The Albatross was within a day's sail of the shores of Madagascar, and
as both Oriel Porphyry, Zabra, the professor, and the doctor, appeared
desirous of giving their captors no cause of offence, they were better
treated than they expected to have been. Zabra, more than all the
others, seemed anxious to please the captain and his lieutenant; and
the kindness of his disposition and the beauty of his music in a short
time had such an influence upon their savage natures that their former
distrust was completely obliterated, and they entertained something like
a friendly feeling towards him. But Zabra had evidently some object in
the course he was pursuing. He allowed no opportunity to escape by which
he might win their confidence. He was continually doing some obliging
offices for their gratification. He seemed to take a pleasure in their
bold way of life, joined with them in its praise, and shared with them
in its enjoyments. He handled their weapons with an air of bravery, and
learned from them to shoot at a mark, and to cut and thrust with the
sword; and there was such a loftiness in the enthusiasm he manifested on
these occasions, that they invariably treated him with more respect than
any of his fellow captives. But a close observer might have noticed that
he often turned aside to conceal the disgust he entertained. When not
within the observation of the pirates, his dark eyes flashed with
indignation, and his beautiful mouth was compressed into an expression
of scorn. He looked proudly around him, as if his spirit was exalted
above the meaner natures with whom he was obliged to mingle. He loathed
their fellowship. He abhorred their ways. And often, when the feeling
of disdain with which he regarded these men seemed about to break
forth into open acknowledgment, a glance towards the place where Oriel
Porphyry stood, striving to control the contempt and hatred for the
whole crew of ruffians, of whom he was a prisoner, that kept darting
from his eyes, appeared sufficient to induce him to redouble his
exertions to please the pirate chiefs.
They were all in the cabin, with the addition of Scrumpydike, or as he
should now be styled, Lieutenant Rifle, and Log the captain's clerk,
the latter looking twice as important and twice as conceited as he used
to be. Zabra sat leaning on his harp, near Oriel Porphyry, apparently
absorbed in thought. The doctor and the professor were disputing upon
some metaphysical subject, as if they had forgotten all their fears, and
cared for nothing but triumphing over the other. The captain had been
talking with his lieutenant upon the progress of the ship. Oriel sat
proud and abstracted; and Log was intently engaged in eating and
drinking as much of the good things on the table as lay within his
reach.
"All's goin' on as smooth as a mackerel's back," said the
lieutenant--"every man knows his dooty, and looks arter it. There's no
flinchers among 'em; and every one feels in his nat'ral element, cause
there's no abominable honesty among 'em to corrupt their morals."
"So you must acknowledge that it's impossible there can be such a thing
as free-will, don't you see," said Dr. Tourniquet.
"I acknowledge nothing of the kind, doctor, I assure you," replied
Professor Fortyfolios. "The doctrine of necessity----"
"Hullo! is my nightingale silent?" cried the captain, unceremoniously
interrupting the logicians. "Have you piped all dry--not a song left,
nor a voice to sing it with? Is the harp dumb, or the singer sad, that
we haven't heard so much as the ghost of a tune!"
"Neither, noble captain," replied Zabra, dressing his handsome face in
his happiest smiles. "I wait your pleasure for a theme. Shall it be of
love, or of war--of the pleasures of wine, or the gladness of gold--a
song of the hunters amid the melodious forests--or of the mariner upon
the everlasting sea?"
"If I might be so bold as to speak for the cap'ain," said the
lieutenant, "I should say you might sing any thin' you has a mind--any
thin' in the univarsal globe, so as there's nothin' about honesty in
it--a thing as I've got a most vartuous abhorrence on. So chirrup away
as soon as you like. I loves to listen to your toons--they fills me wi'
a sort o' all overishness. Arn't it delightful, Master Log!"
"Delightful--delightful--very delightful--positively delightful--upon my
word very superlatively delightful, Mister Scrumpy--I mean Lieutenant
Rifle," mumbled the little man, as plainly as his mouth filled full of
preserves would allow.
"Let it be what is most agreeable to yourself," said the captain.
"But I would rather have something to stir one up a bit--a sort of
nor-easter--that will make one's timbers creak again: none of your
lack-a-daisical love and dove jimcracks--sink them--give us a song that
will make one feel as if one was standing on the tip of one's toes on
the tip-top of the world."
"You shall have what you desire, noble captain," replied Zabra; and,
after a stirring prelude on the harp, sang the following verses:--
"I heard a voice upon the sea,
That pierced the waters fierce and free,--
The loud winds running wild with glee
Brought it to me;
I heard a voice the land-breeze bore,
That thrilled the mountains to the core,
And shouted out, from shore to shore,
'WHO ARE THE FREE?'
Reply, reply aloud, air, earth, and sea!
Shout to the list'ning stars, 'WHO ARE THE FREE!'
"The cities heard, but heard in vain;
It stirred the hill, the vale, the plain;
The forest monarch's young again,
Seemed they to be;
But all beneath the conscious sky,
With trembling heart and quailing eye,
Looked round and raised th' accusing cry,
'WHERE ARE THE FREE?'
Reply, reply aloud, air, earth, and sea!
Shout to th' eternal sun, 'WHERE ARE THE FREE!'
"I saw a gallant band at last,
Upon the boundless waters cast,
Daring the battle and the blast,
Rocks and the sea;
They heard the voice that pierced the tide;
And all in one proud cause allied,
With tones that shook the world, replied--
'WE ARE THE FREE!'
We have no masters on the earth or sea!
Our home is with the wind--'WE ARE THE FREE!'"
