and after two
more years of increased felicity had passed, I became the mother of a
lovely daughter.
'My husband was at this time absent on a trading voyage, and the vessel
that he was in having encountered a severe hurricane, was stranded, and
every soul on board of her found a watery grave.
'This dreadful news was brought to me by Captain Rowland, who visited
the island at that time, in the capacity of master of an English brig,
and need I say that the horrid tidings almost drove me frantic.
'Then the insiduous tempter came, and offered me his hand, which I
accepted, and thus I became what you see me now, Rowland's wife.'
'And who is this Captain Rowland?' asked Ellen, eagerly.
'He is a noted pirate,' replied Elvira.
'Did you know that when you married him?'
'I did not, if I had, sooner would I have yielded my life than united my
fortune, desperate as it was, with his. When I discovered his true
character, I was his wife, on board of his vessel, and in his power,
with no avenue through which I could escape, and for the sake of my
child, I was forced to humble myself, and submit to his caprices.'
'Your situation must have been terrible beyond expression,' ejaculated
Ellen, who had become deeply interested in the story of the unfortunate
woman.
'God knows that it was so,' answered Elvira. 'The discovery of his
deception came upon me suddenly, like a thunderbolt from the clouds of
heaven, and I upbraided him for it in the bitterness of my heart, and he
answered my reproaches at first with scornful laughter, and afterwards
with a relation of the history of his past life, during which, to my
utter astonishment and surprise, I learnt that he had been once before
married, but that his wife had recently died, leaving two children, a
son who was at that time in the vessel with his father, and an infant
daughter, concerning whom, I could only then learn from Rowland, that
she had been left in London, in the hands of such persons as would take
good care of her.
'It was in vain after this, that I begged my cruel husband to return me
and my child to Havana, he was utterly deaf to all my entreaties,
although about two months after our embarcation he landed me on this
desolate, but beautiful island, where, in his hours of leisure, he had
with the assistance of his companions, erected and furnished with his
rich but ill gotten spoils, that building which has been signified by
the name of the Pirate's Palace.'
'That must be the horrid place,' exclaimed Ellen, 'which I saw this
morning, and in which I fear Mary Hamilton is--is--'
'Now confined,' interrupted Elvira.
'Is it not worse than that,' exclaimed Ellen, eagerly, 'has she not met
with a cruel death?'
'Oh no, that is no part of the purpose of those who have detained her,'
answered Elvira.
'Do you know their true purpose, then,' asked Ellen, 'relative to her,
myself, and the rest of the prisoners?'
'With regard to Miss Hamilton,' replied Elvira, 'Rowland's purpose is to
force her into a union with his son.'
'And who may his son be?' again inquired Ellen.
'No other,' answered Elvira, impressively, 'but Herbert Rowland
otherwise called Blackbeard, the famous pirate of the Roanoke, who is
besides your only brother.'
'And Captain Rowland?'
'Is your father.'
'God of Heaven! can it be possible?' exclaimed the fair Ellen.
'It is no less possible than true,' replied Elvira.
'Then, in Heaven's name, let us free Arthur from his fetters,' exclaimed
Ellen, 'and all of us escape through the cabin window into the boat,
that has, I perceive, been left astern.'
Upon hearing this, Elvira immediately left the cabin, but, to Ellen's
greater joy, she shortly after returned, followed by Arthur Huntington,
who assisted the females into the boat, after which he entered it
himself and succeeded in getting, unperceived, out of sight of the brig,
upon the bosom of the wide ocean.