Loud and long were the commendations with which the captain and
his lieutenant rewarded the singer. They had listened with as much
gratification as it was possible for them to receive from such a source,
and the bold glances that darted from their eyes, as the song proceeded,
showed how much they were excited. Even the conceited spirit of the
captain's clerk seemed moved. He winked his little eyes most valiantly,
and put as much bravery into his smirking countenance as it could be
brought to assume. Oriel Porphyry regarded the musician, for the first
time, with a look of distrust. To him there seemed an evident desire of
becoming on more friendly terms with the pirates than he thought could
be desired by an honest nature; and the ingratitude, as well as the
treachery of such conduct, made Zabra appear to him unworthy of any
kindly feeling. But when their eyes met, there was such an earnest
devotion in the gaze of Zabra, and so much sincerity of purpose, that he
resolved to defer passing a condemnation till he had more positive proof
of his unworthiness.
"After such a song as that, I feel a wonderful deal more social towards
you all," observed the captain; "and to show the confidence I would
place in you--as well as to pass away the time as agreeably as may
be--if there's no particular objection, I'll tell you my history from
first to last."
"Do, noble captain; your adventures must surely be of deep interest to
all who love the inspiring actions of a bold spirit," observed Zabra.
Oriel turned on him a searching look; but the lustrous eyes upon which
he gazed still seemed filled with the light of truth and affection; and
he knew not what to think.
"I was born a younger brother--the youngest of several," said the
Captain. "There was some property in the family, but it was all
carefully nursed for the heir, who was brought up in the enjoyment of
every indulgence, while the rest of us picked up our education, and our
existence, as we could. I was least cared for of all. From my boyhood I
was allowed to go where I pleased, so that I kept out of the way of my
parents and my elder brother; and I was left to do as I liked, as long
as my proceedings did not inconvenience those affectionate relatives. As
I soon perceived that I got nothing I required by asking for it, I ever
afterwards managed to acquire what I wanted without thinking it was
necessary to trouble any person upon the subject. Once I was discovered
acting in this necessary and philosophical manner, and I was considered
guilty of a crime, and most savagely punished. I cannot say that I was
made conscious of my offence, or that I was ever brought to acknowledge
the justice of its punishment; but I can most truly affirm, that the
whole proceeding created in me that hatred of tyranny which led me to be
what I am.
"Our house was by the sea-side, in a wild and unfrequented part of the
coast of Madagascar. It was a mansion of considerable extent, ancient,
but capable of being put to very good uses in the hands of a spirited
proprietor; and there were no houses near it, with the exception of a
few cottages on the cliff, belonging to some smugglers, with whom I had
long since made myself on very good terms. I was then about twelve years
of age, tall and strong, reckless and daring, perfectly uneducated, as
far as school learning is considered, but wiser than many of my elders
in that really useful knowledge that proceeds from observation. My
intimacy with the smugglers had taught me many things which I managed to
turn to advantage on several occasions--particularly notions affecting
the rights of property, and the legality of resisting the law. Smarting
from the effects of the treatment I had received, I hastily collected
whatever I considered most valuable, and without waiting to perform the
ceremonies of departure, I took the shortest way to the cliff, and was
the same evening sailing in a swift cutter far from my native shores.
"My companions early initiated me into all the mysteries of their craft.
I soon acquired a knowledge of landmarks--knew every creek and bay, and
sheltered inlet along the shore--was familiar with every part of the
vessel, its uses, and management--learned to understand the appearances
of coming storms--and could always tell the best time and place for
effecting a landing upon any required portion of the coast. I became an
active hand, exceedingly useful, quick, and vigilant; and shared in all
the dangers of my associates, their disappointments, and successes. My
boldness at all times, my readiness to labour, and the ability with
which I performed all I undertook, made me a general favourite; and the
captain, an old stern smuggler, rough in his humour, and rather despotic
in his sway, took me under his especial protection. I was chosen to
assist in many hazardous exploits, in which I was often a principal
figure; for my youth, disarming all suspicion in those who were on
the look-out to capture the contrabandists, gave me opportunities
for acquiring information as to their proceedings, which was quickly
communicated to my companions; and we have sometimes managed matters so
well as to be able to store our cargo in the very house in which our
most vigilant enemy resided. In this way I existed till I was about
seventeen, making voyages from the island to the continent, and along
various parts of the coast, acquiring a very creditable knowledge of
navigation, and gaining a considerable degree of information on many
other subjects; and then, for my services and approved fidelity, I was
promoted to be mate in the craft in which I had been sailing. I had
been in several desperate conflicts with the revenue officers, but had
been so fortunate as to escape with a few slight scratches; and the
excitement of these affrays had created in me an inclination to share in
more fierce encounters. However, on one occasion, we were unexpectedly
attacked by very superior numbers, and, although we defended ourselves
with an obstinacy that rendered the victory dearly bought, we were
over-powered; and when I recovered consciousness after falling on the
deck, as I imagined, mortally wounded, I found myself immured in a
gloomy dungeon, on a charge of smuggling and murder.
"I was accused of murder! I, who had merely slayed the slayers--who had
only fought in self-defence--who in a fray of three to one, had beaten
down some four or five of the hireling band by whom my associates were
being slaughtered, was loaded with chains, thrust into a loathsome
hole, and condemned to death, as guilty of the blackest of their
black catalogue of crimes! What miserable bunglers are lawyers and
governments! what wretched blunderers,--what empty fools! They create
the necessity for an act, punish with death a deed which could not be
avoided, and then boast of their wisdom and justice. Much parade, too,
they made about carrying their atrocious sentence into effect upon one
so young. They affected to be wonderfully pitiful,--the jury gave their
award in a tone of commiseration, and the judge pretended to be moved
to tears when he passed the sentence; and then, as many exaggerated
statements had been published of the determination with which I had
resisted being taken, many humane persons, as the world called them,
visited me in prison, and they brought me what they said were good
books, and talked to me about things they styled repentance and virtue,
and a few other fooleries. I listened with a patience that I have since
often thought extraordinary; but I imagined at the time that this
attempt at sympathy might lead to my liberation, and consequently they
always found me earnestly studying their books, and admirably attentive
to their discourses. But my hopes were disappointed; I was a fool not to
have known the hypocrites better. They could whine and cant, but they
had no mercy. However, from a quarter to which I had never looked for
assistance, help came when I least expected it.
"My jailer was a cold, stern, unfeeling brute; but he was a brute
by profession, and his disposition was his stock in trade. He had
originally been a housebreaker, or a mean villain of some kind; and
having betrayed his accomplices, he was rewarded by the miscreants whom
he served, with a place of trust. For him bolts and bars seemed to have
as much attraction as if he was a loadstone. His heart appeared only
to throb in the shadow of the thick walls; and of no music could he be
more fond than the clank of chains and the groans of the despairing
prisoners. Him I cursed every time we met: but he had a daughter--a
buxom, light-hearted little creature, whose eye was afloat in gladness,
and whose breast was freighted with gentle and generous feelings; her
olive complexion, azure eyes, and rich black curling hair, gave the most
charming expression to her face. She saw me from a window when I was
taking my solitary walk in the gloomy court-yard. My youthful appearance
attracted her attention. She inquired my history, and as there was
nothing in it of the dastard or the sneak--nothing she found ignoble
or revolting, she felt an interest for me which every day grew more
intense. She watched for the coming of the time when I was allowed to
enjoy my daily walks with increased anxiety; and knowing that I was
doomed to death, her eyes were filled with tears and her heart with
tenderness whenever she saw me. I was ignorant of the feelings I had
excited for several days after they had attained a power she found it
impossible to resist; for as my execution approached, I strode the
narrow court-yard, hemmed in by towering walls, with folded arms and
eyes upon the ground, muttering imprecations upon the whole human race;
and beheld not, and thought not of the kind creature that watched me so
anxiously: but one dull day, the last my judges had allowed me in this
world, I was engaged in making my accustomed perambulations, when I
was roused from my melancholy reverie by seeing a stone fall at my
feet I looked about me, but did not perceive whence it came. As I was
continuing my cheerless round, another stone was thrown close to the
place where I stood. I then made a more careful examination of the few
windows by which I could be overlooked, and at one, about forty or fifty
feet from the ground, I observed a female figure--whether she was young
or handsome I could not exactly determine, because I was unable to
distinguish her features, but I could have no doubt that she was an
angel when I beheld the end of a strong rope slowly descend that was
evidently falling from her hand. Before it was within reach, I had run
to grasp it within my eager hands. Soon I clutched it firmly--I felt
it was tightly fastened above; long experience in rope-climbing, and a
desperate desire to escape at any hazard, in a few seconds carried me up
to the open window, where I embraced my deliverer, whom I discovered to
be just the sort of smart-looking little craft I have described.
"'Pull up the rope,' she said anxiously, 'or you will be discovered.'
"I lost no time in hauling it into the room, where it was strongly
fastened to the bedstead;--from this it was immediately made loose and
stowed away into a box, and the window closed. The chamber in which
I found myself was a small bed-room, possessing all the neatness and
cleanliness in its appearance which distinguish the sleeping rooms of
girls in the first flush of womanhood. Against the wall was a bed with
linen of a pure white, enclosed in curtains of the same colour. At one
end of the room a simple toilet was arranged; utensils for washing were
standing in a corner--a row of books upon a little cabinet--a small
vase with a few flowers, two or three chairs, and a table, composed
the furniture.
"My arms were again round her waist, and I was showing my gratitude
after a fashion I thought would be most agreeable, when she raised
herself from my arms, smiling, blushing, and trembling, and fixing on
me a look full of sincerity, purity, and affection, said:
"'You may perhaps think me bold--over bold; but indeed I could not exist
under the idea that you were about to lose your life. I was determined
to make an effort to save you. I procured the rope from a manufactory
attached to the prison in which those sentenced to hard labour are
employed, and having well secured it here, watched my time to drop it
within your reach. I knew that you were left alone for a short time, and
I tried to attract your attention without exciting the suspicion of
any one. Having provided every thing that was necessary, and seeing my
opportunity, I endeavoured to make you look up--I coughed--I hemmed--but
you did not move from your position. I then threw down a stone; you
looked about you, and to my great disappointment and fear walked on
without observing me. My heart seemed to sink when I thought the
opportunity might be lost, and that on the morrow you would die. I again
threw a stone, and felt the sweetest pleasure I have ever known when I
saw that you observed me. Quickly and cautiously I let down the rope;
but when I saw you ascend, and knew that the slightest slip would send
you headlong against the hard stones so far beneath you, I trembled with
fear. You are now safe, and I am rejoiced. But the greatest caution will
be necessary, or your retreat will be discovered. By this time your
escape is known, and an active search is being made for you in every
direction. If you wish to retain your life you must do whatever I desire
you. Ha!' she exclaimed, as footsteps were heard approaching, 'they
come--get into that bed.' I hesitated about soiling the sheets with my
shoes. 'In with you instantly--there's not a moment to be lost.'
"While I snugly deposited myself under the bed-clothes, I observed her
rapidly put on a night-gown over the dress she wore, and a cap upon her
head, throw off her shoes, and whispering, 'Lie still, if you value your
life,' she jumped into the bed, placed my head in her lap as she sat
nearly upright leaning against the pillows, and arranged the clothes in
such a manner that no one could imagine that the bed contained any one
but herself.
"This had scarcely been done, before I heard the door open and some one
walk into the room.
"'Have you heard any one enter your window, Virgo?' asked a gruff voice
I readily recognised.
"'My window, father!' exclaimed my angel, in a tone of the utmost
astonishment. 'How is it possible any one can get near it?'
"'Don't know,' replied the old man surlily. 'But I left a prisoner a
short time ago in the yard, to let him stretch his legs for the last
time before we stretched his neck; I returned in a few minutes, and
there was not a glimpse of him to be seen. I defy a cat to get up the
wall. How he's managed to gi' me the slip I can't guess, unless he
jumped out o' the keyhole, or flew in at one o' the windows. But you
haven't heard no noise?'
"'Not the slightest!' said Virgo.
"'Strange--unkimmonly strange! How long ha' you been awake?' inquired
her father.
"'About an hour,' replied my angel. 'I felt a little better to-day, and
was thinking of getting up when you entered.'
"I heard the old man grope under the bed, and knew that he was exploring
every corner, grumbling and swearing at me at a rate it did my heart
good to hear.
"'Unkimmonly strange!' he exclaimed, 'and I shall get sent to the right
about if I can't tell how he's bolted.'
"Then I heard him draw aside the curtains, and I lay as still as a rock.
"'What do you want, father?' cried Virgo, very angrily. 'It's
ridiculous for you to imagine he can be here.'
"'Unkimmonly strange!' grumbled out the brute; and having satisfied
himself that his prisoner was not in the room, he shuffled out of it,
growling like a she bear deprived of her cubs. I could feel Virgo's
little heart beating violently as she listened to the retreating sounds.
Neither of us moved for several minutes. At last, convinced that the
coast was clear, I raised my head from the clothes, and observed her
face covered with blushes; but as soon as I moved she made a spring and
left me in the bed alone.
"'You must remain here till you hear me leave the room,' said she,
drawing the curtains round me; 'and when I lock the door, change the
clothes you have on for those you will find laid out for you.' I
promised obedience, and with a winning smile she left me to my own
reflections in a pretty considerable puzzlement concerning the whole
affair. Directly I knew she was gone, I jumped out of my snuggery,
and looked for the change of rigging she had mentioned. May I be
considerably spiflicated if it wasn't a woman's dress! I must say I felt
but little inclined to the thing; but, thinking that it might be the
only chance I had for getting out of prison, I stripped, and began
putting on the first thing that came to hand. It was a sort of shirt,
and yet it wasn't a shirt. It didn't look like the shirt of Jew, Turk,
or Christian. However, after a deal of manouvring, I slipped it on,
and the first thing I discovered was that both sleeves shortened sail
considerably, and though I tried to haul up the collar to my neck, I
found it wouldn't come above my shoulders any how, but hung down with an
ugly flap afore and abaft. Well, the next thing I put my head through
was something of a similar nature, only it came up a little higher and
fell down a little lower, and was braced up more tight about the body.
After that, I got hold of the strangest piece of stuff that ever I
overhawled. It was shaped something like a jacket without sleeves or
collar, buttons or button-holes, set round with a number of slight
stiffish spars, one of which was much broader in the beam than the
others, and there was a running line going through two rows of holes
that kept the thing pretty smartly together. I found out that there
were places for the arms to go in, and I managed to get it then over
my shoulders. Then I tugged away at the running line till I had got it
through all the holes, and by pulling and hauling, twisting and turning,
I made all fast; but the spars pinched me most confoundedly, and the big
one stood out astern of my back bone in the oddest manner possible. Then
there were a few more things into which I found my way more easily, and
when I was regularly rigged out, I took a look at myself at the glass;
and I will say, a more ridiculous craft never ventured afloat that what
I appeared to be.
"I was amusing myself with the figure I cut, when I heard a
footstep--the key turned in the lock, and Virgo entered, fastening the
door after her. As soon as she clapped eyes upon me, they began to
twinkle famously, and, without any ceremony, she opened upon me as
complete a laugh as ever I heard. And she had good reason, for I'd got
a hump on my back as big as a dromedary's, owing to my having put the
thing with the spars on stern foremost; and I'd managed to twist every
thing out of its proper place, because I was ignorant of the right way
of putting them on. Well, she made no more to do, but just took me to
pieces as if I'd been a baby, and put every thing to rights, laughing
all the time; yet as modest as any she creature that ever lived. Then
she made me wash my face; and afterwards she combed my hair, curled it,
and put a sort of turban on my head; and then, with a triumphant smile,
she bade me look in the glass. I did'nt know myself. I looked as
complete a girl as ever walked in petticoats. My complexion had been
rather browned by the sun, and my limbs had little of the feminine about
them; but notwithstanding these things I appeared more womanish than
previously I thought it possible I could have been made. As yet I had no
whiskers, and my beard did'nt give me any particular deal of trouble;
so that, on that score, there was little that could betray that I was
sailing under false colours.
"Virgo seemed to enjoy the change she had produced amazingly. She walked
about me with her eyes filled with pleasure, as if delighting in the
contemplation of her own work; while I, scarcely able to understand the
whole drift of the proceedings, looked a little bothered and mystified.
"Now if any of our people do see you," said she, cheerfully, "I do'nt
think it at all likely that they would suspect who you are."
"Well, there was I, a wild, daring, uncontrollable youth, living locked
up in the bed-room of an innocent little creature some years younger
than myself. She brought me every thing that she thought likely to
render my confinement more endurable, and endeavoured, by a thousand
affectionate ways, to make me forget that I was deprived of my liberty.
To get out of the prison, she told me, was impossible at present, as
every person entering and going out underwent strict examination; but I
had some idea that she said this to keep me where I was; and though I
loved her as well as I was able to love, for having saved my life, the
sort of existence I led was not one my spirit could long endure. I can
say, most solemnly, that she remained as pure in heart and mind as it
was possible for the purest to be. She allowed my caresses--she returned
them--but there was such a modesty in her spotless nature, that it
repelled the slightest exhibition of passion. At night she would leave
the room while I undressed, and, when I was in bed, she would come and
lay by my side upon the bed in her clothes, and, with her arms round
my neck, and her cheek upon mine, we went to sleep. When she made her
toilet, she would draw the curtains round me, kiss me, and tell me not
to move; and her innocence and gentleness seemed to exert upon me such
a spell, that I did'nt dare move an inch, or make the slightest attempt
to watch her proceedings. Extraordinary was the care with which this
guileless creature endeavoured to avoid a discovery. She watched over me
as if I was her treasure, and appeared as if she knew no enjoyment but
in my presence. I know not what she would have made of me in time,
for I was as a child in her hands; but I began to grow restless at
this imprisonment, and was seeking an opportunity to bring it to a
termination. This was brought about sooner than I expected, and, in a
manner, too, I did not at all anticipate.
"One day, while we were enjoying ourselves in our usual quiet manner, we
heard footsteps approaching the door. She had just time to throw some
work, upon which she had been employed, into my lap, and tell me to sew
away as well as I could, when the door opened, and her father entered.
"'Hullo, who's that young woman?' he inquired, rather surlily.
"'Oh! it's only a person come to help me on with some work, father,' his
daughter replied.
"'Oh!' he exclaimed, scrutinising my appearance very earnestly. Now, I
was never any great hands at hemming and stitching: I held the needle
like an oar, and pricked my fingers more than I did the stuff I was
required to sew.
"'Is she a good work-woman?' asked the old man, approaching nearer to
me, and watching my awkward labours with more attention than I desired.
"'Capital, father!' said my angel.
"'Humph!' he responded, in the same gruff tone.
"'Do good work-women usually hold the needle in the left hand?'
"'Oh, she works left-handed,' replied Virgo. Catch a woman off her guard
if you can, thought I.
"'Humph!' exclaimed the old fellow; and then, while I was busily engaged
in sewing my fingers together, and before I could have the slightest
idea of what he intended, he snatched the turban off my head.
"'Ah, ah! you young gallows-bird!' he cried, in a tone of exultation;
'I've found you, have I? I thought you couldn't have given me the slip
completely. But come along,' he added, as he clutched me forcibly by the
arm. 'You shall be hanged this time, be assured.'
"'Not if I can help it, old boy!' said I, as I tripped up his heels;
then, snatching a knife that lay at hand, I put my knee upon his chest,
and held the blade over his throat.
"'Call assistance, you hussey!' screamed the prostrate jailer to his
daughter, who seemed in an agony of terror.
"'If you speak another word, I'll cut your throat,' said I. 'And you,
Virgo, if you don't wish your father to be killed before your face,
which I shall be obliged to do to save myself, you will hand me some
rope, with which I can bind him in such a manner as will prevent his
giving the alarm before I have escaped.'
"'Oh, save him!' she exclaimed earnestly.
"'Quick, quick!' I cried. The rope was brought, and I tied the old boy
down, safe and sound, and gagged his mouth as he was muttering curses on
us both.
"'There is only one way of escaping from this place,' she observed
with considerable anxiety in her features, as she saw me preparing to
depart.
"'How? let me know it instantly, for I have not a moment to lose,' I
replied.
"'You will be stopped at the gate, unless I am with you,' she added,
gazing on me with tears in her eyes.
"'Well, come then, sweet one,' said I, hastily; 'you will lead a dog's
life of it, if you remain here; and I will do the best I can for you
when you are out of it.'
"She looked grateful and affectionate; instantly arranged my dress,
which had become disordered by the struggle; hastily collected a few
valuables; and, opening the door, we went out together. I have lived a
good many years since then, but I must acknowledge that I never lived so
happily as I did in the little bed-room of the jailer's daughter. I was
striding along the narrow passages of the prison, when she stopped me,
and told me that if I proceeded at that rate, I could not avoid being
discovered, and bade me, as near as I could, imitate her manner of
walking; so I immediately began to tread the ground as if I was picking
my way over cherry stones, and after threading a multitude of dreary
passages, we arrived at the gate, where, being in company with Virgo, I
excited no suspicion, and with merely a word or two of greeting from the
attendants, we passed into the street.
"I was now in the open air; I had at last escaped the stifling
atmosphere of a prison; and any one, having been used to the freedom of
the wide seas and the excitement of a life of enterprise, who has been
immured for months within stone walls, enduring the dreary monotony of
imprisonment, may imagine what were my feelings when I found myself
again in the enjoyment of my liberty; but what to do now I was free was
the next consideration. The dress I wore could not conceal me long,
especially when, as I knew must be the case, the manner of my escape
was made public; and as it would be unsafe for me to remain in the
neighbourhood, I saw that it might encumber my flight; and what to do
with Virgo was another puzzle: she who had risked so much for me I felt
ought not to be abandoned; but I knew it would be impossible for us
to remain together. I told her of this, but she begged so hard to be
allowed to remain with me, and seemed to despair so completely at the
thought of our separation, that I resolved at any rate that we should
not part company till all hope of remaining near each other with any
safety was destroyed.
"In this dilemma, I thought of a smuggler's widow, who carried on a
little bit of a trade in the outskirts of the town, to whom I had done
many a good turn out of regard for her husband, a brave-spirited fellow,
who was shot by my side, while defending a cargo from the greedy
clutches of the revenue rascals, and to her humble abode I bent my way.
Glad, indeed, was she to see me, when I made myself known to her. I
never knew a creature who appeared more delighted; and having told her
how I was situated, actively she sat about insuring my safety. The next
day, as I had anticipated, the particulars of my escape, with many
exaggerations, were published all over the country. A price was set upon
my head, and every hole and corner was searched, in the hope of finding
the fugitive. I never felt more satisfaction than when I cut the
petticoats. I was always kicking my shins against them. They hurt my
spirit, and almost stifled my manhood. I was now dressed in a suit
of sober brown, like a young apprentice, and I passed as the widow's
nephew; serving in her shop, and going about her errands, as knowingly
as if I had been a shop-boy all my life. For my sake the widow paid
every possible attention to Virgo, who seemed never easy but when I
was with her. The fear of discovery was always in her heart. She was
restless, anxious, and melancholy.
"After a few months of this kind of life I grew quite as tired of it
as I had been of my existence in the little bed-room of the gaoler's
daughter. I longed for the freedom of the open sea. I felt an
unconquerable desire to return to a life of enterprise. The chase,
I thought, must by this time have been given up in despair; and,
consequently, that now I might steer my course wherever I pleased. As I
was reflecting upon the most available means of satisfying my desires,
while alone pursuing some employment in the widow's little shop, who
should enter, to inquire his direction to a neighbouring street, but the
very last person I desired to see--Virgo's father.
"'No! surely! humph! ha! Yes, it must be. You rascal, I've found you, at
last,' exclaimed the old brute, as he approached, and seized me by the
collar. I had a wooden mallet in my hand at the moment; I gave it a
swing round, and the gaoler fell senseless at my feet. Without stopping
to acquaint any one with what I had done, I ran out of the house; and
bending my way to the water-side, I inquired if any ship was on the
point of sailing, and hearing that a merchant-vessel was waiting for a
few hands before she started, I presented myself on board, offered my
services, was engaged, and was sailing, far out of the reach of all
pursuit, the same evening.
"Our voyage was a long one. We were bound to China: the crew were a
medley of various nations picked up at random. The captain was proud
and tyrannical; ignorant of his duty, yet continually interfering with
those who were better seamen than himself. His mate was a mean-spirited
sycophant, who exceeded his superior in insolence and tyranny.
Punishments were frequent, and often without any thing like sufficient
cause; and the men became discontented, grumbled, and at last began
to threaten vengeance on their oppressors. To add to their causes of
complaint the provisions fell short, which was entirely owing to the
mismanagement of the captain--the men were placed on short allowance;
and their officers, instead of endeavouring to render the privation as
endurable as possible, by their arrogance and oppression seemed to seek
every opportunity of increasing their miseries. Secret meetings were
held in the ship--plans of resistance were discussed by the crew--and
every day made an open revolt among them more probable. Neither the
captain nor his mate appeared to entertain the least apprehension of
danger, for they did not alter their behaviour in the slightest degree.
In the conspiracies which had been agitated I had always been an
active hand--I counselled the boldest measures, and advised their
early adoption; but although my ability in seamanship was generally
acknowledged, they had no knowledge of my character, and wanted what
they called a more experienced leader. The mutiny broke out, however,
at last, before all our plans were ripe.
"I had committed some slight offence, so trifling, that men of any sense
would have passed it over; but I was seized upon by the despots, and
sentenced to a hundred lashes. I was rather a favourite with all, and a
loud murmur of discontent arose amongst the crew as soon as my sentence
became known; but their cries were unheeded. I was being lashed to the
grating, and both the tyrants were swearing at and threatening the men
for not showing more alacrity in proceeding with my punishment, when
the mate was felled to the deck with a handspike, and the captain was
whipped up in the arms of a tall negro and hurled overboard. All
who opposed would have met with similar treatment; but there was no
opposition, nor was there any commiseration for the fate of the men
who had been killed. I was speedily released from my disagreeable
situation, and then we commenced overhauling the cargo, which we found
valuable, and examining the stores, which were pronounced inadequate for
the wants of a long voyage. Many plans were agitated by which we might
govern our future conduct. Some were for sailing for Borneo, and there
disposing of the ship and cargo for the benefit of the crew; others were
for steering direct for Sumatra; there disposing of the cargo, and sail
from thence to enjoy ourselves with the proceeds in one or other of the
islands in the Indian Ocean. I advised, that as we were close upon the
Philippine islands, where we should meet with plenty of customers for
what we did not require, and could easily purchase from them whatever
we wanted, it was not advisable to risk a longer voyage. We could there
dispose of that portion of the cargo that found the readiest market,
have the ship disguised, and fitted with as many guns as she could
carry, and afterwards commence war against all the rich vessels we met
from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean.
"All the bold spirits among the crew applauded this proposal; but the
timorous dispositions saw in it too much danger, and gave it their
opposition; however, when it was found that the provisions would not
last a longer voyage, part of the plan was agreed upon, and the helm was
turned towards Mindanao. I was ambitious of being chosen captain, for
which office I knew myself better fitted than any of my companions,
but I was disappointed; and a man rather more than thirty, a native
of Mozambique, on the southern coast of Africa, was promoted to the
command, who was bold enough for a leader in an attack of boarders, but
had not the seamanship that could conduct a vessel through every variety
of danger. I concealed my disappointment as well as I could, determining
to wait my opportunity till I could put forth my claims in a way that
should insure their being properly acknowledged. I had some staunch
friends among my associates, and these were the bravest of the whole
crew. I saw that with a few more of the same kind nothing could prevent
the realisation of my ambition.
"We anchored in a noble bay in the island I have mentioned; and as I
was thought, even by the captain, to know more of the value of the
things than any of the others, I was sent ashore, in company with two
or three messmates considerably older than myself, to arrange about
the sale. We were dressed as merchants; and as no one appeared to have
any suspicion of our real characters, we soon negotiated, upon what
we thought very favourable terms, a sale of a great portion of our
merchandise. A division having been made of the proceeds, here most of
those upon whom I could not depend left us, a proceeding with which
I was exceedingly well satisfied; and my intentions were put into
execution with regard to the alterations required in the ship to make
her fit for piratical expeditions, that gratified me in a similar
degree.
"While our vessel was changing her appearance, I was leading a life
of indolent luxury. The part of the island near which we had anchored
abounded in the most delightful kind of scenery. Plains, rich with
vegetation--forests of gigantic trees, bending beneath their heavy crops
of tempting fruit--and a sky over head always looking down with a warm
delicious aspect--and there were other enjoyments in which I also had
an abundant share. I found hearts not less warm than their climate, and
looks not less glowing than their skies. To these pleasures I abandoned
myself with all the heedlessness of such a wild unbridled nature as mine
had always been. I revelled in a continual intoxication of the passions.
I was entranced in a perpetual dream of luxurious enjoyment. But madly
as I plunged into the dissipation with which I was surrounded, I never
was so happy as I was while I remained in the little bed-room of the
gaoler's daughter; and I have often found myself turning away from the
voluptuous beauties whose ready smiles I had purchased, to think of the
innocent love of the simple Virgo, who had shown to me such wonderful
disinterestedness in her devotion. But these thoughts were of little
avail, and why should they be otherwise? Man was made to enjoy the
pleasures within his reach, or why were those pleasures created to tempt
him with their near approximation? I did nothing more, therefore, in
giving loose to the passions that formed part of my nature, than was
natural, and the excesses into which they led were forced upon me as
things impossible to be avoided.
"It was in this island I first formed the acquaintance of Master Boor,
who was then a clerk in a merchant's counting-house. We met at some
place of licentious indulgence. A similarity of tastes soon made us
intimate--and a certain quickness of comprehension possessed by both
made each familiar with the character of the other. I found him a deep,
designing, low minded wretch, whose sole object was the accumulation
of money by any means that cunning could devise or cruelty execute.
He thought me an admirable agent to assist in carrying his plans into
execution, and believing that he would be particularly useful in my
pursuits, I lent myself in some measure to forward his designs. His
true disposition he had well concealed from the people by whom he was
surrounded, who placing unbounded confidence in his integrity, by
degrees gave up to him nearly the entire management of their business.
To him at all times I disposed of my plunder, and although I found
him an avaricious scoundrel, over-reaching me in every way, he was
too necessary to be quarrelled with. Chiefly by his assistance I got
intelligence of what desirable ships were on the neighbouring seas,
where they were to be found, and how the vessels of war protecting their
traffic were best to be avoided; and soon as ever our ship could be got
into proper trim for our purposes, we commenced a career of plunder
which in a few years made us the terror and scourge of that part of the
world.
"I had made myself so useful to the captain by this time, that he had
named me his second in command, and intrusted me with the principal
duties of the ship, with the idea of so concealing his own inefficiency;
but I was not to be satisfied with a second place, when I knew the first
was my right; and having now attained to the full maturity of manhood,
and having about me a numerous crew of brave fellows, the majority of
whom I knew were in my interest, I set about devising a plan by which my
ambitious ideas might be satisfied. The man was of a fiery temper when
roused, and hesitated not to commit any action to rid himself of an
enemy. I watched my opportunity, picked a quarrel with him:--he attacked
me with his usual violence, and after a short struggle I slew him on the
deck. It was a fair stand-up fight, and none of the men attempted to
interfere. After the body had been cast into the sea, I was unanimously
voted into the vacant command: some through fear, and some through
choice, desired that I should become their captain; but I cared not what
they thought, or what they felt. I resolved, now I had obtained the
superiority I wanted, to allow no obstacles that were likely to prevent
me from retaining it. It was a difficult thing to get a band of fierce
unruly men to obey the commands of one of themselves, but I knew that
the strong will only be ruled by the strongest, and that fear was the
surest chain to control the reckless; so I soon began to show them I
was not to be trifled with--I made them pay the most implicit obedience
to my commands--well rewarded those whom I found most tractable, and
punished with instant death all who attempted resistance. In this way I
created around me a set of daring spirits, ready to obey my slightest
wish, and willing to follow wherever I chose to lead.
"By this time Boor had become a partner in the house whose servant he
had previously been, and seemed to live in much estimation with his
coadjutors; but he had not been above a year in this promotion, when
both his partners died suddenly in a way best known to himself; and as
he produced a will, in which he was made sole heir to their property,
he took possession of the whole business, and went on with his usual
cunning and treachery, accumulating money as fast as he could. I
continued to live, sometimes enjoying myself like a prince on shore, at
other times, when afloat, striking terror wherever I went. But in that
part of the world, I found that this state of things could not last much
longer. The daring manner with which our proceedings were carried on,
the boldness with which we plundered, and the fierceness with which
we destroyed, while it created alarm among the merchants, forced the
governments to use something like activity in their measures for our
extermination. Ships of war were sent after us in every direction: we
were chased from sea to sea, and from coast to coast, with a rapidity
that allowed us no repose; and every day, at considerable disadvantages,
we were obliged to fight our way wherever we went, continually losing
some of the bravest of the crew, and not being allowed a single
opportunity of gaining any prizes. However, by the intelligence I
received from Boor, I managed to elude being taken; and as he found that
suspicions of his true character were afloat on the island, and that
arrangements were being made to take him into custody upon charges
he would have found it difficult to answer, he secretly and suddenly
disposed of the greater portion of his property; and by an arrangement
with me, he embarked on board my ship as soon as I could with safety
appear on the coast, when, without losing a moment's time, we steered
direct for the southern coast of Africa; and soon after my landing him
at his desire at Caffreton, he commenced business there as a broker of
merchandise, with a great portion of which he was supplied through me.
"I now began to feel rather desirous of knowing what had become of
Virgo; for in all the scenes of danger and of pleasure in which I
had since moved, I could not banish from my mind the cheerful, pure,
and devoted little creature, who had risked so much to preserve my
existence. Many years had passed by; I had become more stern and savage:
knowing that every man's hand was raised against me, I showed but little
mercy when any of the class to which I was opposed fell into my power;
but though I was continually the daring leader in scenes of bloodshed,
and in all animal gratifications upon every fitting opportunity
abandoned myself with no other thought than to get as much pleasure into
the moment as the moment could possess, I had frequently found myself
looking back to what always appeared my happiest hours, to the innocent
enjoyments I had known in the little bedroom of the gaoler's daughter;
and finding myself, comparatively speaking, so near Madagascar, and
knowing that I was so altered by time and climate that it was impossible
for me to be recognised by any of my old acquaintances, I resolved to
visit the old town, and try if I could discover the only being in the
world for whom I ever entertained any thing like affection. The external
character of the ship was always so mercantile, that the most knowing
seamen were deceived by her; and as whenever I entered a port I took
especial caution to make the men and every part of the vessel within
observation disguised in such a manner that no suspicion could be
entertained, I felt satisfied that from that quarter there was also no
occasion for apprehension.
"I found the old widow in her old place--she was the same as ever. I
was welcomed and wondered at as soon as I discovered to her who I was.
I found her, but the dear one I had sought I never found. When she
was told that I had left her, her heart seemed smitten with a sudden
melancholy--her cheerfulness departed for ever--and day after day she
pined till her smile was turned into darkness, and her pure spirit
floated among breakers, struck, struggled, and went down. The news
almost made me mad. I became as savage as a tiger; the last touch of
humanity seemed to have fled from my nature; and from that moment I
commenced an unrelenting warfare against my fellow-men. I was right.
They had no sympathies for me, and why should I have any for them? All
sought my destruction, and I destroyed all in return. But wherever I
looked around the world I observed the same fierce enmity prevailing.
All were waging war upon each other. The powerful crushed the weak--the
rich trampled on the poor--and the idle preyed upon the labour of the
industrious. It was well for them to boast of such things as justice and
mercy, and love and virtue, and charity and religion: I laughed at them
and their fine catalogue of hypocrisies. I saw the thin veil of spotless
lace with which they sought to conceal their own rottenness and filth. I
scorned their hollow professions; I hated their mean vices.
"I quickly left a place that had become detestable; and for the first
time since my boyhood I visited that part of the coast near which was
situated the dwelling of my family. Here I learned that my affectionate
parents had long since mingled with the dust, leaving their hopeful
heir, hated by all the neighbourhood for his detestable deeds and
tyrannical disposition, the inheritor of their property. Finding that
he had committed offences that deserved summary punishment, without
asking his permission I brought him to trial: his guilt was undeniable;
and I thought the ends of justice would be best accomplished if I
turned him over for punishment to the people whom he had so cruelly
wronged. What they did with him I do not exactly know, but I never
heard of him afterwards. I then took possession of the old house,--had
many alterations made in it, the more completely to fit it for my
purpose--managed the approaches so as to render it inaccessible to all
but friends, and used it as an asylum after my piratical expeditions. By
Boor's assistance I carried on the same game which had made me famous in
the Indian Seas, and with the same effect. The mere mentioning my name
struck terror into the hearts of merchant-captains and their crews--all
the feeble were frightened, and all the bold were in pursuit. But Boor
by this time had become rich, and fancying that his connection with me
was too hazardous to be continued any longer, after some fresh act of
daring upon my part, when the whole coast seemed up in arms against
me, as I ascertained, he gave secret information as to where I was
most likely to be found. An expedition of several well armed ships
was immediately fitted out, of which I had timely notice from another
quarter, and sought to avoid; but when I thought I had given them the
slip, and was bearing down upon what I imagined was a rich merchant
vessel, I discovered that I was approaching into the very net from which
I was most desirous of escaping; and was obliged to put up every stitch
of canvass, and make use of every manoeuvre in the hope of getting
away. My ship was a splendid sailer; but I found myself held in chase by
vessels whose powers were equal to hers, and I should have inevitably
been taken or killed in the struggle: but in the night a terrific storm
came on; and as I was creeping along-shore, with the hope of avoiding
the ships in chase, knowing that they would keep out at sea, she struck
on a rock, in a short time went to pieces, and of all the crew none were
saved but myself, my lieutenant, and my clerk.
"This catastrophe would have been enough to have damped the energies of
any man; but I was made of different stuff. I had got some money about
me, which I knew would be a letter of recommendation in any part of the
world; so when we got on shore we lived in some sort of style, and there
I fell in with one Captain Compass--a foolish, communicative creature,
from whom I learned that he was going to Columbus, with the intention
of endeavouring to get the command of one of the ships belonging to
Master Porphyry the rich merchant, to whom he had strong letters of
recommendation. By mutual consent we travelled together, and at the
first favourable moment I took charge of his letters, and my lieutenant
took charge of him. I lost no time in presenting myself with my
credentials to Master Porphyry, by whom I was placed in the command of
the Albatross--a vessel which, from the first moment I saw it, I had the
strongest inclination to appropriate. I found that nothing could be done
during the voyage to Africa; but upon my arrival at Caffreton I sought
my old associate Boor, by whom I had been given over as lost, but whom
the prospect of getting a rich cargo on the most advantageous terms
induced to assist me as far as he was able. When my arrangements were
completed, I called upon him, as he thought, to settle about the amount
to be paid, but as I knew to put into execution a plan I had devised to
punish him for his treachery. I was shown as usual into a little room
at the back of his office, in which I had noticed a large iron cupboard
wherein he secured his valuables. He kept haggling with me some time,
and at last the price was agreed upon, and he gave me the money. Before
he had the slightest suspicion of my intentions, I suddenly caught hold
of him by the throat till I had squeezed the breath out of his wretched
body: his struggles were feeble, and he hadn't time to utter a cry. I
quickly thrust the lifeless carcass into the iron cupboard, locked it,
put the key in my pocket, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
"Of what followed after I got on board, none of you here want being
told; and I have only to add to those who are now my prisoners, that
Master Porphyry I keep alive, because I consider it my interest to do
so, and tell him, that if he falls into my plans he will insure his own
safety and that of his companions; if he opposes them, he must expect to
meet with the fate of hundreds who have preceded him."
Oriel Porphyry looked proudly, and made no reply.
"Well, captain, that is the most interesting 'munication that ever
was--isn't it, Master Log?" inquired the lieutenant.
"Interesting--interesting!" exclaimed the captain's clerk, aroused from
his sleep, and rubbing his drowsy eyes--"most interesting--most cruelly
interesting--upon my word most ferociously interesting, Mister Scrum--I
mean Lieutenant Rifle."